Powering up a 20-year old MicroVAX II

[Gordon JC Pearce MM3YEQ]

On Sat, 2009-02-28 at 14:23 +0000, Robert Jarratt wrote:

> Some have suggested it blew because I had insufficient load. I had a TK50
> and an RD53 attached, would that no be sufficient. Furthermore I did not
> actually switch the PSU on, just connected it to the mains, would the load
> connected to the PSU matter when the PSU is not actually switched on?

I'd use a "modern" old hard disk, not one that's likely to be useful.
Or a couple of car indicator bulbs.

If it was plugged in but not switched on and something popped, it'll be
the mains filter cap.  They *do* fail, and they're easy to replace.

> There was also a suggestion that the PSU would have needed switching
> separately for 50Hz operation as well. The hardware manual I have for the
> machine tells me how to switch between 110 and 240, but does not say
> anything about switching it for frequency, so I suspect this was not an
> issue here.

It won't have a 50/60Hz switch, just voltage.

Gordon