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Post by Blaine on Jan 19, 2020 22:04:22 GMT -7
I'm not sure this really qualifies as a project, but it is useful information and a bit of a new product review. Sadly, as things get older, they start to break down, ourselves included. Power supplies for the Commodore computers are no exception. One of the leading failures that people are seeing is the voltage on the 5 volt DC supply starts to creep up past 6 volts. Usually by this point you know something is wrong because the higher voltage has damaged you beloved Commodore VIC-20 or 64. So far, older VIC-20's that use the 9 volt AC appear not be affected, but the newer VIC's that use the same power connector as the 64 are at risk. On my computer, the power supply was maintaining 5 volts, but could no longer supply enough amperage and the computer would just stop working and give a black screen if I restarted it. I fear this may have also been the last nail in the coffin for my SID chips as well, as they failed at the same time as the power supply. If you would like a little more information on C= power supplies, c64-wiki.com has a good write up. If you would like to test your power supply, here is link to a pinout diagram. Replacement power supplies are available from a few sources. Two of the more popular sellers are Carlsen Electronics and Commodore4ever Ebay store. I imagine anyone who has ever seen a Commodore 64 has seen the power brick as well, but here are a couple of pictures to refesh your memory. My new power supply. .
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Post by Blaine on Jan 19, 2020 22:07:12 GMT -7
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Post by Blaine on Jan 19, 2020 22:08:32 GMT -7
Here it is, in it's home, doing it's job ! So if anyone is wondering, this power supply seems to be a good little unit. It looks professional and appears to supply lots of power for my 64 with all the extra bits plugged in. Cheers, Blaine
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Post by kahuna on Jan 22, 2020 17:03:02 GMT -7
Nice, I believe those Atom are very popular. I've to check if the North American version can provide a 50Hz signal for my PAL C64 with an input of 110-120V@60Hz. Mmhh, I believe I really need a new power supply, this is what I'm reading: 5V line is 5.18V 9V AC is 10.7V Does it sound bad enough? I bet this is the reason behind the likely RAM failure on my C64
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Post by Blaine on Jan 23, 2020 18:40:58 GMT -7
5.18v dc is starting to get higher than it should be, but shouldn't be doing damage yet. The 9v ac line will read a little higher than 9 volts when it's unloaded so I suspect it is fine.
I would think, a North American power supply should work on a European 64 because the line voltage has to be changed for the computer.
I can bring my new power supply to the next meeting if you want to test it.
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Post by kahuna on Jan 24, 2020 8:18:08 GMT -7
Got it, thanks! Yes, an NA power supply works on a PAL C64. However, as far as I know, there are some stuff (i.e. GEOS) that uses the internal clock managed by the CIA. The challenge is this IC expects a 50Hz signal in a PAL Commodore to keep things in sync. I just wanted to make sure that if I have to get a new power supply, it will work for everything
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