Commodore power supplies.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 Commodre 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 informaion on C= power supplies, c64-wiki.com has a good writeup. 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. 
A few comparison pictures. 
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. |
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