Our PSUs are rectangular and are real life bricks. I have actually gotten gangster on it with a 2x4 to get the brick of epoxy out. Has anyone had any success using heat to take the epoxy off? Why did they soak it in epoxy, heat dissipation?
@borealis75
18 сағат бұрын
Surprising to see my PCB design used in something. That boost is pretty much required, the output drops under load, I tested with several C64s and fine tuned the voltage to be pretty much exactly 5.0 at the PCB when power is on. I was going to make a version 2 of this, but never got around to it, and this one works for me. I just wish the guy selling the kits would use high quality components rated high enough (I used high quality caps and components rated for 3A)
@TheCrakkle
19 сағат бұрын
Nice to see, there is a knack to openning those beasts, made a tool to clip the internal posts,. That L shield can be a pain but you get the feel for openning them after half a dozen or so. There isn't a cap on board that holds more than 20 volts, but I respect your caution. I have repaired hundreds of these in the past. Those micro fans are a god send, wish we had them back in the 80's. 'I we had they would have cost mor than a new PSU lol Even made my own PCB's with added over votage for the 5v line, by photo etching.on Quality glass fiber boards. I rarely needed to replace the PCB, unless someone had "had a go, I usually just repaired them replacing the reg with a higher rated version and adding the protection circuit." Probably still have the Orcad fires for it.on a Travan, syquest or similat tape lol
@av_oid
21 сағат бұрын
Personally I’d just put the new PCB inside a nice project box. Opening up the wedge seems like a great way to discover new cuss words!
@proteque
21 сағат бұрын
It is a bit of a hassle. But I have gone back to mic on a boom. I always forgot to charge.
@ajslim79
22 сағат бұрын
that ebay listing is not nline anymore, right?
@mrnmrn1
Күн бұрын
I'm planning to do something similar, but not quite like this. If you go that far to make a new PCB, you should add a crowbar for the 5V output. It's not guaranteed that the voltage of the switch mode regulator won't run away in the future. I will put a crowbar on the power supply board, so any C64 will be safe with it, and I will also put crowbars in my Commodores, so they will be safe with any power supply. That fan was probably unnecessary, but at least you used a good brand (Delta). Although I would run it from the unfiltered 5V, just in case the fan also generates noise (some of them do). The electrolytics included with the kit are horrible, I'd use some good brand from a reliable supplier instead.
@paszTube
Күн бұрын
Great project, I have several of these wedge power bricks which I don't dare to use with my C64. I will order some PCB kits for sure.
@paszTube
Күн бұрын
"This one unfortunately also snapped off" :')
@matthewsmithau
Күн бұрын
The splitting of the keyboard posts seems to be a common problem with the Vics - I have 5 now and most of them have 1-2 split. Great job on the repair!
@tenminutetokyo2643
Күн бұрын
You can also replace the 6522s with brand new ones from WDC for $10 each.
@kaitlyn__L
Күн бұрын
Wow, who knew a low battery made the mic sound like it was going through a slow ring mod! I wonder what's making it have that sound, surely it's not broadcasting in analogue and having the signal cut in and out? But seriously, I've seen others complain about the lack of beep, mainly due to recording segments without realising it's died and having no audio. They really need to make it beep every 5 minutes or so when it's got low battery. Much less annoying to cut-around or filter-out a brief moment with that beep, than to have screwed-up or entirely missing audio.
@DavidPlass
Күн бұрын
At 18:17 why did you say "no" after you replaced the 4066? It looked ok to me.
@daw7563
Күн бұрын
The TTL standard calls for 4.75-5.25 volts, so 5.2 volts at the source should be fine.
@rudder3084
Күн бұрын
well this vid got me subbed to be the 414th :V
@KallePihlajasaari
Күн бұрын
It should be simple enough to have a bit of circuit board material included in the PCB order that would fir neatly around the fan and close the gab between the board. Placing in a spot that has no components would prevent the air from looping back to the other side of the fan.
@JamesLewis
2 күн бұрын
Just a thought... I'm sure the fan works at 5v, but if you needed 12v, then the unregulated DC at the input of the regulator must be close to 12v.
@g4z-kb7ct
2 күн бұрын
If you really have to use a LM7805 type reg in a new design use a LM1084. It's 3A and runs a lot cooler. The LM7805 is maxing out at 1A and the C64 pulls about 800mA with a cart plugged in. The pinout matches the industry standard LM317 specification so it's not plug and play but can easily be used to replace a LM7805 just by bending the legs... basically what is sometimes done to use alternative transistors with same function but a different pinout.
@g4z-kb7ct
2 күн бұрын
You're a little bit late to the party haha! I made my own _proper_ drop-in replacement C64 switchmode PSU pcb in 2018. Drops straight into the original wedge design case, has a bunch of protections built in (overvoltage protection, short-circuit protection, thermal protection, over-current protection), is adjustable to any voltage you want, has a voltage saver circuit (adjustable trip point) if for some reason it does go over-voltage it'll trip a relay and basically runs 1000% better and is almost completely cold even under load. All for a build price of around $5 including the PCB. That's what you get with modern SMPS designs and all surface-mounted parts ;-)
@av_oid
21 сағат бұрын
Surface mount sounds nice! Still have your gerbers around? :) Did have made yours made by PCBway/JLC or solder them yourself?
@av_oid
20 сағат бұрын
And does your design use an LM7805 or switchmode for 5V?
@eliotmansfield
20 сағат бұрын
@@av_oidswitched mode power supply not surface mount power supply
@emmettturner9452
2 күн бұрын
I once froze a similarly-notorious Atari “ingot” PSU and chipped away at the potting. I feel it would have made the plastic more brittle where you needed to break it too.
@g4z-kb7ct
2 күн бұрын
They are easy to get apart. Heat it and the epoxy goes semi soft then chip it away with a small flat-bladed screwdriver just by pushing it in and twisting.
@emmettturner9452
2 күн бұрын
I was mostly doing it because someone on AtariAge claimed it was much too difficult to be worth salvaging the case and cords and I wanted to see for myself. Didn’t seem too bad. Once I had the bottom off and made a few chips off the potting material I got the rest to fall out as a giant frozen brick with a few cracks in it. Those cracks had propagated through one of the circuit boards so warming and chipping away would be better if you actually intend to service it. I just wanted the cords and shell to do my own “rebrick” PSU (modern switching PSU replacement hidden inside the old “brick”).
@DavidPlass
2 күн бұрын
Not sure how I got here, but I'm glad I stayed. I'm a fan of Lee's channel too, so it's like worlds colliding for me!
@randomblogger2835
2 күн бұрын
you should make a plug in that has a voltmeter - perhaps it plugs into the joystick socket.
@DecibelAlex
2 күн бұрын
in my country we call the psu a door stop, because of the shape and their reliability (which isn't that certain nowadays)
@ZaneDaMagicPufferDragon
2 күн бұрын
20 frustrating minutes later 😮what a disaster!!! Plus another 10 minutes oh geez 😮!!!
@envoycdx
2 күн бұрын
Love the comment to the mic company - worth pausing for :D 😄
@CRG-2
Күн бұрын
It's endlessly frustrating and in fact at other times in this video the audio also wasn't great. No idea why, the microphone is always clipped to my first in the same place. Just when the battery is low for some reason it has a mind of its own.
@envoycdx
Күн бұрын
@@CRG-2 It seems to be the decline of decent products and a lack of design thought going into things - most likely due to the throw away nature of most people. Hopefully, you get a response from the creators and a new feature update or something. Do mics even have a firmware?
@nukester.
2 күн бұрын
no reasons to measure AC side. That transformer will not be failing there. Especially not so that you would get more AC than what is in the specs.. Some multimeters will show lot higher AC-voltages than than 9V which it will be more or less be under load, and ppl get spooked unnecessarily when they thought that they do need to check that AC too :D
@g4z-kb7ct
2 күн бұрын
Yeah, those people would probably sh!t themselves if they saw how much the voltage is on the DC side of the bridge rectifier lol
@lis6502
3 күн бұрын
15:10 actually you'd be more than good if you would solder down this sucker to pcb. not only this would provide mechanical contact point but also help dissipate heat across whole pcb (which we want to). If i am already writing this comment i'd like also to notice that gluing cheap fans which are known for their reliability isn't the best idea.
@mrnmrn1
Күн бұрын
It's a Delta fan, one of the best brands, plus it's a 12V one running on 5V. It will last forever even if left plugged in. But it's probably isn't needed at all. Also if it would be needed, I would run it from the unfiltered 5V, so if any noise is generated by the fan, it won't pollute the filtered 5V rail.
@CRG-2
3 күн бұрын
eBay Listing www.ebay.co.uk/itm/176624647379 Just Giving Donation Link www.justgiving.com/page/mfmi2024
@allanpatterson7653
3 күн бұрын
I would use Buck regulator to convert to 2.5Volt above the target voltage to then feed the analog regulator of the original. I believe a 7805 requires 2.5 volt difference to output a clean 5 volt output. The original designers were wary of low line voltage and would rather burn some extra power rather than have a crash . I have seen 14 unreg DC used to power 5 volt lines at 2 amps approx.
@rah975
3 күн бұрын
If you take some heatshrink tubing and cover the probes, leaving only the very tips exposed, it'll help prevent accidentally shorting something.
@KarldorisLambley
3 күн бұрын
probes come like that often now. i always cut it off with a Stanley knife, i cant abide them getting stuck on things when im probing inside something.
@mrnmrn1
Күн бұрын
Lot of probes come with removable sleeves now, so you don't have to cut them off if you don't like it, just remove them, and put them back in the rare occasions when they are needed.
@renepedersen7141
3 күн бұрын
The new green capacitors look like some that I have bad experience with, they started bulgeing in my drawer. I hope they are not the same! I repair a lot of the old brown C64 PSU's, mostly just a cable or bad solder joints. When 5V voltage is too high, it's just a bad solder joint on the middle pin of the voltage regulator. Only once have I seen a shorted voltage regulator. Some are easy to break the bottom plate of, others are really hard, like the one you show. Nice touch with the screws, better than glue. I'll remember that next time :)
@educatedmanholecoverbyrich8890
3 күн бұрын
I'd put a crowbar protection on both the 9V and 5V rails.
@andygozzo72
3 күн бұрын
wire a 1N5339 zener across the 5v output,
@dennisp.2147
3 күн бұрын
They weren't great quality to begin with either. If you look in mid-80's computer magazines, there are dozens of different ads for aftermarket power supplies.
@koztech
3 күн бұрын
Tip for testing pins in a DIN connector: use a cocktail straw (or a regular one if need be) to separate the pins. I forget who I learned that from (some KZitemr for sure) but it's come in real handy in the past.
@ancipital
4 күн бұрын
Interesting - I'm slowly fixing my C64 that was killed by one of these PSUs (twice) in the 80s and going thru getting it working again, lots of chips to replace unfortunately it seems
@nukester.
2 күн бұрын
new working c64 would cost usually about 50$ ..50€.. sell the old one for 20$ to repairs guy Then never again try to use old PSU's on C64's.. Modify this kind of brick seen in the vid with some dc-dc -converter, (google: Fun afternoon project: mod your C64 PSU) or buy a brand new psu made with this new technology :D (~30-40$) imho so cheap that doing it your self from scratch is not worth it easily. modding is ofc most cheap route. if you insist on using old psu's, you must keep on checking for the voltage drift and know the limits. and / or use protection circuit between c64 and psu, can be bought and diy. I my self modified my old psu with new diodes, capacitor and by-passed old regulator with dc-dc -converter Aaand then also built crowbar-circuit to cut the supply if my modernized psu fails in a bad way =) (google: c64 saver ..to find the so called crowbar-circuits)
@robertsissco2439
4 күн бұрын
I got my first C64 a few years ago due to a pawn shop find. It still had the original PSU in it, and I knew of the 5 volt death line, but when I tested it with a multimeter I got 5v every time. I bought a new PSU from a seller in Poland the same day I brought this home, and have always purchased new PSU's for my Commodore devices. Now adays I buy from Ray Carlsen since I am in the US.
@andygozzo72
3 күн бұрын
just testing with a meter isnt good enough, you need to test it on load, and 'soak test' for half a hour or so , if the psu base is opened you'll likely find dry joints, that can cause the overvoltage if the ground of the regulator becomes disconnected, ..resolder , and maybe add a 1N5339 zener across the 5v output to clamp the voltage if an overvoltage does occur
@MrMaxeemum
4 күн бұрын
Daym. I did this for myself maybe 10 years ago, but never thought to document / open source it. The 7805s can fail short and do run hot under normal load, also the caps dry out leading to high ripple. The LM2576 is perfect for this application. Great work opening this up for others to use. I need to work on my internet work.
@andygozzo72
3 күн бұрын
never yet come across a 7805 short through, go 'noisy' or unstable, yes, i dont think they 'overheat' in these psus, i have two, one for a vic20, one for a plus4, they dont run THAT hot, both didnt work correctly, though, as is, but fault was obvious when bottom was opened, dry joints, once resoldered both worked ok, they can overvoltage if the input and output are still connected, but the ground pin disconnected by a dry joint ...as can be seen in the video, the diodes are the parts that get the hottest, changing them to schottky types should reduce dissipation, although i havent...yet...tried it with mine
@christianlarsen1070
4 күн бұрын
The wedge PSU came in many versions, including one with a power switch. There is also a version with two fuses. I can’t recall is there is a version without fuses as well.
@FireballXL55
4 күн бұрын
TTL IC's like to have above 4.75V so it was a bit close before you adjusted it.
@colincurrie9151
4 күн бұрын
That's a nice way to save them old power bricks. Great job 👍
@christophero1969
5 күн бұрын
Should have left the boost in.
@chaoticsystem2211
5 күн бұрын
I wonder how many dinosaurs had to give their lives because commodore couldn't be arsed to fit a switch at the spot where a sane person would... Putting one after the transformer would not have made them fold a day earlier. At least it has two indicators now :D
@GermanMythbuster
5 күн бұрын
If you really wanted you could fit such a PSU nowadays in a matchbox sized format. I mean the whole one form AC to DC
@g4z-kb7ct
2 күн бұрын
Yeah I did it back in 2018. There are a few mini psu designs out there, for example one for the Sega Dreamcast and one called a Pico PSU or something.
@oddball_the_blue
5 күн бұрын
I still remember when my Dad built a new PSU out of a server PSU for my Amiga. Now that was a proper power supply made to run 24/7 - 365 days of the year.. for at least 10 years.
@Snowsea-gs4wu
Күн бұрын
My Amiga 500 PSU failed within 6 months and they were never able to repair it successfully! They would repair it, give it back to me and after a couple of days (or weeks) it would go BZZZZZ again, this happened on and on for a few months and I eventually got fed up and didn’t use the Amiga again until I could get a new PSU for it which unfortunately took longer than I expected. Finally, I think was about a year, I got a new PSU and it worked fine until I sold it to get a new PC! Thanks for the comment, in hindsight I should have gotten a generic PC PSU and rewired it using the cable from the old PSU.
@drphilxr
5 күн бұрын
The fan is a nice touch, but why o why no heat sink on the voltage regulator? (overkill, i know)
@root42
4 күн бұрын
I think the top side of the PCB is mostly copper. So that acts as a heat sink.
@CRG-2
4 күн бұрын
I don't think those switching regulators generate much heat. Certainly nothing like the heat of the old linear regulators.
@____________________________.x
Күн бұрын
I think the fan is the only point of failure now 😬 having just upgraded my computer there was a fair amount of dust on the fans. But for the use case it’s fine and a nice retro build 👍
@miked4377
6 күн бұрын
great job glenn....after that tough wrestling match you had with that thing!you fixed it up nicely..well done!!
@CRG-2
5 күн бұрын
Thanks Mike, it was quite the wrestling match but worked out well in the end.
@tenminutetokyo2643
6 күн бұрын
And there’s a seller in Poland who makes brand new replacements for $50 with a power switch.
@CRG-2
5 күн бұрын
Thanks for the info. A new psu is great but I wanted an original to go with the vic20 and this seemed like a good option at an affordable price.
@minombredepila1580
6 күн бұрын
Amazing video as always. I recommend you should use a small piece of shrinking tube when testing the connector pins. Just put it in the pin and stick the multimeter probe inside.
@CRG-2
5 күн бұрын
That's a good idea, I'll have to remember it first next time.
@djgarf1210
6 күн бұрын
the insides of those psu's are truly shocking made so cheap and not exactly safe either
@andygozzo72
3 күн бұрын
no, theyre perfectly 'safe', theres no way mains can get through to the output
@mrnmrn1
Күн бұрын
@@andygozzo72 But not quite safe for the machine. Commodore should've designed a 5V SCR crowbar on the motherboard of their machines.
@andygozzo72
20 сағат бұрын
@@mrnmrn1 all is needed is a reasonably high power zener, a 1N5339 would likely do
@mrnmrn1
18 сағат бұрын
@@andygozzo72 A zener was better than nothing 40 years ago, nowadays a TVS diode would be the minimum for such valuable and obscure components, their breakdown is a lot steeper and faster. But for maximum safety, an SCR crowbar with a TL431 reference would be the ultimate. These old MOS chips are very fragile, a simple zener/TVS clamp is not fast enough and not accurate enough. In order to prevent clamping under normal conditions, you have to set those to 6+ volts, and it can result in a 7+V pulse getting through when the regulator fails. An SCR crowbar with a good reference can be dialed in very accurately, you can set it very close to the nominal voltage without false triggering.
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