Atari XL/XE Power Supply Rebuild

[@erinwiebe7026]

I really like how clean this mod turned out! It works well and retains the original look. The illuminated power switch is a nice touch too. It looks like it's always been there!

[@SaintKaede]

Deshalb macht dieses Hobby Spaß, man kann Dinge von Grund auf neu machen und hofft, dass nichts in die Luft sprengt. Es tut mir leid, dass ich in letzter Zeit geschwiegen habe, aber ich bin immer noch bei Ihnen und hoffe, dass ich in Zukunft etwas beitragen kann. Danke Jan! Also I love it when a plan comes together, great A-team reference.

[@oodaloopc9725]

My favorite part was the application of “the right amount of force.”

[@Jimbaloidatron]

Mean Well Model GST18A05-P1J (5v, 3A, 15W) comes in a moulded plastic case if you do not care to re-use, or don't have, the original Atari power supply housing. That the Atari only needs 5v DC makes it about the easiest retro system to sort out with a new power supply. Always fun to watch Jan building things though. 😁

[@jdryyz]

Wow, your epoxy brick came out sooo much easier than mine. I was tossing mine around quite a bit and then had to resort to removing bits at a time to get it out. This was a C= brick. Surprisingly, the plastic case still survived. Incidentally, I had no idea Atari used this epoxy method also.

[@jameslewis2635]

Nice mod. It feels so much better when the replaced/renewed PSU looks like it's from the same age as the system it powers.

[@JanBeta]

Yes, I’m really happy with how it turned out! :)

[@Kboyer36]

I greatly appreciate the effort that went into making this. The one I made was just a 5v 2A phone charger and a 5 pin midi cable that I cut up and soldered together. It works but this is so much nicer looking.

[@PJBonoVox]

Whatever does the job, man.

[@drosselmeier]

Мои поздравления)) У меня такая проблема была в 1988-89 году. Сгорел PSU моего Atari 65XE. Нашел подходящий по параметрам и размерам трансформатор от Siemens, стабилизатор мощный серии 7805, в металлическом корпусе. Все залил эпоксидной смолой.

[@bitoxic]

Jan Beta... regarding your concern with the retrobright job on the keycaps... I too had a bad experience but I managed to fix the key caps by rubbing them with 1000 grit wet sand paper and then buff and polish each key with a nail buffer pad to bring the shine back. It took time... but learnt my lesson not to be too excessive with hydrogen peroxide!

[@80sSumpy]

Great video, thanks for making and posting it. May I be so bold as to share a little tip, when de-burring holes (especially in aluminium) rather than sand paper, use a drill bit larger than the hole to be de-burred and twist it with just your fingers and the hole will be de-burred and flush with no damage to the surrounding surface. Please don't take this as a criticism, it certainly isn't my intention as I think you have made a really neat job of this brick.

[@PJBonoVox]

My other tip would be not to wipe away the shavings with your bare hands. You get one of those embedded in your finger you'll soon know about it. (Ask me how I know etc)

[@MegaManNeo]

It's always good to see people improving the PSUs and other hardware for old home computers. Bleib gesund und pass Dich auf, jetzt wo es wieder schlimmer wird.

[@MindFlareRetro]

Nice one. The case opened and the epoxy chunk popped out a lot easier than I thought it would. And that Mean Well PSU is perfect. Great work. Oh! Congrats on the Skillshare sponsorship, too!!!

[@BrunoDPO]

What a nice idea! Now that SepTandy exists, it would be great to have OctAri, and even DeCommodore. 😊

[@gertsy2000]

Very nice Jan Beta. Great looking power supply.

[@RaamahRaamah]

To smooth out the sharp edges of drilled holes I usually just grab a drill bit that's a bit larger and spin it around by hand to round over the edges, no sanding needed 👍

[@travishein]

I like that idea about taping the thing to a cardboard and using a hole finding tool. This looks so useful. I have been using calipers and measuring. or tracing around the the object and guessing. and using paper. Thank you for the video.

[@tstahlfsu]

"It wouldn't be a Jan Beta video without some sort of hack job" haha -- makes the videos even better. Great content :-)

[@redhawk668]

I’ve used a Raspberry Pi power supply, I cut off the USB connector and fitted a DIN plug on it. Works great, and provides 2,5 amps, should be enough.

[@Even-Steven]

Shuriken, lol! That came out perfect, and I love that illuminated switch, it looks like it belongs there naturally.

[@kevodowd5282]

I like the way you catered for British and American by using both languages to pronounce aluminium correctly!

[@rager1969]

It's easy to get discouraged when projects don't work out so it's good to have a win like this.

[@buffalodebill1976]

That power supply is indeed one of the first models.. The newer (and slightly more reliable ones) was longer with rounded edges on the top and more pronounced 'ribs' (oriented the other way) to ventilate the heat - and most importantly, could be disassembled using a screwdriver. But from personal experience I think I can state that they still sucked - and indeed, it fried my Atari on one occasion. Luckily, back in the day, a friend of mine built a custom one for me, that worked perfectly.

[@RobA500]

Nice upgrade you did there, it’s great you were able to reuse the case to give it that authentic look.👍

[@tweakpc]

Finally someone 🥳 I find it annoying when people use power supplies from the IT stone age on current PCs. With systems from the 80s, a repair in the last 10 years was quite reasonable. Maybe even today, when they need -5 and -12V lines. But with simpler systems, there are cheap and simple options for replacements. so thanks for the Video. BR Thomas

[@MrWaalkman]

Cough kzbin.info/www/bejne/oILMc3uppbGqnMk Cough. Some of us have been here already. :)

[@xeeleeuniversum]

Seeing flexible wires squeezed into a screw terminal without wire end ferrules makes me cry and my eyes get filled all the broken and loose cooper filaments... Or as Bruce the shark would say: Wire end ferrules are friends not food. ;)

[@daskarman]

Clone of the death brick for the c64 Cool video Jan !

[@HeyBirt]

Achtari Baby! Nice job with the aluminum plate.

[@xtraOhrdiNAIR]

nice to see you, too in here ✌️

[@theretrogeek2281]

Nice built,thanks for the info I would have cut small vents on the side between the fins,with a dremel tool disc for vents,other then that perfect.

[@PaulinesPastimes]

That is brilliant. Love it. Thanks for taking me back to a 1980 video game table with Pacman too 😊. Cheers

[@MrWaalkman]

Outstanding job Jan!

[@yorgle11]

From what I've read, it seems the primary danger in the original Atari PSUs isn't the linear 7805 regulators, it's that some of them (maybe all?) use a bias resistor to tweak the voltage slightly higher than 5V. They did that to compensate for voltage drop through the cord. When that resistor fails, it has the effect of sending the bias way too high and causing overvoltage. But in that scenario the 7805 isn't at fault, it's just responding to the circuit. I believe 7805s usually fail safely, and the real problem is that resistor. Due to the design, a failure of that resistor makes the unit destructive. It would probably be better if these computers had an internal 7805 to do the final regulation, as is typical in many game consoles. Then they could just feed it ~8-10V and the exact voltage wouldn't be critical. The downside would be they'd have to vent more heat out of the case.

[@suadcokljat1045]

Good work. Cheers!

[@stephenbruce8320]

Nice! Meanwell has a wide range of supplies you can use for many Retro PSU's and they are reasonably priced. Nice to see you showing people how to put a PSU together those old PSU's are not worth using. I have draws full of old Commodore PSU's I never use and have replaced them with newer more modern and reliable supplies.

[@siriokds]

Great job!

[@michaelstoliker971]

There's a pokey thing in the Atari too.

[@jmboyd78]

Perfect video to go with my Coffee :) The time stamps are also very handy.

[@mheermance]

Nicely done.

[@TRONMAGNUM2099]

Good Job!

[@marcinkrupinski3782]

Atari power!

[@Jimbaloidatron]

Power without the price!

[@andrewclegg9501]

I always use the Cisco/Liteon 5V 3A PSUs that turn up on UK ebay, cheap, and good quality. Although I wish I'd kept the 600XL PSU and put one of these supplies inside it now. Good job.

[@VioletGiraffe]

In absence of a proper counter-sinking tool, I find it best to clean up residue on both sides of a hole you just drilled using a much larger diameter drill bit. Just by hand, do a couple rotations with the large drill bit and the result will be great if as long as the bit is not too dull.

[@JanBeta]

Yes, makes sense. I do that sometimes, other times I forget about that trick when I'm in the middle of a build like this. :)

[@rossdag4232]

i love these vids breaks the bore days hi jan

[@coryengel]

+10 points for “shuriken”

[@MrVasile]

Beautiful job!

[@TPau65]

Very (Mean)well made solution! 👍

[@nikicamalezic5388]

Earth connection is only necessary if you have metal case. For plastic housing is not necessary.

[@HuntersMoon78]

My favourite 8-Bit Atari computer, 2nd is of the 16 Bit era - the Atari ST

[@DaveVelociraptor]

Great video. This will help me with the potted C64 PSU that a kind person sent me - I've still to get around to fitting a modern one in!

[@danielmantione]

Be warned that a C64 PSU has the right plug, but is not compatible and will *destroy* the computer. I am using my C64 power supply to power my Atari 800XL, though, but with a converter cable.

[@DaveVelociraptor]

@@danielmantione Oh it's going to be used on a C64 :)

[@Brettski777]

Another good job well done. Thanks for posting the Vid. All the best :-)

[@angrydove4067]

Nice job, looks factory with a lit switch. But you should add a spring driven center punch to your arsenal for marking the holes to drill, you won't regret it. I'm surprised you don't have more subscribers.

[@MrFireSpy]

Great video Jan, I finally acquired a C-64C and have been cleaning it up, it doesn't work of course, bad RAM according to the dead test cartridge, I have ordered some replacements and hopefully it will fix it.. NExt I will try to get a plus 4, but those seem to be really expensive.. anyway, you've inspired me.. thanks :)

[@EC5ABG]

Buen trabajo👍!!

[@dennisp.2147]

You could have removed the old strain relief from the original mains cable and used that for the ultra-stealth look. But a good re-use of the old brick!

[@0toleranz]

Oh yeah - #octari - make that a thing - btw the lamp in the switch is most likely a gas-discharge-bulb, there are low voltage switches with LEDs too - they have 4 terminals.

[@robbyxp1]

I bought a cheap wall adaptor for the 800XL, which worked, until you tried to send the video signal thru and upscaler. Then you got very nasty interference. I looked on a scope and the switching noise was awful on it. Lesson learnt, went to Farnell, bought a proper one with much lower switching noise. Beware what cheap power supplies can do to old computers.

[@xtraOhrdiNAIR]

Instead of using electrical tape use nail polish , i used them as an insolator back in the days to overclock Pentium slot CPUs when electape didnt stick over time, it is also heat resistant and doesnt shrink on heat

[@andreashuber332]

Great Work ! I like your channel

[@SHGRetro]

Top job Jan!

[@manitobanmisanthrope2495]

Thanks for the video. I have a couple of Atari power supplies like this that will be needing a rebuild. I probably won't be including a switch on the supply. Rather than cutting the mains cord, I plan on installing an IEC plug into each one. I will likely be referring back to the video several times before I'm done. I'm also curious if connecting pin 2 (shield) of the DIN to ground would help with any possible noise in the line.

[@andreiciora2765]

Cool.

[@necro_ware]

"Wouldn't be Jan Beta video..." - hilarious :D

[@douro20]

The first few models of superheterodyne radio receivers RCA made had the electronics packed in rosin (or Kolophonium as they call it in German).

[@gmirwin]

21:11 Re: the light inside the switch. In the US, an illuminated switch is called a Pilot Light Switch (I suppose because it guides you to the switch, not to be confused with a pilot light on a gas burning furnace). I don't know if other Anglophone countries use the same term. Or were you talking about the lamp itself?

[@theannoyedmrfloyd3998]

I'm lucky in my 800XL power supply is held together by screws and I can open it up and replace components. So far I've replaced the 7805 regulator twice, and I use a cooling fan on it. Haven't plugged it in for 17 years so hopefully it will work. Surely there's a way to bake the epoxy brick or dig it out.

[@andygozzo72]

why did you replace it twice?

[@eddiehimself]

The "pokey thing" is called an awl in English lol.

[@KolliRail]

Actually the 'pokey thing' is already inside the Atari. ;-)

[@Doug_in_NC]

And not just because you use it awl of the time

[@UReasonIt]

The Hi-Link HLK-20M05 is also a good 5v replacement for retros.

[@awilliams1701]

The cheap POS DIN cable I bought for my C64 sucks and doesn't carry enough current. I'm going to replace it with the DIN cable from a black brick of death (I'll get one off ebay). The wires are just too thin. However.....if you can alternate ground and 5V on the atari then it might actually be perfectly fine for this type of application.

[@rossdag4232]

well done very proffesional good one when is eprom coming maybe ? thanks bye

[@mark12358]

Do those switching psu have high ripple? Could they really damage the board? Cheers, M

[@spgilmorespgilmore]

I would have been interested to see if the corkscrew would work to get the resin block out. Did you try it?

[@godslayer1415]

are Dremel type tools not available in your area?

[@robbiew73]

I think it's supposed to be Jantari in January :)

[@Chris_Adams1]

I have a commodore Plus 4. I need a power supply for it. Do you think I could use a meanwell in place? I know I would have to find a square plug but trying to think this out.

[@bufordmaddogtannen]

For the love of God, buy a spatula. 🤣😂 8:42 "I'm just going to cut these standoff things. Maybe I'm going to regret this later..." Like 5 minutes later when he realized he needed standoffs for the aluminium plate? 😁

[@petrok1rp254]

Another source of switching noise source into house in this solution. All my linear PSU are working well without any issues... No way to get switching PSU to my house.

[@pvc988]

I always wondered what was the point of potting whole PSUs in resin. It makes sense for high voltage and/or precision stuff, but here?

[@CezaryAkakios]

It might help with large components acting like diving boards during shipping and shaking loose, although that can be minimized with the usual application of silicone adhesive or hot melt glue. It also might be a liability issue, since it's harder for a kid to take apart and touch live mains. Perhaps it also offers some amount of fire suppression if one of the components failed or there was a lightning strike. Since the transformer needed for a linear power supply was already heavy, I suppose they figured it wasn't adding too much additional weight and if it reduced product returns or lawsuits it would be worth it.

[@PJBonoVox]

What was the original purpose of the potting? Safety?

[@danielmantione]

Transformers can make noise due to vibrations. The potting prevents the transformer to vibrate and thus makes the PSU silent. It also conducts the heat that the transformer generates to the plastic case.

[@MrWaalkman]

Just to show that they were serious when they said that there were "No user serviceable parts inside".

[@ledinjo]

Again, nice documentation of Future prooving Retro Computer. But, at least for the German electrical side of view, i have two cons. 1st: For our German plugs, it is possible to put it in two directions into the socket (0° and 180°). If you use a 1 Pole Switch, it is possible to always have the line on the Power Supply. You also added protective earth to the Supply. If it is always plugged in the socket, you have a potential fire place in case of a fault. Also, the Power Supply you use is meant to put line on line and neutral on neutral. Not mixed. It works, but is not designed for it. Using a 2 Pole Switch make it safer, because it turns off both contacts of the electrical connections. For the mixing of line and neutral, using a different Supply may be better. 2nd: I don't know how clean the DC Voltage is. On old Computer, it can cause a noisy Video Signal more or less. I don't know the english therm. Search for "Restwelligkeit". Look for high frequency wobbeling at around 4khz. This is the switching frequency for this Type of Supply. Just in case, you have this Problem. Maybe check it under load with the oscilloscope. I had this Problem with my Atari 2600 Junior. Also with a Roland EPiano that was verry noisy.

[@danielmantione]

For (1) these power supplyes typically use a mains filter followed by a bridge rectifier, i.e. the schematic is symmetric so, mixing line and neutral should be no problem. I see nothing in the datasheet of the RS-15-5 that would make me conclude otherwise. A 2 pole switch is always safer, but a defect that causes a current big enough to start a fire, but small enough not to trigger the fuse in the power supply is rather unlikely. For (2), you can use switching power supplies for these computers, I do this all the time and it is tried and tested.

[@Markchill2]

be careful the wire does not overheat on the not

[@KolliRail]

Well done! But this original power brick takes up a lot of space. I think I'll go on using smartphone chargers for that purpose. :-)

[@michaelstoliker971]

I see you decided to do Octari after all. Need to make this a yearly thing #Octari

[@douro20]

What does the sign above his computer say?

[@KrautRockt]

grüße eine frage zum Atai800. ich hab einfach ein usb netzteil genommen. bist jetzt geht das. fragt sich ob das mit modulen noch klappt. was denkst du?..🙂 lg und super video...!

[@JanBeta]

So lange das USB-Netzteil genug Saft hat (sprich Ampere), gibt es da keine Probleme. Die meisten Standardteile haben heutzutage glaube ich so um die 2A, das reicht für den Atari und Module etc auf jeden Fall. Und das gute ist, dass ordentliche moderne Netzteile meistens so konstruiert sind, dass sie in einen Failsafe-Modus gehen, wenn sie überlastet werden, und einfach den Ausgang abschalten. Also keine akute Gefahr für den Atari.

[@talideon]

So... tandead?

[@redherring3110]

I like the beard 👍

[@33ordie]

Maybe that was a fun project to rebuild this brick. But you coul dhave taken a USB wire and put an adapter to the back, it's simple 5 Volts power and it would have worked without that brick. :)

[@JanBeta]

I know (and I made a USB cable to power the Atari in the meantime, too)! I kind of wanted to keep the original look and feel. And of course the tinkering. :)

[@opentheskyy7]

How big are those standoffs? HC-5/6/8/9/11/13 ?

[@JanBeta]

The standoffs are for 3mm holes, not sure which height they are (bought them for cheap ages ago).

[@opentheskyy7]

@@JanBeta Thanx! I've just found that on Amazon they have packages with mixed sizes.

[@Berend70]

I'm not a expert at all? What a joke ... but off course PS are a bit dangerous. Be carefull. Keep up the good work Jan!

[@cheetahspot]

What a nice block of cheese :)

[@BrixTalk]

hi, der Bohrer war nicht vebogen, Du hast ihn nur falsch eingespannt ;)

[@LovelyAlanna]

please don't scare me, my atari xe is one of the only treasures I have, I need it to keep working for the ages

[@edwincotton1516]

Over Kill, zugenlastung!

[@edwincotton1516]

Please do not forget VDE

[@fragalot]

Interesting.. the PSU my Atari 800XL came with is much larger and has matching vent holes on it like all XL computers have (and the 1050) except it's all back and it's not potted inside. You can see it pictured here (the top one) www.best-electronics-ca.com/XL_XE%20Power%20Supplies%203.jpg The power bricks for all my other Atari devices are smaller potted bricks like the one in the image at the bottom right. I do live in America so that's probably why it's very different than the one you have.

[@kcinplatinumgaming2598]

lol most of the weight is the resin lol i baked you a resin pie like a block of spam :D

[@SimonZerafa]

For more information on the Lineman's Splice here is an educational video from WW II 😀 -> kzbin.info/www/bejne/jniyapeYpMinocU

[@atatu4551]

'amelinium' plate

[@SimonQuigley]

Not wanting to be negative, especially since you ended up with a good result, but I'm just wondering why there was a lot of extra effort and work over engineering done which could have been avoided.. Sure, it's fun to do it though :-) You didn't really need the metal plate, you could have just used some double sided tape to attach the PSU to the lid (or base, depending on how you want to refer to it) of the box, which is basically how you ended up attaching it anyway, after replacing the pegs/pins that you already cut off, and then just stuck new ones on? You could have used the original supply cord, because a plastic box really doesn't need to be earthed/grounded, especially when even if it was to catastrophically fault, and somehow cause the ground or 5v connection on the low voltage side to go live, the Atari itself is just another plastic box (though maybe if it wasn't plugged into the Atari and a fault was to occur causing the live to short to ground, a GFI/GFCI may save the Atari from getting fried). Also, the scratching/cutting of the lines you made in the aluminium (I want :-) ) to help it bend/snap is called "scoring". Please take this comment as constructive criticism. I very much enjoyed watching the video, and your work.

[@richardblack5710]

Video on how to get the resin out of the case. Commodore 64 "Re-Brick" Part 1 kzbin.info/www/bejne/fJbNkGaOl9qZiKM

[@andreasu.3546]

This well ain't nice, it's a MEAN well!

[@Bedfford]

That pesky resin haha. In my country these bricks are well know as Atari Killers. I use a single and standard ATX PSU to power all my Atari 8bit devices, including the 5.25 disk drivers (with 12v mod). Bye!