Quick atari 2600 power supply question

I have a 12v unregulated power supply, as I recall rated 1-1.5A, it was for some netgear router which has long since died. It's the wrong polarity to be used for any consoles but I do have a spare 3.5" plug like the atari 2600 uses for power, so my question is, would the atari 2600 work with this power supply without killing anything or should I just reverse the polarity and keep it as a spare for my megadrives/master systems?

 

i have a 2600 JNR that needs a power supply and this info would also be of interest to me, not sure exactly what the 2600 power requirements are and if its the same across all models

 

Well I believe that the jr is supposed to have 9V, 500ma and I think that the requirements are the same for all of them, but perhaps the older ones have a larger current draw? I'm not sure, regardless I have just been using an adjustable 1A psu for the last couple of years. Recently I've been trying to make sure that I have an individual set of cables for each and every console I own.

 

it is 9v 500ma for 2600. Some early 2600 console came with 300ma power supply, it wouldn't work well with some accessories or fancy game cart.

 

Wasn't it you who was being super anal the other day about using the right PSU for devices?

All Atari 2600 consoles used 9V 500mA, although the draw for running a game was 250mA. They have 7805 regulators but personally, I wouldn't plug a 12V unregulated PSU into it. Up to you, though.

 

haha yes it was me
I was just curious if it would do the trick for selling it really, in the end I found a 9V supply to hack up so it wasn't an issue

 

You could also replace the phono style socket on 2600 (and 7800 as it used non standard plug) with barrel socket that can use the dirt-common genesis/Mega Drive adapters.

I never liked the phono style plug for power, if you have adapter plugged into the mains, then you plug it into the console you get a little spark as the metal tab inside makes brief short between 2 contacts. If the plug came loose (a cat or a 2 year old kid), and ends up stuck in shorted out position, the power supply can eventually burn out. Barrel style connector doesn't make that kind of short.

 

Phono?! Surely it was a 3.5mm jack? That's not phono.

 

Yeah, it's a 3.5 mm jack.

 

Yeah, keep an eye on your definitions there, wilykat. Note the one on the left is phono, whilst the one on the right is 3.5mm mono.

 

To be fair, some people call the 3.5 mini "mini phono" or similar, and phono (larger version of the 3.5 mini) are also called that back in the old day when headset and microphone used that. The other phono used for video, I usually hear referred as RCA plug around my part. I guess it's another case of difference in language usage. Even I have trouble understanding other American that lives more than 2 states away.

Tomato, tomahto, potato, potatoe, etc.

 

No, it's a question of people getting it wrong

The larger version of the 3.5mm connector is also not called phono, it's a quarter inch jack. In America, it was once called a phone plug, but it's not used in the telephone industry any more and shouldn't really be called that - if only to avoid confusion. You might hear it called a TRS plug in its stereo configuration by sound engineers.

RCA jack is a correct terminology for the phono connector, albeit only used in America, as they were invented by RCA for use in their PHONOgraph equipment. Guess where phono came from

 

I've always known the larger version of the 3.5mm jack to be a 6.5mm jack. :wink-new:
Oh metric, I love you so! :love-struck:

Edit: Wasn't aware of the history behind it all though, the knowledge is mine now! Muhahaha!

 

+1

I used to know most of the equivalent drill bit sizes of the top of my head when I was working in the trades, really got to think about it now.....

 

6mm drill bits make good holes in the back of Mega Drive 2s... Errr using a concrete bit is not recommended though... :livid:

 

They are 6.35mm to Aussies

 

Haha, I don't think I've owned anything with a 6.35mm jack on it... You can have all the 6.35mm plugs we have down here if you want! :wink-new:

 

Well, considering a 6.5mm plug won't fit anything....

 

It will if you drill out the socket to 6.5mm! :wink-new:
Do you really think I only have one 6.0mm bit?
I'm sure I've got a 6.5mm as well! :congratulatory:

 

Fit, yes. Work, not so much if you've drilled out the conductive surface