What power strips do you guys recommend for retro consoles?

Am I the only one who doesn't trust stepdown converters to be plugged in 24/7? I've bought really expensive ones locally but the little ones for older consoles.. I mean, I'm sure "PengTeng" have some great people working for them but I just don't trust it. I tend to do what omp has done and make my own. Only problem there is I haven't been able to find the connector for the US SNES without actually buying a PSU.

Rob Webb has a 240v US SNES power pack http://www.robwebb1.plus.com/snes/snes_hard.htm but since you've bought the official then that's trivial I guess.

 

I use this:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FBRQZG/ref=gno_cart_title_3
10 outlets, all wide-spaced. The cord is comically long though, so you'll have to keep it tied up.

 

It's quite compact for 11 outlet. Check on the website the dimension are listed.
On the back their is holes to hang it on the top of screw head.

What I've done is to hang it on the back of my TV stand.

Pictures is bad but it's a view from over my TV stand, you can see the first row of wall adapter behind the cable mess

 

I use these and they rock. (maestro power bar)
-10 Outlet/bar
-Big power blocks do not obstruct each other
-Surge protection
-Noise filter for cleaner AC current.
-Can be wall mounted.
-About 70$ CAD ( locally )

 

Fire hazard?

 

That's a nice one too! Total cost including shipping it from Amazon (surprisingly, they'll ship it to me) will cost about the same as the APC strip that DarthCloud linked me to. While the Waber By Tripp Lite does have one less outlet, all of them are able to take a transformer, while the APC will only take 6 of them. This sounds more useful to me. How else do the two compare? I know that APC has insurance, but that's probably invalid if you live outside the states. They both protect against surges, but I can't see any mention of the Waber having noise filtering, while the APC does.

MaxWar: Thanks for the info, but that one sounds kinda pricy

 

actually theres a simple solution
get a $50 US/JPN surge protector and ONE AU to US/JPN plug adapter/220-110 transformer
plug the surge protector into that

and then get a bunch ofPC power supply cable/short 3 prong extension cords
and plug all your devices into that youll never have to deal with honking transformers ever again

 

And sometimes not covered by insurance. They will refuse if you plugged in too many power strips or too many cables at once.

I had an electrician install multiple outlets. There's power strips (standard stuff) in each of it and labelled so I can turn on only what I need for playing. One strip has Atari 2600/5200/7800 plugged in, one has Colecovision (with big ass brick), Intellivision, and Odyssey^2 plugged in, etc. Only one strip is on 24/7 the one with my TV, BD player, VCR (for tapes that aren't released in DVD or BD format), and sound system.

I figure I'd have spent over $20 a month if I had every game consoles plugged in and left on 24/7 even if the consoles aren't on. The design issue of having AC transformer plugged into mains with no switch. I modified Intellivision so the switch cuts off the main 110v side, not the lower power side. Intellivision is the only "old" console that can be done this way.

 

It depends on the wiring in your house and what exactly you have going through each circuit. And also the power strip you have. If you have a good circuit breaker, good wiring, and the power strip is of good quality I wouldn't worry about burning the house down. The problem is, do you really know the answers to those questions? A lot of homes are older or designed poorly for modern times and you really could have a risk of a fire.

As wilykat said, even when the consoles are off their power supply boxes are still working. They still draw power, generate heat, cost you money. I think the AVGN has a number of power strips and uses their switches to turn on only what he needs powered at that time. That is not a terrible solution when you don't have access to where ever you are routing all your power boxes. In my setup it's very easy for me to plug in and unplug everything so I leave it all unplugged when not in use. Anyway, lets hope no one's house burns down.

 

The Waber is unfiltered so that you can attach your own filtering further up the chain. I just plug mine right into the wall though.

 

Wow, you really get what you pay for with that thing. A little pricey yes, but it seems well worth it to me. The closest I have to that is a bar with 8 outlets, two coax, two phone and two ethernet jacks.

 

Hmmm, to be on the safe side (and to prevent having to plug in yet another gizmo), I think the APC would be better. This still leaves me with two spare transformer outlets, though I can't think of too many more retro consoles I want. MAYBE the 32X and PC Engine, which both use a bulky transformer. And even if I got a 3rd console, I can always use one of those liberator cables on one of the small outlets.

 

I do not use a step down converter. I've replaced all power supplies for my Japanese systems with European psu's. It's easier to setup and good psu's usually consume less power and generate less heat.

If you buy new power strips or power supplies check out the labels. There should be at least a CE label. Labels, like CE, TüV, GSA and so on, confirm that the device is secure.

A power strip should also have a power switch and a surge protection. There should be an additional led on the power strip which shows if the surge protection is still working.

 

This is the best thing you can get:

http://www.teptronics.com/psb9.html



That way you only power up the console you will use.

 

Before clicking the link I thought that thing would cost way more... LOL! shame on me!