Colecovision Power Supply- Where to buy parts

[Zrooney]

It seems I have wandered back to these boards again, and as usual I need some assistance.  I have a Colecovision but the Power Supply is el crapo.  The wire that is supped to give 12 volts is only giving out 8.  I think I need to buy a new transistor, TIP41A.  But I cant seem to find them besides ebay for 5 dollars a pop.  Is there anyway I can get the TIP41A transistors cheaper, or just suck it up and buy from EBay.  Seeing as I  not quite well versed in these older consoles as some, I am replacing the correct part, and not some part that does not need to be replaced?  As always, any help is greatly appreciated as the internet seems to be pretty blank when it comes to CollecoVision
Power supply repair.

[SavannahLion]

Try digikey.com or mouser.com. I know there's a couple of others, especially if you're overseas, but I can never remember their URL's off the top of my head.

I just checked digikey and the first three are under $1 for a quantity of 1. If you're willing to buy 1,800 of 'em, you can get them for a quarter each.

Warning: I have done nothing to research the TIP41A in the Coleco PSU nor any research on whether this is actually what you need. It's up to you to determine if this is the correct replacement for what you need. In short, read the data sheet.

[ChadTower]

Do you actually mean the wall wart?  Be sure to check that.  I have seem more than a couple bad ColecoVision wall warts.  Even sometimes when it's good the female connector inside the plug is broken or so loose it's not connecting well enough.

[Zrooney]

Yes, It is the Wall Wart.  Noob Question: But How would I make sure the female connector is making good connection?

[ChadTower]

Where are you taking your measurements?  Try getting them right at the female plug without the console.  Stick the test leads right into the female pins.  This is off the top of my head, and I know the voltages are right, but the pins may not be.  Every time I have tested one as bad it hasn't been zero.  It has been something like +4.5 instead of +5.

pin 1     +5v     
Pin 2     -5V     
Pin 3     +12V     
Pin 4     ground

Make sure those voltages are all at least the stated value.  If they aren't then you have a bad wall wart.  If they are, then the next thing to check on a CV is the power switch.  Those are almost always wonky but are fixable.  Then the reset switch.  Ensuring those three things are all good will fix most ColecoVisions in my experience.

[Zrooney]

Sorry for the late reply Chad.  I checked the wall wart straight from the female leads and I am still getting +12V on Pin 3.  So should I replace the Transistor, or is there something else I should check first? Thanks for your help so far!

[ChadTower]

Next connect the power supply and then check the voltage just after the socket.  That will show you whether or not the female plug is making good enough contact.  You can keep moving forward, part by part, as far as you want.

Also suspect your power switch.  Those are always filthy on a ColecoVision and cleaning them up can make a world of difference.

[Zrooney]

I looked at the last post Chad and I had a blonde moment. I typed "I have 12+ volts" But in reality I have 10 Volts coming out of that lead, so I know the wall wart is the problem.  Do you think changing the transistor as previously stated would do the trick, or something else?

[ChadTower]

If you only have 10 volts coming off of the 12v pin on the wall wart then nothing you do to the console is going to make any difference.  The wall wart is not serviceable.  Replace it.

Maybe the only chance you have there is to really play with that 12v pin and your test lead.  Sometimes the problem is really that the female pin is cracked.  Take the test lead and poke it around in there to see if the reading jumps to 12v.  If not, cut the female plug off, strip the wires, and test it again.  You're going to throw it away anyway, right?  If you do get 12v there then you have some things you can do to still use that wall wart if you'd rather use it than replace it.

[Zrooney]

Thanks for your speedy reply Chad.  Seeing as any more money I put into this project I will not get back and seeing as the wall wart is crap and can not be fixed, I may just sell the unit as is.  Thanks for your time Chad.  Look closely at the FS listing of this forum, I will let you guys get dibs first on this unit.

[lilshawn]

http://www.colecovision.dk/technical.htm

 


some info there...perhaps there is something of use.

[Zrooney]

Thanks, but that is for the power switch problem, which is what I do not have sadly.  At least I will have a bookmarked site for basic colecovision repairs/schematics!

[ChadTower]

Thanks, but that is for the power switch problem, which is what I do not have sadly.  At least I will have a bookmarked site for basic colecovision repairs/schematics!

You might have it.  You didn't actually get that far.

[lilshawn]

i'd have to say that the possibility is there, if disconnecting the power supply and directly reading the ports on the plug yields a low voltage, i'd suspect the supply is no good.

if you are cracking open the wall wart to fix it, i'd suspect the caps are dried out....you know being 30 some years old now. there is likely nothing wrong with the rest of it.

[ChadTower]

i'd have to say that the possibility is there, if disconnecting the power supply and directly reading the ports on the plug yields a low voltage, i'd suspect the supply is no good.

if you are cracking open the wall wart to fix it, i'd suspect the caps are dried out....you know being 30 some years old now. there is likely nothing wrong with the rest of it.

The wall wart is just a transformer.  There isn't really anything you can do to service that.  About the best you can do is cut off the console end and hard wire it.  Sometimes the issue is really a broken pin in the console end and not a bad transformer. 

Wall warts do get damaged over time from being thrown around.  I've seen a fair share of bad ones over the years.  The CV one is prone to that more than others because it's so freakin heavy.

[lilshawn]

i'd have to say that the possibility is there, if disconnecting the power supply and directly reading the ports on the plug yields a low voltage, i'd suspect the supply is no good.

if you are cracking open the wall wart to fix it, i'd suspect the caps are dried out....you know being 30 some years old now. there is likely nothing wrong with the rest of it.

The wall wart is just a transformer.  There isn't really anything you can do to service that.  About the best you can do is cut off the console end and hard wire it.  Sometimes the issue is really a broken pin in the console end and not a bad transformer. 

Wall warts do get damaged over time from being thrown around.  I've seen a fair share of bad ones over the years.  The CV one is prone to that more than others because it's so freakin heavy.

A/C adapters are pretty simple, contained in the wall wart would be a regulator, some smoothing caps, and the transformer.

dry caps are going to drag down the power because they act like a resistor on the line. you could probably crack it open...change a few caps and it will be fine. The line isn't dead...it's just low.

[ChadTower]

Well look at that... the regulators are right in the wall wart case.  That's why it's so heavy.  I had always assumed it was because they had a multiwinding transformer in there to get the three voltages. 

 

[lilshawn]

yes. regulators don't normally show low they either die completely or let raw un-regulated power straight through.

since this is low and the transformer is not likey hooped, I'd suspect the filtering caps on the 12 volt line are dried up sagging the power down. you can test the power input of the regulator (the legs go (input / ground / output)) if it's under...say 13 volts (which i believe is the minimum needed) the power going in is bad. if it's high (13 up to 32 volts) it's all good, and you need to check the output side. (filter caps bad wire etc)