Power consumption - JAMMA beasts

[johnrt]

This is Dragon Breed. A beast of a JAMMA board. It's 3 PCB's sandwiched. It seems that my cheap ebay arcade PSU (http://www.ebay.com/itm/191214360616) can't properly power this board. The 5V drops to below 4.5 V when connecting this, so the board doesn't start. Is this gonna be a problem if I purchase a proper PSU? And what PSU do you guys recommend?

[Nephasth]

Turn up your voltage on your power supply. White knob on top.

[johnrt]

Turn up your voltage on your power supply. White knob on top.

That didn't help unfortunately.

[harveybirdman]

Is the JAMMA harness going straight to the power supply?  What gauge are the 5V wires?

[johnrt]

Is the JAMMA harness going straight to the power supply?  What gauge are the 5V wires?

Yes, and the 5V reads 5V in idle mode, but drops to 4.5V when connecting this board. I have other (smaller) boards that works fine with this PSU and then it also reads 5V. I believe that this board consumes more than 4 amps so the voltage drops below critical point.

[BobA]

Suggest a regular arcade supply.  The one you have is rated at 5V 4A whereas a regular arcade power supply can easily provide 5V at higher current such as 12 or 15 Amps.  It is no wonder that your 5V power is insufficient.  There is usually no need for 24V unless your board has a special requirement.

Check out the 5V Amps of this power supply  Arcade Power Supply 5V 16A

[johnrt]

Suggest a regular arcade supply.  The one you have is rated at 5V 4A whereas a regular arcade power supply can easily provide 5V at higher current such as 12 or 15 Amps.  It is no wonder that your 5V power is insufficient.  There is usually no need for 24V unless your board has a special requirement.

Check out the 5V Amps of this power supply  Arcade Power Supply 5V 16A

Yeah, I'm quite sure that's the problem. Well. It's time to order a decent PSU!

[DeLuSioNal29]

Check your wiring too.  My buddy had similar issues with 2 in 1 Jamma splitters where the cheap JAMMA wiring would not suffice.  He ended up changing out the wiring to thicker gauge and it worked.

D

[yotsuya]

Check your wiring too.  My buddy had similar issues with 2 in 1 Jamma splitters where the cheap JAMMA wiring would not suffice.  He ended up changing out the wiring to thicker gauge and it worked.

D

This is a good tip. On some of those really cheap harnesses, the power wires, which are thicker, actually are thin wires with a thick coat of insulation to make them look more robust. I speak from experience. 

[harveybirdman]

If you replace the power wires on your JAMMA harness to thicker gauge, I've also read to jumper the grounds.

[pbj]

1000 feet of 10 gauge copper wire = 1 ohms resistance

1000 feet of 30 gauge copper wire = 100 ohms resistance


 

[lilshawn]

i still have about 310 some odd feet of this double-aught left. 

[matsadona]

Beside wire size, the connectors might also cause some power loss. Is it a straight wire from the PSU, or are there any extra connectors on the route? Bad connections can cause a voltage drop and waste of power just going away as heat.