Famicom AC-Adapter and General Power F.A.Q.

Started by Xious, November 18, 2011, 06:54:54 pm

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Ya Dad

Hey, I live in the United States, our output here is 120v I believe (if that's relevent to my question below)

Quote from: Famicomman on December 13, 2011, 08:28:48 pm
Now my question is if I use the Sega Genesis Type-1 Adapter will I also need a stepdown adapter still or do I only need a stepdown converter if using a Japanese AC adapter?


I'm actually wondering this myself. Also, I read on another forum that if you're using a different AC adapter such as a Gen-1 to power your Famicom, you should unplug it when the Famicom is turned off and isn't being used. Maybe because it will eventually overheat the Famicom if you leave it plugged in? I would like confirmation on this.


P

If your Sega Genesis 1 adapter is made for US systems then it should have 120v input already (should be stated on the label), so you don't need a stepdown in that case.

It's always best to unplug the AC adapter official or not, when you are turning off the Famicom and are not going to use it for a while.

Ya Dad

I know that any console that remains plugged in, imported or not, uses a little bit of power even when turned off. I have a lot of consoles plugged in right now and I just leave all of them plugged in all the time. It's not worth saving a couple dollars a month to have to plug and unplug each console everytime I want to play. That being said, it's not saving money on my electric bill that I'm worried about. I just don't want to put my Famicom in any kind of danger.

So I guess my question is, is it safe to keep the Famicom plugged in all the time, as long as the system itself is turned off when not in use?

ericj

The AC adapter should ideally only be plugged in while being used since leaving it plugged in all the time will shorten its life. Also, it's not really safe to leave an AC adapter plugged in all the time since they can overheat and cause a fire, especially given how old the Famicom adapters are.

You could always use a power strip with an on/off switch to make it easier to only have your consoles on while you're using them.

Ya Dad

September 22, 2013, 04:56:52 pm #109 Last Edit: September 22, 2013, 09:09:52 pm by Ya Dad
Yeah, that's what I'm gonna end up doing. I'm rearranging all my console cords right now, and labeling the ones that aren't labeled yet. I have 3 power strips that i'll use for my consoles (not all of the ports on the power strips will be used, this is just mainly for expansion when i get more consoles in the future). I'd like to plug in the power strips to each other, so that way all I have to do is just switch off 1 power strip and it'll switch off the other ones automatically. That should be fine, right?

EDIT: I found out that "daisy-chaining" is a fire hazard, so I ended up just using extension cords to plug into the power strip, so it gave me more outlets to work with. However, it would still be nice to find a way to turn off that power strip without having to get down on my knees, go behind the bench and physically turn it off. Maybe I could still use 2 power strips, but chain it to where the only thing plugged into the power strip is the other power strip? That way, I'd have a power strip that's much easier to access and turn off.

P

As long as you just use one of the power strips as a cord extender for the other one it should be ok. If you plug too many electronic devices into the same wall outlet using power strips and such, you might blow a fuse though, so only plug them into one of them (you can put tape over the other power strip outlets so that you or other people don't use them by accident). Alternately just use a normal cable extender.

Ya Dad

Quote from: P on September 23, 2013, 04:45:59 amIf you plug too many electronic devices into the same wall outlet using power strips and such, you might blow a fuse though, so only plug them into one of them


That would be the case only if I had all the consoles on at the same time though, right? I mean, I know all of them use a little bit of power when they're turned off, but it should be okay to have all the consoles plugged in on the same outlet as long as I only have one console powered on at a time. I also heard somewhere that within a same room, all outlets use the same circuit?

With that being said, I re-arranged how I have this setup:
- I have 14 gaming consoles, 11 of which are all hooked up and ready to go. The plan is to have all of them plugged in and ready to play.
- I have 2 TVs. A 32" widescreen Sony Trinitron and a 20" Panasonic tube TV. All consoles up to 16-bit are plugged into the tube TV. Everything else is running through the Trinitron.
There are 2 power strips being plugged in to the same wall outlet (1 powerstrip in each socket). 1 power strip has all the gaming consoles that I have on the vertical multi-shelf, and the other power strip has all the gaming consoles that are on the bench. The vertical shelf has the old-school consoles that are not played for hours at a time, so I plan on keeping that power strip off. The other strip has the new consoles plugged into it, so I plan on keeping that on ALL the time, which hopefully isn't a problem.

This might be kind of hard to visualize, so I went ahead and took some pictures.


To the right, you can see the multi-shelf I'm talking about





Further right still, you can see the bench that has the more modern consoles (the PS3 hasn't been plugged in yet, it's upstairs)
The Atari is on a TV tray close to the couch because the controller cords are very short





Below the bench are the 2 power strips. The one on the left...





...is powering all the consoles on the shelf, including the Famicom.





this one (the one on the right) is powering all the consoles on the bench.




All the consoles you see on the multi-shelf, excluding the Famicom, have been plugged in for over a year now, and I have never experienced any popped fuses, overloaded circuits, etc. As a precaution to protect the Famicom however, I decided to plug all the consoles on the multi-shelf into it's own power strip so I can have that one off when none of those consoles are being played. For the newer consoles such as the Wii U (not pictured, but it is plugged in to a shelf to the right of the Atari), I like to keep it plugged in and powered all the time for automatic updates and messages, so the power strip that it's plugged into is on all the time.

As an added precaution to the Famicom, I went ahead and ordered the original Japanese PSU and will be ordering the step-down converter from Amazon mentioned in the OP.

So, I guess problem solved!

EDIT: oh, I guess you can see the Wii U in one of the pics  =p

Ya Dad

September 26, 2013, 12:59:51 pm #112 Last Edit: September 26, 2013, 05:28:46 pm by Ya Dad
So I went ahead and ordered the transformer that was recommended in the OP. In the States, our outlets give 120v, which is 20v over what the Famicom should get. When the transformer arrives, I should plug the Famicom power adapter into the right socket that reads "JAPAN VOLTAGE 100V LINE", correct? Probably a stupid question, but I just want to make sure. My logic is that, since the Famicom expects 100v, that's what it should receive, and if I plug it into the left port, it would get 120v, which would be no different than just plugging it into the wall outlet directly.

P

Your logic is correct. The 120v socket is probably for "stepping up" 100v to 120v if you are in eg. Japan and wants to use your US devices (however three-hole-outlets (grounded outlets) are not that common in Japan).

Just some nitpicking: It's technically not the Famicom that excepcts 100v but the AC-DC adapter. The adapter then converts the 100v AC power into 10v DC power. Then there's a voltage regulator inside the Famicom that stepps down it into 5v DC that the components expect.

ericj

It would actually be cheaper just to buy a new AC adapter that outputs the same as the Famicom's rather than buy a stepdown converter. Or, you could just use the one that came with your Famicom. It wouldn't get damaged; however, the voltage regulator in the Famicom would dissipate a bit more heat as a result of a couple extra volts.

MS-DOS4

Hello guys, I have a discrete famiclone that takes 9V 850mA, and the only adapter I have close to it is a 10V 850mA. I read about tolerances in the OP, but I'm wondering if it will cause damage in the long run, or if my play sessions are too long?
>>>Current Collection<<< Updated 8/20/2014

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joestar3

I've got a question about step-down converters like the one Ya Dad mentioned (120v -> 100v); can you use a US power strip or surge protector (120v rated) to plug multiple devices into the converter (say a famicom and a megadrive, or megadrive and mega cd)? Or would it be better to play it safe and go get a Japanese power strip?

Sorry, I'm totally ignorant about this type of stuff and wanted to make sure.  Thanks!

P

Generally you should only connect one device at a time in the step-down. Now of course Famicom isn't very power hungry but it's good to not make a bad habit of it.

joestar3

Thanks!  I've got an extra one so I'll route each device separately.

g_block

so what AC adapter (for the US that some one here has personal experience with) works on an AV Famicom with no risk of damaging hardware, please?
(I've got an AV Famicom on the way and would like to have the adapter I need by the time it arrives :) )

Thanks  :)