Scooter83 Posted September 22, 2015 Share Posted September 22, 2015 I was wondering does anyone know where I can pick up a power cable and switchbox for the RCA Studio II. Original would be best but aftermarket would be good for me for now. Any websites you can suggest. Ebay is out as of right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassGuitari Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 If you want original RCA parts, you're probably out of luck. They almost never turn up separately or orphaned from their consoles.For a power supply at least, you can use an Atari 2600 (or compatible) AC adapter. The switchbox was a proprietary design, though, and AFAIK there never was an aftermarket version. So you're probably stuck regardless unless you buy another Studio II that comes with a switchbox. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mckafka99 Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 If you feel inspired and electronically inclined: http://www.old-computers.com/magazine/view.asp?r=1&a=14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigO Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 Also if electronically inclined, I understand that it's possible to power mod the Studio II. With the power not passing through the RF switchbox, I would expect that you could get by with no switchbox at all. Sorry, I don't have specifics on the power mod, but you might PM fauxscot to see if he can provide details. He describes the power mod as trivial (and has a lot of technical and historical credibility on the Studio II among other things) http://atariage.com/forums/topic/209519-rca-studio-ii-gold-mine-an-interview-with-the-studio-2-production-manager/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaximRecoil Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 He describes the power mod as trivial It would just be a matter of locating on the motherboard where the power connects (two wires/terminals) and then installing a power connector to those two terminals, such as the same 3.5mm female 2-contact phone plug that the Atari 2600 uses. The easiest way to do it is to connect it with a pair of wires so you don't have to panel-mount it (which would involve drilling a hole in the case). I'm not familiar with the RCA Studio II case design, but you can usually find an opening for wires to go through, such as a vent slot. Then, the RF can be connected to the TV with a simple coaxial cable which has an RCA plug on one end and an F-connector on the other end, eliminating the need for an RF switchbox. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toymailman Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 I picked up these items in an eBay lot a while back. I'd never seen them in their own box before. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatPix Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 I guess they had to make spare parts, and you found a rare couple of them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blazing Lazers Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 I picked up these items in an eBay lot a while back. I'd never seen them in their own box before. DSCN8497.JPG DSCN8498.JPG I know exactly which BIN it was- and had considered taking the plunge myself. The seller had no unique information on them, nor any other notable Studio II items. Still, it would be nice if scans and/or detailed images of the boxes could be posted in the GOLD MINE thread. It's good to know these ended up with an appreciative collector Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+stupus Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 Yeah I saw those as well on ebay for awhile and was quite tempted to grab them Nice they are at least owned in the AA family now nice pieces! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toymailman Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 I had watched it a while too and temptation got the best of me. I'm still trying to find the system box variant (in good condition) where you can see the faces of the happy people playing their Studio II. The next time I scan some stuff, I'll be sure to scan these boxes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooter83 Posted August 13, 2016 Author Share Posted August 13, 2016 the box says 9 volt any idea how many amps the power supply i would need? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+stupus Posted August 13, 2016 Share Posted August 13, 2016 You can see the specs on the photo 6 posts up that toymailman posted. Looks like 250 millamps to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatPix Posted August 13, 2016 Share Posted August 13, 2016 For systems of this era, 250 to 500 Ma should be plenty enough. If you have a regulated/switching power supply, the voltage is regulated so you can pick up a larger amp value. If you pick up a classic heavy box that doesn't say regulated, stick under 500Ma and test. For picking up a power supply, the most important is to respect polarity, voltage and amps. in that order, tho voltage and polarity are really close in the grand scheme of things, because early systems like this RCA might not have protection for polarity, and a too high voltage can fry stuff. Now, underpowering your system can not damage it, so as long as you respect voltage and polarity, you can underfeed it. What is going to happed if your power supply is too weak is that it's going to heat up (but as such weak power, it's not going to catch fire) and to try to supply the asked power, the voltage is going to drop. On most 9V powered system, the system will shut down is voltage goes under 6.5 volts. in between 9 and 6, you are going to experiment glitch and other oddities. But this is totally harmless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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