Atari 1050 power issue

[andrew@meler.us]

I have a 1050 drive hooked up to 800xl.

The 1050 has an odd power issue.

 

When I first plug in the power supply to the outlet, the drive will power up, but won't spin up. The 800xl will not detect it when booting up (holding option when starting up just goes to self test).

 

When I wait about 5 minutes (after the 1050 has been plugged in to the outlet), the dive works reliably.

Note, the drive switch can be in the off position, as long as it is plugged in to the outlet, it will continue to work.

 

Any ideas where I should start looking? Would like to get it fixed, so it won't need to "warm-up".

 

I'm using original Atari Power supply.

 

Thanks.

[+Nezgar]

Well, it sounds like you need a new power supply. Not too unexpected after 35 years.

 

9 volts AC, 3.5 Amps or higher rated to match the original. If you don't go the original route, and the replacement doesn't have the same connector, you can hack the ends off and splice the old barrel connector onto the new supply. (heatshrink for aesthetics, and polarity doesn't matter since it's AC) I found a 4A 9V AC/AC power supply at my local electronics shop and it runs like a champ.

 

On a similar note, I have an XL computer power supply that sometimes runs unndervoltage for a few minutes until it warms up so I should probably do a similar thing with that for its 5V DC output.

Edited September 1, 2017 by Nezgar

[+DrVenkman]

Could also be an issue with an internal capacitor or voltage regulator. Or the 12VDC rectifier for that matter.