Atari Monitor / 240 -> 220 VAC

[macsonny]

Hi All,

 

I have an Atari hi-res b&w monitor. It looks like it came from France to Australia. The monitor is rated at 220 VAC @ 50 Hz. Australia uses 240 VAC @ 50 Hz. When I figured the power was close enough so when I plug the monitor it, green light comes on but makes loud buzz from speakers. Have not tried plugging into Atari ST yet as wanted to make sure the monitor wasn't going to explode!!!

 

Any ideas on issues?

 

Thanks

 

macsonny

[TZJB]

5 hours ago, macsonny said:

Hi All,

 

I have an Atari hi-res b&w monitor. It looks like it came from France to Australia. The monitor is rated at 220 VAC @ 50 Hz. Australia uses 240 VAC @ 50 Hz. When I figured the power was close enough so when I plug the monitor it, green light comes on but makes loud buzz from speakers. Have not tried plugging into Atari ST yet as wanted to make sure the monitor wasn't going to explode!!!

 

Any ideas on issues?

 

Thanks

 

macsonny

The mains supply voltage should be fine, as mains voltage can vary during the day anyway. Is the loud buzz adjustable with the volume control? If so then it may just be mains hum that will be attenuated when loaded by the Atari, if not there may be a faulty capacitor in the power supply or audio circuit, or both, so investigation of the monitor components would need to take place. After disconnection of the mains supply, be aware that the tube HT voltage can be stored for quite some time.

 

[ojanhk]

Yes, don’t worry about 220/240, main used to be 220 in France back in the day but all equipments were made for 240. Switch to 240 was done a few decades ago to align with other European countries and nobody even noticed. The buzz might come from old capacitor or bad grounding.

[macsonny]

8 hours ago, ojanhk said:

Yes, don’t worry about 220/240, main used to be 220 in France back in the day but all equipments were made for 240. Switch to 240 was done a few decades ago to align with other European countries and nobody even noticed. The buzz might come from old capacitor or bad grounding.

Ok. Thanks for the advice. Figured as much. I'll try another power point and see if that makes any difference but will also take a look inside when I get some spare time.