Intellitendo Posted June 15 Share Posted June 15 Hi everyone, I just created this account to ask about a specific issue (I've been lurking for a bit). The threads here have been very helpful to me; so I am excited to actually join this community.Background: I have been trying to get my old Intellivision back into working condition (it randomly stopped working about a decade ago-- not outputting video). I replaced the transistor pair that seem to be a common point of failure (burn marks were present)-- that did nothing. I realized the ribbon cable was disintegrating; so I soldered part of an IDE cable onto the main board; and I am now currently awaiting some female machine headers to complete the cable replacement. Today, I decided to check the transformer's voltage. So I unplugged it from the power supply board, and plugged it into an outlet with the power switch on. Upon testing the AC voltage, the readings are much lower than what is listed here.The issue: After finding out that my transformer is shot; I tried searching for a replacement part on ebay, Amazon, and iFixit-- none of them returned any results. Where can I find an adequate replacement transformer? Should I be looking for a broken system to cannibalize, or is there a compatible generic component? OR, is there a completed drop-in replacement similar to what is discussed here? Also, full disclosure: I am a bit of a beginner with soldering/using a multimeter; so the whole point of this project is to give myself a bit of experience-- therefore I might have made some mistakes along the way. Thank you for the help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IMBerzerk Posted June 15 Share Posted June 15 Hi, I'm sure you can find one in here. I'm away from home. But I do have one at home. If you can find a "non working" full unit on eBay or Facebook Marketplace for cheap, buy it because you'll need the spare parts for sure. Especially if it's working, but the case looks like hell. Like having an old car, the parts are getting harder to find. So having extra units it always good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walldog1 Posted June 15 Share Posted June 15 Where did you test the AC voltage? If at the 5 pin connector, try measuring at the wires going to the on/off switch. You may find correct voltage there. If good readings there, I quite often have to take the switch apart and clean the brass contacts inside and clean and put a little more bend back into the other brass part for more tension when reassembled. But if you find out you do need a transformer, I'll give you one good used tested one if you pay for shipping and handling. You can private message me about this. I may not respond promptly because my wife has been in the ICU for 3 weeks and my health is not that great either. Life can suddenly throw one a curve ball I have found out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intellitendo Posted June 16 Author Share Posted June 16 8 hours ago, walldog1 said: Where did you test the AC voltage? If at the 5 pin connector, try measuring at the wires going to the on/off switch. You may find correct voltage there. If good readings there, I quite often have to take the switch apart and clean the brass contacts inside and clean and put a little more bend back into the other brass part for more tension when reassembled. But if you find out you do need a transformer, I'll give you one good used tested one if you pay for shipping and handling. You can private message me about this. I may not respond promptly because my wife has been in the ICU for 3 weeks and my health is not that great either. Life can suddenly throw one a curve ball I have found out. Thank you for your advice about the power switch. I opened and cleaned it; then re-tested the transformer (it works!). However, I also tested the connector on the power supply, which goes to the motherboard; the center pin shows 23VDC, instead of 16 :/ I will be praying for you and your wife-- life sucks sometimes... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 15 hours ago, Intellitendo said: Thank you for your advice about the power switch. I opened and cleaned it; then re-tested the transformer (it works!). However, I also tested the connector on the power supply, which goes to the motherboard; the center pin shows 23VDC, instead of 16 :/ I will be praying for you and your wife-- life sucks sometimes... did you have the main board attached when you test this? If not, that is likely pretty normal as that is an unregulated output voltage so it is likely to read higher without the load of the rest of the system attached to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walldog1 Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 23VDC is in the acceptable range for that pin and I find most power supplies for the 2609 are right around that number with the 2 pin Molex connector and ribbon wire disconnected. So you are good to go. There are 2 voltage tests for the single wire on the 2 pin connector. Loaded and unloaded. FYI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IMBerzerk Posted June 17 Share Posted June 17 I don't think the problem is in your transformer. It sounds like the power board has issues. Did you download the Service Manual? Google that and take a glance at some of the other test points tou can check. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intellitendo Posted June 18 Author Share Posted June 18 17 hours ago, IMBerzerk said: I don't think the problem is in your transformer. It sounds like the power board has issues. Did you download the Service Manual? Google that and take a glance at some of the other test points tou can check. Actually, the switch was the issue. After putting it back together; it plays just fine. Though, the RF Modulator is failing (I ordered Crayola's board). Thank you guys for all the help. I'm excited to finally have a working Intellivision again! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intellitendo Posted June 18 Author Share Posted June 18 On 6/16/2023 at 4:09 PM, -^CrossBow^- said: did you have the main board attached when you test this? If not, that is likely pretty normal as that is an unregulated output voltage so it is likely to read higher without the load of the rest of the system attached to it. I actually did leave the main board disconnected; I didn't even consider that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IMBerzerk Posted June 18 Share Posted June 18 4 hours ago, Intellitendo said: Actually, the switch was the issue. After putting it back together; it plays just fine. Though, the RF Modulator is failing (I ordered Crayola's board). Thank you guys for all the help. I'm excited to finally have a working Intellivision again! Good! I'm glad it's working! Can you post the end result once you get the RF modulator sorted? I'm curious to know more about the board and see it working/installed. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intellitendo Posted June 18 Author Share Posted June 18 4 hours ago, IMBerzerk said: Good! I'm glad it's working! Can you post the end result once you get the RF modulator sorted? I'm curious to know more about the board and see it working/installed. Thanks! Sure thing! It might be a week from now, once I finally have it installed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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