Time to rescue another Atari -7800 no power

[Celotine]

Just got my first 7800 and it doesn't power on. My voltmeter says I got no voltage on the power supply (OEM) I got 300 mV. How do I get into it to look it over? I'm proficient in soldering and electronics repair (hobbyist, not pro) any help of advice is appreciated.

[+-^CrossBow^-]

6 minutes ago, Celotine said:

Just got my first 7800 and it doesn't power on. My voltmeter says I got no voltage on the power supply (OEM) I got 300 mV. How do I get into it to look it over? I'm proficient in soldering and electronics repair (hobbyist, not pro) any help of advice is appreciated.

The actual PSU bricks are glued shut so you likely would need a dremel to cut it open. For me personally, I would look at getting a replacement PSU of the same specs, cut the wiring a ft or so in front of the replacement PSU brick and cut the wire off the OEM and splice that in taking note of the polarity in the process. I understand that isn't repairing the OEM but that is just me gauging time vs cost in this case. 

 

Another option is to remove the original 2 prong input jack on the 7800 and replace it with something else. It won't be a drop in fit, so some strong glue/epoxy would be needed along with having to wire it up. But then you could use any PSU and DC jack you want.

 

 

[Celotine]

28 minutes ago, -^CrossBow^- said:

The actual PSU bricks are glued shut so you likely would need a dremel to cut it open. 

I was afraid you were gonna say that lol. 

[+DrVenkman]

It's just 9VDC and pretty low amperage (1A is more than sufficient). So @-^CrossBow^-'s suggestion is the way to go. Cut off the pigtail down near the PSU brick, wire in a new 9VDC PSU to the existing leads and you're golden. Just do note the polarity before you splice the lead to the replacement supply.

[+MattelAquarius]

If you want a brand new 7800 power supply that says Atari on the label, you can get one from Best Electronics.

 

Basically send an email to this address (bestelec@bestelec.digitalspacemail8.net) with the subject: "Atari 7800 Power Supply-Part No. CA025492-303"

 

Include your address in the email, so he can invoice you the full price.

 

Payment options are a bit tricky, since you must use Google Pay via debit card only (not sure if he accepts personal checks via snail mail).

 

Just throwing that out there as an option, but it is cheaper to get a readily available generic 9VDC replacement and just splice on the old connector (or change to female barrel plug on the console), as already recommended above.

[Celotine]

2 hours ago, MattelAquarius said:

If you want a brand new 7800 power supply that says Atari on the label, you can get one from Best Electronics

Dude that's super helpful! I bought a used PSU already from eBay but I also seem to have aquired a second 7800 so I'll do that for the second one. Thanks.