2600 and sparks

[RangerG]

Whenever I plug in the power supply to the 2600 you can see a little blue spark. It doesn't matter if the Atari 2600 is on or not. Do they all do this or is mine faulty and possibly dangerous (the spark is really tiny)? Also, without a LED to show you that it is on, the 2600 would be so easy to leave on by accident. Is this dangerous, can the machine burn out, etc. Thanks -- RG

[liveinabin]

No, you're OK, it's just the power trying to earth itself.

What you're really supposed to do is plug in the console end of the power lead before you plug in the mains end.

[Adrian M]

There may be something amiss here. I have 3 2600 consoles and I've NEVER seen sparks fly when connecting the adapter plug to the console.

[Lemmi]

This happens to mine when i plug it into the outlet first before i plug it into the console, but if i plug it into the console first then the outlet no sparks

[Ian Primus]

On the 2600, the power lead used a headphone style connector, instead of a typical power connector. What this causes, is an easy way for the power supply to get shorted out, because both the positive and negative are exposed and close together. On a typical power connector, the inside will be either positive or negative, and the outside will be the other. It's harder to short out that way. But on the 2600, when you plug it into the console, for a brief moment, both the positive and negative are connected together. This causes the little spark. It's perfectly harmless, and it shouldn't hurt the 2600. As far as leaving the console on, it shouldn't hurt it, it doesn't really heat up that much, but to be on the safe side, I'd double-check the switch after playing. Actually, an interesting side note, since the power supply circuits in the 2600 use a 7805 voltage regulator, the 2600 can run on as little as 7 volts, or as much as 35 volts. (If I remember correctly). So by slapping a headphone jack on a similar amperage/similar voltage power pack, (tip positive) you can power the 2600. It will even run for a while (like 1.5 hours) off a 9 volt radio battery. To be on the safe side, try to give it between about 8 - 15 volts, and between 400mA and 700mA. Seeming as though 9 volt plug packs are common, there should be no problem finding them.

 

Ian Primus

ian_primus@yahoo.com

[RangerG]

Sark -- thanks for the great reply. No need for me to worry about burning the apartment down!

[Cassidy Nolen]

Just a note on power supplies for these...

 

The homebrew carts have shocked me a few times when I plug them in (as I am holding both positive and negative at the same time). If you want to completely "discharge" the 2600, while it is unplugged, turn it on, and then back off. Plug in your power adaptor to the 2600, and plug it into the wall. Now just put your cart in and you will be ready to go. Turning it on while it is unplugged empties the filter capacitor on the power supply, and no sparkie-sparkie. Found out the hard way when I made my test board...

 

Cassidy