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OT - 120v to 240v step up recommendations
by Herb Johnson 02 May '21

02 May '21

OK, John, this discussion thread got my attention for some reason, although I'm not an Amiga 500 owner, maybe because I'm a decreed electrical engineer. But pardon me, your subject line really is distracting. Your real subject-line is "power supplies for Amiga 500" which is certainly on-topic. The real issue from reading your posts, is this. YOu have an Amiga 500 with some additions and accessories, which you want to power. Amiga 500's operate from an external AC to DC power supply, with a DC cable to the Amiga (this not being known to some of us). You are about to receive, an iCOMP brand power supply - but it's European with a 240V Euro style plug. Your question was/is: how do I run this in the USA? Turns out: you said you can contact the iCOMP producer - they have a WEb site, they have a forum - and you already asked them if the power supply cares about 60Hz versus 50Hz AC power. They said "no". So: you can ask them, about use of any common, AC step-up transformers to convert US AC power and AC outlets, to Euro AC power and AC outlets. But read on, you have other questions to ask (by my best guesses, I'm not an Amiga owner). Ask them about the "wattage", that being how those transformers and their power supply are rated. "wattage" is simply AC voltage (110, 240) times the desired current in Amps. If your Amiga consumes say 100 watts power, it needs about 1 Amp of 110V AC current through a transformer; or 1/2 Amp of 240V AC current (roughly). This is a *rating*, so you want transformers that can "deliver" more than 100 watts; not all of that will be necessary, that's OK. "100 watts" is an example, I don't know what you need. My own experience (and as posted) is that these step-up transformers are relatively cheap and common, available from eBay, Amazon, other online vendors; and from any shops that cater to foreign visitors to the United States. I see these in thrift stores sometimes (in New Jersey). They don't care about 50Hz or 60Hz, and your iCOMP vendor says his supplies also don't care. That's not totally correct but that's probably OK. The remaining issue is: does the iCOMP power supply, have sufficient DC power for your A500? (whatever other issues it may have as something you just bought). I ask because I did some homework, went to the iCOMP Web site, saw they had a forum, and saw this post: https://forum.icomp.de/index.php?thread/1444-ca-psu-won-t-power-up-my-a1200… The post says more or less: someone bought some new model of ICOMP's "CA-PSU", two units; they worked both in one Amiga 500 they have, but neither worked with an Amiga 1200 they have; they measure DC volts out at 4.85 on the failing units; but "My A500 PSU is pretty solid at 5.1V" (apparently a 3rd power supply). Hint: when DC power supplies can't deliver enough power, their voltage drops. just over 5 volts is what you want; under 5V is not desirable. So: this is where "wattage" comes in to play. With DC power, Plan A is you figure it out by measuring each DC voltage, each times the DC current consumed, and then add those wattages up. It's easy to measure DC current with a voltmeter; a little harder to measure current because you have to run power through your voltmeter (ammeter) to do so. But "plan B", would be to ask other Amiga 500 owners, if this wattage-stuff is a problem, what their Amiga 500's consume or their power-supply ratings, if they use this specific brand/model year supply (maybe in Europe?), ask icomp.de, etc. And so: pardon me, but your real post, is about "getting good power to your Amiga 500" - with whatever configuration you have, if it works or not right now - and whether this iCOMP unit combined with some AC step-up transformer will do the job or not. Of course it's your thread and your situation. Good luck. Regards, Herb Johnson -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey in the USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net preserve, recover, restore 1970's computing email: hjohnson AT retrotechnology DOT com or try later herbjohnson AT comcast DOT net

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Anyone Have any AT Mid-Tower or Desktop Cases?
by Alexander Jacocks 01 May '21

01 May '21

All, I’ve picked up a number of AT-style motherboards, and would like to find cases to put them in. Does anyone have spare AT cases that they’d be willing to part with? Thanks! - Alex Middletown, MD USA

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Swap Meet Photos
by Herb Johnson 30 Apr '21

30 Apr '21

https://www.retrotechnology.com/restore/vcf_apr21.html Regards, Herb Johnson -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey in the USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net preserve, recover, restore 1970's computing email: hjohnson AT retrotechnology DOT com or try later herbjohnson AT comcast DOT net

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Teletype ASR 33
by W2HX 30 Apr '21

30 Apr '21

For those of you interested, a well-priced one: https://fresno.craigslist.org/for/d/clovis-asr-33-teletype-machine/73029509… Maybe someone from VCF-west would be interested (I'm not on that mailing list) 73 Eugene W2HX

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Lot of Sun SS2 and SS1 Systems
by Alexander Jacocks 30 Apr '21

30 Apr '21

All, I have received an offer for 14 SPARCstation 2 and 1 SPARCstation 1 systems, in pretty good condition, for about $85 each, plus shipping. Would anyone like one (or more)? I'd need to buy the whole lot, and I don't need 15 more SS2/SS1s. Thanks! - Alex

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Workshop tool case
by jsalzman＠gmail.com 30 Apr '21

30 Apr '21

Someone at the April Workshop asked me about the stackable tool case I bring to the workshops. I forget who it was. It might have been Bill. This message is just an FYI. I realize we all have our personal preferences with these things. The one I have was a Christmas gift from a few years ago. I was shopping around for an additional stackable box for my "rolling tower" and I came across the item on the Home Depot website. If you are looking for a stackable tool case for hauling your gear around, you can find the entire three box set for only $130 at Home Depot. Weirdly enough, the same set is $170 at Amazon. RIDGID PRO Tool Storage System (3-Piece)-RIDGIDPRO3PCTSS - The Home Depot <https://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-PRO-Tool-Storage-System-3-Piece-RIDGIDPR…> I highly recommend it if you are looking for a wheeled means to move your gear around that can also be easily broken down for vehicle transport. In mine, I carry (among other things) a reworking station, parts drawer kit, cleaning supplies, paper towels, screwdriver sets, Rigol oscilloscope, workbench tool supplies (pliers, etc.) cables, adapters, tabletop worklight, spare parts, and more. For me, I wanted to carry more small parts to the workshop. For that, more of the compartmentalized smaller top boxes would be suitable for that. Those I found on Amazon at 2 for $70, which are stackable on top of my existing set of cases. Again, this is just an FYI. This set has worked well for me for a long time. When I saw how relatively affordable it was, I just wanted to share the information to those who were looking for a similar solution. Jeff Salzman

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New Apple II Phasor Sound Card Build Video
by Alexander Jacocks 30 Apr '21

30 Apr '21

I just uploaded the first video in a new 2-part series on building and using the ReActiveMicro Phasor, an amazing 12-channel sound card, for the Apple ][: https://youtu.be/rKruhFEpX6E Please let me know what you think! - Alex

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Interested in donating to the museum? JrIDE
by Jeffrey Brace 29 Apr '21

29 Apr '21

Hello everyone, As you may know, we are looking to add more reliable "SD type" technology to our museum for demonstrations to visitors. We have found this one for the IBM PCjr: https://www.ebay.com/itm/SD-Cart-JR-Cartridge-PCB-w-Case-and-SD-Card-for-IB… If anyone is interested in buying for the museum, the please let me know! Thanks! ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President & Board Member Vintage Computer Festival East Show-runner Vintage Computer Federation is a 501c3 charity http://www.vcfed.org/ jeffrey(a)vcfed.org

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VCF Mid-West planning to have a show!
by Jeffrey Brace 29 Apr '21

29 Apr '21

They have a fun 90's style "under construction" place holder for now: http://vcfmw.org/ ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President & Board Member Vintage Computer Festival East Show-runner Vintage Computer Federation is a 501c3 charity http://www.vcfed.org/ jeffrey(a)vcfed.org

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Pictures of free stuff at Kennett Classic
by Bill Degnan 29 Apr '21

29 Apr '21

Forgot the photos: https://www.kennettclassic.com/freestuff/ I think that this is where I will permanently house photos of free items. Check back regularly, I will delete photos as items are no longer available. Thanks Bill Degnan

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