Commodore 64 Saver developed by Sándor Éliás
introduction
A good few Commodore 64 come into my service, that got +9-13V DC voltage instead of +5V DC. This can cause quite a few troubles on the motherboard, many times it’s uneconomical to repair them. This is why you should bring the power-supply along with the Commodore 64 for testing.
There are a couple of protection upgrades (even in our little home country) that provide protection against the run-back of +5V DC. These are all controlled by a relay one by one. Of course, quick-release relays exist, but we don’t really trust them, because their release values are still high. On the other hand, we know that these contact can collapse under continuous load, in this case, there are already physical obstacles to rapid release.
We found a Hungarian-developed Commodore 64 power-supply protection that does not contain a relay, but a FET. There is no mechanical contact here besides speed, perhaps most importantly.
It’s very easy to use, all you have to do is put this box into the power-supply-chain, and we can entrust the rest to it.
The little blue LED will light up if everything’s alright. If there’s voltage run-back, the blue LED flashes and the red LED lights up next to it. The protection remains active as long as the wrong power-supply is connected to it. The red LED goes out and the blue LED lights continuously if we connect the right power-supply to it.
In services, we use this protection only for demonstration purposes. The Commodore 64 computers are powered by a more modern power-supply that already has this protection built to it. But as a collector, if you’re still in the mood to play, that’s the only way we run the C64.
The price… Yes, that’s something to consider. A more modern power-supply costs twice as much as the Commodore 64 Saver. There are such modern power-supplies that provide voltage not only for the C64 but also for the 1541/II (or 1581). However, you have to consider whether to spare money for it or not, yet we’re talking about computers that are 30-35 years old.
You can find a more detailed description and bigger photos on my Facebook page: CommodoreSzerviz
If you have further questions or intend to purchase, please contact Uncle Sanyi.
contact of Sándor Éliás
e-mail: sanyabacsi@swissmail.org
normal operating condition
bad power-supply
protection operational status
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