• Please review our updated Terms and Rules here
  • From now on we will require that a prefix is set for any items in the sales area. We have created regions and locations for this. We also require that you select a delivery option before posting your listing. This will hopefully help us streamline the things that get listed for sales here and help local people better advertise their items, especially for local only sales. New sales rules are also coming, so stay tuned.

NEEDED: TI-99/4A Power Supply

F

Facemeat

New Member
Joined
May 13, 2008
Messages
6
Location
Pennsylvania, US
I kinda feel bad for having my first 2 posts in the wanted section, but I really need this badly. :ashamed:
If anyone has one of these for sale, please let me know.
Also, if anyone has an Apple IIc or Commodore VIC-20 power supply, let me know.
 
The TI-99 has rather unusual power requirements, but if you get an original power supply it won't matter.

What does matter though is in which part of the world you live. Both for shipping rates and to get the correct input voltage. Please fill it in your profile, and you will never forget to mention it.

Also the VIC-20 came in two motherboard revisions with different power connectors. Do you have the early one with a "two-prong" power connector or the later, cost reduced one with a round DIN? The round one has the same pinout as the C64, which you may be able to find plenty of (at least power supplies) but the two-prong one is a bit harder to get.
 
carlsson said:
The TI-99 has rather unusual power requirements, but if you get an original power supply it won't matter.

What does matter though is in which part of the world you live. Both for shipping rates and to get the correct input voltage. Please fill it in your profile, and you will never forget to mention it.

Also the VIC-20 came in two motherboard revisions with different power connectors. Do you have the early one with a "two-prong" power connector or the later, cost reduced one with a round DIN? The round one has the same pinout as the C64, which you may be able to find plenty of (at least power supplies) but the two-prong one is a bit harder to get.
Click to expand...
Just added my location. ;)
And about the VIC-20, unfortunately it's the original model with the two-prong connector. :(
 
Please ask the seller to plug in the supply and leave plugged in for a few hours. If it hums or is very hot to the touch, don't buy it. I have a few like that. It's one of the weak points for the model.
 
Good idea on keeping it powered for awhile. The power supply that I have is actually being used on a TI as we speak. Someone is purchasing just the console so I have the extra power supply to sell in good working condition.
 
Facemeat said:
Just added my location. ;)
And about the VIC-20, unfortunately it's the original model with the two-prong connector. :(
Click to expand...
Then it is simply 9 volts AC, which makes a generic replacement power supply easy to find. The connector is unique, but you may be able to make one by taking the end of a typical "boombox radio"-type power cord and cutting a notch into it. It's AC so the polarity doesn't matter.

And if you have a power supply but the computer seems dead, it might not be the power supply's fault. My VIC-20 seemed completely dead, but it turned out that the power supply was fine, and the power switch on the computer itself was faulty! I believe there is also a fuse on the motherboard, which is another thing to check.
 
vwestlife said:
Then it is simply 9 volts AC, which makes a generic replacement power supply easy to find. The connector is unique, but you may be able to make one by taking the end of a typical "boombox radio"-type power cord and cutting a notch into it. It's AC so the polarity doesn't matter.

And if you have a power supply but the computer seems dead, it might not be the power supply's fault. My VIC-20 seemed completely dead, but it turned out that the power supply was fine, and the power switch on the computer itself was faulty! I believe there is also a fuse on the motherboard, which is another thing to check.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the reply, though I'm fairly sure power supplies in most of the "boombox-radios" are usually self-contained, as in, it's just a power cord, and no power brick. Hopefully I'm proven wrong though.
 
Facemeat said:
Thanks for the reply, though I'm fairly sure power supplies in most of the "boombox-radios" are usually self-contained, as in, it's just a power cord, and no power brick. Hopefully I'm proven wrong though.
Click to expand...
That's what I was referring to... if you get a generic 9 VAC power supply, you'll need a plug for it to fit the two-prong jack in the VIC-20... and that plug is very close to the kind used by power cords for boomboxes, electric shavers, and laptop computer power supplies. Of course do not plug that cord directly into the VIC-20, as direct line voltage (110 or 220 VAC) will surely kill it! :eek: All you need is the plug from that cord; the rest can be discarded.

For comparison, here's the end of an electric shaver power cord:
516gD5KjtwL._SS500_.jpg


And the end of a VIC-20 power supply cord:
c_vicpsu.jpg
 
Just curious but the TI has a 4 prong connector. How would you connect 2 wires to 4 prongs? Are 2 ground and 2 power?

This is what I have for $10.
 
Last edited:
cudasales said:
Just curious but the TI has a 4 prong connector. How would you connect 2 wires to 4 prongs? Are 2 ground and 2 power?

This is what I have for $10.
Click to expand...
Please don't get mixed up. The original poster mentioned that he also needs a power supply for the Commodore VIC-20, and that's what I have been discussing.

The TI-99/4A power supply outputs two different voltages, so that's why it has four prongs. The VIC-20 uses a single-voltage power supply (9 VAC), thus the two-prong connector.
 
vwestlife said:
That's what I was referring to... if you get a generic 9 VAC power supply, you'll need a plug for it to fit the two-prong jack in the VIC-20... and that plug is very close to the kind used by power cords for boomboxes, electric shavers, and laptop computer power supplies. Of course do not plug that cord directly into the VIC-20, as direct line voltage (110 or 220 VAC) will surely kill it! :eek: All you need is the plug from that cord; the rest can be discarded.
Click to expand...

Alright, that's what I thought you might have meant, just wasn't completely sure. That's probably going to be a much cheaper alternative than actually buying an original one, so thanks a lot!
 
I have 2 power supplies for a TI-99/4A. One fits my 4A and has 4 sockets in a U-shaped configuration and the other has a 3pin added-on connector, obviously modified for something. I seem to remember I did use it on another machine.
They are both similiar original TI PS so you could modify it back if you could find the original connector.

Lawrence
 
vwestlife said:
Then it is simply 9 volts AC, which makes a generic replacement power supply easy to find.
Click to expand...
The original power supply however is specified to deliver at least 2-3 Ampere @ 9V (seems to differ a bit between 110V and 220V models). I have looked for 9V AC transformers capable of outputting as many ampere (or watt if you want) but they're not so common.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top