Step down transformer for 3DO in Australia(220V)

[robodude00]

Hey guys I have a Japanese 3DO FZ10 which has an internal 110V power supply. I tried looking for a replacement PAL 220V power supply but had no luck so I have to go external step down converter. What do you guys recommend? I don't want anything too big/clunky.

This one can handle up to 100W and brings the voltage down to 110V:




This one says it is for charging only but should be fine for powering consoles? Supports 200W combined:




This one can handle 65W:




This one plugs straight into the wall outlet and supposedly supports 150W but looks cheap. Does it even accept a US power point?



Any opinions or other alternatives would be greatly appreciated!

[strayan]

What about a portable power bank with AC out? https://www.jackery.com/products/powerb ... le-charger

[robodude00]

What about a portable power bank with AC out? https://www.jackery.com/products/powerb ... le-charger

Bit on the expensive side considering that is in US dollars and I would have to factor in shipping to Australia as well. Any other options?

[makar1]

Don't cheap out on transformers. Get a bulky/heavy one (toroidal) that's rated several times higher than your power requirements, preferably without any nonsense features like USB charging.

[robodude00]

Don't cheap out on transformers. Get a bulky/heavy one (toroidal) that's rated several times higher than your power requirements, preferably without any nonsense features like USB charging.

Thanks for the reply. How many watts would you recommend? I do want to have a few 110V consoles connected up to it via a 4 socket power board but they obviously won't be on at the same time.

[makar1]

You should be able to find the individual power ratings on the underside of the consoles, or on the original 100V power supplies.

Japan uses 100V rather than 110/120V by the way, so you should aim to buy a 100V transformer if possible to reduce the amount of waste heat produced by the console and its power supply.

[Syntax]

Ill look into it in the next few days but from first glance the 3DO runs 110v AC to 24v AC transformer which is then rectified down to 12v DC to run some 5v DC regulators.
Im pretty sure you can take out the transformer and swap it for an old sega power brick or something else 12v DC and itll run fine. A Wii power brick might be a touch too big but are easily available, could wire it external.

[robodude00]

Ill look into it in the next few days but from first glance the 3DO runs 110v AC to 24v AC transformer which is then rectified down to 12v DC to run some 5v DC regulators.
Im pretty sure you can take out the transformer and swap it for an old sega power brick or something else 12v DC and itll run fine. A Wii power brick might be a touch too big but are easily available, could wire it external.

Please do! And thanks in advance.

[Syntax]

I was wrong, the 110 goes to a 19v AC transformer, bridge rectified to 24v DC that then supplies the main regulators.

So you could replace the internal transformer with a 19v AC OR 24v DC 240v one,
doesn't matter which side you put + or - the rectifier will sort it.

Taking a closer look at the 2 switching regulators that do all the work the input voltages can range from 10 to 30v DC.

I tried using a Wii 12vDC power brick without bypassing the rectifier and the voltage gets dropped down to around 10.3v DC, a bit too low. The old Sega brick dropped even lower.
Bypassing the rectifier gives a nice solid 12v to the regulators and they were both showing a strong 5v and 9v DC.
Even the old Sega brick seemed to supply enough volts when bypassing the rectifier. This is all testing on a junk system, im yet to load it and check video ect.


https://www.st.com/resource/en/datasheet/l4960.pdf
https://www.digchip.com/datasheets/part ... 0C-pdf.php

[Taiji_Mods]

I was wrong, the 110 goes to a 19v AC transformer, bridge rectified to 24v DC that then supplies the main regulators.

So you could replace the internal transformer with a 19v AC OR 24v DC 240v one,
doesn't matter which side you put + or - the rectifier will sort it.

Taking a closer look at the 2 switching regulators that do all the work the input voltages can range from 10 to 30v DC.

I tried using a Wii 12vDC power brick without bypassing the rectifier and the voltage gets dropped down to around 10.3v DC, a bit too low. The old Sega brick dropped even lower.
Bypassing the rectifier gives a nice solid 12v to the regulators and they were both showing a strong 5v and 9v DC.
Even the old Sega brick seemed to supply enough volts when bypassing the rectifier. This is all testing on a junk system, im yet to load it and check video ect.


https://www.st.com/resource/en/datasheet/l4960.pdf
https://www.digchip.com/datasheets/part ... 0C-pdf.php

Very nice work. I had a similar idea of using an ATX supply and bypassing straight to the DC side of the PSU circuit.

It's also possible to replace the transformer with a Triad one which fits in the chassis. https://atariage.com/forums/topic/28906 ... b=comments

[robodude00]

I was wrong, the 110 goes to a 19v AC transformer, bridge rectified to 24v DC that then supplies the main regulators.

So you could replace the internal transformer with a 19v AC OR 24v DC 240v one,
doesn't matter which side you put + or - the rectifier will sort it.

Taking a closer look at the 2 switching regulators that do all the work the input voltages can range from 10 to 30v DC.

I tried using a Wii 12vDC power brick without bypassing the rectifier and the voltage gets dropped down to around 10.3v DC, a bit too low. The old Sega brick dropped even lower.
Bypassing the rectifier gives a nice solid 12v to the regulators and they were both showing a strong 5v and 9v DC.
Even the old Sega brick seemed to supply enough volts when bypassing the rectifier. This is all testing on a junk system, im yet to load it and check video ect.


https://www.st.com/resource/en/datasheet/l4960.pdf
https://www.digchip.com/datasheets/part ... 0C-pdf.php

I would love to do this but am not too savvy with electronics. I can do basic soldering and can follow instructions though. Where would be a good place to learn about this particular mod?

[Syntax]

Umm pretty sure I just explained it with detailed pictures.
What else do you need?

[robodude00]

Umm pretty sure I just explained it with detailed pictures.
What else do you need?

Sorry, I'm just not familiar with the 3DO internals so I don't know exactly what was changed. From what I gather the red and black wires added look simple enough and it seems like a 12-24V DC 3-6A internal transformer was installed on the bottom right? Is that either 12 or 24V, or does that refer to the actual range(same question for the 3-6A). As you can see I am a novice here.

[Syntax]

Had a chance to test with the Wii 12v switching power supply.

Audio and video are working well. Im using an ODE(MNemo USB-Host) and that's running no problems also.
I've been testing the power supply without removing any of the 3DO components (rectifier D1 and coil L1). Its not an ideal voltage but it seems to be working fine.
It ends up 10.3v which is only around +1v headroom instead of +15v but it has not yet reset on me. (Input voltage after D1 needs to be 9-30vdc)
I should note again that the Wii switching PSU has very little voltage drop compared to an old Sega power brick.

Its safer to not remove L1 and D1 because you don't have to worry about polarity when wiring in the new PSU.

If you choose to remove L1 D1 then be sure to get the polarity correct for the new PSU and only use a DC one.

Simply put:
DC power supply from 12-24v or AC power supply from 10-20v will work fine as a replacement for the internal 110v-20vAC transformer.

DC 12-24v PSU if removing L1 D1.

Only tested on a FZ-1

[Syntax]

Couldn't sleep knowing my 3DO was running with less than 1v headroom so I decided to remove the AC parts and feed the Wii psu 12v directly to the 2 regulators.

Another reason for this is the rectifier gets pretty warm, and for the life of me I cannot figure out why Panasonic decided to power the 2 regulators with 24v when every other company around used 12v.
There's an extra 12v of heat for them to bleed off in the stock 24v system its no wonder I read about the caps near that area dying prematurely.
Running on 12v the 3DO heatsink is warm to touch instead of searing hot.

I wanted to keep the 3DO stock looking and was planning to use the black cable that's attached and fit it inside a Wii power brick but by the time you open one you have destroyed most of the housing(they are siliconed together)

Then I had a thought, there's a dead Wii in my parts pile, what if.... No Fing Way! It Fits?


Panasonic WiiDO Mod





I think I spent a total of $5AUD or less on the Wii and powerbrick.

[Greenrasta]

Wow I can’t believe I found this forum! I’m going to do this exactly right now. My question is has the consul sustained good power and longevity after this upgrade? And also I’m going to follow the polarity on the last picture but the positive and negative on the power connector are different on each picture. If you could fill me in on those that would be the biggest help. Thanks so much guys. Just don’t want to blow up my console. Also cause I as well have usb host plus an RGB mod

[Syntax]

The +- is correct in both pictures because i bridged them differently, just follow the last pic.

[unstablewarpfield]

I did this. Replacement transformer. Takes 230V now

[Smoggle]

I did this on mine recently, works great, thanks Syntax.

It's a Japanese 3DO and I'm in the UK, so I don't need to use a bulky stepdown any more.
I was thinking about replacing the transformer but this was cheaper as I already had some 2.5mm 12v adapters.

[shakyskeleton]

Couldn't sleep knowing my 3DO was running with less than 1v headroom so I decided to remove the AC parts and feed the Wii psu 12v directly to the 2 regulators.

Another reason for this is the rectifier gets pretty warm, and for the life of me I cannot figure out why Panasonic decided to power the 2 regulators with 24v when every other company around used 12v.
There's an extra 12v of heat for them to bleed off in the stock 24v system its no wonder I read about the caps near that area dying prematurely.
Running on 12v the 3DO heatsink is warm to touch instead of searing hot.

I wanted to keep the 3DO stock looking and was planning to use the black cable that's attached and fit it inside a Wii power brick but by the time you open one you have destroyed most of the housing(they are siliconed together)

Then I had a thought, there's a dead Wii in my parts pile, what if.... No Fing Way! It Fits?


Panasonic WiiDO Mod





I think I spent a total of $5AUD or less on the Wii and powerbrick.

Hello.

Please excuse me for quoting this ten moth old post, but I'm unsure as to how I could otherwise contact you.
I was wondering if you offer modding services. I am interested in buying a 3DO and I would need to get the PSU replaced. While it looks like a simple mod, I feel that finding someone that has experience working on 3DOs might be difficult.
I would of course pay you for the parts and service. I should note that I live in Western Australia.
I hope to hear from you soon.

Gerard.

[luke7110]

I did this on mine recently, works great, thanks Syntax.

It's a Japanese 3DO and I'm in the UK, so I don't need to use a bulky stepdown any more.
I was thinking about replacing the transformer but this was cheaper as I already had some 2.5mm 12v adapters.

Hi mate, how did you managed to make those neat cuts for the mini din and switch ?
Thanks

[luke7110]

I did this on mine recently, works great, thanks Syntax.

It's a Japanese 3DO and I'm in the UK, so I don't need to use a bulky stepdown any more.
I was thinking about replacing the transformer but this was cheaper as I already had some 2.5mm 12v adapters.

Hi mate, how did you managed to make those neat cuts for the mini din and switch ?
Thanks

[Smoggle]

Hi mate, how did you managed to make those neat cuts for the mini din and switch ?
Thanks

Hi, I installed the mini-din and switch to the motherboard first and marked the case with a pen once I knew where the holes needed to be.

I used a small drill to make the initial holes, then used a Step Bit for the mini-din, I think it was about 12mm.

For the switch I filed away for ages with some small needle files to widen it.

[Dazedman00]

I know this is an old post but it was very helpful to me. I had a Goldstar 3DO with a bad transformer. This post gave me some insight and I was able to take an old dell laptop charger to fix it.

The dell charger was 19.7v 3.7a output.

I removed the old transformer.

Cut out the old cord from the rubber so I could run the new cord threw it.

I soldiered the old leads to the ends of the blue and red wires so I didn’t have to use new connectors.

I left all the components of the power board to ignore polarity needs.

System powered right up, voltages all the way through the system we’re on point and constant. System doesn’t reset and runs great again.

I will post pictures once I get them uploaded.

[iVirtualZero]

I tried both of the diagrams but can’t get it working with my 12v psu that i also use for my Pico PSU modded Sega Dreamcast and Saturn. Bypassing the rectifier method doesn’t work at all no power and the other method where the person uses a Wii PSU. The CD Drive doesn’t power on. I will do some further testing will revert back to the Wii PSU diagram and will try again. This is the psu i’m using https://eu.mouser.com/ProductDetail/709-GST60A12-P1J

Update: I got it working I used this DC Port, set it it to Centre Positive using the above PSU.

DC Port:
https://a.aliexpress.com/_EwIiXVK

[Dazedman00]

Thanks for all the information here. I was able to bring back to life a Goldstar 3DO with some of this information. Here is my write up on my fix. I did not have plans to document it but after spending a lot of time researching how to repair 3DOs that this could be helpful to someone else in the future. Her his the post link: https://gamingdadsclub.com/2022/05/18/its-alive/