Turns out guitar pedal PSUs fit retro consoles just fine

[thebigcheese]

Kind of kicking myself for not figuring this out sooner, but standard guitar pedal power supplies are 9 volts DC with a negative tip, making them electrically compatible with Genesis model 1, Sega CD, NES, SMS, and TG16. Basically, anything the RetroDC PSU supports is supported by a standard guitar pedal PSU. The best news is that the plug is the exact same size and fits perfectly in all of those consoles.

Why would you want to use these? Well, power line noise is a huge concern among guitar players, so these are generally going to be high-quality, modern power supplies. They are also readily available and affordable. For example, you can pick up a 1Spot for $20 (https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail ... one-1-spot). You can get a daisy chain cable for it for for $10 (https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail ... ug-5-cable). Got a weird system (Genesis model 2 or, say, GScartsw, though I haven't actually confirmed those yet) that uses center positive power? You can buy an adapter for $4, assuming the plug size is the same (https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/1SpotCYR).

Please note that, after much researching, there is no multi-output guitar pedal power supply that will provide enough current to power retro systems.

[nmalinoski]

Any sources for an adapter for getting these things to work with the SNES?

[thebigcheese]

Any sources for an adapter for getting these things to work with the SNES?

Not sure yet. That one is a totally different plug, AFAIK. I'm going to test out the ones I've got and see what happens.

[Syntax]

Model 1 Sega psu suits all DC powered consoles except Sega model 2. Model 2 has center + and a smaller plug.

The DC psus should work fine in the AC systems too just not the other way around.

[Xyga]

I want pedals on my OSSC to produce audio and visual effects while playing.

[thebigcheese]

Model 1 Sega psu suits all DC powered consoles except Sega model 2. Model 2 has center + and a smaller plug.

The DC psus should work fine in the AC systems too just not the other way around.

Yes. This is just a newer, more efficient option that isn't prone to having old, buzzy capacitors.

[Syntax]

I was just pointing out they are perfect for SNES.

Not sure why you guys thought it was a different plug.

Its my understanding only the 2 different types of plugs were used

[thebigcheese]

I was just pointing out they are perfect for SNES.

Not sure why you guys thought it was a different plug.

Its my understanding only the 2 different types of plugs were used

It is a different plug. SNES (in the US, at least), is a larger plug than any of the other systems I have. Either that or the center pin is a different size. In any case, none of the other PSUs I have fit it.

[Syntax]

I dont own an american snes but i can confirm the model 1 psu works perfectly for the famicom jr.

It fits and runs my AC pal snes also.

[thebigcheese]

I dont own an american snes but i can confirm the model 1 psu works perfectly for the famicom jr.

It fits and runs my AC pal snes also.

Yeah, the Super Famicom uses a more standard plug. Here is the RetroDC's compatibility list, so this would also apply to guitar pedal PSUs: http://retrodcpowered.com/compatibility/

[DirkSwizzler]

You can get the converter from super common barrel plug size (2.1mm x 5.5mm) to SNES from console5 probably. I've got the adapter, just forgot where I got it from.

And you can get polarity inverters and more generic tip adapters super cheap from aliexpress.

Along with those adapters. A Pwr+ switching supply recommended by HD Retrovision has worked just fine in my setup. And for reference, I'm OCD about jailbars and visible noise.

[philexile]

Oh boy, power supplies!

I HATE power bricks and was determined to get rid of them for the most part in my revised setup. I'm using a RetroDC* for my Sega Mega Drive/CD/32x tower, but I picked up a MEAN WELL GS60A09-P1J to power the following:

• Sega Master System
• Famicom
• Famicom Disk System
• Super Famicom
• PC-Engine Duo (adapter pigtail from Console5)
• Atari Jaguar
• Atari 2600 (adapter from Console 5)
• Atari 5200 (with power mod via Console5)
• Garo Component-to-RGB converter

Here is a spec sheet: http://www.meanwell.com/webapp/product/ ... ?prod=GS60

I did need to use a pigtail inverter, but aside from that it was easy and with 6 amps I can even power up multiple consoles at once as needed. I used pigtail splitters/extenders to reach all the systems. Its really nice to use 1x outlet instead of 9x!

Just be sure to have a multimeter on-hand to ensure that everything is wired properly!!

* One thing about the RetroDC: it doesn't have a UL rating, which is a deal breaker for some.

Anyway, the guitar peddle find is great find as well!

[ShadowofBob]

Thanks for the tip. Just ordered one to see if it will help with the diagonal noise lines I have on my CDX. Not sure if it'll be enough amperage to run the CDX and 32X, but it at least meets the CDX requirements.

[thebigcheese]

Well then... for those wondering, yes, there is an adapter for SNES and yes, it will work with the pedal PSUs: https://console5.com/store/super-ninten ... cable.html. I have one of these jammies from back when I had a huge pedal board, I could power pretty much everything with it and the right adapters: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail ... wer-supply.

[Syntax]

I dont own an american snes but i can confirm the model 1 psu works perfectly for the famicom jr.

It fits and runs my AC pal snes also.

Yeah, the Super Famicom uses a more standard plug. Here is the RetroDC's compatibility list, so this would also apply to guitar pedal PSUs: http://retrodcpowered.com/compatibility/

Americans always have to be different hey, whats next?
A different system of measurment to the rest of the world?
:p

[donluca]

Oh boy, power supplies!

I HATE power bricks and was determined to get rid of them for the most part in my revised setup. I'm using a RetroDC* for my Sega Mega Drive/CD/32x tower, but I picked up a MEAN WELL GS60A09-P1J to power the following:

• Sega Master System
• Famicom
• Famicom Disk System
• Super Famicom
• PC-Engine Duo (adapter pigtail from Console5)
• Atari Jaguar
• Atari 2600 (adapter from Console 5)
• Atari 5200 (with power mod via Console5)
• Garo Component-to-RGB converter

Here is a spec sheet: http://www.meanwell.com/webapp/product/ ... ?prod=GS60

I did need to use a pigtail inverter, but aside from that it was easy and with 6 amps I can even power up multiple consoles at once as needed. I used pigtail splitters/extenders to reach all the systems. Its really nice to use 1x outlet instead of 9x!

Just be sure to have a multimeter on-hand to ensure that everything is wired properly!!

* One thing about the RetroDC: it doesn't have a UL rating, which is a deal breaker for some.

Anyway, the guitar peddle find is great find as well!

That's what I'm using to power a bunch of stuff, including consoles.

[RGB0b]

@thebigcheese - Have you done any testing other than just playing the console? I've been playing guitar for over twenty years and I wouldn't be caught dead using a 1Spot. Every one I've ever used caused a LOUD ground hum through my amp. Recommendations like this can be extremely helpful...but also really dangerous. If you haven't taken measurements of those supplies connected to a console, under load, it's possible you could be recommending a PSU that might damage a console.

This PSU is EVEN CHEAPER then a 1Spot and has been tested across multiple consoles, using an oscilloscope: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001BRKFII

Ste from HDRetrovision was also kind enough to post links to adapters and a chart to reference which adapter works with each console (scroll down): http://www.hdretrovision.com/vote3rdparty/


If you have tested those 1Spot's with a scope, I'll apologize and edit this post. If not, please consider editing your first post.

[thebigcheese]

@thebigcheese - Have you done any testing other than just playing the console? I've been playing guitar for over twenty years and I wouldn't be caught dead using a 1Spot. Every one I've ever used caused a LOUD ground hum through my amp. Recommendations like this can be extremely helpful...but also really dangerous. If you haven't taken measurements of those supplies connected to a console, under load, it's possible you could be recommending a PSU that might damage a console.

This PSU is EVEN CHEAPER then a 1Spot and has been tested across multiple consoles, using an oscilloscope: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001BRKFII

Ste from HDRetrovision was also kind enough to post links to adapters and a chart to reference which adapter works with each console (scroll down): http://www.hdretrovision.com/vote3rdparty/


If you have tested those 1Spot's with a scope, I'll apologize and edit this post. If not, please consider editing your first post.

I don't have an oscilloscope, so I can't test them. The hum you are talking about I have only heard with 1Spots when connecting multiple things to it via daisy chain cable. It's a ground loop hum. There's nothing dangerous about it, but it's annoying for sure. I can't see any reason why it would damage a console, which all have their own regulators and filters to get clean 5 volts out of anything from 7-14 volts (usually). I would be willing to bet that you'd get the same hum if you used a Genesis PSU with a daisy chain cable to power your pedals. However, as I mentioned in my original post, it's possible that you could get visual or audio noise (like with other cheap PSUs), particularly if you are daisy chaining, in which case something like the Voodoo Labs options would be a much better choice. Maybe I am wrong, in which case please feel free to correct me, but I think the worst that would happen is you might get some extra noise.

Edit: to clarify, I used to work in a guitar store, both as a salesman and as a guitar repair tech. Not saying this uniquely qualifies me or anything, but I've got some experience with ground loops and a variety of these types of power supplies. 1Spot isn't really any better or worse than anything else that we sold, it's just that people expected the daisy chain idea to work well when it was never going to. Transformer-isolated supplies are much better for that.

[cr4zymanz0r]

I've essentially been doing this for years, but not with that exact PSU. It's worked great for me.

https://imgur.com/a/wOiwg
https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2P ... OzbCcw/pub

[FinalBaton]

Neat little trick! I had never thought about this indeed -_- I have a power brick for my guitar pedals called Power-All from Godlyke, which is supposedly good, last I checked(wonder if someone can test that one withan oscilloscope?). It's meant to be used on up to 5 guitar pedals while daisy-chained, and comes with a daisy chain cable

I was gonna hunt a SNES OEM power supply but now I think I'll just buy the adapter that thebigcheese linked for $4 and plug that on my Power-All to power the SNES

[thebigcheese]

Just as an FYI, I did some testing this morning to see how much current each console actually draws. Keep in mind these are not super scientific, I just have a Kill-a-watt thing that I was looking at to see how high the current draw would get. It only measures in amps and only to two decimal places, so I can't get more accurate than the tens place for mA. I also don't have any kind of graph to see what it looks like over time. Keeping all that in mind, round these numbers up (by maybe 10-20 mA for good measure) and you will probably be fine. In each case, I tried to pick a game that I thought would push the hardware to try and get the most current draw. In no particular order:

Sega Genesis model 1: ~200 mA
Sega CD model 2: ~250 mA (hooked up to above model 1 Genesis)
TurboGrafx 16: 110 mA (sadly, I have no CD attachment to test)
NES: ~120 mA
Master System: ~ 130 mA
SNES: ~110 mA

This should give you a rough idea how much current you need your PSU to be able to supply. In the case of the 1Spot I originally linked to, that can deliver up to 1700 mA, so that could power all of these systems at the same time (though I don't think I would do that for safety reasons). Worth noting is that the Sega CD is the most power hungry of all the systems tested. I also noticed that the systems where I have the original PSUs (NES, SMS, SNES) draw almost as much power when they are off as when they are on. Or rather, the PSU itself draws only 20 mA or so less when the system it is connected to is off than when it is on. That's a lot of wasted electricity. Where I had new PSUs (TG16 and Sega Genesis/CD), virtually no current was flowing while the systems were off. Good reason to upgrade to a newer power supply.

The big so what, and the reason I did this test, was to see how well the Voodoo Lab transformer-isolated power supplies would work. The original one I linked to, the Pedal Power 2 Plus, is actually probably not a great choice. Six of the outputs can only supply 100 mA, which would not power a single one of the consoles tested. The other two can supply up to 250 mA, enough to power all but the Sega CD. A much better choice would be the Pedal Power Digital, which supplies 400 mA at each output and can power four things: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PedalPwrDig. Technically, if you run both the 9 volt and 12 volt outputs, you could power up to six things, but then you lose the benefit of transformer isolation (if you care about that). You can also purchase current combiner cables that would allow you to combine two of the 100 mA outputs on one of the other models to get a total of 200 mA, but that reduces the number of outputs. If you are feeling especially fancy, this guy could power everything you could want: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PowerGrid10. And, for less money, this one can power up to five things: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Ojai.

[ASDR]

The multi guitar pedal PSU I use is a noisy, switching piece of shit that I wouldn't recommend for a SNES (unless you like wavy lines on your SNES games). I just use it with some modern, digital pedals, it's fine for that use case. Just saying that so nobody rushes out and just buys some random guitar pedal PSU thinking they're all stage ready audiophile grade super gear. Most are probably of the same quality as the one that came with your 5$ LED lamp.

[RGB0b]

I guess my only real issue is the title of the thread. I've been deep in retro gaming hardware for over six years and nothing is ever "perfect". Maybe consider changing:

Turns out guitar pedal PSUs are perfect for retro consoles

to

Turns out some guitar pedal PSUs work with retro consoles


...and don't forget about that cheaper Amazon adapter that a bunch of us have been using (and testing) for at least six months now.

[thebigcheese]

I guess my only real issue is the title of the thread. I've been deep in retro gaming hardware for over six years and nothing is ever "perfect". Maybe consider changing:

Turns out guitar pedal PSUs are perfect for retro consoles

to

Turns out some guitar pedal PSUs work with retro consoles


...and don't forget about that cheaper Amazon adapter that a bunch of us have been using (and testing) for at least six months now.

Fair. I meant a perfect fit as in the fit the jack and are electrically compatible. Updated the title.

[bobrocks95]

Neat little trick! I had never thought about this indeed -_- I have a power brick for my guitar pedals called Power-All from Godlyke, which is supposedly good, last I checked(wonder if someone can test that one withan oscilloscope?). It's meant to be used on up to 5 guitar pedals while daisy-chained, and comes with a daisy chain cable

I was gonna hunt a SNES OEM power supply but now I think I'll just buy the adapter that thebigcheese linked for $4 and plug that on my Power-All to power the SNES

If I had to take a guess, daisy-chaining consoles together would be a bad idea because some current would leak between consoles, right? If you're hooking up a pedal board you're probably going to have everything on it turned on anyway, but just having one console on would be completely different.

Am I in the right ballpark?

[FinalBaton]

If I had to take a guess, daisy-chaining consoles together would be a bad idea because some current would leak between consoles, right? If you're hooking up a pedal board you're probably going to have everything on it turned on anyway, but just having one console on would be completely different.

Am I in the right ballpark?

Just to clarify : I wasn't gonna use the daisy chain cable for my consoles! Was just gonna use the Power-All adapter for my SNES only.

But I think you have a valid point of concern with the daisy chaining for consoles. I too would be worried that power could leak back into the consoles even when off, in this setup. Maybe someone can test this? Anyway, can't say I trust the daisy chaining, don't think I will ever try that.

As for guitar pedals : when daisychained, their power led doesn't turn on when they're disengaged, for what it's worth. And no you don't want all your pedals engaged at the same time! That'd make quite the racket (I don't understand exactly how guitar pedals work though. Are they powered on even if they're disengaged/poer LED is off? My guess is "no", but I'm not sure. I think that when they aren't engaged, the input signal is just re-routed to the output jack. Thus the term "bypass", which should require no power from the pedal)

[bobrocks95]

If I had to take a guess, daisy-chaining consoles together would be a bad idea because some current would leak between consoles, right? If you're hooking up a pedal board you're probably going to have everything on it turned on anyway, but just having one console on would be completely different.

Am I in the right ballpark?

Just to clarify : I wasn't gonna use the daisy chain cable for my consoles! Was just gonna use the Power-All adapter for my SNES only.

But I think you have a valid point of concern with the daisy chaining for consoles. I too would be worried that power could leak back into the consoles even when off, in this setup. Maybe someone can test this? Anyway, can't say I trust the daisy chaining, don't think I will ever try that.

As for guitar pedals : when daisychained, their power led doesn't turn on when they're disengaged, for what it's worth. And no you don't want all your pedals engaged at the same time! That'd make quite the racket (I don't understand exactly how guitar pedals work though. Are they powered on even if they're disengaged/poer LED is off? My guess is "no", but I'm not sure. I think that when they aren't engaged, the input signal is just re-routed to the output jack. Thus the term "bypass", which should require no power from the pedal)

Whoops yeah I didn't explain everything that I was thinking. I thought that adapter you linked would be a really convenient way to hook up a bunch of systems, but then thought about the power leakage.

Somewhat related question- does the Retro DC require insulation caps or anything on outputs you aren't using? I know the Sega-Trio does, and as I recall someone saying, that means they're designed very poorly.

[thebigcheese]

It does not require caps. I doubt the Trio really requires them, they are more to make sure they don't somehow short. Not a bad idea, but kind of overkill.

As for power leak, not really any danger there. The console won't draw power unless it's on. The bigger issue is that you might get some extra noise from having so many things connected to one PSU. For that reason, the isolated supplies I linked to are a better option for hooking up multiple systems.

[DirkSwizzler]

It does not require caps. I doubt the Trio really requires them, they are more to make sure they don't somehow short. Not a bad idea, but kind of overkill.

As for power leak, not really any danger there. The console won't draw power unless it's on. The bigger issue is that you might get some extra noise from having so many things connected to one PSU. For that reason, the isolated supplies I linked to are a better option for hooking up multiple systems.

Or you could get 20 of the ones that Bob and I have linked for the same price. They’re even more isolated, and tested for noise.

[thebigcheese]

It does not require caps. I doubt the Trio really requires them, they are more to make sure they don't somehow short. Not a bad idea, but kind of overkill.

As for power leak, not really any danger there. The console won't draw power unless it's on. The bigger issue is that you might get some extra noise from having so many things connected to one PSU. For that reason, the isolated supplies I linked to are a better option for hooking up multiple systems.

Or you could get 20 of the ones that Bob and I have linked for the same price. They’re even more isolated, and tested for noise.

Yes. But then you still have 20 things to plug in instead of one. My goal is to reduce clutter, so if I can have one thing that powers everything, so much the better.