Risc PC PSU

[Rob Heaton]

Does anyone have any information on upgrading the Risc PC PSU?

I remember that APDL used to offer upgraded high output PSU's in the
original casing.

Has anyone upgraded theirs or have any pointers on where to start?

--
Rob Heaton

[Dave Plowman (News)]

In article <860386a...@rob.robheaton.co.uk>,

I found a PC PS from CPC that would fit inside the Acorn PS case with a
bit of work. Lots more power, and a quieter fan.

It involved removing the loom from the old PS and fitting to the new. Not
actually that difficult if you can solder. Cost about £30 (several years
ago) and a morning's work.

--
*I didn't like my beard at first. Then it grew on me.*

Dave Plowman da...@davenoise.co.uk London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

[Chris Hughes]

In message <860386a...@rob.robheaton.co.uk>

You could try CJE Micros

http://www.cjemicros.co.uk/micros/individual/newprodpages/prodinfo.php?prodcode=ACO-103WSORR

Might be suitable. Check with them direct.

--
Chris Hughes

[Stuart]

In article <860386a...@rob.robheaton.co.uk>,
Rob Heaton <r...@robheaton.co.uk> wrote:

The most obvious question here, first of all, is why do you think you need
an upgrade?

What is the rating of your current PSU?

--
Stuart Winsor

Tools With A Mission
sending tools across the world
http://www.twam.co.uk/

[Rob Heaton]

On Sat, 29 Aug 2020 13:12:32 +0100, Stuart wrote:

> In article <860386a...@rob.robheaton.co.uk>,
> Rob Heaton <r...@robheaton.co.uk> wrote:
>> Does anyone have any information on upgrading the Risc PC PSU?
>
>> I remember that APDL used to offer upgraded high output PSU's in the
>> original casing.
>
>> Has anyone upgraded theirs or have any pointers on where to start?
>
> The most obvious question here, first of all, is why do you think you
> need an upgrade?
>
> What is the rating of your current PSU?

I currently have the 70w version, I have found that when adding anything
more than a hard drive and a cd drive, the machine fails to start, I just
get a black screen.

I can remove either the cd drive or hard drive power, then add another
device, the machine then works correctly.

I'm assuming too much current is being drawn for the PSU to cope with.


Rob.

[Rob Heaton]

I spoke to Chris @ CJE earlier this year, I was hoping for a PSU with new
capacitors as they are getting on now!
CJE don't currently offer these, but are hoping to offer something at a
later date.

I've been talking to some people on the StarDot forums as some members
have put together a refurb kit for certain PSU models.


Rob.

[Rob Heaton]

On Sat, 29 Aug 2020 11:05:50 +0100, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

> In article <860386a...@rob.robheaton.co.uk>,
> Rob Heaton <r...@robheaton.co.uk> wrote:
>> Does anyone have any information on upgrading the Risc PC PSU?
>
>> I remember that APDL used to offer upgraded high output PSU's in the
>> original casing.
>
>> Has anyone upgraded theirs or have any pointers on where to start?
>
> I found a PC PS from CPC that would fit inside the Acorn PS case with a
> bit of work. Lots more power, and a quieter fan.
>
> It involved removing the loom from the old PS and fitting to the new.
> Not actually that difficult if you can solder. Cost about £30 (several
> years ago) and a morning's work.

That sounds ideal!
I don't suppose you have a model or part number of the PSU tht was used?


Rob.

[Stuart]

In article <ridpre$1s62$1...@gioia.aioe.org>,

Rob Heaton <r...@robheaton.co.uk> wrote:
> I currently have the 70w version, I have found that when adding anything
> more than a hard drive and a cd drive, the machine fails to start, I
> just get a black screen.

103W power supplies were available.

I moved my RPC into a standard ATX case complete with PSU. All that is
required is a little metal bashing and a plug to match the Acorn PSU
socket on the motherboard. You could cut this off your old PSU or get one
from CJE.

Then it's a case of how many HDDs or CDDs do you want as most ATX cases
have mounting slots aplenty.

http://www.cjemicros.co.uk/micros/individual/newprodpages/prodinfo.php?prodcode=VAR-RPCPSUP

[Theo]

"Dave Plowman (News)" <da...@davenoise.co.uk> wrote:
> In article <860386a...@rob.robheaton.co.uk>,
> Rob Heaton <r...@robheaton.co.uk> wrote:
> > Does anyone have any information on upgrading the Risc PC PSU?
>
> > I remember that APDL used to offer upgraded high output PSU's in the
> > original casing.
>
> > Has anyone upgraded theirs or have any pointers on where to start?
>
> I found a PC PS from CPC that would fit inside the Acorn PS case with a
> bit of work. Lots more power, and a quieter fan.
>
> It involved removing the loom from the old PS and fitting to the new. Not
> actually that difficult if you can solder. Cost about £30 (several years
> ago) and a morning's work.

A FlexATX PSU fits mechanically and should work electrically. The main
issues are joining the wiring loom, fixing the PSU down (it's much smaller
than a RPC PSU), and putting in a switch to drive the RPC's power button.
As you say, keeping the case of the RPC PSU and putting a new PSU inside
avoids some of these problems.

If it were me, I'd get a 24 way ATX power extension cable:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ATX-Extension-Cable-Lead-24-Pin-Male-to-24-Pin-Female-Internal-PC-PSU-Power-27cm/293099711936
Cut it in half, and join the 'upstream' end to the RPC PSU's power
loom. Then any ATX power supply will plug in to drive the RPC.
In particular a PicoPSU:
https://www.mini-box.com/s.nl/it.A/id.417/.f
can be driven from a 12V power brick.
You'd additionally need to hook in a switch to turn it on and off.

Theo

[Dave Plowman (News)]

In article <ridq2c$1s62$3...@gioia.aioe.org>,

Rob Heaton <r...@robheaton.co.uk> wrote:
> On Sat, 29 Aug 2020 11:05:50 +0100, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

> > In article <860386a...@rob.robheaton.co.uk>,
> > Rob Heaton <r...@robheaton.co.uk> wrote:
> >> Does anyone have any information on upgrading the Risc PC PSU?
> >
> >> I remember that APDL used to offer upgraded high output PSU's in the
> >> original casing.
> >
> >> Has anyone upgraded theirs or have any pointers on where to start?
> >
> > I found a PC PS from CPC that would fit inside the Acorn PS case with a
> > bit of work. Lots more power, and a quieter fan.
> >
> > It involved removing the loom from the old PS and fitting to the new.
> > Not actually that difficult if you can solder. Cost about £30 (several
> > years ago) and a morning's work.

> That sounds ideal!
> I don't suppose you have a model or part number of the PSU tht was used?

IIRC, it was the only one they sold in the RPC shape - ie rectangular
rather than the usual square standard ATX type. Any modern PS will be
plenty large enough for an RPC.

I'd look on Ebay these days first.

--
*I wish the buck stopped here. I could use a few.

[druck]

On 30/08/2020 11:04, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
> IIRC, it was the only one they sold in the RPC shape - ie rectangular
> rather than the usual square standard ATX type. Any modern PS will be
> plenty large enough for an RPC.

Maybe too large though. There have been cases of PC power supplies not
working if not enough power is requested on 5V.

---druck

[Dave Plowman (News)]

In article <rifucl$4t6$1...@dont-email.me>,

Could be. No problem with the one I have. Sadly it's so long ago I don't
have details. Not even sure which RPC it's in. ;-)

--
*When the going gets tough, the tough take a coffee break *

[Rob Heaton]

In message <KpF*hg...@news.chiark.greenend.org.uk>

I'm going to order one of those PicoPSU adapters, suitable 12v power brick
and the 24 way ATX extension.

I should be possible to enclose everything in the original PSU casing and
maintain the power sockets along with the power switch.

--
Rob Heaton

[Theo]

Rob Heaton <r...@robheaton.co.uk> wrote:
> I'm going to order one of those PicoPSU adapters, suitable 12v power brick
> and the 24 way ATX extension.

Something else I'm reminded of is to check what you have for sockets for
drives. A lot of Risc PC gear is likely to need HDD-style Molex connectors,
while nowadays drives tend to have SATA power connectors. You might need to
string some adaptors to get enough sockets.

Also do the sums on current, as I'm not sure what the current output of the
various PicoPSUs do (PCs probably take more on 3.3V which the RPC won't
touch).

Theo

[Rob Heaton]

Just wanted to say thank you to everyone who replied, especially Theo who
suggested the Pico PSU.

The PicoPSU arrived today and I’ve successfully powered the Risc PC from
it!
My next job is to fit it into the chassis of the original PSU and
maintain the original power in connector and power switch.


Cheers,
Rob.