US Power supply for GVP Impact A500

[Blatboy]

Greetings.

I picked up a GVP Impact A500 hard drive enclosure like this one:

http://www.amiga-hardware.com/showhardware.cgi?HARDID=1193

(an earlier model?)

Anyhoo, I'm looking to get a power supply for it. I've seen some threads around that say that you could use this supply:  

http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=473

however, it seems it's only for a 240v situation, and alas I'm in a 120v world.

another option I read about was an adapter, a CD32 to molex adapter:

http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=885¤cy=USD

The description mentions the Impact II, would it work with the earlier version of the Impact?

Could I just use a "loose" atx power supply with this? What wattage?  I can't imagine it would need much...

Seems like this should be doable, but I wanted to check in with you experts first... What say you?

Thanks!

blatboy

[mechy]

Greetings.

I picked up a GVP Impact A500 hard drive enclosure like this one:

http://www.amiga-hardware.com/showhardware.cgi?HARDID=1193

(an earlier model?)

Anyhoo, I'm looking to get a power supply for it. I've seen some threads around that say that you could use this supply:  

http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=473

however, it seems it's only for a 240v situation, and alas I'm in a 120v world.

another option I read about was an adapter, a CD32 to molex adapter:

http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=885¤cy=USD

The description mentions the Impact II, would it work with the earlier version of the Impact?

Could I just use a "loose" atx power supply with this? What wattage?  I can't imagine it would need much...

Seems like this should be doable, but I wanted to check in with you experts first... What say you?

Thanks!

blatboy

You can just take a spare A500 psu and change the connector,it will work just fine for what you are doing.

Mech

[Blatboy]

Thanks for the reply!

Cool.  An A500 power supply shouldn't be too hard to find methinks.  I'll check for an adapter as well, or worse comes to worse I'll mod it meself.

[Blatboy]

oooooh.

http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=866

interesting... I could get this PSU w/the molex connector attached and the above mentioned adapter.  Not the cheapest option, but it would be new hardware and not all that expensive...

hmmmm.

EDIT:  rats.  not in stock.

[Blatboy]

So, yeah, it's been a minute or two since I first looked into this... and now I want to get things finally working!

On the first generation Impact A500, the power connector is a 5 pin din (a midi cable would fit into it)  as opposed to the 4pin (CD32 style?) connector that's found on the II series.

(I could be talking out of me arse here, so please correct me if my understanding of the situation is wrong)

Anyhow, I remember many eons ago stumbling upon a pin-out diagram for this jack on the Impact A500... I didn't bookmark it, and of course now I can't find it.

Any one know were I might find that info?  I found the original documentation in pdf form, but it only has the pinouts for the SCSI connectors...

Thanks so much!

If I can't get this to work maybe I'll just go the ACA500 route.  That thing seems pretty awesome.  But.... I kinda love the idea of getting the vintage stuff to work.

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

I had the same problem with my A500 sidecar (bought from Europe, couldn't source a US PSU).  Wired mine to draw power directly from the 86-pin connector, it works fine as long as you're using a modern low-draw HD or any sort of CF adapter.  It's just a couple jumper pads that need to be changed on the sidecar, Google should be able to find you the instructions (they're on the same page as instructions for A590), let me know if you can't find, I can try to dig them up.  Much nicer than having an extra bulky PSU sitting under your desk also, IMHO.  

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Found it:  http://members.iinet.net.au/~davem2/overclock/a500hd.html

[Blatboy]

Thanks so much for the suggestion, Mr. Oldsmobile.  (Part of my childhood was in a Delta 88, FWIW)

I'm a little wary of using bus power for it, being that I am (at least at first) going to be powering older SCSI drives.

I think I may have found some helpful information here:

http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=53655

I certainly have a lot of old MIDI cables around, so I may sacrifice a connector there, and hook it up to a molex connector to an ATX power supply I have.

That said, if I do go the route of a more modern drive that takes less power, I will very likely take up your suggestion, as it would certainly look better and save some real estate.

[Blatboy]

So, I'm coming back to this yet again.

I FINALLY found the pinouts here

    Seen from the pins of the 5 pin DIN plug:

 -------------- o --------Ground
 --+12v --- o -- o ------Ground
 --+5v --- o ----- o -----Not Connected

I picked up an old Amiga power supply a couple months ago on Ebay for this, and I have a 5 pin din connectors coming outta my ears. (So, speak up for chrissake, how can I hear you with all these darn connectors in my ears?!)  

I'll build the cable and tell you how it goes...

[Blatboy]

Actually, if I use an A500 supply, there are connections for the -5V and -12V rails to the GVP.  So, I just don't hook those wires to anything?  (Obviously I would make sure they're not shorting to anything.)  Will the PSU run ok if there is no load on the -5V and -12V lines?

[Blatboy]

:bump: :banana: :bump: :banana: :bump: :banana: :bump: :banana:

Anyone?

(sorry for any obnoxiousness that may be detected here...)

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Four years later and you're still looking?  That definitely trumps some of my searches!    There's a couple of them up on ebay right now:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Commodore-Amiga-500-Hard-Drive-Lot-/361313004108

Check the picture of the DIN, is that the same kind yours uses?  A longshot, but maybe the seller would measure the voltages for you?  (or the buyer)?  

[utri007]

Some GVP scsi controllers are easy to modify to take power from side connector.

http://members.iinet.net.au/~davem2/overclock/a500hd.html

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Some GVP scsi controllers are easy to modify to take power from side connector.

http://members.iinet.net.au/~davem2/overclock/a500hd.html

I posted that same link in this thread over a year ago.  He didn't want to do it then, maybe he'll be more agreeable to it now!  :roflmao:

Mine is still working great BTW, more than two years after doing this mod.  Your mileage may vary, of course.  

[Blatboy]

Yeah yeah yeah.  You got me.  I've been distracted by other things and now suddenly this project is back in sight of my red eye of Mordor.

I had certainly looked at all the links, and thought I was a little afraid to tax my A500 by giving power via the bus.  The GVP is an earlier model (it looks beefier than the series II) and has a big honkin' old SCSI spindle drive in it...

So, as Mech suggested, I bought an old A500 power supply, and wanted to mod it.  I now know the pinouts of the GVP... they don't use the -5 and -12 volt rails...

If I use the old A500 power supply and have nothing connected to the -5 and -12V rails, that should be ok, yes?