Amiga A4000 PSU Repair in North America?

[mfletcher]

Hi,

I have a broken A4000 PSU, that Id like

1) Repaired
2) Fan swapped out for a quieter model.

Im not too good with a soldering iron ;-) Is there anyone out there in NA that could do these repairs for me? Willing to pay of course.

Regards,

Mark

[danbeaver]

Rather than have it repaired, you can have the internal PSU replaced with a new, dual voltage ~500W mATX PSU with a new, near silent fan.  I've done a bunch grafting the original harness so (except for the quiet fan) they look like the original.  More details if you wish.

[Amiwest]

There is:
"http://www.maccaps.com/MacCaps/Repair_Service.html"
I have never used them but they say they will recap Amiga as well as Mac.
The A4000D came with different psu's. If you have a Skynet it might be cost effective to repair but another one I don't think so. Below is a link to the Skynet schematic.
http://amiga.serveftp.net/Schematics/A4000_schematics/A4000_Skynet_PSU_schematics.pdf

[danbeaver]

I've used Charles at Maccaps for motherboards and he is fast and reasonably priced, but the price of a new 500W mATX PSU runs about $25 USD and takes about 90 minutes to put in an A4000D to look like the original; using an ATX to Amiga harness adds about $20 USD but cuts the time to about 15 minutes.

Just options...

[QuikSanz]

The "Original" PSU was not a switching type, the new ones are. Odds are good the old PSU repaired will last 4 times longer than the new switching type.

Chris

[LoadWB]

I've used Charles at Maccaps for motherboards and he is fast and reasonably priced, but the price of a new 500W mATX PSU runs about $25 USD and takes about 90 minutes to put in an A4000D to look like the original; using an ATX to Amiga harness adds about $20 USD but cuts the time to about 15 minutes.

Just options...

I went ATX and have not looked back.  That's why I sold my Skynet.

The "Original" PSU was not a switching type, the new ones are. Odds are good the old PSU repaired will last 4 times longer than the new switching type.

Chris

A quality PSU can last a very long time.  The problem is so many of them in our current era are victims of the capacitor blight from the early 2000s.  I have gone through two microATX 145W PSUs in my 4000D in the past eight years -- granted the first lasted six years, and the second just blew up.  The replacement for the second blew up as soon as I plugged it in, and the model I used, that I designed the inside of my case around including the hard drive mount and cabling, has been discontinued.

I am going to the picoPSU with a single 12V DC input, now.  Going to have a guy make a metal plate to cover the PSU hole in the back of the case and mount the ATX converter and picuPSD, and a fan to it.  Free up a lot of space inside and help move a good bit more air.

[QuikSanz]

One thing about the old one is that it has a full size transformer and they are heavy, this is also a bit of a good thing also cause it's really hard to blow out!

Chris

[RobertB]

I have a broken A4000 PSU, that Id like

1) Repaired
2) Fan swapped out for a quieter model.

Though Ray Carlsen is not specifically an Amiga tech, he does build Amiga power supplies for A500's, A600's, and A1200's.  His knowledge of the workings of computer power supplies is excellent!  Why don't you give him an e-mail ring and see what he can do?

FCUG celebrating 33 years,
Robert Bernardo
Fresno Commodore User Group
http://www.dickestel.com/fcug.htm
July 18-19 Commodore Vegas Expo v11 -
http://www.portcommodore.com/commvex

[mechy]

The "Original" PSU was not a switching type, the new ones are. Odds are good the old PSU repaired will last 4 times longer than the new switching type.

Chris

Nonsense, ALL a4000 power supplies are switching supplies. You must be thinking of older A500 psu or something?
Switching supplies are quite reliable if they are of quality mfg. the fact that most A4000 psu's have made it 20+ years is proof.

[mechy]

One thing about the old one is that it has a full size transformer and they are heavy, this is also a bit of a good thing also cause it's really hard to blow out!

Chris

The transformer in a old linerar supply or newer switching supply is almost never the failure. It is usually the regulator or transistors(fets)mosfets doing the switching that take the beating. Old capacitors also don't help.