CD32: How do you know if it is PAL or NTSC?

[c0dehunter]

I am located in North America (USA, not Canada), and I just bought a mint condition CD32 (never taken out of its protective plastic coverings).

1) The power supply unit says: INPUT 220~240. Does it mean it is an European one?

2) The power supply main cable (going to the wall) does not feature an actual plug (three pronged or not), it feature just three loose wires. Is this normal?

3) Can I use my Amiga 500 (or A600, or even my A1200) power supply instead?

4) If it is indeed a PAL system, how can I convert it into a NTSC?

This is the original post, on Ebay but I bought it locally from him, so probably he has forgotten to take his listing off.

Please let me know!

[Arnie]

1. yes
2. no, it's not normal.
3. no, unless you can change the connector and wiring for the cd32
4. Don't know, you can use a power up adapter but, as for the ntsc, I'm not sure.

edit: there is nothing showing for the original listing, have you got a link?

[roy bates]

1) yes
2) i dont know,it would just be a case of putting a plug on it,but you would need a step up transformer to use it anyway.
3) no because of the plug only,but you can convert a atx one and use that.
4) i dont remember the exact details for this,but it is possible.

[Arnie]

If it wasn't for the postage, and you wanted to sell it, I'd offer to take it off your hands.

[xArtx]

Wouldn't it be possible just to seek out the power supply from a not so mint condition CD32?
I imagine the input is the same at the actual console.

[Arnie]

Hmm, I see your reasoning, But the output in the US is 110, would it be enough for a console that states input 220~240?

[c0dehunter]

I have a feeling that the seller has defrauded me. It was a local Craigslist transaction. I should have been more careful when I saw the 220-240V.

[c0dehunter]

this is his original Craigslist posting:

http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/ele/3886624786.html

He NEVER mentioned that it is a PAL system.

I just realized that he has listed his CD32 on eBay as well, and (by law) has indeed specified it as PAL:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Commodore-Am...item4d0dc68002

Should I notify the authorities on him? This is not a way to do transaction.

[xArtx]

Originally Posted by Arnie

Hmm, I see your reasoning, But the output in the US is 110, would it be enough for a console that states input 220~240?

The power supply input should be 110 Volts in your area,
and 240 Volts here in Australia where I am.

The output of both power supplies to the CD32 console should be the same
(containing 12 and 5 volt lines).

If you look at the pinout for the CD32 connector where it connects to the
power supply brick, I thin you'll find PAL & NTSC are the same,
and you only need a power supply brick from an NTSC unit.

That does not change the PAL designation, but a lot of TVs handle both NTSC and PAL nowadays.

EDIT,,,
If you want to go down the road of recovering your money,
It is probably illegal to sell an electrical appliance without a plug.
(it is here).

[quarkx]

A few years ago, there was a seller on ebay in China selling NOS CD32 units. I bought one of those. It had the proper north American power supply (no cut wires). You CAN use a regular North American Power supply on it. NO need to buy step up transformers etc (but finding a NA power supply might be hard) On Modern LCD TV's it won't mater if its PAL if you hook up through the RCA jacks.
99% of all CD32 disks are PAL anyway (as the CD tv was never officially released in the US anyway) so having a NTSC CD32 won't make any difference anyway.
I sold my unit a year or so back, but I did order in a few games and they worked just fine on my 32 inch LCD tv. Just had a black boarder around it because the aspect ratio is not "widescreen".

The same goes with ANY Amiga made. You can take a North American power supply and plug it right into the Amiga and not have any issues. I order in about 2 or 3 PAL A1200's and A600's in from the UK a year and just use my North American A500 Power supply on them. Commodore was smart, and put the conversion in the brick- All motherboards require the exact same power and voltage at the motherboard side.

[c0dehunter]

Many thanks for your kind remarks. Well I can not get a hold of the guy who sold it to me, but the more I look at the system, the more I like it. It is still in its original plastic wrappings, and although the brick is missing a real plug (probably the distinctive, 3 pronged UK plug), there is no sign of tampering: The three loos wires has clean solders at their termination point, and there is no sign of cutting or mishandling.

Since I have decided to keep it, I would like from all you you, to please, kindly help me out:

1) I need to a get a US plug for it, and for that I will have to take the brick to a local electric shop (RadioShack here in US), so they can help me with that.

2) Then I need to know if there is a need for step up transformers or not, which judging from quarkx's kind comment, it seems that I won't need it. (or do I?)

3) My Sony PVM-20l5 is a multisync native 15Khz RGB monitor (PAL and NTSC) so I am hoping I can connect it at least via S-Video. Or I can use a modern LCD monitor (have many of them laying around, DELL, etc.)

p.s. quarkx's comment about the PAL games and other assurances, kind of put my mind at ease. and now I have come to terms with the fact, that I am a proud owner of a piece of history, but I need to work some of the kinks to make it 100% operational.

would you kindly remark on these points?
Many thanks in advance.

[xArtx]

Just don't ever swap an auto power supply for a manual one, or it breaks everything
(Amiga and A590).


You still need another power supply from an NTSC CD32.
If you wire a plug to the current one and plug it in it's a disaster!!!

Basically, you throw the current brick away, and try to find another one.

You CAN use a regular North American Power supply on it.

What he means is you can use the other power supply brick.

[c0dehunter]

Originally Posted by xArtx

Just don't ever swap an auto power supply for a manual one, or it breaks everything
(Amiga and A590).

What exactly is an an auto power supply?

I am trying to a get a step-up transformer, and use my current UK brick that came with my CD32. Are you saying it is NOT going to work this way?

[xArtx]

I'll bet it would be very easy to use a regular PC PSU with it:
http://www.ianstedman.co.uk/Amiga/am..._supplies.html

Don't throw away the connector!!!

[xArtx]

Auto power supply is irrelevant with CD32.

It's a power supply for the A590 external HDD that turns on & off by itself with the
Amiga 500 it is connected to.

[xArtx]

Originally Posted by c0dehunter

I am trying to a get a step-up transformer, and use my current UK brick that came with my CD32. Are you saying it is NOT going to work this way?

Yes that will work, then there are two power supplies total.

[c0dehunter]

Originally Posted by I'll bet it would be very easy to use a regular PC PSU with it:
[URL="http://www.ianstedman.co.uk/Amiga/amiga_hacks/Amiga_Power_supplies/body_amiga_power_supplies.html"

http://www.ianstedman.co.uk/Amiga/am..._supplies.html[/URL]

Don't throw away the connector!!!.

The simple solution to make a power lead up is very tempting, but I need to know if power provided by the PC PSU via this molex would not be overkill for it.

http://www.ianstedman.co.uk/Amiga/am..._PSU_to_a_CD32

[c0dehunter]

I am thinking about getting this transformer:

http://www.microcenter.com/product/2...tage_Converter

Can I use it on my UK CD32? (I don't know why its title does not say step down, but rather step up)

[quarkx]

My advice is wrap that UK power supply up and never touch it again- it will only cause you grief in the long run,
Here is the simplist way to get a "good" North American PS for it.
1 Get a hold of a working ATX power supply (even a used one thats a few years old will do)
2: get the adaptor for $7 from AmigaKit and be done with it, No futzing with wiring, no soldering, just a 14 day (Max) delay for shipping from the UK.

Now, rumor is that you can use a power supply from a Commodore 1451-ll floppy drive. It has the same pin-outs and is "Always" on, but I can't confirm that. it works no problem on an A590 HD unit.

[c0dehunter]

Thanks for your kind remark. Or I could simply use the suggested guide here:
http://www.ianstedman.co.uk/Amiga/am..._PSU_to_a_CD32

and make a connector myself, which does not seem hard at all.