the acurate power ratings

daguuy · Post by **daguuy** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 6:48 pm

i know the amp ratings for psone screen and N64 are not definitely known (there are some varying ratings scattered around but they don't quite match up) so i decided to clarify it so everybody knows exactly how much amps the whole thing takes.

i just got a nice power supply that i can control/moniter the voltage and amps so i decided to power my (unassembled) N64p with it. the voltage i used was 7.5v. here's what i powered:

-N64 with ti dc-dc convertor
-psone screen with speakers and LED mod (6 10,000mcd leds powered from 7.5v, not 7805)
-controller

so that's everything you need to power. here's what the results are:

with quiet volume
-perfect dark: around 1A
-smash bros: around 1A
-pod racing: 1A - 1.2A
-wave race: 1A

with full volume
-perfect dark: around 1.2A
-smash bros: around 1.25A
-pod racing: 1.2A - 1.5A
-wave race: 1.2A

i hope somebody finds this useful, it takes less amps than most people think. i'll put this on the wiki

superdeformed · Post by **superdeformed** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 7:35 pm

That seems pretty much on par with the current testing I did with my original N64 (Perfect Dark at about 1/2 volume with 4 LEDs in the screen drew 1.1A). It's good to have another reading of similar values to compare that with

.

daguuy · Post by **daguuy** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 8:45 pm

it's kinda wierd that perfect dark draws less current than smash brothers, i thought it would take a lot more. anyway, i tested it up to 9.2v and the screen ran perfectly so it can officially go above 9v but i didn't test any higher than that because i already jumped the screen's fuse

timmeh87 · Post by **timmeh87** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 9:42 pm

what power supply did you get. it sounds nice. its it affordable? cause i need one...

vskid · Post by **vskid** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 7:07 am

Could you check/guess how much power it uses with a lm317 to get the 3.3v?

timmeh87 · Post by **timmeh87** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 9:19 am

probably .5A more or so

daguuy · Post by **daguuy** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 2:21 pm

probably, but i don't have one to test.

@timme, it's Mastech HY1503C DC power supply. i don't know how much it costs but i assume it's affordable because i have one

vskid · Post by **vskid** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 3:13 pm

timmeh87 wrote:probably .5A more or so

Thats a lot, I think I might get the free dc-dc, which one is best, there are several that have been used, so which one should I get?

timmeh87 · Post by **timmeh87** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 3:16 pm

probably the ptn80000

Warrior_Rocker · Post by **Warrior_Rocker** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 7:07 pm

I have just did a comprehensive test of the n64's tolerance to voltage's and what I have found is:

Interestingly enough the n64 continues to run just fine without the 12v line hooked up, the audio and video output just stop working thats all, if you hook that line back up you get video and audio again, with no effect to the console. this can be implemented as some sort of standby feature, that you could shutdown the lcd and the 12v line to the n64, and continue to run the cpu line (3.3v) and save a little bit of power...

The n64's power tolerance has a lot to do with what revision the console is, with a lot of the componets of the original boards all the way to version 9, you have a lot more IC's being used, and less bulky componets, This saves a bit of power (speculation: proved) as well it provides with a lower voltage tolerance.

Test subjects are version 1 and version 9 n64 boards, as tested with my voltmeter, at the same power level, a 12.19 volt power adapter and using the pth08000 voltage regulator. (everyones values may be different, but with the same setup, the difference is easily noticeable)

Version 1's 3.3v line min: 3.14 volts, before a cpu reset
Version 9's 3.3v line min: 3.02 volts, before a cpu reset

Version 1's 12v line min: 6.03 volts, before going funky
Version 9's 12v line min: 5.43 volts, before going funky

Note: dont hold me to these values, this is just what I was able to produce, This may make someone want to consider what console to portablize in the future, perhaps a golden gem is some of the higher model boards, although the lower model ones are easy to do an rgb mod on....

Just one note of a huge difference between the boards is the combination of the original 2 ram chips on the board to the 1 ram chip present on the newer boards, obviously this helps to reduce power...

Hope this is helpful

timmeh87 · Post by **timmeh87** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 8:10 am

my board has 3 ram chips and i can drive it down to 2.9v. hm.

Post by **Gamelver** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 12:59 pm

3

?

I've only ever seen 'em with two at most....hmmmm....and 2.9V worked fine, without any distortion?

timmeh87 · Post by **timmeh87** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 1:04 pm

well i have the expansion pack.

i dont have any way to hear the audio. the video is a bit sketchy at 2.9. 2.95 <i>seems</i> ok. 3 is fine. 3 is where i keep it.

Warrior_Rocker · Post by **Warrior_Rocker** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 1:04 pm

well, it also has a lot to do with the input amperage, like i said everyone will have different experiences with the voltages.

I seriously doubt that any n64 had 3 ram chips, unless you are including the expansion pack... otherwise there would be no where to fit the chips on the board...

thats great yall got it down that low, but when the cpu drops low it does not distort, it resets or shuts off....