NES AC Adapter question

[Anthony1]

I picked up a old NES today at a thrift. No AC Adapter. Do any of the other video game systems AC adapters work with this?

Or do I need to go to a GameStop or GameCrazy and see if I can find a old NES AC Adapter?


Thanks for any help

[dave2236]

If you use a Genesis, model one AC cord it will provide enough power to the NES for it to work.

Or you could get a universal power cord from radio shack or some other parts place.

[Qixmaster]

You know you can use any AC with input 120V(volts)... hope that helps. Check out goodwills, they tend to have random ACs.

[The Manimal]

These should'nt be costly, so I'd go pay $2 or so or whatever it costs to get a used 'official' NES AC adaptor.

[Anthony1]

If you use a Genesis, model one AC cord it will provide enough power to the NES for it to work.

Or you could get a universal power cord from radio shack or some other parts place.


I have a Genesis 1 power adapter, that I could use, but are you sure that it would be safe to the NES? Would it be safe to the Genesis power adapter?

The reason that I ask, is because I use that Genesis 1 power adapter for so many different things. I actually have two of them, because of it. I use it as the primary power source for my Jag. Also for my TurboGrafx. Also for my Model 2 Sega CD system. And sometimes for my Model 1 Genesis, although I've been using my Model 2 Genesis much more lately.

Anyways, I could plug in the Genesis 1 power to right now, but I don't want to fry the NES.

[Qixmaster]

it wouldn't fry the nes, don't sweat it.

[The Manimal]

Well, either way they shouldn't be costly, as I said above. I am one of those picky types that worry about my systems, so I try to go official. If something else works and that doesn't bother you, go that way also if you wish.


I don't always go official for chickenwire A/V connections or accessories though. Then again....third party controllers almost always are crap.

[Anthony1]

It's not so much that I'm trying to be cheap, as I'm trying to keep my total number of AC Adapters to a minimum.

[The Manimal]

Okay. I was actually stressing the "I don't want to damage my system" rhetoric :)

If your goal is to have as few AC adaptors as possible....by all means go universal (using one for many systems) if you can.

[Achika]

Here's a handy link:

http://users.erols.com/tiltonj/games/tech/power.html

It doesn't have the Sega Genesis on there (well, there's not much on there total but....) Anyhow, it shows that you can use your Jag plug for an NES, and since you're using your Genesis plug on your Jag, it should be fine.

Going off this concept, I'm trying to incorporate this chart into my site, but it's taking awhile. Hopefully one day it will be done. :roll:

[dave2236]

actually in refernce to the 120 volts, you can't use any type of plug because the amperage is different.

This is what I have found from my couple years as a game store manager, the Genesis power cord will work on NES systems, BUT a NES power supply will not always work on a genesis because the amperage is to low to keep the genesis powered up.


But, you should have no worries about frying your system

[FABombjoy]

The NES AC is a bad thing to use in a Genesis. The NES AC adapter outputs AC power, the Genesis uses DC.

You can use a Genesis or other DC power supply with a NES, but within the NES, you're subjecting half the components to twice the work.

In short, use something around 9V AC with at least 850mA of power. Like, for instance, an NES power supply :-D

[davidbrit2]

I've also found several old external modem power supplies that have an output of 9V AC and have the correct plug. That's what I use currently.

And the very obvious sign that you're using DC on the NES is a low buzz emitted on the audio channels. Some games with various mapper chips won't work, either. I'm pretty sure Super C is one of them.