N64 No Signal

[Niku-Sama]

If my electrical knowledge is correct the frequency is just the ac line flipping back and forth between it's alternating directions so any thing after the power supply shouldn't really be affected by it and the power supply it self should be able to cope like the above said before it gets conveyed to dc.

If the ac input voltage is too low then the psu will try and make up for it but it can only do so much which is probably why your getting kind if a false start.

[AdamAnt316]

If my electrical knowledge is correct the frequency is just the ac line flipping back and forth between it's alternating directions so any thing after the power supply shouldn't really be affected by it and the power supply it self should be able to cope like the above said before it gets conveyed to dc.

Correct. In the old days of linear power supplies, transformers had to be designed based on the line frequency it was intended to be used for. The lower the frequency, the more 'iron' the transformer needs. That's why you'll often find 400Hz power being used in aviation applications in order to save weight on transformer size. Conversely, radios designed in the days when parts of Canada used 25Hz power required transformers which were massive. More about power line frequency can be found here.

If the ac input voltage is too low then the psu will try and make up for it but it can only do so much which is probably why your getting kind if a false start.

Pretty much, yeah. I'm not sure whether the N64 power brick uses voltage regulators or not, but a 240V input power supply running on 120V will output roughly half of the intended voltage. The LED used as the power indicator doesn't require much current in order to light, which is why it'd glow even with half voltage present, but the rest of the circuitry is more power-hungry, so it wouldn't be able to do much at that input level.
-Adam

[flameboy]

Correct. In the old days of linear power supplies, transformers had to be designed based on the line frequency it was intended to be used for. The lower the frequency, the more 'iron' the transformer needs. That's why you'll often find 400Hz power being used in aviation applications in order to save weight on transformer size. Conversely, radios designed in the days when parts of Canada used 25Hz power required transformers which were massive. More about power line frequency can be found here.



Pretty much, yeah. I'm not sure whether the N64 power brick uses voltage regulators or not, but a 240V input power supply running on 120V will output roughly half of the intended voltage. The LED used as the power indicator doesn't require much current in order to light, which is why it'd glow even with half voltage present, but the rest of the circuitry is more power-hungry, so it wouldn't be able to do much at that input level.
-Adam

Ok good to know. I've finally had time to check my N64 and it is indeed the PAL one that has been posted further up^.

So my question to everyone what would the better solution? Order a replacement N64 power supply or go for some kinda of step up converter like this;

http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B002...A2O5IPLWDUVMNZ

which I could then use on other devices as well.

[AdamAnt316]

Ok good to know. I've finally had time to check my N64 and it is indeed the PAL one that has been posted further up^.

So my question to everyone what would the better solution? Order a replacement N64 power supply or go for some kinda of step up converter like this;

http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B002...A2O5IPLWDUVMNZ

which I could then use on other devices as well.

To me, it would be easier to just get a US power supply for your N64, since it's an option. Keep your UK supply around in case you go back there at some point, but using a travel booster with it would be kinda wasteful, IMO. If you have other UK devices which operate on 240V, that step-up should be fine (provided said devices are within its ratings, of course), but be mindful of the frequency difference as I mentioned earlier. Most devices won't be affected, but if any of them rely on line frequency to govern speed (line-powered clocks, older record players), operation will be affected (nothing dangerous, they just will run faster than intended). Hope this helps.
-Adam

[flameboy]

To me, it would be easier to just get a US power supply for your N64, since it's an option. Keep your UK supply around in case you go back there at some point, but using a travel booster with it would be kinda wasteful, IMO. If you have other UK devices which operate on 240V, that step-up should be fine (provided said devices are within its ratings, of course), but be mindful of the frequency difference as I mentioned earlier. Most devices won't be affected, but if any of them rely on line frequency to govern speed (line-powered clocks, older record players), operation will be affected (nothing dangerous, they just will run faster than intended). Hope this helps.
-Adam

See I have an old original Xbox as well which now I've looked clearly says 220v on the back of it...so I could use the step up for that too...I was looking on amazon saw this;

http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B002...A2O5IPLWDUVMNZ

or is this overkill? Trouble I've had is shopping on amazon.ca it's given me canadian to uk travel adapters...I've noticed somethings like the travel kit below saying its only for use for 15 mins at a time

http://www.voltageconverters.ca/p-11...-50-1600w.aspx

[Niku-Sama]

i'd say that's overkill, for the N64 that is.
check a thrift or local game shop if you have one and they'll probably have a N64 brick and then you just jam it in there

being PAL though are there going to be video signal problems or do you have a set that handles PAL too?

[AdamAnt316]

See I have an old original Xbox as well which now I've looked clearly says 220v on the back of it...so I could use the step up for that too...I was looking on amazon saw this;

http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B002...A2O5IPLWDUVMNZ

or is this overkill? Trouble I've had is shopping on amazon.ca it's given me canadian to uk travel adapters...I've noticed somethings like the travel kit below saying its only for use for 15 mins at a time

http://www.voltageconverters.ca/p-11...-50-1600w.aspx

I checked my own original XBox, and it indeed is non-universal power supply-wise (rather odd, but whatever). The plate on the back of mine reads "100-127V 2.1A 50/60Hz", which works out to roughly 250W, so the step-up in your first link should be sufficient. I wouldn't bother with any of those cheesy travel kits, which are not good for any sort of sustained operation (as the second linked page indicates). I've had cheap step-up converters go up in smoke with little to no load connected, and seem to run quite hot even with small loads. The old adage "You get what you pay for" is very much applicable here.
-Adam

[Gameguy]

It's basically already been said but there's a few ways to look at it. If you're just wanting to use the N64 then a North American power supply would be the best thing to do, it would use less electricity too as these step converters use more power when converting the voltage. If you're wanting to use other devices like that Xbox you mentioned then a step converter would probably be more suitable, or use a North American N64 adapter and still get the step converter anyway for everything else.

As for the other adapter you posted, this would go with my previous statement of "cheap adapters" and aren't worth bothering with. I'm going to assume the adapter you've already been using with this UK N64 isn't even that good and just adapts the shape of the plug as I originally thought. If you're patient you can find proper step converters for better pricing, I found one at a thrift store that works pretty well and was under $10 with tax included. You have to be lucky though. Just another option if you're not in a rush.

To anyone else asking about the TV, he said that he's using a TV that previously worked fine with it. I'm going to assume that it's a PAL compatible TV and would continue to work just fine with these UK systems.