From: fred@cbmvax.commodore.com (Fred Bowen)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.cbm
Subject: Re: Comm64 acting quirky
Date: 27 Aug 92 14:21:11 GMT
Reply-To: fred@cbmvax.commodore.com (Fred Bowen)
Organization: Commodore, West Chester, PA

In article <1992Aug26.201627.21944@infonode.ingr.com> (Ted B. Drude) writes:
>In article <34638@cbmvax.commodore.com> (Fred Bowen) writes: 
>>In article <1992Aug18.180517.16403@uwm.edu> mrdunn@csd4.csd.uwm.edu writes:
>>> For the longest time I had my power supply sitting upside down in a pie
>>> pan with water in it, the power supply is more then water tight and the
>>> water keeps the power supply from over heating (although the water does
>>> get mighty warm)
>>
>> This is silly.  Hopefully this is a joke, but something tells me it isn't...
>>
>> Under no circumstances should a power supply ever be placed in water and
>> operated!  This is very dangerous, and you are risking serious injury, fire,
>> and/or major damage to your computer.
>>
>> If your power supply is hot, it should be serviced by a qualified technician
>> or replaced.  A replacement power supply is not expensive.
>
> Hmm.  Last time I checked most C-64s have non-servicable epoxy-potted
> supplies. There ain't a blooming think you can do to fix them short of
> cutting them open with a hacksaw and chunking into the epoxy with a
> chisel.  The potting also helps keep them excessively hot and burns up
> the potted 5V regulator faster.

Okay, perhaps I was being a bit optimistic regarding repair.  But you did
hit upon my concern:  *most* C64 supplies.  I doubt the average C64 owner,
especially his or her kids, know the difference between a potted supply
and one which isn't.

One of the reasons the supplies were potted was safety- the bricks have
a tendency to be mistreated.  A dropped and damaged supply, or one that's
been sitting in a pile of dust bunnies and refuse under a desk for several
years can be a hazard.  The potting provides a degree of protection for what
I would guess is 90-95% of the users, those who, unlike yourself, don't have
the skills to repair a supply.  I would not tell any of the neighborhood
kids to put their C64 power supply in a pan of water.  I can see them
rationalizing that what's good for their C64 supply is good for their 1541
or 1764 power supply as well.

> Are we talking the original lame-brained Commodore part or one of the
> improved repairable third-party power supplies? I don't know what the
> current price is,  but at one time Commodore was asking something like
> $50 for a replacement. Talk about excessive heat!

Skillfully dodging the insult, a quick look through RUN magazine turns
up several replacement supplies, priced from $25 to $45, some repairable
and some presumably not.

>So why didn't you guys designed the C-64 PS to be servicable to begin
>with?  Why the epoxy potting?  Are you that hard up for revenue that you
>have to design a supply that's bound to fail, then charge excessive $$$
>to replace it? 

The C64 is the bottom-most, least expensive computer CBM makes.  A better
supply costs more.  None-the-less, my C64 has outlasted 3 TV's, a couple
of amps, two cars, many household appliances, a gazillion electronic toys,
a lawn mower and and a dog.  Repair costs for all of these things was at
least $50 for each failure, not to mention the manufacturers no longer
make those models anymore.  If I were the nasty sort, I'd recommend you
sit in a pan of water and cool off :-)  Hey, it works!
--
-- 
Fred Bowen			uucp:	{uunet|rutgers|pyramid}!cbmvax!fred
				domain:	fred@cbmvax.commodore.com
				tele:	215 431-9100

Commodore Electronics, Ltd.,  1200 Wilson Drive,  West Chester,  PA,  19380
Newsgroups: comp.sys.cbm