taking Xbox from the U.S. to U.K - power supply bang! - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Ed.Kloonk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 01, 2013, 02:25:09 pm
content: If you watch in HD and freeze at where he shows the input spec of the psu..

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 01, 2013, 02:50:27 pm
content: Pretty unusual these days for PSUs to not be universal input, though I suppose different standards may dictate different designs in some cases, so a US-only unit might make sense to reduce cost slightly.

author: Rufus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 01, 2013, 03:00:47 pm
content: http://support.xbox.com/en-US/xbox-360/console-power/power-supplyQuoteThe 230v PSUs are 5mm longer - lol.

author: kfitch42
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 01, 2013, 03:13:10 pm
content: Quote from: Rufus on May 01, 2013, 03:00:47 pmActually the chart on that page is kind of interesting. I guess due to the joys of differing laws/electrical codes, some countries get fuses, some don't. Even two countries with nominally the same power requirements (South Africa and UK) get different fuses.And the whole split between 50Hz and 60Hz in Japan has always made me laugh and cry.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 01, 2013, 03:25:42 pm
content: Quote from: Rufus on May 01, 2013, 03:00:47 pmAmazed it's worth the cost of different mould tooling for that, unless they tooled for US then found it wasn't big enough for higher voltage caps...

author: Bored@Work
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 01, 2013, 03:38:12 pm
content: "Here is a word of advice for you".What a classic example of how excessive gaming makes you stupid. If you are so addicted to your xbox that you can't even travel across the Atlantic without it you have a serious problem."Not sure what the difference is"Oh man, dude, you slept in school, didn't you? When they talked about that electricity thing."I was as careful as can be".No dude, you didn't read the label. You didn't even read it after it made bang.

author: c4757p
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 01, 2013, 03:47:15 pm
content: Quote from: Bored@Work on May 01, 2013, 03:38:12 pmGlad I'm not the only one who thought that. We live in a world surrounded by electricity,pleaseat least be bothered to figure out the absolute basics. I'm not asking people to study the intricacies of quantum mechanics, I just want them to know what a volt is. Or at least that "you can't have too many". We've had them for quite a while now.

author: Rufus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 01, 2013, 03:57:56 pm
content: Quote from: mikeselectricstuff on May 01, 2013, 03:25:42 pmI read they have sold 77 million Xbox 360s.That means you get almost $400,000 to spend on every cent you can reduce the cost of half the PSUs by.

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 01, 2013, 04:19:12 pm
content: I don't know anything about Xboxes, but is there a region code on games like DVDs? If so, they may not expect the consoles to travel outside their native land. Between the US and Europe there is also the different TV standard thing which still survives in analog video connectors.

author: kfitch42
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 01, 2013, 04:44:21 pm
content: Quote from: Rufus on May 01, 2013, 03:57:56 pmThat is definitely a well reasoned argument, BUT when the decision was made, they didn't know they would sell 77M units. They would have had sales predictions, which changes the math a bit.

author: PA0PBZ
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 01, 2013, 05:29:17 pm
content: Quote from: Bored@Work on May 01, 2013, 03:38:12 pmI did read the label, but wtf?Input 100-127V 4.7AOutput 175W Max (12V, 14.2A and 5V, 1A)That must be the most inefficient power supply I've seen in a long time...

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 01, 2013, 05:40:55 pm
content: They do make good room heaters.........

author: Ed.Kloonk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 01, 2013, 05:42:46 pm
content: Quote from: SeanB on May 01, 2013, 05:40:55 pmMight be a little too warm for my liking.

author: Ed.Kloonk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 01, 2013, 05:43:53 pm
content: Quote from: PA0PBZ on May 01, 2013, 05:29:17 pmMicrosoft. Have the coders started designing the hardware?

author: kfitch42
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 01, 2013, 05:44:52 pm
content: Quote from: PA0PBZ on May 01, 2013, 05:29:17 pmQuote from: Rufus on May 01, 2013, 03:57:56 pmHmmm, somehow I suspect these two comments are related...I wonder if there is money to be made selling 'green' Xbox power adapters.Then again they probably have 6 (ridiculous) patents on the proprietary connector ...

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 01, 2013, 06:25:08 pm
content: Quote from: PA0PBZ on May 01, 2013, 05:29:17 pmThe 4.7 A would be the peak (surge?) current requirement for sizing the fuse and the supply wiring. The average current should be lower than that of course.

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 01, 2013, 07:01:15 pm
content: Quote from: AcHmed99 on May 01, 2013, 06:49:28 pmI'm not sure about that. All of my power bricks show a mains input current rating that is much higher than the power they actually consume.For instance 4.7 A at 100 V would be 470 W (even allowing for poor power factor it's way more than 175 W).

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 01, 2013, 07:07:15 pm
content: 180V rated caps were probably 2c cheaper than 200v rated ones. They probably were relying on TV sets almost invariably being plugged into a common extension cord with the console, and the 5A typical power draw of the set on a thin cable would drop the voltage somewhat in high mains areas.

author: Balaur
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 01, 2013, 10:02:33 pm
content: Following a forum suggestion, I've recently bought a 203W one (for some non-Xbox related stuff) and I'm quite happy with it.Excellent regularization (have a look at the picture and please note the y and x scales). They even have a sense wire in the cable.The efficiency seems to be around 85%. Very low ripple.

author: tom66
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 02, 2013, 12:31:55 am
content: I have a memory that the older 200W plug packs actually have a fan inside them. Crazy.

author: codeboy2k
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 02, 2013, 05:41:42 am
content: seems crazy not to have just one power supply for all the regions.. that might seem cheaper, considering the tooling costs... but I am not sure..I guess at these scales it really is cheaper to save 2 cents on 17Million units at the cost of an additional $100,000 for tooling ...@achmed99 whats the spice sim? I like the table of cursors at the bottom. Can you have more than 2 cursors??

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 02, 2013, 11:39:15 am
content: "everything else seemed to just work"... I'm guessing he didn't have any non-SMPS electronics. Those "travel adapters" need to have much bigger warnings on them.Quote from: AcHmed99 on May 02, 2013, 09:54:03 amYou mean ASTEC? Antec isn't OEM, they've used Delta and Seasonic before.A quick Google shows they're OEM'd by Foxlink and Minebea.

author: peter.mitchell
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 02, 2013, 03:14:02 pm
content: Quote from: Balaur on May 01, 2013, 10:02:33 pmAs far as I know, they are one of the nicer looking, high power 12v power bricks; beats the heck out of using an ugly PC power supply IMHO.

author: Balaur
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 02, 2013, 03:23:40 pm
content: Quote from: peter.mitchell on May 02, 2013, 03:14:02 pmYep, I perfectly agree:- works nicely at the rated power- stable output- output sense- very low (<20mV or something at 12A, <2mV at a few amps) ripple (100KHz)- remote power on/off- and I rather like the integrated, low noise fan. Better out than in.I thank you very much for yourexcellent suggestionBest regards,Dan