AES AC Adapter

I was wondering if it was safe to use the Japanese Ac adapter into a US wall. Its the PRO-POW adapter and the AES is a model from Japan.

Thanks

YES. Just never leave the adapter plugged in after using the unit.
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That sort of worries me. If the adapter will be damaged with prolonged use (leaving plugged in) am I better off just getting something else?

Too bad in my case, the adapter is on the floor, behind the stand the Neo Geo sits on. It's awfully hard to reach...

It's fine for your neo geo? I just don't want to damage it with a bad power supply

If you have an official AC adapter, or at least one with the same rating as the original, your Neo Geo should be just fine. When using a AC100 adapter in a US AC120 power socket, the only risk is damaging the AC adapter. It'll still output it's rated power, but the internal components might see more wear with that 10 - 20 AC difference.

Personally, it's a bit paranoid to unplug the Japanese power supply just because it's slightly below US power socket rating, but then people sometimes do it even for US power supplies. Basically, the difference between 100 and 110 - 120v AC is negligible, but it's not necessarily a bad idea to unplug your power supplies. They are constantly trickling a tiny amount of power from the wall socket. If you are concerned about the lifespan of your power supplies or you have to manage your power bill strictly, consider getting power bars you can turn off and leave them in easy reach. I might do it myself, maybe during the night.

Thanks,
I just wanted to make sure it wouldn't damage the system itself. I have all my systems on power strips all ready and turn them off usually, but sometimes I forget. Just wanted to make sure it doesn't damage anything.

Under normal operation, a small voltage difference on the AC side of the adapter shouldn't cause any change with the DC output. That said, failing power supplies can go out of their rated power output spec, like going below 5v, or even fluctuate wildly, but that is usually followed by component failure inside the adapter. Thus, the adapter won't work anymore.

I'm also looking into picking up a Japanese AES unit for use in the US and had this exact same question. When searching, I came across this thread:

http://www.neo-geo.com/forums/showt...Neo-Geo-AES-power-supply&highlight=ac+adapter

And there's discussion of even using the AC adapter from a Sega Genesis/Megadrive.

Only try using a Sega Genesis (Model 1) AC adapter if you are positive you have a 9v Neo Geo. Most it seems are 5v. You can't use a Genesis adapter on a 5v system. If you're really hard up for a 5v adapter, you could always make a 4 pin molex to whatever size barrel jack the Neo uses, and then just use a small PC power supply. They always have 5v of well over 3a.

Wonder how many more times we will see this question with the same info given and all the rest left out...


There is lots more to it than the nominal voltage your country uses.

In most cases, there is a tollerance of up to 10% either side of nominal. Youd have to look up your local or national standards to see what the tollerance is.

The nominal voltage is given as an RMS value, in the case of 110v nominal, the components within the device are seeing around about 155v 120 times a second in the case of 60Hz supply frequency. Nominal RMS x 1.414= nomial peak value of AC voltage.

The output voltage seen at the socket will vary based on alot of factors,
*size of conductors
*temperature of conductors
*load on the circuit
*distance from supply transformer
*power factor
*time of day
*ambient temperatue

And the list goes on... Some affect a little, some affect alot.


If it cant take the extra voltage, unplugging when not in use wont make one single bit of difference, at worst youre wasting a bit energy cause you have a non power factor corrected inductive load plugged in.

I'll be sure to quote your post next time this question comes up then, thanks.

Feel free

Its all useless info to most anyway, but just so youre aware its not so black and white when dealing with AC mains supplies.

It's useful in one regard, keeping people aware of those small details. Most of the US and Canada are pretty much the same, except for a few places here and there. The rest of those factors more or less directly relate to the end user's home electrical though.

They all relate yes. Its the nature of AC electricity.