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Post by dosman on Jul 25, 2021 19:19:54 GMT
So earlier this morning I was on the C64, learning chapter 4, Loops. I stopped about 4 pages into the chapter, and shutdown the computer as always, hold down the power button, then the screen says "Shutting Down". So about 10 minutes ago, I pressed power on the C64 to turn it on, all I got was a red power light, and no screen. I even waited for almost a whole minute. So I unplugged it from the wall, waited 5 seconds, plugged it back in, hit power and it worked normally.
Has anyone else experienced this and is this normal? Should I unplug the C64 when not in use?
Thank you.
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Post by c64stuff on Jul 25, 2021 21:08:38 GMT
I've had that happen too a few times before. May have been the power supply I was using. Some units shipped with the wrong power supply. It should be a minimum of 2.5 amps I think but probably 3 amps to be safe. Remember too many of these junk power supplies made in china are not actually the amp rating they're labeled. It's better to buy an official raspberry pi power supply and use that as they're pretty strick about quality control.
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Post by dosman on Jul 26, 2021 0:27:47 GMT
I've had that happen too a few times before. May have been the power supply I was using. Some units shipped with the wrong power supply. It should be a minimum of 2.5 amps I think but probably 3 amps to be safe. Remember too many of these junk power supplies made in china are not actually the amp rating they're labeled. It's better to buy an official raspberry pi power supply and use that as they're pretty strick about quality control. What is a Raspberry PI power supply? For now I'm using what came with the unit. I have several plug blocks with USB port though. So far it's only happened the one time out of 15 boot-ups. I'm just figuring maybe it's more than just a PSU issue? |
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Post by c64stuff on Jul 26, 2021 1:43:43 GMT
Raspberry Pis are small single board computers about the size of a deck of cards and usually only cost $35, although some models are only $10 and the latest Pi with 8 gigs is more than the $35 for the 2 gig model. The Raspberry Pi foundation that invented them is very strict at quality control. These boards were originally intended for educational purposes and building robots or other projects, but they've become hugely popular as probably the number one way people emulate old computers and consoles for gaming.
If you didn't know this you're in for a HUGE treat. Do a YouTube search for Raspberry Pi Retro Gaming, or more specifically for commodore 64 or Amiga emulation on them. The front end for these Pis is called RetroPie. It can emulate everything from the old days up to about the Sega Saturn or Dreamcast generation, but with each new model they're getting better and better. Many even use them to replace their desktop computer, as there's some great Linux based operating systems out there. Even ones that mimic windows look and feel. The latest Pi 400 is a Pi4 built into a small keyboard and comes with a mouse and only costs around $75 to $100. It's creator is a retro computer generation guy so it's no surprise this machine looks very much like an Amiga 500 or other wedge shaped retro systems.
I can't believe you didn't hear about the whole Pi community retro revival stuff going on. They're throwing them into commodore 64 or Amiga cases, Spectrum, Atari, etc. It's crazy stuff. RetroPie is very easy to set up but you can also just get turn key images already ready to roll. Just plug in your controller and it will automatically recognize it needs configured for the first time. You don't even need a keyboard plugged in.
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Post by dosman on Jul 26, 2021 23:06:21 GMT
Raspberry Pis are small single board computers about the size of a deck of cards and usually only cost $35, although some models are only $10 and the latest Pi with 8 gigs is more than the $35 for the 2 gig model. The Raspberry Pi foundation that invented them is very strict at quality control. These boards were originally intended for educational purposes and building robots or other projects, but they've become hugely popular as probably the number one way people emulate old computers and consoles for gaming. If you didn't know this you're in for a HUGE treat. Do a YouTube search for Raspberry Pi Retro Gaming, or more specifically for commodore 64 or Amiga emulation on them. The front end for these Pis is called RetroPie. It can emulate everything from the old days up to about the Sega Saturn or Dreamcast generation, but with each new model they're getting better and better. Many even use them to replace their desktop computer, as there's some great Linux based operating systems out there. Even ones that mimic windows look and feel. The latest Pi 400 is a Pi4 built into a small keyboard and comes with a mouse and only costs around $75 to $100. It's creator is a retro computer generation guy so it's no surprise this machine looks very much like an Amiga 500 or other wedge shaped retro systems. I can't believe you didn't hear about the whole Pi community retro revival stuff going on. They're throwing them into commodore 64 or Amiga cases, Spectrum, Atari, etc. It's crazy stuff. RetroPie is very easy to set up but you can also just get turn key images already ready to roll. Just plug in your controller and it will automatically recognize it needs configured for the first time. You don't even need a keyboard plugged in. I know what a Raspberry PI is, but I never heard of a Raspberry PI power supply. Are you saying a Raspberry PI can be a PSU, or there is a PSU for the Raspberry PI?
A lot of that stuff looks like it's way way way over my head. I don't have a clue about programming, which is why I'm starting at the most basic of programming languages on the C64.
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Post by c64stuff on Jul 27, 2021 0:37:46 GMT
Your official Pi power supplies are simply USB power bricks like any other you use, but they're of way higher quality because the raspberry pi foundation is a UK based company who is highly respected and doesn't churn out crap products. Whoever makes them for them is under heavy scrutiny to make sure they're not cutting corners on things. They also extensively test their products before releasing them, which is probably why they're never in a rush to get a new pi out.
Far as programming you don't need any knowledge of that to set up RetroPie. Just use the configuration menues to select options. Easy as... Pie... 🙄
You can pick emulators to install, splash screens, have it auto find and install preview game videos for attract mode to any you have put on the SD card, it'll automatically go get you box art, there's many gui themes to pick from, the list goes on and on. It's so simple anybody with basic knowledge of using a computer can do it. Just follow the prompts. You can do most of it using just a controller to navigate the setup menus.
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Post by kugelblitz on Jul 27, 2021 10:06:46 GMT
Your official Pi power supplies are simply USB power bricks like any other you use, but they're of way higher quality because the raspberry pi foundation is a UK based company who is highly respected and doesn't churn out crap products. Whoever makes them for them is under heavy scrutiny to make sure they're not cutting corners on things. They also extensively test their products before releasing them, which is probably why they're never in a rush to get a new pi out. Far as programming you don't need any knowledge of that to set up RetroPie. Just use the configuration menues to select options. Easy as... Pie... 🙄 You can pick emulators to install, splash screens, have it auto find and install preview game videos for attract mode to any you have put on the SD card, it'll automatically go get you box art, there's many gui themes to pick from, the list goes on and on. It's so simple anybody with basic knowledge of using a computer can do it. Just follow the prompts. You can do most of it using just a controller to navigate the setup menus. It is a bit more complicated than that. A RasbPi takes a LOT more power than USB power orginally was designed for. In theory a USB 2 device still is only allowed to pull 0,5A, while as RasbPi can demand 2,5A and more. Even "fast charging" power supplies usually can deliver up to 2A but then the Voltage drops - that why so then see the flash symbol and "undervoltage detected" messages on a Pi. A fully compatible power supply simply is one that can give about 3A at 5V (or 15 Watts at 5V). Voltage dropping to 4,5 Volt still is enough for phone charging, but the RasbPis are really demanding. But again, this is not because those other chargers are "junk" but because Micro-USB was never designed to be a 15 Watts power source. USB-C makes this even worse because in theory you can do a 100 Watt charge, but this requires special chargers and cables and of course there is no official easy marking system for these. So even with USB-C you will run into the problem that the RasbPi4 (or, for example the Nintendo Switch) won't work with that USB-C "fast charger" for your phone. |
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Post by c64stuff on Jul 27, 2021 20:03:09 GMT
I'm an electronics technician in a technical trade by profession. You're delving off into things not even being discussed. A load only draws the amps it needs, so it's safe to use say a 3 amp power supply on a 1.5 amp load so long as the voltage is the same. The raspberry pi models all draw different amps by model, usually newer models requiring higher amps than prior models. For instance, I think the pi 4 requires a 3.5 or 4 amp supply, where as the pi 3 was only 2.5 if memory serves. A pi 4 supply should power the maxi without any issues. Power supplies for phones that negotiate a choice between variable factors of voltage and amps is not what I'm talking about. I'm simply stating most basic wall USB chargers made in china are complete junk and often are falsely labeled to be able to supply more amps than they really were built for. I could tell you horror stories about how they'd fake manufacturer brushless motors and speed controls that were falsely labeled to be able to handle a specific wattage and turned to a smoking wreck when they weren't even being pushed to maximum amp specifications under load.
In summary, I've had a few cheap Chinese power supplies fail. I have yet to have an official raspberry pi USB power supply fail. For now on I'll be buying only those to power everything else I use and not just my raspberry pies.
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Post by kugelblitz on Jul 27, 2021 22:30:42 GMT
I'm an electronics technician in a technical trade by profession. You're delving off into things not even being discussed. A load only draws the amps it needs, so it's safe to use say a 3 amp power supply on a 1.5 amp load so long as the voltage is the same. The raspberry pi models all draw different amps by model, usually newer models requiring higher amps than prior models. For instance, I think the pi 4 requires a 3.5 or 4 amp supply, where as the pi 3 was only 2.5 if memory serves. A pi 4 supply should power the maxi without any issues. Power supplies for phones that negotiate a choice between variable factors of voltage and amps is not what I'm talking about. I'm simply stating most basic wall USB chargers made in china are complete junk and often are falsely labeled to be able to supply more amps than they really were built for. I could tell you horror stories about how they'd fake manufacturer brushless motors and speed controls that were falsely labeled to be able to handle a specific wattage and turned to a smoking wreck when they weren't even being pushed to maximum amp specifications under load. In summary, I've had a few cheap Chinese power supplies fail. I have yet to have an official raspberry pi USB power supply fail. For now on I'll be buying only those to power everything else I use and not just my raspberry pies. I think the two of us are nearly on the same wavelength. I was just saying that it's not just cheap vs original. The Nintendo Switch Lite power supply is one of two "original" power supplies in my house that will work with a Pi4. I have certified good supplies from Anker that won't work here as well as none of the original Samsungs (up to Note 20) or Huaweis (up to Mate 20) I have. But there are plenty of alternative supplies, especially for the Pi3, that work well. A good indicator (although not foolproof) is a power on/off button on the cord (as the Pi3 does not have one). Pi4 supplies of course only work on Pi3 with a USB-C Micro-USB cable. If a supposed Pi4 supply does not have an installed cable but an USB A port you will also be in trouble and with a USB-C on the supply you have a less than 50% chance that it really will work. Right now my Pi400 is powered by a Nokia/Microsoft power supply that originally came with the USB-C dock they had for the Lumia 950. That also was a really really good one (the power supply... :-)) But in the end it is the Pi that is so picky/hungry. The boards inside the C64(Maxi) or the NES/SNES Mini do not draw so much power. |
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Post by spannernick on Jul 30, 2021 9:43:55 GMT
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