AC adaptor SMS compatibility GG?

[simonbelmont2]

Anybody know if the AC adaptor for the Sega Master System is compatible with the Game Gear?
If yes it's safe to use it?
NOTE: my AC SMS adaptor have 9V DC, 1A.

Thanks!

[viletim]

Only the earlier models, the later ones need a power supply from a Mega Drive 2. The plugs are different so use it if it fits.

[kendrick]

The polarity is the important point. The Game Gear, Nomad, and Genesis/Megadrive 2 all use a positive tip and negative sheath. The original Megadrive and the the Master System use a negative tip and positive sheath. The voltage and amperage are otherwise close enough, since all those units shunt the power input through a 7805 regulator for a nice five volts.

[simonbelmont2]

Back with new informations:

On my Game Gears it say to have: DC 9V DirectCurrentSign 3W

On my Master System AC PSU it say to have: 9V DirectCurrentSign 1A 9VA and is CENTRE NEGATIVE.

NOTE: I can connect the PSU to my GameGear DC power jack.

So it is compatible?

Thanks!

[kendrick]

It's not compatible. Check the polarity of the Game Gear connector. It's got a positive tip.

[simonbelmont2]

Thank's for the information Kendrick.
I've tried the PSU on the Game Gear and the console is working.
So do you think it's compatible?
If it is CENTRE NEGATIVE it can power the console but in time will damage it or what will happen if the polarity is not right?

[simonbelmont2]

CASE CLOSED: After a deep research, according to this site http://www.mrvfone.com.au/sega/p.htm  my PSU is compatible with my GG.

[kendrick]

That doesn't make sense to me, if you're reading the polarity of the power supply correctly. The 7805 in the Game Gear shouldn't be able to swap out what it sees as negative nine volts and spit out a positive five volts. I don't dispute your result, but the page you reference doesn't have any part numbers on it so I question its usefulness.

Is your power supply a 1602-1 or a 3205-1? That would definitely be a negative tip and positive sheath, and I'd be worried about long-term wear and tear on the voltage regulator in the Game Gear as a result.

[simonbelmont2]

On that site the GameGear have negative tip and positive sheath (CENTER - and OUT +) like the Megadrive and Master System and according to them they have test it and is working (don't know if it's true or they lie ).
Anyway my PSU is model 3025-16 (CENTER - and OUT +).
It's strange that is working very good on my GameGear (made in Japan).
Do you think the regulator can change the polarity and make the PSU to be compatible?

[kendrick]

That's interesting. Apparently the dimensions of the two different Sega power supply connectors are different enough that the one plug won't fit into the other socket. That pretty much means that any official Sega part that fits into the Game Gear will have the correct polarity. Reference here:

http://ntsc-uk.domino.org/showthread.php?t=93401

Also, I've verified manually that there's no additional rectifier in the Game Gear, at least not in the two I've opened today. Reversed voltage polarity fed into the DC socket will not successfully power the Game Gear, which is even more evidence that your adapter has a center positive contact.

Are you *sure* that the 3025-16 has a center negative, and can you verify that with a multimeter please? Also, for what model Master System is it meant for use? I'm guessing it's a SMS-II or later model, which is what threw me off originally.

EDIT: I've confirmed that the SMS-II uses the center-positive adapter that also power the Megadrive 2 and the Game Gear. ConsolePassion sells both adapters to UK customers and makes a big point of warning that the two SMS models don't have compatible power supplies. Simon, if you could please confirm (and let those clowns at Assembler know what the problem was) I would appreciate it.

[simonbelmont2]

Thank you very much for your reply Kendrik.
My Game Gear model I think is the first version with the TWO ASIC GG (the socket power is compatible with the power jack from the adaptor; it fit).
The mother board is different from this http://members.optusnet.com.au/eviltim/ggrgb/faultycaps.jpg.
Now about the PSU; it's working very good on my Master System.
About the PSU polarity it have this sign on it http://www.accesscomms.com.au/images/reference/powerplug-negative.jpg.

NOTE: it have 11 capacitors numbered like this: C31; C49; C35; C45; C44; C38; C39; C1; C3; C14; C48.

[l_oliveira]

You're gonna laugh but I found out that the Playstation 2 slim external Power Supply Unit (8.5v, 5,6A and 100-240v)  is perfect for the Game Gear

[kendrick]

Oli, can you verify the polarity on your PS2 AC adapter please? Mine is center positive, and I'm still not able to find evidence that any Game Gear can take a different polarity.

[l_oliveira]

I powered a 2nd gen Game Gear (the one with "Produced by or under licence" message) with a PS2 slim power supply for hours and it was just fine.
The PS2 power supply is positive in the center, like all of the other Sony products.

[viletim]

Perhaps I was too breif...

The Game Gear was sold at the same time as the Mega Drive and was intended to be powered by the Mega Drive power adapter. The Mega Drive 2 had a different plug and polarity so Game Gears made after that time have a different power adaptor requirements to the earlier models.

Mega Drive/Early Game Gear: 2.1mm DC jack, centre negative
Mega Drive 2/Later Game Gear: 1.7mm DC jack, centre positive

It's impossible to plug one into another so there's no chance of damage from trying to use the wrong power adapter.

All Game Gears contain a switching power supply which will operate between 6 and 13 volts DC.

[kendrick]

Wild. Were these earlier Game Gears sold in any specific region, or were they available worldwide? I own like four units, and they all use the second Megadrive/Genesis 2 power supply. I've never seen one of the earlier units, although given the heritage of the hardware it's not hard to see why they went that way.

[simonbelmont2]

By the way Viletim my original Megadrive PSU is centre negative not positive.
I think you want to say:
Mega Drive/Early Game Gear: 2.1mm DC jack, centre negative not positive.
Mega Drive 2/Later Game Gear: 1.7mm DC jack, centre positive not negative.

[viletim]

By the way Viletim my original Megadrive PSU is centre negative not positive.
I think you want to say:
Mega Drive/Early Game Gear: 2.1mm DC jack, centre negative not positive.
Mega Drive 2/Later Game Gear: 1.7mm DC jack, centre positive not negative.

Yeah, silly mistake. I've edited my previous post.

[Link83]

Sorry for slightly bumping this thread, but I have been looking into different Sega power supplies for a while now (Its my NTSC-uk thread thats linked to further up the page) and I am a little surprised/confused by a few things...

EDIT: I've confirmed that the SMS-II uses the center-positive adapter that also power the Megadrive 2 and the Game Gear. ConsolePassion sells both adapters to UK customers and makes a big point of warning that the two SMS models don't have compatible power supplies. Simon, if you could please confirm (and let those clowns at Assembler know what the problem was) I would appreciate it.

Im 99.9% sure that the SMS-II uses a center negative adaptor (Or at the very least all the UK models do)  Can I ask how you confirmed it used center positive? If it helps here is a picture of a European Sega adaptor which specifically states its for the SMS-II and that its centre negative:-


I have shown a picture of the European '3008-18' model adaptor because on the official European power adaptors Sega actually states what console the adaptor was intended to be used with. I have an official UK '3008-05' model adaptor with exactly the same output spec but it doesnt state which console it was meant for on the label. However, its clear that they are both the same model adaptor and that Sega simply added a -** number suffix to the 3008 model number to denote the different region/plug types, so -18 is for Europe, -05 is for the UK, etc.

I am guessing ConsolePassion states that on the website because the original SMS power supply is 850mA and the SMS-II power supply is 500mA, so if you tried to use an SMS-II power supply on an original SMS console it would try to draw too much current and the adaptor would probably fail. However it should work fine the opposite way round with the original SMS power supply on a SMS-II console.

Perhaps I was too breif...

The Game Gear was sold at the same time as the Mega Drive and was intended to be powered by the Mega Drive power adapter. The Mega Drive 2 had a different plug and polarity so Game Gears made after that time have a different power adaptor requirements to the earlier models.

Mega Drive/Early Game Gear: 2.1mm DC jack, centre negative
Mega Drive 2/Later Game Gear: 1.7mm DC jack, centre positive

It's impossible to plug one into another so there's no chance of damage from trying to use the wrong power adapter.

All Game Gears contain a switching power supply which will operate between 6 and 13 volts DC.

I am really quite surprised by this info, do you have any pictures showing the different power sockets? All the UK Game Gears I have seen use 5.5mm/2.1mm centre negative power sockets, and im guessing the same is true for the majority of European Game Gears as I found this picture of the European Game Gear power supply that states its centre negative:-


I cant see why Sega would change the power circuitry/plug socket design to the 4.75mm/1.7mm centre positive power socket half way through the Game Gear's lifetime? As surely that would have made it extremely confusing for customers who wanted to buy a power adaptor for the Game Gear, because the official adaptors packaging makes no mention of only being compatible with certain models.

Could this perhaps be a regional difference instead of an early/later production difference? It would seem like a much more logical explanation. Perhaps all European Game Gear's used centre negative, and all USA Game Gear's used Centre Positive? This would have perhaps made the power adaptor situation at least a little simpler/straight forward.

[kendrick]

Could this perhaps be a regional difference instead of an early/later production difference? It would seem like a much more logical explanation. Perhaps all European Game Gear's used centre negative, and all USA Game Gear's used Centre Positive? This would have perhaps made the power adaptor situation at least a little simpler/straight forward.

Since this thread fired up, I went checking around the better-quality vintage game stores in town and I anecdotally observed Game Gears with both types of power connectors. I'm not discounting the possibility that it's a regional variation, but having seen both types of Game Gear hardware in the flesh here in the States tells me that Sega and Majesco probably distributed the hardware around with no regard for the market.

[Link83]

Could this perhaps be a regional difference instead of an early/later production difference? It would seem like a much more logical explanation. Perhaps all European Game Gear's used centre negative, and all USA Game Gear's used Centre Positive? This would have perhaps made the power adaptor situation at least a little simpler/straight forward.

Since this thread fired up, I went checking around the better-quality vintage game stores in town and I anecdotally observed Game Gears with both types of power connectors. I'm not discounting the possibility that it's a regional variation, but having seen both types of Game Gear hardware in the flesh here in the States tells me that Sega and Majesco probably distributed the hardware around with no regard for the market.

Hmm interesting. Could this just be Majesco not knowing there were regional power socket differences? In other words, do all USA Sega Game Gear's use centre positive, and USA Majesco Game Gear's use centre negative  

Also, something that always surprises me is just where 'foreign' consoles end up, expecially portables (Probably due to them being mostly region free) I bought a Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance SP the other week from ebay UK and from checking the model numbers on the back stickers it was clear that they were both originally from the USA. I would imagine the same could be true for many Game Gear's which could confuse the matter even more.

It would just be nice to have some sort of proof that two Game Gear's with different power sockets were both intended for use in the same country and both produced by Sega - I think only then could we categorically state that Sega switched power sockets parts way through the Game Gear's lifetime.

Kendrick, I would still love to know if the USA Master System II uses centre positive or centre negative? (If its not too much trouble)

[botham]

It's not compatible. Check the polarity of the Game Gear connector. It's got a positive tip.

Yes to get rid of this query is go for the checking of the polarity of the game gear connector and finally i got the problem. Thanks for telling me the positive aspect to solve out the query.

[Black Sheep]

Hi guys,

I am trying to figure out the polarity for this Game Gear I bought from ebay. While your thread was very insightful, and I have an idea what the polarity is, I am still reluctant to give it a try. heh 

I had an older Game Gear, and I have already tried its adapter (which is the Master System II one). This adapter won't fit for this Game Gear I bought (too small). It makes sense in light of viletim's comment: my previous Game Gear had negative polarity, and this one must have a positive one.

Link83's comment however made me reluctant about giving it a try. Notice I am from Portugal, so my childhood Game Gear, and its adapter, is (I guess) the European model (2110-50), while this ebay one is an American one (2110).

It says in the back of the ebay Game Gear: "AC ADAPTOR: USE 2103 AC ADAPTOR ONLY". (My childhood one just says, as do all the ones from the only retro shop in town: "USE SEGA AC ADAPTOR ONLY")

Can anyone please confirm for me the polarity of your Game Gear, if also says to use a 2103 AC Adaptor.

I have already tried to ask the seller about this, but got no response. (Yes, it was stupid of me not asking for this before buying, but, in my defense, I never thought it would require a different adapter.)

[Black Sheep]

Hi guys,

I found out the answer to my question. I found an identical American Game Gear, whose adapter was an MK-2103, and indeed the polarity of its adapter is positive (+ o) -).

Now, it raised another question: while both Game Gears say "RATING: DC 9V 3W", the adapters don't quite agree on the Amperes. The adapter for the European Game Gear says "OUTPUT: 10V 0.5A" while the American one I found says "OUTPUT: 10V 0.85A".

Is this Ampere number important to get right? The MK-2103 American adapter isn't for selling (though surely I could find one from ebay), so I was thinking about buying a generic adapter...

[albino_vulpix]

Hi guys,

I found out the answer to my question. I found an identical American Game Gear, whose adapter was an MK-2103, and indeed the polarity of its adapter is positive (+ o) -).

Now, it raised another question: while both Game Gears say "RATING: DC 9V 3W", the adapters don't quite agree on the Amperes. The adapter for the European Game Gear says "OUTPUT: 10V 0.5A" while the American one I found says "OUTPUT: 10V 0.85A".

Is this Ampere number important to get right? The MK-2103 American adapter isn't for selling (though surely I could find one from ebay), so I was thinking about buying a generic adapter...

The current output must equal or exceed the adaptor you're replacing.