Sales Yard Finds - XIV
-David, webmaster DVGI

I haven't written a Sales Yard Finds editorial for awhile and for good reason.  Lately the Sales Yard has simply had next to nothing to offer.  Last week I picked up a couple of rare Atari VCS controllers (the Coleco Gemini hybrid joystick / paddles) but nothing worth yielding a full editorial.  Still, today was a little different and while I didn't come home with a whole lot, I did return with something I've needed for a long time.

After a couple days of heavy rain I wasn't looking forward to getting up early to go to the Sales Yard this week.  In fact I doubted if there would even be anything there due to the weather.  However Tuesday morning wasn't met with rain, although the ground was quite saturated, so I figured I'd head out and take a look around.  I've been able to grab a few good items on post-rainy days like this one before and I've done a fair amount of selling on similar days as well.  Upon arriving things were bustling in a way they haven't been for months, which meant sellers were desperate to make money in the poor weather.  The open air flea market season is nearly finished and they know it.

I didn't see much but upon digging through a knot of wires of one of my favorite cheap junk dealers I came across a power adapter for a Genesis 3.  Now it outputs the exact same power as a Genesis Model 2 adapter but the box is shaped a little differently and the insulation around the plug is a little different as well.  I suppose you could call either of these a Genesis 2 / Genesis 3 power adapter, but after you've seen enough of them you can tell the difference.  Or you bought a Genesis 3 years ago and remember what the plug looked like.  He only wanted a dollar, which is the magical price for power adapters, RF switches, AV cords, loose cartridges, nearly anything.  Of course I purchased this as you find loose consoles all the time, it's always nice to have a healthy inventory of accessories to round out system bundles for resale.  I got to another seller with boxes of junk and found a Sony PSOne power adapter for 50 cents, can't pass that up although I really don't need one.  Again, it's good to have for parts.

Next I came upon a seller that has the usual junk boxes and a couple decent items.  Last time I was out he had a loose Dreamcast in horrible condition sitting in a junk box and wanted $20 for it.  Because of this I nearly passed his spot over but I noticed a knot of power adapters in the back corner of his lot, and given my cheap power adapter spree so far, I decided to take a look.  It was in that knot of wires that I found something I had been trying to find for years.  However first a little story and an explanation of what got me to this point.

Back in 2004, in fact nearly exactly two years ago today, I came across a JVC X'Eye at the Sales Yard.  I picked it up for two dollars from the big time Chinese junk reseller that the Sales Yard is most known for, which is why he has a huge spot up front.  The JVC X'Eye is a combination Sega Genesis and Sega CD in one and the Sega CD drive is of higher speed and quality than either of the stock Sega CD units.  A reworked version of the Japan-only JVC Wondermega 2.  You can read more about when I found my JVC X'Eye in the second edition of Sales Yard Finds.  Everything seemed fine but the console did need some work to get it running again, namely replacing the CD lid close pinswitch.  I would also go on to write a USA/JPN region mod tutorial for the cartridge slot.  Everything wasn't perfect though, as the JVC X'Eye uses a very non-standard power adapter.  This lead to the two year long adventure known as...

Let me explain.  The JVC X'Eye uses the same sized power jack as the Genesis 2 and Genesis 3.  However the power consumption is very different.  A JVC X'Eye requires 9.5v at 1.5A.  A Genesis 2 power adapter outputs 10v but only 0.85A, which underrates the power output quite a bit.  Although a JVC X'Eye will run with a Genesis 2 power adapter, it's really not healthy for the console and has a potential to cause irreversible damage.  Circuits draw current, they aren't given it, so anything at 1.5A or over would be fine as the JVC X'Eye would only draw what it needs - the 1.5 amps.  Next to rolling the bones with a Genesis 2 adapter, the next solution is to use a Sony PSOne power supply which outputs 2.0A but it only outputs 7.5v.  That's still not good as it's possible to drift under the minimum working voltage of the power regulators, which again causes things not to work correctly and parts to fry.

For a long time, actually right up until before I found my X'Eye, you could order the power adapter from JVC Service.  However with the part being discontinued I was forced to look for alternate means to power the system.  JVC Service was able to give me the part number though, AA-S95J, which I committed to memory - as well as the power supply output specifications.  So I spent two years digging through knots of power supplies, looking for the elusive AA-S95J or a comparable power supply I could modify with the cord from Genesis Model 2 power supply.  I got close to finding power supplies that were in the proper range but the voltage was always way too high if the amperage matched up.  My JVC X'Eye began to collect dust, fearful that it would be damaged with the above mentioned alternate power supplies.  Searching around online didn't do me any good either and I had pretty much given up on ever finding one.  That was, until today...

Back to the $20 junk Dreamcast seller.  I go over to the small tangle of wires in the back corner, which is all power supplies of various types.  There were only about four or five of them, not the huge knots that most sellers have, those boxes of miscellaneous power supplies we've all seen.  I noticed the corner of the label of one was marked JVC.  I've seen this before, so I naturally assumed it would be a camcorder power supply or a power supply for another electronic device.  I picked it up, looked a little closer and read the label.  ...AA-S95J.  ...9.5v, 1.5A.  My God, it wasn't just a compatible power supply, it was THE power supply.  I untangled the cord and gave it a quick check to make sure I wasn't hallucinating - the plug was the correct size.  It was coated in dirt and the outlet blades were bent up pretty heavily, like it had been stepped on with them facing down.  The cord had a couple small nicks in it, was twisted badly and the plug on the end was a little loose... but it was still beautiful.  I hurriedly coiled it up and asked how much, fully ready to pay whatever the seller said.  Amazingly he said he wanted one dollar... I couldn't get it out of my wallet fast enough.

Upon getting it home I cleaned it up and straightened the outlet blades.  I untwisted the cord, noticing a pair of small cuts in the insulation but nothing heavy.  I patched those up quickly and wound the cord up and let it sit so the twists would stay worked out.  Twenty minutes later, my JVC X'Eye power adapter was ready to go.

I brought it in, plugged it into my JVC X'Eye, and it works perfectly.  Sure it's a little rough but it's probably been through a lot.  However now it's reunited with a JVC X'Eye and back into proper service.  I may slice and reconnect around the cuts in the insulation just for the hell of it, removing those damaged pieces of wire and then using some shrink tubing to seal up the worked on areas.  That can all be done at a later date however, I'm just psyched that I don't have to worry about incorrect power with my JVC X'Eye anymore.

I didn't see much else at the Sales Yard but with what I found it really doesn't matter.  I did get a good laugh out of an arcade cabinet I came across though.  It was a Pac-Man cabinet that had been painted black.  The marquee was "WW'42" which lead me to assume that there would be a 1942 board inside, the control panel conversion would have supported it.  The monitor had some horrible burn-in and it was clear that it came from a Crystal Castles machine.  It wasn't up and running and I didn't ask how much they wanted, but I had a good laugh either way.

While this trip out to the Sales Yard was mainly just a parts gathering run, the JVC X'Eye power adapter made it all worthwhile.  That and all I spent was $2.50 on the day, which is always nice.  With a new employer on the horizon I don't know when I'll be able to make it out to the Sales Yard next.  However if this is my last trip out there for awhile, I couldn't think of a better find to go out on.

Acquired...
GEN - Sega Genesis Model 3 Power Adapter (loose)
JVC X'Eye - JVC X'Eye Power Adapter (loose)
PS1 - Sony PSOne Power Adapter (loose)

Sold...
None
 

Written on 11-14-06 by David, insanedavid@classicplastic.net


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