Mephisto Munchen-S Power Supply problems

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trontreez

Mephisto Munchen-S Power Supply problems

Post by trontreez »

Hi, I'm trying to get my MMIV+HG440 run on my Mephisto Munchen-S board. It worked fine on my old Exclusive board with a HGN 5001 adapter and it works fine with the (32-bit Lyon) adapter module and HGN 5009A adapter in the Munchen-S board. The problem with using the adapter module is that I have one less module bay so can't use HG440 as well.

I contacted Niggemann Schach and they recommended a HGN 5050 adapter. I purchased their third party HGN 5050 equivalent, a regulated adapter with adjustable voltage and 1500mA. I've tried in on 5, 7.5 and 9V and have the same problem. It powers on fine then after 4-5 moves, while still "in book" it crashed/glitches out with LED's and the LCD going haywire.

Does anyone know what adapter I need to get my MMIV+HG440 working in the Munchen-S board? Is their any chance I've already fried my HG440 module using the HGN 5050 equivalent? Can anyone put up a guide (or a link to one) on how to mod the Munchen-S so it can regulated it own voltage?

High Voltage regards,

tt
trontreez

Post by trontreez »

Anybody? Help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Larry
Senior Member
Posts: 2269
Joined: Wed Aug 01, 2007 8:42 am
Location: Gosford, NSW Australia

Post by Larry »

trontreez wrote:Anybody? Help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Hi, do you have a voltage meter? I trust adaptors as far as I can kick
them. Some are regulated, others not. My experience with the HGN
adaptors is that they are regulated, ie, they will give the same voltage
reading whether under load or not. The Munchen 'S' board was discussed
briefly on a forum maybe ten years back. It had a slight shortcoming in
that it could not regulate it's incoming voltage, while the non 'S' could.
At least I think that's how I remember it.
You say things all worked well with the 'old' Exclusive. I'm assuming by
this that you don't have the Exclusive any more. It's always a good idea
to have two compatible machines in case of situations like you are in.
You tend to be able to isolate problems by switching and swapping
components and modules between the two computers.
I'm sorry I can't offer anything that will help solve your problem. If
placed in your situation, I would try to have patience and wait for a
Modular board to come onto the market and buy it to see if the offending
module gives the same problem in it. Chess computers are a fun hobby
but we all have to cope with similar frustrating situations like yours.
all the best to you...
Larry
User avatar
Dave C
Member
Posts: 460
Joined: Fri Jul 17, 2015 1:50 am
Location: SoCal, US

Munchen S Issues

Post by Dave C »

Hi tt,

I also have a Munchen S board and struggled with it for a while. When I bought it I was unaware of how it is different internally. I read on this forum that the S does not have an internal regulator as do the non -S boards. To address this issue and hopefully not fry :shock: my modules I purchased a 5 volt regulated switching adapter with 1000 mA.

I'm not great with electronics but there are some folks on this forum that are and maybe they can confirm the best approach for you.

Dave
xchessg
Member
Posts: 173
Joined: Thu Jul 28, 2011 7:09 pm

Re: Mephisto Munchen-S Power Supply problems

Post by xchessg »

trontreez wrote:Hi, I'm trying to get my MMIV+HG440 run on my Mephisto Munchen-S board. It worked fine on my old Exclusive board with a HGN 5001 adapter and it works fine with the (32-bit Lyon) adapter module and HGN 5009A adapter in the Munchen-S board. The problem with using the adapter module is that I have one less module bay so can't use HG440 as well.

I contacted Niggemann Schach and they recommended a HGN 5050 adapter. I purchased their third party HGN 5050 equivalent, a regulated adapter with adjustable voltage and 1500mA. I've tried in on 5, 7.5 and 9V and have the same problem. It powers on fine then after 4-5 moves, while still "in book" it crashed/glitches out with LED's and the LCD going haywire.

Does anyone know what adapter I need to get my MMIV+HG440 working in the Munchen-S board? Is their any chance I've already fried my HG440 module using the HGN 5050 equivalent? Can anyone put up a guide (or a link to one) on how to mod the Munchen-S so it can regulated it own voltage?

High Voltage regards,

tt

An original S board is unregulated! Modules work on "about" 5V, so if you put a 7,5 output adapter on the S board, this voltage gets to the cpu the risk to fry something is considerable.

The BIG adavantage of a HGN 5050 is that it has inside a potentiometer whith which you can regulate the output from 5V up to about 6V, by adjusting with a screwdriver. I strongly suspect that your MMIV or the MMIV with HG440 combi needs a touch more then 5V (say 5,2V) to run reliably.

Your strategy should be either:
1) Leave those modules in the Exclusive (The S series where build for the 68000 modules series)
2) Try running the MMIV on 5V in the S board without the HG440 (small chance)
3) Get a real HG5050 and regulate on say 5,2V output, try that.

Xavier
trontreez

Post by trontreez »

Larry wrote:
trontreez wrote:Anybody? Help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Hi, do you have a voltage meter? I trust adaptors as far as I can kick
them. Some are regulated, others not. My experience with the HGN
adaptors is that they are regulated, ie, they will give the same voltage
reading whether under load or not. The Munchen 'S' board was discussed
briefly on a forum maybe ten years back. It had a slight shortcoming in
that it could not regulate it's incoming voltage, while the non 'S' could.
At least I think that's how I remember it.
You say things all worked well with the 'old' Exclusive. I'm assuming by
this that you don't have the Exclusive any more. It's always a good idea
to have two compatible machines in case of situations like you are in.
You tend to be able to isolate problems by switching and swapping
components and modules between the two computers.
I'm sorry I can't offer anything that will help solve your problem. If
placed in your situation, I would try to have patience and wait for a
Modular board to come onto the market and buy it to see if the offending
module gives the same problem in it. Chess computers are a fun hobby
but we all have to cope with similar frustrating situations like yours.
all the best to you...
Larry
Hi Larry, Yes unfortunately the old Exclusive board is gone. I'm actually looking to downsize my collection so will have to try another way. I haven't checked the output yet using a volt meter so will do so just to be sure.
Thanks
trontreez

Re: Munchen S Issues

Post by trontreez »

Dave C wrote:Hi tt,

I also have a Munchen S board and struggled with it for a while. When I bought it I was unaware of how it is different internally. I read on this forum that the S does not have an internal regulator as do the non -S boards. To address this issue and hopefully not fry :shock: my modules I purchased a 5 volt regulated switching adapter with 1000 mA.

I'm not great with electronics but there are some folks on this forum that are and maybe they can confirm the best approach for you.

Dave
H Dave,
Can I ask what modules are you using in your Munchen-S? Any luck with any 8-bit modules

Thanks,
tt
trontreez

Re: Mephisto Munchen-S Power Supply problems

Post by trontreez »

xchessg wrote:
trontreez wrote:Hi, I'm trying to get my MMIV+HG440 run on my Mephisto Munchen-S board. It worked fine on my old Exclusive board with a HGN 5001 adapter and it works fine with the (32-bit Lyon) adapter module and HGN 5009A adapter in the Munchen-S board. The problem with using the adapter module is that I have one less module bay so can't use HG440 as well.

I contacted Niggemann Schach and they recommended a HGN 5050 adapter. I purchased their third party HGN 5050 equivalent, a regulated adapter with adjustable voltage and 1500mA. I've tried in on 5, 7.5 and 9V and have the same problem. It powers on fine then after 4-5 moves, while still "in book" it crashed/glitches out with LED's and the LCD going haywire.

Does anyone know what adapter I need to get my MMIV+HG440 working in the Munchen-S board? Is their any chance I've already fried my HG440 module using the HGN 5050 equivalent? Can anyone put up a guide (or a link to one) on how to mod the Munchen-S so it can regulated it own voltage?

High Voltage regards,

tt

An original S board is unregulated! Modules work on "about" 5V, so if you put a 7,5 output adapter on the S board, this voltage gets to the cpu the risk to fry something is considerable.

The BIG adavantage of a HGN 5050 is that it has inside a potentiometer whith which you can regulate the output from 5V up to about 6V, by adjusting with a screwdriver. I strongly suspect that your MMIV or the MMIV with HG440 combi needs a touch more then 5V (say 5,2V) to run reliably.

Your strategy should be either:
1) Leave those modules in the Exclusive (The S series where build for the 68000 modules series)
2) Try running the MMIV on 5V in the S board without the HG440 (small chance)
3) Get a real HG5050 and regulate on say 5,2V output, try that.

Xavier
Hi Xavier,

The Exclusive board is no longer with me :( It's found a new, more appreciative owner. I'm a bit concerned to try the MMIV alone at 5V. I'm already thinking I fried the HG440 going up to 9V :( Maybe I'll try the MMIV+HG440 with power adapter and no display ....

Are you sure 5V is needed for all modules in a Munchen-S? I thought the MMIV needed around 8V and 250mA or is that only in an Exclusive board?

Thanks,

tt
xchessg
Member
Posts: 173
Joined: Thu Jul 28, 2011 7:09 pm

Re: Mephisto Munchen-S Power Supply problems

Post by xchessg »

trontreez wrote:
xchessg wrote:
trontreez wrote:Hi, I'm trying to get my MMIV+HG440 run on my Mephisto Munchen-S board. It worked fine on my old Exclusive board with a HGN 5001 adapter and it works fine with the (32-bit Lyon) adapter module and HGN 5009A adapter in the Munchen-S board. The problem with using the adapter module is that I have one less module bay so can't use HG440 as well.

I contacted Niggemann Schach and they recommended a HGN 5050 adapter. I purchased their third party HGN 5050 equivalent, a regulated adapter with adjustable voltage and 1500mA. I've tried in on 5, 7.5 and 9V and have the same problem. It powers on fine then after 4-5 moves, while still "in book" it crashed/glitches out with LED's and the LCD going haywire.

Does anyone know what adapter I need to get my MMIV+HG440 working in the Munchen-S board? Is their any chance I've already fried my HG440 module using the HGN 5050 equivalent? Can anyone put up a guide (or a link to one) on how to mod the Munchen-S so it can regulated it own voltage?

High Voltage regards,

tt

An original S board is unregulated! Modules work on "about" 5V, so if you put a 7,5 output adapter on the S board, this voltage gets to the cpu the risk to fry something is considerable.

The BIG adavantage of a HGN 5050 is that it has inside a potentiometer whith which you can regulate the output from 5V up to about 6V, by adjusting with a screwdriver. I strongly suspect that your MMIV or the MMIV with HG440 combi needs a touch more then 5V (say 5,2V) to run reliably.

Your strategy should be either:
1) Leave those modules in the Exclusive (The S series where build for the 68000 modules series)
2) Try running the MMIV on 5V in the S board without the HG440 (small chance)
3) Get a real HG5050 and regulate on say 5,2V output, try that.

Xavier
Hi Xavier,

The Exclusive board is no longer with me :( It's found a new, more appreciative owner. I'm a bit concerned to try the MMIV alone at 5V. I'm already thinking I fried the HG440 going up to 9V :( Maybe I'll try the MMIV+HG440 with power adapter and no display ....

Are you sure 5V is needed for all modules in a Munchen-S? I thought the MMIV needed around 8V and 250mA or is that only in an Exclusive board?

Thanks,

tt
Yes I'm sure "about" 5V is needed and not more in a original S board. In a non-S board (regulated at 5V by a regulator,no matter what you put on it), you need to put at least 7,5 to 8V, because the regulator always turns some volts into heat: If you put only 5V on regulated board the modules get less then 4V.... If you build your adapter module in the board and use the module's plug you actually turn your S into a regulated non-S, since the adapter module has the regulator inside!

So, try your S board using the adapter module at 8 or 9V with the MMIV and display: should work. If you want to use the HG440, only put "about" between 5 and 6V (on the board's plug) at most, but not more!

Xavier
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