exidysorcerer.net

here's my sorcerer 2 hack of the day:

the sorcerer 2 power supply gets really hot, and that's because it has a really big shunt resistor for the 5V supply and a pretty simple design.

I've replaced my entire power supply board with this hack, which uses a picopower switcher plus a little 5v switcher for the -5v supply.
it probably is a little light on bypass caps, having none, but it seems to work as is. is this crazy, because it makes the sorcerer not 'original'? i have the old power supply module in case i want to restore it.
anyhow, I'll probably make a 3d model for the frame, and kicad up a circuit so it won't need the third party carrier for the power supply.

opinions?

Yep, they do get hot alright. I've been thinking of replacing my PSU on a "temporary" basis with a switch mode power supply, and recently stumbled on a facebook post by Thomas Riesen in the 'Vintage S100 Computer Enthusiasts' group (March this year).

He apparently had success installing a SMPS part # Q-60B. Based on that I ordered one and it's currently sitting on my desk, daring me to install it

It pains me making any permanent changes to a Sorcerer, to the point when I recapped it, I kept the old caps in a ziplock bag in case I decided to attempt stuffing new caps inside the shells of the old ones! When I get around to installing it I'll share my experience, focusing on reversability.