I cannot for the life of me find a Sega Power Strip / Surge Protector

[Bones Justice]

I bought several of these when a retail chain was clearancing them for $2.99. One of the employees asked me just how many Segas did I have? I replied that you can use them for anything, not just Sega! All of the other power strips they had were twenty bucks or more. And it's true, back then there were no good power strips for multiple power supplies like the Genesis uses. They were all made with the outlets close together so that one power brick would block several of them.

I did have one of these fail. A friend had brought over an entire computer system and lacking enough outlets, we plugged the computer, monitor, and scanner/printer into the Sega strip. In a very short amount of time, it blew out and tripped the breaker for the house. Not only was the fuse blown on the Sega strip, it was completely fried. I guess they are not rated for that kind of power. I've never had any trouble with the one that I use for my Genesis/32X/SegaCD combo, though.

[evilevoix]

There is one for sale on Ebay for $30 but its got 5 days left.

[xelement5x]

Somebody on DP bought one awhile ago as well, but then came to the same conclusion as most that, do you really want to hook up your retro consoles to an old an possibly failing power strip? I'm not saying spend a bundle, but a decent power strip is essential to having a set up that's not dangerous and protects your investment.

People do this all the time with PCs as well, spend $1000+ on a nice new machine, but keep the same old ghetto power strip rather than paying $10 or so for a new one. Then my friends complain to me about having to buy a new power supply for the box because the wiring in their building is ass :\

[Guntz]

I bought several of these when a retail chain was clearancing them for $2.99. One of the employees asked me just how many Segas did I have? I replied that you can use them for anything, not just Sega! All of the other power strips they had were twenty bucks or more. And it's true, back then there were no good power strips for multiple power supplies like the Genesis uses. They were all made with the outlets close together so that one power brick would block several of them.

I did have one of these fail. A friend had brought over an entire computer system and lacking enough outlets, we plugged the computer, monitor, and scanner/printer into the Sega strip. In a very short amount of time, it blew out and tripped the breaker for the house. Not only was the fuse blown on the Sega strip, it was completely fried. I guess they are not rated for that kind of power. I've never had any trouble with the one that I use for my Genesis/32X/SegaCD combo, though.

The Genesis/CD/32X take less than 2 amps total to operate. Their AC adapters are a bit overstated. For example, I can run a Model 1 Genesis on 800mA just fine, that's 400mA less than the 1.2A original adapter. An IBM PC compatible, even back in those days, would have taken up a lot more amps. It's not really a surprise you fried the Sega strip. Considering it was advertised for use with low power consoles, it probably had a maximum amp load of 5 or less.

[Jax184]

Somebody on DP bought one awhile ago as well, but then came to the same conclusion as most that, do you really want to hook up your retro consoles to an old an possibly failing power strip? I'm not saying spend a bundle, but a decent power strip is essential to having a set up that's not dangerous and protects your investment.

People do this all the time with PCs as well, spend $1000+ on a nice new machine, but keep the same old ghetto power strip rather than paying $10 or so for a new one. Then my friends complain to me about having to buy a new power supply for the box because the wiring in their building is ass :\

Weeeeellll.....

So-called surge suppressors are, in many cases, pretty useless. I think your friends just used shoddy power supplies, or overloaded them, or let them fill with dust in a hot climate, or just got a bad unit. I have, to date, only seen about 3 cases of things damaged by surges. These were lightning strikes which burnt out a house full of electronics, no matter how they were plugged in. When I see just a PSU go dead, it's usually because of blown caps, a dead cooling fan, long term overloading, etc. Switch-mode PSUs are some of the most robust devices around in terms of input voltages. Feed them 90 or 250, they don't care. If a surge managed to take it out, it should also have killed the clock radio and the DVD player and all sorts of other electronics around the house too.

Meanwhile our console power adapters are simple linear blobs, and the consoles are not electrically connected when the power switch is turned off. So not a lot to get damaged by a minor surge when the console is off. When it's on, I suppose it could get damaged by a big surge, but one that big would probably nuke a "surge suppressor" power bar anyway.

http://www.dansdata.com/gz039.htm

If you really think that using an old Sega power bar will fry your electronics, I would be more than happy to take it off your hands.

[Lan Di]

I dont know if your still interested in one or not. I found this today...http://www.ebay.com/itm/370628279573...84.m1423.l2649

[Da_Shocker]

I dont know if your still interested in one or not. I found this today...http://www.ebay.com/itm/370628279573...84.m1423.l2649

The guy says that thing is new but clearly it's not lol what an ass.

[xelement5x]

If you really think that using an old Sega power bar will fry your electronics, I would be more than happy to take it off your hands.

Sure thing, for $93 and $7 shipping you too could have one!

[Jax184]

I'll pass at that price.

To add fuel to the fire:

I run one hell of a lot of my electronics straight off the outlet with no power bars in between, or with power bars that are 10-15 years old. So far nothing's died in a way which left me suspecting a surge. And I have quite a lot of odd vintage hardware around the house.

Furthermore, you could plug the Sega power strip into another more modern power filter if you were really concerned. Have the sega-branded one for running your Genesis and Saturn/Dreamcast, and other power strips for running other consoles, all run from a master one of high quality.

[madmax2069]

I was lucky and found a APC battery backup at goodwill for $10 USD. It works great as well. Although I would like to own a SEGA power strip, I just would not have a use for one being that I have a backup/surge protector.

[ItellYaHuat]

1) Buy garden-variety power strip
2) Spray paint it black
3) Scribble the letters "S", "E", "G", and "A" on it
4) ????
5)Profit!

[Lan Di]

Another one. http://www.ebay.com/itm/SEGA-Brand-P...item2a20519e32

[roguetrip]

For big wall warts I use 3-way AC plugs on a strip. http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-3-WAY-PL...item2ebf1e6101

You can find them at wal-mart for under 2 bucks usually.

Other than collectors value those SEGA strips can't be that good.

[Lastcallhall]

I've had mine since, 94, 95? Somewhere around there. Since that time it's been through dozens of moves and outlets, with multiple consoles and other electronics shoved in it, and I've not had a single problem.

Of course, now that I've said that, it'll short and burn down my man cave tonight...