terastation pro internal power supply replacement.

[aragorn]

I am apparently the first person buying a Buffalotech Terastation Pro
in the USA and trying to use it in Europe. I failed to notice that it
only supports 120V instead of 240V and a lot of smoke later it dawned
upon me I blew the power supply.

So now I have a brand new and completely uselessTerastation Pro. The
power supply is not a standard ATX type of power supply, but a smallish
PCB board with one connection (2 wires) to the power cable plug and
another (10 wires) to the mainboard. Photo's can be provided on
request.

My question now (after you finished laughing) is wether anyone knows
what type of power supply the Terastation uses and where I could buy a
replacement that should work in the EU.

Don't tell me to contact Buffalotech on this. I am .... and they are
not really able to help me up to now.

Thank you in advance,

Aragorn.

 

[Arno Wagner]

I am apparently the first person buying a Buffalotech Terastation Pro
in the USA and trying to use it in Europe. I failed to notice that it
only supports 120V instead of 240V and a lot of smoke later it dawned
upon me I blew the power supply.

So now I have a brand new and completely uselessTerastation Pro. The
power supply is not a standard ATX type of power supply, but a smallish
PCB board with one connection (2 wires) to the power cable plug and
another (10 wires) to the mainboard. Photo's can be provided on
request.

My question now (after you finished laughing) is wether anyone knows
what type of power supply the Terastation uses and where I could buy a
replacement that should work in the EU.

Don't tell me to contact Buffalotech on this. I am .... and they are
not really able to help me up to now.

Thank you in advance,

That sounds like a custom-job. Likelt the only reasonable way is
to adapt some other PSU. You could for example try with a
mini-ITX regulator board and external 12V PSU, if that provides
enough power. The other concern is that you may have damaged the
mainboard as well.

Arno

 

[kony]

I am apparently the first person buying a Buffalotech Terastation Pro
in the USA and trying to use it in Europe. I failed to notice that it
only supports 120V instead of 240V and a lot of smoke later it dawned
upon me I blew the power supply.

So now I have a brand new and completely uselessTerastation Pro. The
power supply is not a standard ATX type of power supply, but a smallish
PCB board with one connection (2 wires) to the power cable plug and
another (10 wires) to the mainboard. Photo's can be provided on
request.

My question now (after you finished laughing) is wether anyone knows
what type of power supply the Terastation uses and where I could buy a
replacement that should work in the EU.

If they don't make a version for Europe, you won't be able
to buy a replacement that works either. You should buy an
equivalent device that accepts 240V input (entire retail
unit) or buy same thing and also a 120V-240V adapter
(transformer). However, it's not a "cheap" device, it's
value might make it worthwhile to take to a technician,
computer repair shop competent in electroics repairs rather
than just software and (swap this dead part) simple stuff.
A decent tech should have the ability to hook it up to a
bench supply and determine if the rest of it works and at
least provide some insight on the voltages and rough
amperage needed... which even if that information, the cable
pinout, and whether the unit works, cost $100, it could be
worthwhile. We can try to assist remotely but sometimes
there's no substitute for having the piece of gear to poke
around in it.

Don't tell me to contact Buffalotech on this. I am .... and they are
not really able to help me up to now.

Can you take REALLY really good pictures? They'd need be
posted elsewhere and linked here. It might be possible to
repair and (maybe) adapt the PSU to 240V power, but we don't
even know if the rest of the unit is intact. Does the power
board have any silkscreening or other indications of what
these 10 leads are? I would presume a fair number, possibly
about half of them are grounds, but that leaves the rest.

It looks like that unit has a single board computer and
likely 3.3V, 5V, 12V (at least) going to it. It could use
pairs of wires for one or more of the latter voltages, if
you had a multimeter you could check continuity at the
mainboard connector, or even pull that board out and examine
it. The overall design of the PSU board, as well as good
pictures of the top and bottom might also provide hints and
what you're dealing with.

The problem may not be finding a supply for the necessary
voltage, but rather in the form-factor (possible
proprietary) that will fit in the box. Some 3rd party
supply that is electrically compatible may need the
wires/connector from the original soldered on, but if you
can accept an external supply that might be easier to
source. In short, you're more likely to find the answer by
reverse engineering this than from a 3rd party, though you
might still be able to get more data on the PSU from
Buffalotech.

 

[John McGaw]

I am apparently the first person buying a Buffalotech Terastation Pro
in the USA and trying to use it in Europe. I failed to notice that it
only supports 120V instead of 240V and a lot of smoke later it dawned
upon me I blew the power supply.

So now I have a brand new and completely uselessTerastation Pro. The
power supply is not a standard ATX type of power supply, but a smallish
PCB board with one connection (2 wires) to the power cable plug and
another (10 wires) to the mainboard. Photo's can be provided on
request.

My question now (after you finished laughing) is wether anyone knows
what type of power supply the Terastation uses and where I could buy a
replacement that should work in the EU.

Don't tell me to contact Buffalotech on this. I am .... and they are
not really able to help me up to now.

Thank you in advance,

Aragorn.

Don't give up hope yet. There are dozens of companies around the world
which make switching PS modules and one of them is sure to have what you
need or something adaptable. Companies like Buffalo don't make their own
PSs and will buy off-the-shelf units rather than buying custom if they
can get away with it. Your first job is to find out exactly what the
output was from the old unit. It was likely only +5V and +12V but you'll
need to make sure and then determine what the current requirements were
for each. This is a _very_ common combination of voltages. Then, armed
with the voltage and power numbers and the dimensions of the existing
(burned) PS you'll need to research the online catalog of some
commercial electronics vendors. Here in the states I'd go to a company
like Mouser or Digi-Key. I don't know which ones are available to you in
Europe but there are sure to be a few that will deal with small orders.

I don't know what your power or size requirements are but you will most
likely wind up looking through page after page of catalogs looking
something like this: http://www.mouser.com/catalog/626/1564.pdf figuring
out which unit(s) meet your needs and budget simultaneously. It might
actually wind up being cheaper and easier buying two separate smaller
supplies if you need two voltages. With some luck and cleaning of smoky
residue you may be able to determine what company made your existing PS
and go to them directly to determine a suitable worldwide-voltage
replacement.

 

[Paul]

I am apparently the first person buying a Buffalotech Terastation Pro
in the USA and trying to use it in Europe. I failed to notice that it
only supports 120V instead of 240V and a lot of smoke later it dawned
upon me I blew the power supply.

So now I have a brand new and completely uselessTerastation Pro. The
power supply is not a standard ATX type of power supply, but a smallish
PCB board with one connection (2 wires) to the power cable plug and
another (10 wires) to the mainboard. Photo's can be provided on
request.

My question now (after you finished laughing) is wether anyone knows
what type of power supply the Terastation uses and where I could buy a
replacement that should work in the EU.

Don't tell me to contact Buffalotech on this. I am .... and they are
not really able to help me up to now.

Thank you in advance,

Aragorn.

http://www.buffalotech.co.kr/product/network_storage/HD-H1.htm

http://www.buffalotech.co.kr/product/network_storage/images/images/HD-H1_I_06.gif

Open up the box, and take a look at the label on the side
of the power supply. Note the details (volts @ amps). Write it
all down. Next, take a ruler, and measure the power supply.
What are the length, width, height ? Are there any fans on the
power supply, or any vent areas of note ? The dimensions of the
supply, and the fittings (screw holes where it mounts on the back),
might tell us if a standard form factor is being used.

It is hard to tell from the above picture, whether there are vent
holes in the power supply, that extend to the outside, or not.

Paul

 

[CBFalconer]

I am apparently the first person buying a Buffalotech Terastation Pro
in the USA and trying to use it in Europe. I failed to notice that it
only supports 120V instead of 240V and a lot of smoke later it dawned
upon me I blew the power supply.

Most switchers first rectify the mains to produce about 250V dc.
For 120 mains they do this via a voltage doubler. You could
replace that with a bridge for 240 mains, assuming you can first
repair the damage already done. Then you don't have to fool about
with the individual supply lines. Assuming.

--
"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we.
They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country
and our people, and neither do we." -- G. W. Bush.
"The people can always be brought to the bidding of the
leaders. All you have to do is tell them they are being
attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism
and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way
in any country." --Hermann Goering.

 

[aragorn]

aragorn wrote:

Aragorn.

Following up on my own note.
Thanks for the many replies. I will look into the PDF link.

The System is a Terastation Pro (
http://www.buffalo-technology.com/products/product-detail.php?productid=140&categoryid=19
), not a Terastation which is shown in one of the repliers links. They
have different power supplies. The one in the Terastation is a closed
box PS, the one in the pro is a PCB based one

I posted pictures (vga quality) of the power supply on Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/84753662@N00/
intention is to view them from bottom right to top left.

- Size PCB is 10-15.5 cm
- Specs required is 100V-240V, 50/60Hz, 0.6A
- Small sticker on the PCB reads:
85310056 RU US (first R in mirror writing)
GS TAM 0603

Aragorn.

 

[ian field]

I am apparently the first person buying a Buffalotech Terastation Pro
in the USA and trying to use it in Europe. I failed to notice that it
only supports 120V instead of 240V and a lot of smoke later it dawned
upon me I blew the power supply.

So now I have a brand new and completely uselessTerastation Pro. The
power supply is not a standard ATX type of power supply, but a smallish
PCB board with one connection (2 wires) to the power cable plug and
another (10 wires) to the mainboard. Photo's can be provided on
request.

My question now (after you finished laughing) is wether anyone knows
what type of power supply the Terastation uses and where I could buy a
replacement that should work in the EU.

Don't tell me to contact Buffalotech on this. I am .... and they are
not really able to help me up to now.

Thank you in advance,

Aragorn.

In the days when I used to repair monitors & PSU boxes, it was quite common
to be presented with 120V gear that had accidentally been plugged into 240V.
Often the damage looks a lot worse than it actually is and its quite rare
for the MB to be damaged, a good repair engineer should be able to rebuild
the PSU (I frequently did) - even if they have to re link vaporised print
traces!

Since the PSU went bang, its obviously not an autodetecting dual voltage
type, so at least check to see if there are 2 large electrolytics connected
to the mains rectifier, if there are it means that the PSU is basically a
230V converter with the option of linking the junction between the 2 series
connected electrolytics to one AC arm of the bridge rectifier to act as a
voltage doubler - so it can work on 120V.

If there is only one smoothing electrolytic then it is a single voltage
converter, you can get around the 120V problem using the primary winding of
a mains transformer as an auto transformer - RS components used to stock
transformers in a variety of VA ratings which have 2 identical 120V primary
windings that are wired in parallel for 120V supply or series for 220V.
Ignore whatever secondaries the transformer has and wire the primaries in
series for 220V, the tap then gives 110V, make sure the transformer has the
same VA rating as the PSU watts.

 

[Paul]

aragorn wrote:


Following up on my own note.
Thanks for the many replies. I will look into the PDF link.

The System is a Terastation Pro (
http://www.buffalo-technology.com/products/product-detail.php?productid=140&categoryid=19
), not a Terastation which is shown in one of the repliers links. They
have different power supplies. The one in the Terastation is a closed
box PS, the one in the pro is a PCB based one

I posted pictures (vga quality) of the power supply on Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/84753662@N00/
intention is to view them from bottom right to top left.

- Size PCB is 10-15.5 cm
- Specs required is 100V-240V, 50/60Hz, 0.6A
- Small sticker on the PCB reads:
85310056 RU US (first R in mirror writing)
GS TAM 0603

Aragorn.

If you look up 85310056 here:

http://database.ul.com/cgi-bin/XYV/template/LISEXT/1FRAME/index.htm

you end up with an entry from a company called Tamura. The "TAM"
on the label, nicely correlates. But none of the entries
in the list on this page, seems to match this exact supply.

http://database.ul.com/cgi-bin/XYV/...n=versionless&parent_id=1073787374&sequence=1

Judging by the wiring on the device, it puts out +5 and +12
(red and yellow), and those voltages are used by the disk
drives. The ratio of wires suggests the supply is rated for
1.5x as many amps on +12V, as on +5V. And with four disk drives
in the unit, to be safe you'd need at least 12V @ 10A capability
to spin up all four drives at the same time. (Once the drives
finish spin-up, the current drops back to about 12V @ 0.5A per
drive. Some equipment uses staggered spinup of the drives, so
not as large a power supply is needed.)

I tried looking on tamuracorp.com , but cannot match that unit
with what is on their site. If shopping for a replacement,
finding the exact connector style (1x10 output) would be a
challenge.

The 1x5 AC input power header seems to be some kind of standard,
but I don't know what the pinout options are.

I am curious about one thing. How did you manage to connect
220V to the unit ? If the unit came with a North American
plug on it, it must have been a bit tricky to plug it in.

Paul

 

[aragorn]

I am curious about one thing. How did you manage to connect
220V to the unit ? If the unit came with a North American
plug on it, it must have been a bit tricky to plug it in.

Paul

Thank you for the very insightful post. I will try to go for hunting
taking your suggestions.

How I managed it? Too simply probably. The power cable input to the
Power Supply is standard World Wide. I only had to take a local
computer power cable which fits nicely in the input. Put the other side
into the 220V power plug and tick .... tick .... tick ... pfffsshshshs
<lots of smoke>. The really annoying part is that I bought through
provantage 1U rack servers before and they by default come with
100V-220V power supplies. So I let my guard down on that.

Aragorn.

 

[aragorn]

ian,

Repairing may indeed be an option I could chase by trying to find a
shop that still does these things. And your explanation may help there.
I am not an expert in PSU's, but I did make some pictures and wonder if
you could take a look at http://www.flickr.com/photos/84753662@N00/
(look pictures right down to left up).

pic(063) gives a nice top level view. I am sure the biggest
condensator(?) (the one at the right) got toast because it got slightly
deformed and "bled" some juice. I don't know about damage to the
others.

Aragorn

ian field wrote:
snip

 

[ian field]

ian,

Repairing may indeed be an option I could chase by trying to find a
shop that still does these things. And your explanation may help there.
I am not an expert in PSU's, but I did make some pictures and wonder if
you could take a look at http://www.flickr.com/photos/84753662@N00/
(look pictures right down to left up).

pic(063) gives a nice top level view. I am sure the biggest
condensator(?) (the one at the right) got toast because it got slightly
deformed and "bled" some juice. I don't know about damage to the
others.

Aragorn

ian field wrote:
snip

It has a single reservoir cap, so it's not dual voltage - if you get it
repaired you'll have to use an auto-transformer!

 

[kony]

ian,

Repairing may indeed be an option I could chase by trying to find a
shop that still does these things. And your explanation may help there.
I am not an expert in PSU's, but I did make some pictures and wonder if
you could take a look at http://www.flickr.com/photos/84753662@N00/
(look pictures right down to left up).

pic(063) gives a nice top level view. I am sure the biggest
condensator(?) (the one at the right) got toast because it got slightly
deformed and "bled" some juice. I don't know about damage to the
others.

Yes that cap is 200-something volts, it needs replaced. You
may also find some of the transistors on the (in pic 63)
right-side heatsink need replaced. An example of how to
check BJTs with a meter after removing them,
http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/vol_3/chpt_4/3.html
Of course you should also carefully inspect other components
and the traces, and if I'd repaired this I would hook it up
to a dummy load to take readings before reconnecting to the
mainboard.

The rest of the caps are likely fine. As Ian suggested as
the second alternative you could use an autotransformer to
tap half the mains voltage to run this, or any typical 2:1
voltage (travel) converter is what you'd typically find in
stores... the transformer type, not the tiny triac(?) type
that is only for resistive loads. Given the device you
should look for at least 150W rating if not more (more is
nice but depending on the price-break, no need to overdo
it).

 

[kony]

ian,

Repairing may indeed be an option I could chase by trying to find a
shop that still does these things. And your explanation may help there.
I am not an expert in PSU's, but I did make some pictures and wonder if
you could take a look at http://www.flickr.com/photos/84753662@N00/
(look pictures right down to left up).

pic(063) gives a nice top level view. I am sure the biggest
condensator(?) (the one at the right) got toast because it got slightly
deformed and "bled" some juice. I don't know about damage to the
others.

The other idea is that this looks like a typical open frame
switcher, it may not be very hard to find a replacement PSU
that fits and outputs enough 12V, 5V current. Here in the
states you can even find some that might work for about
$10-20... but whether they're full range or only 110V, I
don't recall... certainly over THERE, you should find what
you need.

 

[aragorn]

If you look up 85310056 here:

http://database.ul.com/cgi-bin/XYV/template/LISEXT/1FRAME/index.htm

you end up with an entry from a company called Tamura. The "TAM"
on the label, nicely correlates. But none of the entries
in the list on this page, seems to match this exact supply.

http://database.ul.com/cgi-bin/XYV/...n=versionless&parent_id=1073787374&sequence=1

Paul

Paul,

One question.
I have been trying to look up 85310056 on the first URL, but I get
"nothing found". The second URL has an almost equal number
"84310056[*r]" on the page, but not 85310056
So I am curious to know, how did you get to Tamura from the 85310056
number through the first URL?

I am planning to contact Tamura, but I would like to be able to tell
them how I got to them in a "logical" fashion in order to get
(hopefully) better support.

Thank you in advance,

Aragorn

 

[CBFalconer]

.... snip about 120/240 V power supplies ...

It has a single reservoir cap, so it's not dual voltage - if you
get it repaired you'll have to use an auto-transformer!

Not necessarily. As I explained else thread, you may be able to
replace a voltage doubler with a full wave rectifier.

--
"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we.
They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country
and our people, and neither do we." -- G. W. Bush.
"The people can always be brought to the bidding of the
leaders. All you have to do is tell them they are being
attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism
and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way
in any country." --Hermann Goering.

 

[aragorn]

Paul,

Don't answer that. I made somewhere an error in the google posting.
On Flickr and on my notes, I wrote 84310056 and not 85310056.
I made a mistake writing it
Mystery solved. Sorry about the confusion.
I am going to contact Tamura now, and see how deep the rabbit hole
goes.

Aragorn.

aragorn wrote:

 

[tomh]

if it truly is 100v-240v input but NOT obviously auto switching, there
ought to be a pluggable jumper, or a switch, or maybe a solder jumper to
change from 100-120v to 200-240v. If you've cooked one of the caps you
have some repairs to do, but look for some indication on the PCB for a
voltage change.
If you need repair parts just visit your town dump or cruise the
streets on pickup day for dead computers. The caps and rectifiers in
most any PC supply are pretty standard parts. If you've blown a switcher
IC or transistor or control IC - well that may call for a replacement
supply. good luck

tomh

 

[ian field]

... snip about 120/240 V power supplies ...

Not necessarily. As I explained else thread, you may be able to
replace a voltage doubler with a full wave rectifier.

--
"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we.
They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country
and our people, and neither do we." -- G. W. Bush.
"The people can always be brought to the bidding of the
leaders. All you have to do is tell them they are being
attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism
and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way
in any country." --Hermann Goering.

You can't make the voltage doubler without 2 reservoir caps and the OP
posted links to pictures of the unit which show it only has one, so there is
no voltage doubler to replace with a full wave rectifier, and the bridge
rectifier is there whether its a doubler circuit or not - do please try to
pay attention!!!

 

[CBFalconer]

You can't make the voltage doubler without 2 reservoir caps and
the OP posted links to pictures of the unit which show it only has
one, so there is no voltage doubler to replace with a full wave
rectifier, and the bridge rectifier is there whether its a doubler
circuit or not - do please try to pay attention!!!

I guess you never patched a circuit board. Tools such as Xacto
knives, Dremels, etc. are useful, not to mention a soldering iron.

--
"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we.
They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country
and our people, and neither do we." -- G. W. Bush.
"The people can always be brought to the bidding of the
leaders. All you have to do is tell them they are being
attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism
and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way
in any country." --Hermann Goering.