Super Nintendo
DC Power Jack Replacement
November 22, 2023
While the Super Nintendo is a great system which brought many classic games into living rooms all over the world, one thing that really annoys me about keeping these running is that in the North American version, Nintendo decided to put a difficult to source DC power jack into the system. The Super Famicom used a standard 5.5 x 2.1 supply, and although AC, the PAL versions used a common 5.5mm x 2.5mm supply. So why did Nintendo decide to put in a weird, elusive, 6.9mm x 4.1 mm with a 0.7 inner pin?
These days it's becoming difficult to source a good reliable power source for North American consoles because of the unique port. There are cheap switching versions such as these, which can be found through many online retailers, and they have the benefit of being able to power an SNES or systems like the Sega Genesis as there are two barrel leads.
Some people have suggested that these have noisy, terrible performance and that they may even harm the system if they fail. Another solution is to use a pigtail adapter which accepts a standard 5.5 x 2.1 barrel on one end, and has the 7mm on the other end, such as the ones sold by Console5 here.
It’s a nice solution but unfortunately I have yet to find a source that has reasonable shipping to Canada, meaning a single adapter can cost upwards of $30 delivered. When you consider that you still need to provide the power supply as well this becomes cost prohibitive.
I thought that swapping the DC jack on the console with a standard 5.5 x 2.1 one would be the best option. So console purists, look away now! With a jack swap options for power supplies are greatly increased and the change can be done for the cost of the right sized barrel jack which is only a few bucks if you can’t harvest one from some electronics scrap for free.
If you decide that replacing the jack on your Super Nintendo is the right move for you, start by tearing down the console. Once inside you will notice that the plastic piece which frames the ports on the rear is removable from the rest of the bottom shell, but it has tabs that go under the RF module, and the DC power jack is actually melted into the frame.
I’ve seen some people desolder the jack and then gently pry and shuffle the plastic frame to ease it out from under the RF module without removing it, but since the plastic can be brittle I thought it worth the time to desolder the four points holding the RF module and remove the single screw. After that is done, the frame can be easily removed with less risk of something breaking.
Solder points and screw for the RF module
Port plate showing the DC jack is melted into place
Soldering in the new DC jack into the board is simple, but I did find that it was helpful to bend the two legs towards the front of the jack, and then bend the tips down to go through the PCB slots. This has the effect of allowing the port to sit a little further back and reduce the face overhanging the board.
With the port in place it’s time to break something. This is the point of no return since the OEM jack is embedded in the plastic frame and we need to remove it along with some of the plastic surrounding it in order to make a space for the new jack we have installed.
Use your tools of choice but I found a Dremel helpful to take away some of the big pieces and then I did my best to file down what remained. It’s likely that it’s not going to look pretty, but it doesn’t really matter because it will not show from the outside. Just be careful not to mar the outside face and it should look fine. I’ve seen an example where someone cut a square hole so that the whole face of the jack was able to pass through the plate, but I wasn’t confident that I could make a neat hole, so I stuck with the existing round hole and made sure the port butted up against the plate as best as possible.
Center post removed from the port.
Ready to pull the guts out.
The area clear for the new jack.
With the destruction complete and the port changed, the console can be reassembled. You now have a console that can use a high quality, much more common power supply of your choosing. I recommend the Triad Magnetics PN#WSU090-1300-R, which you can source from many places online. Just remember that the center pin needs to be negative on the power supply you use, and since 10 VDC are hard to find, a 9 VDC supply is acceptable, but I would recommend a higher amperage output such as 1 - 1.3A.
A final shot of the result which I think looks quite acceptable.
