Terminator a2 Chinese power cord\US conversion.

[stoner6626]

I live in the US and recently purchased a Terminator A2 from zoomhash.com, It was shipped with a Chinese power cord, and I need an expert opinion on what I need to do to make the miner work in the US.  I'm thinking an adapter with a cord made to handle the load will work.  Correct me if im wrong please.  Bellow is a picture of the cord I received:

http://www.cnpowercords.com/power-cord-ysa04.html

[PolarPoint]

A standard powercord for a desktop computer will work. You should have at least one at home. Use one that is a bit thicker that has a good power rating.

[stoner6626]

I tried a standard power cord, and the machine powers up and starts hashing at full speed for 3-5 min and shuts off.  I turned the clock speed all the way down too down to 500 MHz, and the same thing happens.  Then it shut off again at 0 MHz with just the fans running. We tried it on a dedicated 20 amp breaker, and nothing.  I'm thinking the power supply is junk.  I don't think it's heat, because it doesn't get too hot at all. 

[hdmediaservices]

Is it by chance set for 240v instead of 120v?

[MarkAz]

I had a similar problem at 110v - running at 240v it worked fine, although I ultimately just ended up swapping out the power supply for a different one.  The ones that ship with the A2's are notoriously bad, so I typically run them until they fail, then upgrade them to something decent, like an EVGA 1300G2 or Corsair AX1200i - both of those will run the 110's like a champ.  Keep in mind that at 1200Mhz, the machine will pull down about 1100w, so you want a bit of headroom beyond that.

As far as the cord, there's nothing special about it - and the power supply is a normal C13 plug that you can get anywhere.  It's autoswitching/sensing between 110v and 240v, so nothing special needs to be done, just plug it in and go.

[hdmediaservices]

Ah I see.  I know when I bought a bunch of my A2s last year - 2nd hand, they were setup for 240v and had to be manually switched to 120v on the PSU.

[MarkAz]

Ah I see.  I know when I bought a bunch of my A2s last year - 2nd hand, they were setup for 240v and had to be manually switched to 120v on the PSU.

Wow!  I wish I had those, as my 240v PDU's will only turn off half the circuit, so most PSU's autoselect back down to 110v and keep running - total pain.  I've got a bunch of A2's from different periods, and haven't seen those power supplies - I wonder if whoever you bought them from had already replaced them?

[hdmediaservices]

That I am not sure.  I know that they were running a ton of them at 240v to save money.