I no longer have my Mega Drive power brick, which is fine since I'm now in the US and would have needed an adapter anyway. I've seen Rondo Products mentioned a bunch, with their Triad power supplies, which I believe has a single console power plug, or the Tower Con which can power the Mega Drive, Mega CD and 32X all at once.
I only need to power the Mega Drive and 32X, not a Mega CD, since I'm going to be using an Everdrive for Mega CD games. Does anyone have any solutions for that?
I'd just find a really nice quality 9 volt power supply, chop the end off and reverse the polarity for center negative.
Be wary of aftermarket power adapters, a lot of them are hot garbage. Dangerous supply designs and undersized wires, or copper clad aluminum garbage wire.
I found a 4A 9V power brick over a decade ago that was for some type of Verizon modem and just repurposed it. Worked great after it was recapped.
Nothing you say I disagree with but most people shouldn't be modifying or refurbishing power supplies. An experienced person with electronics like you or me, definitely an easy way to save money and give an unused supply new life.
Life is risky, get a training helmet.
I didn't gain my knowledge by listening to people telling me "sorry, you're too inexperienced to work on your own stuff so don't do it." Without people continually learning, the old people like me will die and take our experience with us.
If you're fully willing to drive on public roads with uninsured motorists and idiots driving rusty death traps with no working brakes, you can work on power supplies.
Depends on which region everything is from.
PAL Mega Drive 2 from Australia being used in the US.
This is honestly a lot to explain in a message board comment. I could make a solution if I knew console models + if you really wanted to power all 3 at the same time. This person's solution is good except for buying a sketch power supply on Amazon.
You say "their" Triad but really they're ripping you off by reselling at markup what you can buy yourself. No one with power supply knowledge should be recommending Rondo Products. They hustle beginners to electronics.
Don't use an original power brick. It's unregulated, was cheaply made and aged badly. The high ripple voltage is harmful to use today. Be wary of anything lacking a UL, ETL, CE or FC mark. It's sketch and not proven to be safe.
You don't mention if Model 1 Mega Drive, which is center negative, 5.5mm x 2.1mm, or Model 2, which is center positive, 4.8mm x 1.7mm. The 4.8x1.7 size is not common so you probably need a barrel adapter like this that connects to 5.5x2.1 for a center positive supply.
Here's a filter I made on DigiKey, an official distributor which has the cheapest prices, for Mega Drive Model 1. I have one of the Triads and the $14.27 GlobTek, which is interesting since it has barrel adapters that can be switched to be center positive for 32X and Model 2 or center negative needed for Mega Drive Model 1.
If it's 27W or 3A or more like the last 2 options on the filter, you can use a barrel splitter to power all 3 consoles at the same time. Not an ideal thing to do given inrush startup and shutoff current. You'd also need a polarity adapter if using Model 1.
Center positive, you have way more options. World is 99% center positive. Triad gets mentioned because they're 1 of 2 legit companies that make center negative. But you can use a barrel polarity adapter like I mentioned to turn positive into negative or the reverse.
Thank you for the thoughtful and thorough reply. To clarify I have a Model 2 PAL Mega Drive and a PAL 32X from Australia, which I plan on using only in America. I’m searching through DigiKey right now, but if you have any further advice I’d really appreciate it.
So, I was about to recommend this guy, but sadly he's unable to ship to the USA anymore
https://retrogamesupply.com
His stuff has always worked great for me, so that's a bummer.