I have so many plugs dangling down the back of my desk and sitting in my drawer that sometimes I feel like I work at a hardware store. Every console I test games for needs its own power supply, so there’s no surprise that it feels a little like a spaghetti junction down there. So after coming across a post from @kytorindustries on X about the Retro Tap, I’m hopeful that that could all be about to change.
10 consoles all powered from the same block… that initially made me think about a raging inferno exploding out of my office, but after seeing the detailed post in the thread about the Retro Tap, I feel a little more at ease. Essentially, this can power any console that has a circular power port like the one on the back of your NES or your Sega Genesis. Kytor has shared a picture of a NES, a PC Engine Duo, a SNES and the Sega ‘Tower of Power’ which is the combination of the Sega Genesis plus the Sega CD plus the Sega 32X, and they’re all running simultaneously from one power source, but it’ll also power your Sega Nomad and Master System too.
The RetroTap features:
— Kytor (@KytorIndustries) January 25, 2025
☑ Clean Power Delivery
☑ Wire up to 10 Consoles
☑ Simultaneous Run up to 4-6
☑ Resettable Fuses
☑ Available Medical-Grade 6A PSU (50% less ripple than Triads!)
☑ Support for the PS2 Slim PSU
☑ Input Polarity Protection
☑ Injection Molded Shell
/3
I was interested to see how Kytor is preparing for this power distribution from one single unit, and apparently, the Retro Tap uses heavy-duty 18AWG copper wire with custom barrel plugs and phase breakouts for the Tower of Power set-up. That seems reasonable for the 6.5 feet and 13 feet lengths the unit will ship with and that wire gauge should certainly help to reduce voltage drop, but I will be interested to find out more about what kind of overload protection comes with the unit and some other specs, including the price.
Kytor says that the Retro Tap will be shipping in Q2 2025 and that it will be released at an affordable price. This could well be a great solution for any gamers who live in flats where there aren’t a lot of plug sockets or who just want to simplify their power set-up, and I’m looking forward to finding out more from Kytor over the coming weeks. As always, I’ll update you here with more information as and when we get it.
