Toploader NES composite mod

[pbj]

Been far, far too long since I've done a needless project. 

I present my beloved family heirloom top loader.



I am slowly gathering the needed supplies.  I did finally confirm after 45 minutes and nearly breaking my wrist that you can indeed remove the shallow gamebit screw with a bic pen that's been set on fire.  The rest of them ain't budging.  Grinding a slot into a flathead screwdriver is a joke and barely works, too.

So, Amazon has a $4.99 set of the bits and a tri-wing screwdriver.  It's an add on item so preorder some video game you fully intend to cancel as soon as your bits ship.  Same junk is $1.50 from Aliexpress but ain't nobody got time to wait a month.

In anticipation of throwing the gamebit screws into the landfill, I prepped my replacement screws.  In honor of yotsuya, I reveal my screw painting method...

[pbj]

Here's a before pic using the RF adapter.  This is on my 2003-era Panasonic 27" CRT, which had the best image I had ever seen when it was purchased and I've been dragging it around 13 years.



The picture is fine, and something that wouldn't have bothered any of us 20 years ago, but the 'jailbars' are readily apparent.  Some HDTVs are struggling with the RF output.

Here is a link to the guide I'm using:

http://www.gamesx.com/rgbadd/nes2avmod.htm

Nerds have had 17 years to rant about it and none of the other mods look any better.

(website also saved as a PDF and attached to this post)

Parts list:
1.3k ohm resistor x 2
33 ohm resistor
220 ohm resistor
2N4401 NPN transistor
RCA Jacks

Parts were ordered from here:

https://www.taydaelectronics.com/

They have a $5 minimum, but frequently run a 15% off coupon on their Facebook page, and shipping is just a couple of bucks.  My total was $8.26 shipped and I got 5 transistors, 10 of each resistor, a bunch of wire and heat shrink tubing, and the RCA panel jacks.

Here's the set of bits I bought from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FF0PN0G/

[vwalbridge]

Finally! Someone posting a good screw painting tutorial. Bout time! 

[yotsuya]

[thomas_surles]

Now take 2 minutes and clean that dirty bastard. With pics

[Malenko]

no 30 minute "the White Trash Arcade" youtube video with 8 minute long intro?

At least tell me you are wearing white flip flops.

[Locke141]

Looking forwards for this one. I have my old top loader back in the US. Some before and after shouts would be helpful for others thinking about trying this.

[pbj]

After receiving my gamebit drivers, it was time to take this thing apart.

Upon much contemplation, I decided to reveal my deep cleaning method.



Despite all outward appearances, this is not simply soaking the pieces in hot soapy water in my guest bathroom.



Shiny, shiny.

 

[thomas_surles]

That's better

[vwalbridge]

Is that shell slippery when wet?

[harveybirdman]

Not sure if you mean the sink or the consoles case.....


Vwbus with the razor sharp wit. ...

[Locke141]

Looking good.

[pbj]

And what's hit AliExpress in the last few days.... clone top loaders with two controllers and a game for ~$43 shipped...

[Locke141]

And what's hit AliExpress in the last few days.... clone top loaders with two controllers and a game for ~$43 shipped...

The game is a 500 in one too boot and it has composite. I wonder what the refresh rate is?

[opt2not]

Upon much contemplation, I decided to reveal my deep cleaning method.

Dawn and red bar soap? Seems legit. 

[pbj]

Curses!  You've figured it out.

That red bar soap... man... when your coworker makes soap and gives it to you for Christmas in 2013, make sure you actually use it before you tell him that was awful nice of him and that you really like it.  Because you're gonna end up with a mountain of it a week later.

[yotsuya]

Curses!  You've figured it out.

That red bar soap... man... when your coworker makes soap and gives it to you for Christmas in 2013, make sure you actually use it before you tell him that was awful nice of him and that you really like it.  Because you're gonna end up with a mountain of it a week later.

[harveybirdman]

No smooth pecan aftertaste of Palm Olive, it's straight up nasty Life Boy.

[pbj]

Went ahead and did the power LED mod while I wait for my parts to arrive....




 

[vwalbridge]

Bling, bling. 

I want to know more about OMG HAX! please.

[pbj]

It's a gyromite case and Famicom adapter running a 151 multicart.  Artwork is some Somari thing that I slapped a beer mug on.

Here's the guide I used for the power LED.  Gave up on the drill and used a soldering iron to make the hole.

http://www.retrofixes.com/2014/06/nes-101-install-led-power-light.html

 

[opt2not]

I probably should do the LED mod for my Top Loader as well. There was one time I left my NES on for over 24 hours because I forgot to turn it off.  Why Nintendo didn't bother adding a power LED to this unit is baffling.

[pbj]

What's mildly interesting about that Top Loader is there is no hardware mounted to the top half of that shell.  It's just a plastic cover.  I contemplated mounting the LED to the bottom half and simply positioning it below the drilled hole and having it shine upwards. 

This thing is going to be a pain in the ass to open up and take apart after all the jumper wires are added.

[pbj]

Wires soldered and routed.



Holes drilled (VERY CAREFULLY) and RCA jacks mounted.



The little board I made.  After I smoked tested it, this wiring was cleaned up considerably.



I am quite pleased with how this turned out.  The RF output is still functional.

And here's some action shots....

Before




After

[vwalbridge]

Nice job! 

Looks like a fun little mod and the results make it totally worth it.

Does Castlevania 3 look good on it?

[Howard_Casto]

Does Castlevania 3 look good on it?

You beat me to it. 

Pull the string!

[Locke141]

That looks a lot better. Have you done much play testing on it?

[pbj]

Yeah, put a couple of hours on my 151 in 1 cart.  Jailbars didn't go away but everything is much sharper and more vibrant.  I might actually prefer the fuzzy sound via RF but it sounds great this way, too.

If you own a Top Loader, I think these mods are essential.

And one last touch....



 

[harveybirdman]

Epic
 

[yotsuya]

Them stickers be tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight!

[ed12]

nice work pbj

but did u miss this step?

>(4) The composite video source will be captured from Pin21 on the PPU chip.  For best video quality the pin must be cut. You can skip the cutting and solder directly to the leg but video will have "JailBars" aka faint vertical lines in the video<

ed

[Locke141]

Could he add a switch to keep the RF working?

[pbj]

Yeah, that cutting pin 21 stuff is a different mod than this one.  I opted for the more easily reversible version, and RF is still functioning fine.

[ed12]

nice work just the same pbj

ed