Playing with various NES "fixes"

[ChadTower]

So, I have a stack of NES units, and I'm trying the various ways to get one to work well.  I've swapped out connectors many times, it rarely improves it that much.

I have a box of new connectors, a box of old connectors, a stack of NES units.  I have a stack of clean games that are very common (SMB, SMB/DH, SMB 2/3, Double Dribble, Ice Hockey).

I'm also playing with the lockout chip.

Things I've tried:

1)  New connector only.  Not all that much improvement, did improve some, didn't get anywhere near 100%, makes it really hard to get the cart in and out.

2)  Cutting pin 4 on lockout chip w/old connector.  No blinks, now it's mostly a grey screen when the cart doesn't work.  No real improvement.

3)  Cutting pin 4 on lockout chip w/new connector.  A little improvement on some games, none on others.

4)  Grounding pin 4 on lockout chip w/old connector.  Same as without pin grounded on old connector.  The connector is mildly clean and seems to perform the same with or without lockout chip.

5)  Grounding pin 4 on lockout chip w/new connector.  No better than with old connector.

So, at this point, I'm stumped and annoyed.  Disabling the lockout chip gets rid of the blinky screen but replaces it with a dead grey one.  The new connector made a small difference but not an acceptable one. 

Just to really knock this one down, I busted out the SMB/DH I got in a lot of NOS NES items a while back... literally, never been played.  Pristine.  Acts no different than the rest of the games, boots probably 25% of the time.

I've tried a new and old connector, tried both versions of the lockout mod, and tried regular wear games as well as a NOS game.  All act roughly the same, unaccpetably.

The only thing left to try is to do this to a couple more NES units and see if the results are the same.

 



(I'll keep updating this post as I progress through the scenarios, feel free to comment as it goes)

[ChadTower]

I'm working with a second NES now... this one is having better results but still nothing remotely approaching 100%.

[GlennM]

Well you could always just get a "new" NES.  Just search for Neo Fami, Messiah Nex, FC Twin, etc.  Or go to NESPlayer and look at the Pirate Consoles.
http://www.nesplayer.com/pirates/index.htm

You can buy them online, but you have to be careful which one you get, some do not play as well as others.  I have heard good things on the ones I mentioned though.

Later,
Lotus

[ChadTower]

They should all play the same as they're all based on the same Nintendo On A Chip.  I haven't seen one yet that isn't based on that same chip.  I'll take a look at that list, it's the first time I've seen them all listed out like that.

I'm discovering, after disabling the lockout on a second NES and putting in a new connector, that these connectors work much better if you don't lock the cartridge down.  If you leave it up the game works with a pretty high percentage.

[somunny]

Well you could always just get a "new" NES. 

This is true (and I've considered it myself) but, with this crowd especially, part of the fun is making something not be broken anymore. 

I have an old, non-working NES in my garage so I'll be watching this thread.  Thanks for the info, Chad.   

[ChadTower]

No problem.  I've been meaning to do this for a long time.

I was poking around the motherboard testing various components and I noticed that it looks like the really small caps may be dead.  I want to read up a bit further on what to expect when testing caps but if they are I may swap them out to see if it helps any.  Who knows?

[MajorLag]

The big problem with the NoaCs is that none of them properly implement the sound. Its close, but off enough to notice. Then of course theres that whole "can't play Castlevania III" problem. Unfortunatly that means that for the best possible NES experience you need to get one of the top loading NESs and mod it to use composite output.

[ChadTower]

That's probably the best you can get.  It doesn't really help me with the "I have a stack of NES units on my workbench" issue, though.   

I could live without CVIII.

[notaburger]

sanding down the connector always has worked for me

bending the pins out has worked once (out of 3 tries, and it makes the games really hard to get out)

and for everyone else, i'd stay clear of the clones unless you're planning on doing a really cool mod
not only is the sound messed up and you can't play castlevania III, the colors are also off

it drove me nuts

my roommate owned a messiah...for about 15 minutes, then he returned it to the game store cause castlevania III didn't work (his favorite game)

there were a few other games that didn't work but i forget what they were
all i know is that we had them and they were in the handful that we wanted to try out on it

good luck restoring the systems

i've made pretty penny buying "blinking" systems off of ebay and then flipping them on ebay working at at least 90%

i remember, one lot of 4 systems from a REPAIR SHOP

sandpaper and 15 minutes later, i relisted them and eventually made about 80 bucks

[ChadTower]

I'm looking at the edge contacts on the motherboard itself wondering if re-tinning them is going to help.  Doesn't take long and is worth a shot.  There has to be something that brings them back, it's not like the motherboard is dead.

[ChadTower]

Okay, this is annoying.  I've got one here that is working a high % of the time if I don't push the cartridge down.  If I push it down it works near zero.

[DarkBubble]

I've still got the same connector in my NES that it's had since I got it in 1988.  My trick, aside from making sure the cart's contacts are clean, is pushing the cart in to where the beveled edge just barely hits the the inside edge of the opening of the system when pushed down.  The bevel acts as a guide, letting the cart slide in just enough to be pushed down all the way.  Tends to fire up with little to no difficulty.  I don't always need to use the edge of the cart as a guide, as if I'm playing frequently enough, I can usually judge where to stop the cart on feel alone.  Not always, of course, as some carts go in a little easier than others.

I've often wondered if everyone had pushed the carts in just enough to get them to go all the way down, would the contacts have been bent out of shape nearly as quickly.

[ChadTower]

You could make a very simple connector mod for that... just get a small piece of something to place inside the cart connector to ensure it only goes in to the desired depth.  If you found the right piece it would be a 5 second mod.  I'll give this concept a shot and see how it turns out, thanks.

I wonder if maybe this batch of new connectors is just wonky. 

[DarkBubble]

Yeah, the addition of a stop piece sounds like a good idea.  I just haven't felt the need to open up the NES and fiddle with it while I've got something that works.

You're not the first person I've heard of who's had issues with new connectors either.  Don't know what the issue could be.

[ChadTower]

With this one it is clearly contact difference between when the cart is in the up or down positions.  I'm going to take a look at the pin tension, probably pull a cart PCB out again and see exactly what's happening when the PCB angle changes in the new vs original connector.  With this new connector, if I can get it working in the down position, it should be pretty reliable.

[ChadTower]

I just turned the new connector over and put it on the motherboard upside down.  I have to pull PCBs from cart cases to insert them but they are working 100% across the board.

This has potential.

I've also noticed a difference betwen the new connectors and old.  When I insert a game PCB into a new connector, the top level of pins get pushed back just a bit.  Maybe 1mm or so.  I imagine that top layer of contacts is the one affected by the cartridge being pushed down, too, so maybe the top layer of pins isn't secured well enough to handle the demands.

[_Iz-]

Wouldn't it be easier to just use NEStopia?

[ChadTower]

Okay, I have two working quite well now.  It appears as though these connectors have a breakin period.  Once you've broken them in, and the pins loosen just *that much*, they work pretty well.  Disabling the lockout chip really does seem to make a difference, I get far fewer failures that usually happen seemingly at random.  They're still not working 100%, but I'd put it at 90%, and that's pretty damn good for an NES.  I would be willing to put 10% on aging carts.

So, thus far I have two lockout disable modded and new connector NES units that are tested to crap... anyone want to buy any?     I have one more to do tonight and I think there are at least a couple more poking around here.

[steveh]

maybe this site will help you

http://www.raphnet.net/electronique/nes_mod/nes_mod_en.php

[tommy]

Having a stack of NES units you could just get one game to work in each unit and leave that cart in the console making it a dedicated whatever cart is in it console. 

[ChadTower]

Don't think I haven't considered that.  At one point I was looking at the motherboard, my soldering iron, and the SMB PCB thinking "I should just solder the damn thing on."

steveh, a couple of those mods I hadn't seen before.  Interesting.  Thanks!

[Banacek]

I used to own one of these:



Why did I have to be stupid when I was younger and give it away?