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Tech Talk Blinking Light Win: Fixing your toaster NES for good (72-pin replacement)

Mar 15, 2015 at 1:39:17 AM
BazookaBen (6)

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the thing is, it's still like a VCR with this mod.

I guess they were more worried about making sure kids didn't need to apply much force to get games in to the system.

Mar 15, 2015 at 2:11:57 AM
Kosmic StarDust (44)
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(Alita Jean) < Master Higgins >
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Originally posted by: ol2

Originally posted by: stardust4ever

Originally posted by: ol2

Originally posted by: BazookaBen

Just found about this and I'm totally stoked. Not sure why Nintendo didn't do it this way in the first place.

Have you guys already started shipping to Kickstarter backers? I'd love to buy one or two ASAP.


He's the same guy who makes the Omega (Consolized Neo Geo MVS system), you can pre-order from his site as well

http://www.arcadeworks.net/hardware/blw.html
Good to know. I don't understand the $500+ Neo Geo products though. Not the most budget friendlt console to collect for.



To be fair, that's a custom mold he designed from scratch and had manufactured. Also it beats paying $500 each for the good AES games

Now you can just spend under $100 or so for the MVS equivalent. Stick them in some shockboxes with custom inserts from southtown homebrew, and you have killer looking carts on the shelf for a fraction of the price.
Wouldn't a pin adapter (AES <-> MVS compared to NES <-> FC) be much easier and cheaper?

Neo Geo never interested me much as I've never been into fighting games...

Wow, even the converters are $250+ Good grief...
http://www.neostore.com/Super-MVS...

-------------------------
~From the Nintendo/Atari addict formerly known as StarDust4Ever...


Edited: 03/15/2015 at 02:13 AM by Kosmic StarDust

Mar 15, 2015 at 2:30:50 AM
Tulpa (2)
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Originally posted by: BazookaBen

the thing is, it's still like a VCR with this mod.

 
VCRs have a zero insertion force mechanism. The old NES has a sort of ZIF mechanism that resembles a VCR's. This just converts it into a side loading top loader.

It had nothing to do with kids being able to load or unload a cartridge, as kids were already familiar with cartridge loading consoles, and everything to do with Nintendo's policy then of "we're selling video games but not looking anything like Atari consoles because they crashed and burned a few years before, so we'll make it work just like a VCR."



Edited: 03/15/2015 at 02:33 AM by Tulpa

Mar 15, 2015 at 2:48:19 AM
ol2 (43)

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Originally posted by: stardust4ever

Originally posted by: ol2

Originally posted by: stardust4ever

Originally posted by: ol2

Originally posted by: BazookaBen

Just found about this and I'm totally stoked. Not sure why Nintendo didn't do it this way in the first place.

Have you guys already started shipping to Kickstarter backers? I'd love to buy one or two ASAP.


He's the same guy who makes the Omega (Consolized Neo Geo MVS system), you can pre-order from his site as well

http://www.arcadeworks.net/hardware/blw.html
Good to know. I don't understand the $500+ Neo Geo products though. Not the most budget friendlt console to collect for.



To be fair, that's a custom mold he designed from scratch and had manufactured. Also it beats paying $500 each for the good AES games

Now you can just spend under $100 or so for the MVS equivalent. Stick them in some shockboxes with custom inserts from southtown homebrew, and you have killer looking carts on the shelf for a fraction of the price.
Wouldn't a pin adapter (AES <-> MVS compared to NES <-> FC) be much easier and cheaper?

Neo Geo never interested me much as I've never been into fighting games...

Wow, even the converters are $250+ Good grief...
http://www.neostore.com/Super-MVS-to-AES-Neo-Geo-Converter-I...




The MVS to AES adapters tend to be unreliable since they wear out the pin connectors of the AES, people too lazy to remove the converter when switching out MVS carts. Also AES systems tend to go for ~$200, add in cost for S-Video or Component and stereo mods, you're looking at $300-$350 then you add in the cost of the converter ~$200+, you're better off with the OMEGA to begin with.


Edited: 03/15/2015 at 02:48 AM by ol2

Mar 15, 2015 at 3:23:23 AM
Kosmic StarDust (44)
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Originally posted by: Tulpa

Originally posted by: BazookaBen

the thing is, it's still like a VCR with this mod.

 
VCRs have a zero insertion force mechanism. The old NES has a sort of ZIF mechanism that resembles a VCR's. This just converts it into a side loading top loader.

It had nothing to do with kids being able to load or unload a cartridge, as kids were already familiar with cartridge loading consoles, and everything to do with Nintendo's policy then of "we're selling video games but not looking anything like Atari consoles because they crashed and burned a few years before, so we'll make it work just like a VCR."
 
Imagine the horror when you pull the NES cart out after a game crash, to give it a bj or Qtips + alc or whatever, and instead of dirty pins, your NES deck throws up black magnetic ribbon everywhere! Game ruined...


Well, the NES is more reliable than a VCR, after all!

-------------------------
~From the Nintendo/Atari addict formerly known as StarDust4Ever...

Apr 21, 2015 at 6:02:57 PM
treismac (7)
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Anyone receive their BLW yet?

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Apr 21, 2015 at 6:21:26 PM
mattbep (107)
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Originally posted by: treismac

Anyone receive their BLW yet?

Nope. Feel like I ordered it a month ago from their site.

Apr 21, 2015 at 6:45:02 PM
Kosmic StarDust (44)
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Originally posted by: mattbep

Originally posted by: treismac

Anyone receive their BLW yet?

Nope. Feel like I ordered it a month ago from their site.



Me neither. Kickstarter backer.

-------------------------
~From the Nintendo/Atari addict formerly known as StarDust4Ever...

Apr 21, 2015 at 6:49:39 PM
mattbep (107)
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^^ I guess you would be getting it first then! We'll wait on your word.

Apr 21, 2015 at 7:36:34 PM
Ferris Bueller (231)
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I met the guy at MGC, and I kinda remember him saying that he's waiting on stuff to be manufactured. As in, they told him it would take XX amount of time, and they keep telling him it's going to be longer... after he paid them. Could be wrong, but I kinda remember that being our convo.

-------------------------

My best friend's sister's boyfriend's brother's girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who's going with the girl who saw Ferris pass out at the Let's Play Gaming Expo last night. I guess it's pretty serious.

Oh, my WTB thread is very popular. The sportos, the motorheads, geeks, sluts, bloods, wastoids, dweebies, Richard craniums - they all adore it. They think it's a righteous thread.
I'd also like to add that I've got my father's gun and a *scorching* price guide for aftermarket Nintendo games.
Between Dragon Warriors and nothing... I'll take Dragon Warriors - for any of my FT/FS/FO items.
 

Apr 21, 2015 at 9:26:30 PM
Kosmic StarDust (44)
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Originally posted by: Ferris Bueller

I met the guy at MGC, and I kinda remember him saying that he's waiting on stuff to be manufactured. As in, they told him it would take XX amount of time, and they keep telling him it's going to be longer... after he paid them. Could be wrong, but I kinda remember that being our convo.

It rarely happens that any project meets it's projected deadline.


-------------------------
~From the Nintendo/Atari addict formerly known as StarDust4Ever...

Apr 21, 2015 at 10:55:24 PM
Daria (29)
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Originally posted by: stardust4ever

Originally posted by: Tulpa

Originally posted by: BazookaBen

the thing is, it's still like a VCR with this mod.

 
VCRs have a zero insertion force mechanism. The old NES has a sort of ZIF mechanism that resembles a VCR's. This just converts it into a side loading top loader.

It had nothing to do with kids being able to load or unload a cartridge, as kids were already familiar with cartridge loading consoles, and everything to do with Nintendo's policy then of "we're selling video games but not looking anything like Atari consoles because they crashed and burned a few years before, so we'll make it work just like a VCR."
 
Imagine the horror when you pull the NES cart out after a game crash, to give it a bj or Qtips + alc or whatever, and instead of dirty pins, your NES deck throws up black magnetic ribbon everywhere! Game ruined...


Well, the NES is more reliable than a VCR, after all!

Man I will never miss gently coaxing the cassette tape ribbon from a deck and winding that shit slowly back together with a pen while praying it's not ruined.



-------------------------

Check out DariaPlaysRPGs on Youtube for Reviews on translated, homebrew, and classic RPGs.

Looking to buy a copy of Shining Force Genesis - Complete in excellent condition


Edited: 04/22/2015 at 05:25 AM by Daria

Apr 22, 2015 at 1:39:17 AM
treismac (7)
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(Travis MacMillan) < Eggplant Wizard >
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Originally posted by: Daria

Originally posted by: stardust4ever

Originally posted by: Tulpa

Originally posted by: BazookaBen

the thing is, it's still like a VCR with this mod.

 
VCRs have a zero insertion force mechanism. The old NES has a sort of ZIF mechanism that resembles a VCR's. This just converts it into a side loading top loader.

It had nothing to do with kids being able to load or unload a cartridge, as kids were already familiar with cartridge loading consoles, and everything to do with Nintendo's policy then of "we're selling video games but not looking anything like Atari consoles because they crashed and burned a few years before, so we'll make it work just like a VCR."
 
Imagine the horror when you pull the NES cart out after a game crash, to give it a bj or Qtips + alc or whatever, and instead of dirty pins, your NES deck throws up black magnetic ribbon everywhere! Game ruined...


Well, the NES is more reliable than a VCR, after all!

Man I will never miss gently coaxing the cassette tape ribbon from a deck and widing that shit slowly back together with a pen while praying it's not ruined.

 

Amen. I have zero nostalgia for that shite.


-------------------------

Apr 22, 2015 at 7:01:53 AM
Kosmic StarDust (44)
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Originally posted by: treismac

Originally posted by: Daria

Originally posted by: stardust4ever

Originally posted by: Tulpa

Originally posted by: BazookaBen

the thing is, it's still like a VCR with this mod.

 
VCRs have a zero insertion force mechanism. The old NES has a sort of ZIF mechanism that resembles a VCR's. This just converts it into a side loading top loader.

It had nothing to do with kids being able to load or unload a cartridge, as kids were already familiar with cartridge loading consoles, and everything to do with Nintendo's policy then of "we're selling video games but not looking anything like Atari consoles because they crashed and burned a few years before, so we'll make it work just like a VCR."
 
Imagine the horror when you pull the NES cart out after a game crash, to give it a bj or Qtips + alc or whatever, and instead of dirty pins, your NES deck throws up black magnetic ribbon everywhere! Game ruined...


Well, the NES is more reliable than a VCR, after all!

Man I will never miss gently coaxing the cassette tape ribbon from a deck and widing that shit slowly back together with a pen while praying it's not ruined.

 

Amen. I have zero nostalgia for that shite.
 
And whether VHS or audio cassette, there was always a bit of thrashing sound / visual defects that were painfully obvious whenever you played over that crinkly spot again. When shopping used vinyl, You can often see the defects and most boutique shops will have a turntable in the store and let you play the record to see if it's audible. Oftentimes light surface scratches don't go deep enough to affect playback. Cassette / VHS, could be particularly thrashed up or stretched out spot and you wouldn't know it. Sometimes the tapes is poorly spliced back together. For all you know, some kid could have gotten peanut butter or some shit in the mech and contaminate your otherwise pristine recorder.



-------------------------
~From the Nintendo/Atari addict formerly known as StarDust4Ever...

Apr 26, 2015 at 10:14:57 AM
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It would be nice if the owners would log into kickstarter and actually update their backers. Shows last log in was April 1st and people are getting pissed that they can't take 5 minutes out of their day to update people. I'm one of them.

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Currently playing: Forza Horizon 3, Final Fantasy 15, Dragon Quest 6, Shovel Knight

Apr 26, 2015 at 10:51:57 AM
GradualGames (39)
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I can't imagine how hard it is to get a big manufacturing run together like this. Not that they shouldn't update, they should. I'm gonna give it another month or two before I get pissed When you read things about Kickstarter, you often read how people who get into it vastly underestimate the difficulty of getting it all together...

-------------------------
Creators of: Nomolos: Storming the CATsle, and The Legends of Owlia.

Apr 27, 2015 at 12:57:30 AM
Kosmic StarDust (44)
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Originally posted by: GradualGames

I can't imagine how hard it is to get a big manufacturing run together like this. Not that they shouldn't update, they should. I'm gonna give it another month or two before I get pissed When you read things about Kickstarter, you often read how people who get into it vastly underestimate the difficulty of getting it all together...



This. Nearly everything takes longer than expected.

-------------------------
~From the Nintendo/Atari addict formerly known as StarDust4Ever...

Apr 27, 2015 at 1:12:12 AM
RiverCityRansom2 (7)

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you can snip the region lock chip and slip on a 72pin connector New replacement and if everything is good you dont have to mash/press down the game.

As well snipping the region lock ship stops the blinking as well...pretty solid either the game works or it doesnt, no playing around with the reset button anymore.

Apr 27, 2015 at 1:25:58 AM
Kosmic StarDust (44)
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Originally posted by: RiverCityRansom2

you can snip the region lock chip and slip on a 72pin connector New replacement and if everything is good you dont have to mash/press down the game.

As well snipping the region lock ship stops the blinking as well...pretty solid either the game works or it doesnt, no playing around with the reset button anymore.

I've snipped the lockout chip and replaced the connector twice on my NES. I still get white screen of death or corrupted graphics fairly often. Lots of reset, power cycles, reseating the cart, cleaning, "blowing" etc...

The ZIF connector design is simply prone to errors. If this thing will permanently fix my NES so that it runs reliably like every other console in my collection, from Atari 2600 to N64 and Game Boy, that would be awesome...

-------------------------
~From the Nintendo/Atari addict formerly known as StarDust4Ever...


Edited: 04/27/2015 at 01:32 AM by Kosmic StarDust

Apr 27, 2015 at 1:30:18 AM
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(Rich B) < Eggplant Wizard >
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Originally posted by: stardust4ever

Originally posted by: GradualGames

I can't imagine how hard it is to get a big manufacturing run together like this. Not that they shouldn't update, they should. I'm gonna give it another month or two before I get pissed When you read things about Kickstarter, you often read how people who get into it vastly underestimate the difficulty of getting it all together...



This. Nearly everything takes longer than expected.

I'm more annoyed that they went from consistent log ins and updates to nothing in about a month.  If you see all these emails and updates, it should be very simple to log in and give some sort of info on what's going on.


-------------------------
Currently playing: Forza Horizon 3, Final Fantasy 15, Dragon Quest 6, Shovel Knight

Apr 27, 2015 at 1:34:28 AM
Kosmic StarDust (44)
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(Alita Jean) < Master Higgins >
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Good things come to those who wait...

-------------------------
~From the Nintendo/Atari addict formerly known as StarDust4Ever...

Apr 27, 2015 at 1:36:31 AM
RiverCityRansom2 (7)

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Originally posted by: stardust4ever

Originally posted by: RiverCityRansom2

you can snip the region lock chip and slip on a 72pin connector New replacement and if everything is good you dont have to mash/press down the game.

As well snipping the region lock ship stops the blinking as well...pretty solid either the game works or it doesnt, no playing around with the reset button anymore.

I've snipped the lockout chip and replaced the connector twice on my NES. I still get white screen of death or corrupted graphics fairly often. Lots of reset, power cycles, reseating the cart, cleaning, "blowing" etc...

The ZIF connector design is simply prone to errors. If this thing will permanently fix my NES so that it runs reliably like every other console in my collection, from Atari 2600 to N64 and Game Boy, that would be awesome...

Sounds like your nes connector on the main board is busted up then. who knows with corrosion and such dont matter what you do magic 72pin connector not..could be dirty/rusted/smudged...who knows. Maybe some kid ate a salami sandwich and blew in a cart then stuck it in the system and shorted out some pins...IDK i cant tell you


Apr 27, 2015 at 2:11:05 AM
Kosmic StarDust (44)
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(Alita Jean) < Master Higgins >
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Originally posted by: RiverCityRansom2

Originally posted by: stardust4ever

Originally posted by: RiverCityRansom2

you can snip the region lock chip and slip on a 72pin connector New replacement and if everything is good you dont have to mash/press down the game.

As well snipping the region lock ship stops the blinking as well...pretty solid either the game works or it doesnt, no playing around with the reset button anymore.

I've snipped the lockout chip and replaced the connector twice on my NES. I still get white screen of death or corrupted graphics fairly often. Lots of reset, power cycles, reseating the cart, cleaning, "blowing" etc...

The ZIF connector design is simply prone to errors. If this thing will permanently fix my NES so that it runs reliably like every other console in my collection, from Atari 2600 to N64 and Game Boy, that would be awesome...

Sounds like your nes connector on the main board is busted up then. who knows with corrosion and such dont matter what you do magic 72pin connector not..could be dirty/rusted/smudged...who knows. Maybe some kid ate a salami sandwich and blew in a cart then stuck it in the system and shorted out some pins...IDK i cant tell you


The new "deathgrip" connectors will wear out just like the old ones did. And yes, I did clean the NES PCB contacts with q-tips and alc before applying the new one. The new connectors are just a band-aid that does nothing to fix the long term reliability problems. Also inserting and removing a troublesome cart 10 times before it "works" does very little to preserve the ZIF connector's long term reliability. BLW replaces not just the connector but the whole dang loading tray. Your NES basically becomes a top loader with carts inserted sideways.

-------------------------
~From the Nintendo/Atari addict formerly known as StarDust4Ever...

Apr 29, 2015 at 5:23:53 PM
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(Rich B) < Eggplant Wizard >
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WooT they gave an update with several pictures.  Apparently they are QC'ing every individual piece to avoid any possible unit failures and this will take time.  Check out the boxes and boxes plus rows of those things they got in. 

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Currently playing: Forza Horizon 3, Final Fantasy 15, Dragon Quest 6, Shovel Knight

May 4, 2015 at 7:24:48 PM
thechristoph (2)

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I hope there's word on a wider release pretty soon. I slept on the Kickstarter and regret it.

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