OK, so I'm sending my NEX back for a refund. So that means I need to rely on my toaster NES. What's the most reliable, lease kludgy way to play Japanese Famicom games on the system, and are there any compatibility issues/shortcomings I need to be aware of?
My cart connector works pretty well but I'm looking to get a replacement connector anyway. What's the best place to look to get a reliable one on the cheap? I'll look to eBay if I have to, but I don't want to.
I'm also debating if it would be worth modding the NES to make the cart slot stationary and more easily accessible, but I don't know that I have the skills or if it's even worth it. Any advice here?
Thanks, all.
Good for you, down with the pretender NEX! The only way to play Japanese Famicom games on a NES is to use a pin converter. They can be found, but you will need to do some searching.
There are three major compatibility issues when playing Famicom games on a NES. First, the Famicom Disk System's RAM adapter will not work unless you remove the top half of the toaster because it is L shaped. Second, the extra sound capabilities of the Famicom Disk System and some advanced Famicom cartridges will not be heard because thee NES doesn't receive cartridge audio from the cartridges. Third, games that use Famicom peripherals will not work well unless they use the Light Gun, Paddle or Power Pad.
People have differing opinions of replacement cartridge connectors. Some swear by them, others are unimpressed. Go to MCM Electronics and enter part number 83-3785. They will wear out in a few years and generally have a much tighter grip than a Nintendo-made connector, but do not require you to push down to make the proper connection. (I am not positive about this, but it does make the cart stationary.) The other alternative is to straighten the bent pins of a NES front loader and use some contact cleaner. However, if the game's contacts look like they were used to wipe someone's ass, it doesn't matter how good the cartridge connector is, the game will not work.
Famicom-to-NES adapters can be found on Ebay for cheap. If you have the money, you could always go with the AV Famicom and an inexpensive NES-to-Famicom adapter. The AV Famicom is compatible with all peripherials because it has NES and Famicom peripherial ports. It also has excellent video and audio quality, as well as a reliable top-loading cartridge connector. As of now, the AV Famicom is the best NES/Famicom system available.
Of course, if you don't care too much about compatibility with Famicom games and peripherials, then a cleaned up toaster will do nicely. I personally do not replace the 72-pin connector, nor do I bend its pins. I just tear down the NES and give the 72-pin connector a really good cleaning with a 99.9% pure isopropyl alcohol soaked white paper towel wrapped around a credit card (to insert it in and out of the connector until its clean). Then I use Stabilant 22 on both ends of the 72-pin connector.
Are you sure the AV Famicom is compatible with US peripherals? I wouldn't be surprised if the expansion pins aren't connected since Nintendo never intended for Japanese gamers to use NES lightguns.
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Are you sure the AV Famicom is compatible with US peripherals? I wouldn't be surprised if the expansion pins aren't connected since Nintendo never intended for Japanese gamers to use NES lightguns.
It isn't compatible out-of the-box with those peripherals that require using controller port 2. The only peripherals that I know require controller port 2 are the Zapper (and clones like Konami's Laser Scope), the Power Pad and the Arkaonid Paddle. On a NES, this port has two extra lines for 4017.3 and 4017.4. On a Famicom, the port does not have those lines.
Other peripherals, like Nintendo's controllers (regular & dogbone), R.O.B., the Power Glove, the Satellite, the Four Score, the Miracle Piano Keyboard, the NES Max and the NES Advantage will work just fine in a Famicom AV.
If you want to use those NES peripherals, you have three options. First, find the Famicom equilavent. Expensive and somewhat difficult to find.
Fortunately, the two necessary signals are present on the Famicom Expansion Connector. Second, make or have someone make for you an 7-pin NES to 15-pin Famicom Expansion adapter. I would use a NES extension cable, but those are difficult to find.
Third, solder the wires in the Famicom AV from the Expansion connector to the NES port. Only two short wires and no electrical components needed, but do you really want to injure so expensive a system?
OK, how about this? If you want to play NES games, use a refurbished toaster. If you want to play Famicom games, use an AV Famicom. The toaster is dirt cheap, and the AV Famicom can be had for under $100. Then you are set. No adapters, no modding, and yet you get the best of everything.
AAAAA!!!! Head explodey!!!!!!!
;)
I'll post something more meaningful when I'm not simultaneously trying to make stuffed peppers for dinner.
There are two other problems with a Famicom AV:
First is that the controller wires are only three feet long. I know that the Japan is a small country and people live in apartments the size of my bedroom, but we in the US need six feet. Expansion cables for the NES are rare and fit too tightly into the controller ports (at least mine do.) I don't know if regular NES controllers connect the cable to the controller's PCB in the same way, but I doubt it. A Four Score will give you the extra feet and a Satellite wil give you about the same.
Second, you need a good 72-60 pin converter to play NES games. I use Lik-Sang's Family Converter but I hate it. It is thicker (0.62mm) compared to Famicom carts (0.42mm), so it takes more force to insert and remove it from the cartridge slot. Also, the extra thickness puts unnecessary pressure on the cartridge pins. You should never keep it in the slot if you are not playing a game. It is not enclosed in a case, so the cartridge connector must bear the weight of a NES cartridge and a Game Genie. If the converter had a housing, it would protect the PCB from dust and distribute the some of the weight to the casing. In sum, the cartridge connector should be no more difficult to remove than a licensed Famicom cartridge.
The only good thing about the Family Converter is that its cartridge connector is tight enough that it can get a connection from a cart that would be flaky in a looser connector like the Game Genie's. But still, we should search for something better. Does it exist?
I have an ancient Honey Bee converter (golden) that I've always been happy with, it doesn't seem to be too thick, slides in nicely. I don't have a caliper to measure it though...
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I have an ancient Honey Bee converter (golden) that I've always been happy with, it doesn't seem to be too thick, slides in nicely. I don't have a caliper to measure it though...
Does it look like the second pic on this page?:
http://www.gamersgraveyard.com/reposito ... ptors.html
I had no idea Honey Bee made a converter to play NES games on a Famicom back in the day. I thought it was usually the other way around, because why would Japanese need to play conversions of games already available to them? I don't recall too many great US-exclusives.
I was thinking that this might be a better converter:
http://www.goldenshop.com.hk/AI-trad/Mi ... sconv2.htm
Yup, that exact one. While NES games weren't popular with Japanese, they were moderately popular with Chinese who without a region of their own imported games from all regions (although Japanese games were clearly dominant) In Honey Bee's case, Taiwan, where most gamers understood neither language a game is a game.
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Go to MCM Electronics and enter part number 83-3785. They will wear out in a few years and generally have a much tighter grip than a Nintendo-made connector, but do not require you to push down to make the proper connection. (I am not positive about this, but it does make the cart stationary.)
Actually in my experience with MCM connectors, it actually tends to work better
NOT to push the cart down. I do not particularly like them either, I think "a much tighter grip" is an understatement, those things really have a death grip on the cart. I wish it was possible to buy
real replacement connectors.
BootGod wrote:
Quote:
Go to MCM Electronics and enter part number 83-3785. They will wear out in a few years and generally have a much tighter grip than a Nintendo-made connector, but do not require you to push down to make the proper connection. (I am not positive about this, but it does make the cart stationary.)
Actually in my experience with MCM connectors, it actually tends to work better
NOT to push the cart down. I do not particularly like them either, I think "a much tighter grip" is an understatement, those things really have a death grip on the cart. I wish it was possible to buy
real replacement connectors.
There was a guy selling official Nintendo repair center 72-pin connector parts over at the DigitPress forums.
jdchess has the OEM parts. He somehow got a bunch of official Nintendo repair parts from a repair center that closed or was getting rid of old stuff. He might be out by now though.
Personally, I think that it is stupid how people are throwing away their NES's 72-pin connector and replacing it with a cheap knock-off connector. It is a much better idea to clean and refurbish the original connector.