Sweet, I hope you're right.

I just received an email yesterday. Apparently for all backers, they are offering an exchange program where you can send in your original "tight" model and they will exchange it for a revised model. Backers will have to pay to ship the connector to them, but as far as I can tell, everything else, including return shipping, is free. Not a bad deal. Exchanges must be mailed back before 4/30/16. Personally, I didn't think mine was overly tight, but I might take advantage of the program anyway.

Jeez, that's a pretty tight window considering how long it took Arcade Works to ship or even answer emails

I hope someone bought two of the original ("tight") models and sends back one or a revised ("loose") model. I don't believe I have read or watched a comparison between the two versions.

Ebay seller lost_levels is selling Rev 2 units on ebay for $40 shipped.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/252319268...

I asked if they were the less tight ones and he said they are the newest ones.

seems like modders dont want you to be able to remove your game cartridges. i noticed this especially with the retron 5. i had to use 2 hands to remove a lot of my cartridges. that has to be bad on the pins.

Hey, Jason. If you ever make a video with the revised BLW, could you make a video about removing the 15 unused pins to make it even more loose? Without doing this it is still entirely too tight. I already did it to two of my three Blinking Light Win units and they are much more tolerable. I mean, I can still see people complaining about how tight it is, but that's probably as good as it gets without engineering an eject mechanism or a different design (connector that seats the cart further forward).

I used flush cutters on the connector side as close to the PCB as possible. I then bent them out enough to grab with needle-nose pliers. Using the pliers, I would bend the pin out at 90-degrees then push down to the PCB (retracts the portion of the pin that's still in the connector). I would then bend out again and push down again to finish pulling it out. You can remove over 20% of the pins so the death grip will reduce accordingly.

If Jason were to do a BLW pin-cutting instructional video, I would suggest that he should post a very prominent disclaimer and refer people to this page : http://wiki.nesdev.com/w/index.ph... to see what effect cutting unused or little-used pins could have with existing and potentially future hardware.

Yeah i'm not sold on the idea of pulling pins making enough difference to justify it, but I don't have a new one to test with either.

15 of 72 pins? I'd say that 20% is pretty significant and very easy to justify if the console will never have a CopyNES or expansion audio mod.

My brother and I ordered three ver2 units so we compared one modified and unmodified and let a coworker decide which he preferred for the third. While it's still tight, it's obviously a big improvement. He chose the modified one, of course. Yes, we explained the drawbacks (no CopyNES or expansion audio mod).

BLW is intended to get the NES working reliably for the masses who will not be tweaking connector pin tension and such. The vast majority are uninterested in CopyNES or expansion audio. I do believe the info would be appreciated for most disappointed in the death grip.

Yep. Information is the whole point.

That said, that's the page I used but it doesn't exactly make it clear what effect cutting a particular pin does, like pin 37. Because many of the pins are gone or NC on a top loader (EXP and CIC), you're really just making it work even more like a top loader, which was always the goal.

 

I received my BLW in the mail last night and installed it. The game's go in very easy and come out easy. Works like a charm and I love it. Only took about two weeks to get here which was way better then their original estimate, if anyone else was waiting to order until they got caught up then you should be good to order now.

I ended up giving in and finally ordering one of these after your experience of them finally showing as in stock and you not having to wait forever to get one.  With that being said, did you receive a shipment notification and/or tracking?  I ordered mine the same day you posted the reply I'm quoting and since that point it's been marked "Complete" with a shipping method of First Class Mail Parcel, but no notice or date that it shipped and no tracking info.  Thanks for any heads up you can give on this!

Same for me. I wouldn't stress out about it, if it is anything like my order it will just show up in the mail in 2-3 weeks.  Hopefully you get it soon.
 

Cool, just wanted to check and make sure as to whether I should start watching for a package or not.  If my brother gets the mail, he rarely tells me up front that I've gotten a package and usually ends up dumping everybody's mail in his car on his way in/out of the house, so it's sometimes a week before you'll know that something has arrived.  Now I know that I need to be ever vigilant in checking since I won't get any notice of it having shipped out, lol!
 

lol that sucks.  Yeah just keep an eye out for it.

Any luck yet?
 

Quite a bit, actually!  I've been so busy with random things at work & home that I forgot to follow up on this.  The day after your last reply, I actually got notification from Arcade Works (and PayPal) that my BLW had shipped and got a USPS First Class tracking #.  It showed up three days later (4/9), but I didn't get a chance to actually install it until Tuesday (4/12).  Only found one fault in the very basic instructions (it doesn't tell you that the longer screws in the original tray/connector combo are the two you need to leave out) and it worked like a charm!  I still have to grab carts by the edges to pull them out, but it's not any sort of fight to get them out and they fire up without issue, so I'm thrilled with it.

Did what is probably my best Mega Man 2 run with it (ended with no deaths, nearly every item at full energy, full E-tanks, 16 extra lives and no deaths), so I know there aren't any glitches with it in my system.  I really wish it had come along sooner!

Thats awesome, When I installed mine I watched thier offical youtube video on how to do so and had no issues.  I love my BLW and highly recommend them to anyone.
 

I didn't have an issue so much as I tried to put every screw back exactly where it had come from, forgetting/missing the fact that the longer screws would no longer need to go through both the tray and the cart connector, leaving about 1/8" of threads showing.  I realized my mistake as soon as I got the first one in and screwed in as far as it would go, backed it out and swapped it with 2 of the other screws, leaving the only non-uniform screws in the entire system in the baggie with my old plate & connector.  

Ditto, alot of people's arguements about the BLW is that it doesn't keep the NES original.  Well it's my own personal NES and I have the og parts in a baggie so I could switch it back if I ever wanted to, not that I would
 

This has been my argument as well.  Everything with the BLW can be undone if you wish.  And the old parts you take out can go in the same bag that the BLW came in.  

Exactly!  Well, other peoples' old, original NES systems no longer work (without issue, anyway) due to the old, worn out connector.  Mine works without any fight at all because I updated it.  Just keep the parts and swap it back if you're actually going to use it and have to have everything 100%, sheesh!  If people who don't actually bother to use their systems were the ones complaining, I have to wonder why, as they don't have any dog in the fight, lol.

Got this at MGC from Windy City. Tried it out. Damn. Good stuff. We will be getting more. Thanks for an amazing job.

 

There are more concerns. It isn't just a compulsion to remain original for the sake of authenticity, it's also out of a desire to keep it classic. For example, I made a video about something completely unrelated to the BLW and shared it with my local retro gaming FB group and all they could talk about was that "weird" NES that works without pressing down. Sure, the BLE works, but it's abnormal and a distraction. I don't want to have to train my guests on how to use it or put a disclaimer explaining it on every video I make.

If I can't refurbish the original I'd rather replace it with a good aftermarket one every few years. Unfortunately, there aren't any good aftermarket ones, hence, why I bought a few BLWs anyway.