I went ahead and bought them anyway as a backup plan. The seller has great feedback and has really only been selling vintage gaming stuff, so seems legit. If something goes wrong, I'll let you guys know.

Please do. Thanks! What did you search for?
 

I just searched for nes PPU CPU on google actually, and one ebay auction came up, so I used the same search terms there and found two sellers. One with one pair for $56 and another that had 4 pairs for $29. I went for the cheaper pair. If I'm gonna get screwed, I'd rather have it be cheaper. lol

Yeah. For $50 you might as well buy a known-good NES for parts.

Here's the auction with 3 pairs left http://www.ebay.com/itm/272304798...

Please save them!
There is a list of recommended installers on my site, one of them might even just do just the chips for you if you ask nice.
As far chips, i'd stay away from UMC chips even tho most are proven to mostly work...

 

As far as avoiding certain revisions, Jason only claims compatibility it with the later revisions that were also available in the USA (and their PAL equivalents). That's why the Famicom and late-gem Japan-only laser-marked AV Fami CPU are not supported. It doesn't mean they won't work, but I wouldn't count on these to replace the originals.

Yeah this is not like making Repros where you just cut off the old Mask ROMs from some shitty sports title and discard them. I can't believe someone was actually considering destroying a known good set of CPU / PPU to install this kit, then buying replacements of dubious origin off eBay or somewhere.  

Quick and dirty techniques such as pin clipping or reflowing tend to be destructive. Home reflowing attemps using a torch, gas stovetop burner, hot air gun, or toaster oven will risk scorching the PCB and often causes delamination of traces (delamination is usually caused by boiling of moisture content trapped inside the board itself, a big problem in high humidity environs - this is not an issue in fab facilities as they bake the PCB to dry them before applying components and have extremely precise climate and temperature controls). Pin clipping obviously renders the chip useless.

Removing the solder from each connection one pin at a time is the only way to reliably preserve both the chip and the PCB. If you don't have a proper desolder tool, don't even bother. Heat the joint to melt the solder while squeezing the bulb on the iron, then release the bulb to suck in the solder. Pins connected to thicker Ground plane or VCC traces require slightly more heating time to fully desolder. Discard the melted solder and wipe off the tip before moving to the next pin. Pin should wiggle slightly in the hole with gentle force from a pair of needle nose pliers once the solder is properly removed. Never attempt to forcefully pry the chip out simply because you think it is sufficiently desoldered or you will likely break pins and/or PCB traces. Desoldering is a tedious affair that needs to be performed on all 40 pins on both chips, 80 times total for the HiDef mod. If you rush the process you will be sorry. Also sometimes if the sucker does not completely remove the solder, applying extra flux and fresh solder to stubborn joints or plugged vias will aid in release.

If you insist on buying a pair of used chips, make sure they are a matched pair, revision G or revision H with white printed letters, not etched. Revision G are most commonly found in Toasters and Revision H are most commonly found in Top Loaders or AV Famicom (if you are reckless enough to butcher a rare AV Famicom or toploader just for it's chips, know that somewhere in the world a kitten dies and it is totally your fault   ). Game Tech says the laser marked rev H chips don't work. Revision E (many Famicom and early run NES) and earlier revisions (found mostly in oldest Famicoms) have known bugs with certain games and should be avoided.
  This.

My desoldering station has arrived and I have already familiarized myself with it by fixing that Atari 800XL and prepping more consoles for Hi-Def NES (socketed the chips).

It makes such short work of things and is so much less risk that I'd be remiss if I didn't offer to do the hard part (desoldering) for anyone in the area:
I live in Newnan, GA (Atlanta OTP SW). I will not charge anyone who comes to me on my off days so if you live anywhere in the Atlanta GMA and were planning to attempt this with less-adequate tools, DON'T! My days off are pretty random but with a little patience we should be able to sync up.

I went ahead and checked out the seller's other auctions and saw that cool but over-priced VGA Famiclone that keeps popping up in my other searches, but what really caught my eye was the new replacement SNES connectors. I got a mangled SNES mini from a thrift store and ordered a replacement connector from an eBay seller around 2003. It must have been the seller's last one because it seemed to immediately disappear I haven't seen them available anywhere ever since. Thanks for turning me on to this seller.  

I did it with braid/wick alone and the connection was always flaky but at least it worked. I was so proud of salvaging the SNES back then that I shared this pic on Nintendo's forums:


I still have it so I need to go back with my current equipment/experience to see if I can improve it. If not: I now know where I can get a replacement!  

Unlike these the old replacement had a metal shield but was not made in two parts like the SNS-001. It seemed to be designed to fit the SNS-101's footprint but the spacing on the thru-hole pins had the two rows either too close or too far apart (can't remember). The hardest part was getting all pins through simultaneously to be soldered. I'm positive that had something to do with the flaky connection.

Sit down, take a deep breath. It's ok. This isn't my first rodeo. I've got a room full of modified vintage synthesizers, as well as synths and MIDI controllers I've designed and built myself. I'm simply trying to gather information (and parts) to cover all my bases and have a working HDMI top-loader that I've modded myself. I've got a rule that I follow when doing mods like this, and it's that if the device I'm modifying is worth less than $150, then all options are on the table. the toploader hasn't met that threashhold. Sorry if that scares some of you.

No, I don't want one of the trusted installers to do any of this for me. Part of the fun of a kit like this is putting it together.

You guys did answer my question eventually though, so thanks!
 

For some reason, this is the type of imagery that got stuck in my head while the potential needless destruction of an original CPU/PPU were being discussed.



Edit:  Well, this appears to not be animating from my photo bucket, but can be viewed in all its glory here: https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-me...
 

LOL! Nice. Just need to photoshop something priceless in there.  

I was thinking: What are the installers doing while we wait for the next wave of Hi-Def NES?

Wouldn't it be great if the wave 2 users who intend to use installation services could order the Hi-Def NES kit with pre-assembled interposers, send their NES to have all the prep done now, get their console back before the kit is even shipped, and be ready to finalize it with simple screwdrivers when their kit finally arrives?

The only thing preventing this is that there is no power connector on the Hi-Def NES kit (soldering required). Perhaps that should be another paid option right alongside "Preassemble Interposers?" I assume the users paying someone else for installation aren't normally going to pay extra for pre-assembled interposers, so this would probably increase the number of people ordering pre-assembled interposers too. The basket price would climb!

Doesn't the HiDef kit simply get power from the CPU/PPU GND and VCC pins? I assume it takes 5V just leke everythingnelse in the NES. No need for a dedicated power plug. My CopyNES only needed a wire connected to the expansion bus for programming but got it's power from the CPU pins. I never connected this wire though because I only ever used it to dump carts and probe stuff.

Also people are complaining about making a solder connection on the motherboard? Anyone who can desolder 40-pin DIPs shouldn't have any issues jumping a wire to the PCB.

The HiDef NES takes the voltage and ground from the pads where the 7805 was soldered. Then the built in voltage regulator on it supplies 5V to the rest of the system through the interposers. 

Seriously the 2 wires you run from the pads where the 7805 was are the simple part... so I don't understand why people would complain about that.

 

Actually, I'm not talking about the DIY users. I'm talking about the end users who will be using the services of another installer. You're right: they wouldn't be able to desolder two 40-pin DIP chips. That's my point. With one small option, their part would be more in line with installing a Blinking Light Win.  

What I'm talking about is an additional charge for an additional service that lets installers get to work now and let's end users finalize themselves the day they receive a kit. The end users would need nothing more than screwdrivers.

A check-out option to have a wire with disconnect or a pin header pre-soldered would take care of it (at additional expense). Of course, preassembled interposers would also be needed (a paid option he already has). With this one change, installers could get to work now instead of waiting for the next wave to arrive... no twiddling thumbs!

It's entirely up to Jason and I don't think he'll want to warrant them but it would sell more interposer preassembly services.   If he doesn't want to, oh well.
 

I do not understand. You can't just mechanically install one the way you would a BLW. The CPU/PPU are not socketed and must be removed then inserted into the HiDef kit. I do not understand why running two wires to the 7805 is an issue for anyone who must desolder these chips. I'll admit though pin headers would be convenient for anyone who might want to uninstall the HiDef kit. Not sure why anyone would want to though since you can simply access the composite AV by booting the system without the HDMI. So if you want to get in a little bit of CRT or Zapper action going on, you can do so without dismantling anything.

Exactly. You can't mechanically install it without someone doing the harder parts for you. An installer is still required. I'm talking about an option that would let installers "pre install" the kit *right now* (without even having it in-hand) for wave 2 end users to later finalize on their own when the kit arrives months from now. I'm not talking about DIY end users at all.

To put it in perspective, wave 2 is still several weeks/months away and will be much larger than the first. Currently, end users planning to pay an installer have to wait at least that long and then wait for the installer to finish and ship their console. Considering that there were no quantity limits, extended backlogs are possible (IMO, likely).

Rather than have installers sit on their hands for months for wave 2 with helpless end users hoping/praying for a fast turn-around from installers slammed with all the volume at once, I proposed that impatient end users could pay Jason a little extra so their installers could get to work now. With that one additional option users can skip the future installer backlog without going full DIY. End users would have their consoles back in their hands with all the hard parts complete weeks or months in advance of the kits shipping. The kit would ship straight to the end user and the end user would simply connect and reassemble. The installer still did all the hard work and the end user just buttoned it up.

Jason/GameTech already offers it with a pre-assembled interposer option at additional cost. The only part missing that prevents installers from doing this right now is a power connector for the end user to connect. If Jason offered it then it would sell more preassembled interposers too. The installer would simply have to pre-install the complementary power connector.
 

So basically the installer would socket the chips, then the user could pull the chips and plug in without a soldering iron. Even without connecting the DC power rails, a hole would need to be drilled in the case for the HDMI. Doing it right requires a router + bit and a steady hand, not something your average end user would be capable or have the necessary tools to perform.

I see what he is getting at if the high def board had a plug in power plug then the nes could be completely prepped for the kit when it arrives. Socket the PPU/CPU, remove 7805, add power/ground, and modify the case for the HDMI output.

This would let someone who doesn't know soldering to finish the install.

So you physically remove the old 7805 or simply pull 5V off it? The HiDef kit uses a 5V bus so why not simply source it off the GND/VCC pins of the CPU/PPU? How much current does the HiDef kit actually pull? If it's more than a couple hundred mA I could see using a separate 5V bus for the kit

You remove the stock 7805. Rectified Voltage in gets run to the HiDef NES mainboard using 2 wires (V+, Ground). The HiDef NES mainboard has it's own voltage regulator circuitry which then feeds 5V to the CPU and PPU through the interposers; powering the system.

 

You can remove it or like I did just bend the pins out of the way once it was desoldered.  This way if the need ever came to remove the mod the system can go back to stock.

You actually feed the high def kit the full current from the AC adapter and it converts it to 5v for the rest of the system.  

 

Interesting design choice. So the HiDef kit actually powers the entire system instead of the NES powering the add-on.

Yes. And the Hi-Def NES' voltage regulation is much more efficient than the old tech. Less energy wasted as heat.