Getting my NES to run is a massive pain *Update: or not?

[Mod_Man_Extreme]

I ended up saving up the cash and picking up an AV Famicom and Absolutely love it. Not only does it have AV Cables AND output in true stereo (AKA not dual mono) natively

Um, the sound chip only creates mono sound. So unless certain games with special chips like Lagrange Point output stereo from the cart itself, it's still mono.

Actually no, the NES is a fully Stereo machine and encodes both channels with the same audio and (rarely) at times certain directional cues.

To get stereo out of the American NES it requires an internal mod on the audio chip, but it's active by default on the AV Fami.

[Mod_Man_Extreme]

Where can you pick up a converter for the AV Famicom? I did a cursory Google/Ebay search to no apparent avail.

The problem is that there really are none.

Basically the AV Fami is the exact same as the regular Fami but with a deeper cart port so unless the converter is taller you'll have to disassemble it and just use the bare circuit board.

Personally I barely use the converter I've got as I have both an NES and the AV Fami but to be honest the cart only Fami equivalents of the US games are pretty cheap or equal at times or I just use the US NES and alternate machines.

[Hobie-wan]

I ended up saving up the cash and picking up an AV Famicom and Absolutely love it. Not only does it have AV Cables AND output in true stereo (AKA not dual mono) natively

Um, the sound chip only creates mono sound. So unless certain games with special chips like Lagrange Point output stereo from the cart itself, it's still mono.

Actually no, the NES is a fully Stereo machine and encodes both channels with the same audio and (rarely) at times certain directional cues.

To get stereo out of the American NES it requires an internal mod on the audio chip, but it's active by default on the AV Fami.

Separating 2 sound channels to each side isn't really stereo though. You mostly end up with certain instruments of music or certain sound effects coming out of one side. For instance in the Super C section the sound of your guns firing comes from the right and bullet hits and enemies exploding come from the left. In all of the game examples the purcussive sounds of the music were always coming from the right. IMHO it just ends up being distracting since it makes things screwy in directionality.

[Mod_Man_Extreme]

Um, the sound chip only creates mono sound. So unless certain games with special chips like Lagrange Point output stereo from the cart itself, it's still mono.

Actually no, the NES is a fully Stereo machine and encodes both channels with the same audio and (rarely) at times certain directional cues.

To get stereo out of the American NES it requires an internal mod on the audio chip, but it's active by default on the AV Fami.

Separating 2 sound channels to each side isn't really stereo though. You mostly end up with certain instruments of music or certain sound effects coming out of one side. For instance in the Super C section the sound of your guns firing comes from the right and bullet hits and enemies exploding come from the left. In all of the game examples the purcussive sounds of the music were always coming from the right. IMHO it just ends up being distracting since it makes things screwy in directionality.

From everything I've read the Japanese NES games are all coded to take the stereo signal into account whereas US games underwent some modifications for mono here and there making some wonky in stereo mode and others completely crash at boot like the US version of Castlevania 3.

[BocoDragon]

I bet if the original poster of this thread cleaned his carts properly, he'd have a revelation.

My NES was the same.. New snug 72 pin connector.. But games would load very infrequently.

Then I discovered q-tips and alcohol. Make a little 1:1 solution of water and alcohol, tip the q-tip in, scrub the pins on both size of the cart, and use a dry tip to rub off excess moisture.

The games boot EVERY TIME. No need for AV Famicoms and converters.

Personally I still want an AV Famicom cuz fami rules.. But my NES is all done toaster style.. Working better in 2010 than mine ever did 20 years ago. It's all thanks to cleaning the carts.

[Mod_Man_Extreme]

Ummm.....Cleaning 1:1 with a mix of water and alcohol is proven to damage your carts and is generally a bad idea. Basically instead of evaporating immediately like alcohol should the water sits around for a bit and starts the whole grime and corrosion sequence you just worked to undo.

[BocoDragon]

Ummm.....Cleaning 1:1 with a mix of water and alcohol is proven to damage your carts and is generally a bad idea. Basically instead of evaporating immediately like alcohol should the water sits around for a bit and starts the whole grime and corrosion sequence you just worked to undo.

Not likely. The moisture evaporates nearly immediately and it's being rubbed dry with a q-tip immidiately anyway.

The reason why you don't use pure alcohol is it leaves behind a residue that amounts to a dirty cart in itself.. It makes it less likely to boot. A water/alcohol mixture cleans the contacts free with no residue.

Carts I cleaned over a year ago still boot first time. Their appearance is perfectly shiny and unblemished. If these are carts that are on the road to corrosion.. So be it. I seem to be having a 100% boot success rate unlike the rest of the world who complain about NES blink/no boot all the time.

I'm certain this method is fine.

[Octopod]

I have always used pure alcohol. Well, 80% as it states on the bottle anyhow. Works perfectly for me.

[BocoDragon]

I have always used pure alcohol. Well, 80% as it states on the bottle anyhow. Works perfectly for me.

Well there ya go.. there's a little water in there anyway. Right now I'm using the common alcohol from the dollar store and the standard one they have is 50%, I don't even mix water in.

[CRTGAMER]

I have always used pure alcohol. Well, 80% as it states on the bottle anyhow. Works perfectly for me.

Well there ya go.. there's a little water in there anyway. Right now I'm using the common alcohol from the dollar store and the standard one they have is 50%, I don't even mix water in.

Back peddle retract. Modman and Octopod are right. Kinda silly introducing more water into the alcohol mix. Understand concern of alcohol residue which is so minimal, used in flu vaccination shots. Where I live hard water tends to leave WATER spot residue. But as you pointed out wiping off right away will prevent any corrosion. Wonder if that diluted alcohol would clean the gum as easily. An extreme analogy is Glycol vs Silicone Brake Fluid. The older Glycol fluid would adsorb moisture and even though an oil would rust out the Master/Slave cylinder pistons and bores. Any moisture completes the Cathode to Anode circuit resulting in corrosion. Something to think about as you are drying out the pins in the connector.

Any water residue left?