NES pin connector on PAL and NTSC console the same?...

[Hobie-wan]

http://3gengames.webs.com/Images/Random/P1010478.JPG

Looks like some residue on the left side to me. The right side appears to be dull and dirty still, so you'd break out the electrical cleaner and have no residue afterwards. Now, if you clean the left side there with something to get the residue off, sure. But that's a two step process still but unless I'm mistaken you mean to clean with the Weimans and a cloth, then leave it at that point. Our point is that after electrical cleaner and/or an eraser a quick brush or canned air puff and you're done. No scrubbing twice.

[elmagicochrisg]

Call me an idiot, but I actually think the right side looks much better... lol

And no, I'm not joking...

[3GenGames]

There's no residue, you just need to do it yourself. There was from the picture, but it was only there because I didn't get it 100% off with my qtip. And yes, the eraser side looks dirty, but it wasn't that bad as the picture makes it look truthfully, although it wasn't nearly as clean. As you see though, it doesn't get the pins cleaned enough to make them shine like Wiemans. And I did rub off the eraser side. The eraser its self leave the connector dirty.

And that was with no force on the wiemans side either. I did it with a qtip instead of my usual rag, it's not as clean as usual, probably shouldn't have done that, but I was lazy and the qtip gave me the precision to not get the middle pin.

And yep, I expected that. It's okay though, there's your proof. You may think the right side looks better, but that's because you don't want to be wrong. The left side with wiemans clearly gets the connector a lot cleaner. There's no dirt on that side what so ever.

[flamepanther]

Maybe it's just the photo, but both sides look like they could be cleaner. Either way, if your eraser is leaving a film like that behind, you need to try a different one. The right eraser won't do that.

[3GenGames]

Okay, I'll try again another day and try to get a better photo too. I'd like to find a dirty NES game, but I've cleaned all mine already so they're few and far in between. The camera makes the picture really dark and blotchy, but with flash on you couldn't see the difference because it blurred it all out. I need to experiment more with the picture taking. The game I did was a genesis game.

What would you suggest? I did it with a plain eraser, but should I try a pen eraser next time? When I used to clean them with an eraser I used to use the pen ones because they did it better. I don't think they're leave such a rubbery texture on the connector either.

[elmagicochrisg]

And yep, I expected that. It's okay though, there's your proof. You may think the right side looks better, but that's because you don't want to be wrong.

-_-

When I look at the picture I see 2 things...

1. Horizontal stripes on the left side.

2. Darker pins on the left side, lighter pins on the right side. Kinda reminds me of old gold that got darker over time with a more dark yellow tint. When you clean that it gets lighter, less yellow and more white. That's exactly what this looks like to me...

Not wanting to be wrong has nothing to do with it. Don't even go there...

As for taking a better picture. Use a good desk lamp with white light and even light distribution. That way you won't even need a flash...

[flamepanther]

Erasers aren't my preferred method (I use contact cleaner for tough jobs and 90% isopropyl for easy ones) so I'm not the right guy to make a recommendation... However, if you compare different erasers, you'll notice that some of them feel less "greasy" than others. If it's at all smudgy on paper (or try testing it on a fingernail) it's not the right eraser. I'd be careful with pen erasers. Too much abrasiveness can wear away metal over time. When I need an eraser that's powerful without being greasy or abrasive, I use a Mars Plastic eraser, but I've never tried using one on contacts before. Art gum erasers are gentle and residue-free, but may not be strong enough for cleaning contacts.

Personally, I don't think it gets much better than professional contact cleaner. It's chemically formulated specifically to eliminate oxidation without eating away at the contacts, it's powerful, it dries off almost instantly, and leaves no residue at all.

[3GenGames]

The right side is dirtier, and the horizontal lines on the left I believe are just from the way I went horizontally across the connector with the qtip. And the right side it lighter because it gets more of the gold light and the left seems darker because it's cleaner. Just look at the texture on the pins, not the color. I'm afraid I don't have a lamp light though. We have one downstairs, but it doesn't reach to the bench to where I can set up a shot, I'll just hold the board next time. I have more pictures I'll upload later. They didn't come out good, but they may help show the difference.

[elmagicochrisg]

Admittedly, taking pictures of those pins is a bitch. Just tried it myself. There always seems to be more light on one part, and less on another. Making it very difficult to give a good picture of how good or bad the pins look in reality. Maybe I should try making pictures near a window during the daytime...

Do try to focus a little more though. If there's a macro mode on the camera, use it. It will make the close-ups sharper so we can actually see the texture. Right now it's too fuzzy to really make it out...

[3GenGames]

That is the macro mode one, there's some other pictures, but the difference wasn't obtained by them so they're not worth posting. Here's one that has a little reflection, but shows the difference more:

http://3gengames.webs.com/Images/Random/P1010480.JPG