N64 restore (with a few pics)

[vxbinaca]

Won a bet and my payment was a complete N64 with one game, figured only work I'd have to do was fire it up and have fun but alas it needed TLC.

Right off the bat I knew I had to open it because the RESET button was jammed in and wouldn't pop back up.

I fixed the button my soaking it in denatured alcohol, rubbing it off and cleaning the channel in the case where it sits. Well while I was looking around I saw a black tar-like substance on the PCB. "Oh great" I said aloud.

So I took off the cartridge connector and cleaned under thatn blew out everything with canned air while it was wet (I minded the caps of course).



Stick needed to be done too but thats the most work I was expecting to do. I taped up the stick but still am not satisfied. I'll look into later if after market sticks are made.




I figured while I was in there I might take care of one thing I've wanted to do to an N64 for a while but never got around to (due to a lack of N64):



So when I completed everything I had lost the bit I used to take apart the N64. I was never satisfied with it's performance and hunted down a dedicated screw driver thats of MUCH higher quality than those crap bits you get off eBay. This one came from a guy on eBay called "gamedoctorhk" and he has some really nice auctions (I think he has like 10 or so Super Wild Cards w/o power supplies).

The tip is actually centered (unlike the gamebits) and is magnetized so it pulls the security screw out of the deep recess of places like that one deep hole on the SNES, or Gamecube holes. Guy sent it to my door with signed delivery confirm from Hong Kong. I was expecting to wait a month and it was here in a week in a half. Such service!





I think when I get a Everdrive 64 I'm going to take the Basebal game this came with and havest it's CIC. Also might crack open the N64 one last time to grind off the region protection tabs (also do this for my two SNESs) with a dremel down to the housing plastic then polish the area where they were smooth.

[Jamisonia]

They do make aftermarket sticks. I've bought one at Nintendo Repairshop. They're pretty good. They fell more like GCN sticks. Not rubbery like that mind you, but a plastic GCN stick.

[vxbinaca]

They do make aftermarket sticks. I've bought one at Nintendo Repairshop. They're pretty good. They fell more like GCN sticks. Not rubbery like that mind you, but a plastic GCN stick.

Thanks for the tip, I appreciate that. I'll look into that.

I should add that when I first opened the controller it was gag inducing nasty. When I closed it back up it was nice and clean again.

[flamepanther]

I should add that when I first opened the controller it was gag inducing nasty. When I closed it back up it was nice and clean again.

Reminds me of my ColecoVision. When I got it, the housing was full of rust, animal hair, and dead cockroaches.

[vxbinaca]

I should add that when I first opened the controller it was gag inducing nasty. When I closed it back up it was nice and clean again.

Reminds me of my ColecoVision. When I got it, the housing was full of rust, animal hair, and dead cockroaches.

I just got an SNES with a dead roach in it. It's top cover is beyond salvation but it's cartridge locking sub-assembly is pristine and will be transferred to a franken SNES.

Related question for you though: What do you do when those huge power birck die? are there after market replacements for those that are more efficient? That OEM brick cannot be very efficient or deliver clean power 30 some-dd years later. The AVGN episode always makes me woner just how many of those things left are any good.

[vlame]

what is a super wild card?

[vxbinaca]

what is a super wild card?

What people used to dump SNES carts before that Retrode USB thing. It dumps it to....either a floppy or a special card or a chip inside the unit. I think the units he has for sale do floppies and the floppy drives are standard PC drives that can swap out easily when one goes bad.

[vlame]

i didnt see him selling any.

[vxbinaca]

He must be out he had some seems like last week. None had power supplies.

[flamepanther]

Related question for you though: What do you do when those huge power birck die? are there after market replacements for those that are more efficient? That OEM brick cannot be very efficient or deliver clean power 30 some-dd years later. The AVGN episode always makes me woner just how many of those things left are any good.

To be honest, I have wondered that myself. Fortunately for me, the one I got with mine still works. I figure if it's lasted this long, it must have been made with better components than the ones that have failed. I hope...

I used to hear that there was some kind of cool advantage the Super Wildcard DX had over the Game Doctor SF7 copier (which is what I had back in the day and am still happy with) but I can't remember what it was.