A friend of mine offered me a NES/Famicom clone he had bought many years ago, it's called "Funstation". So I decided to boot the thing up with it's one of those 99-in-1 carts it came along and it worked up pretty well.
Satisfied with this, I was thinking on buying a couple of NES games on the second-hand markets, but I'm not sure if the clone itself suports NES carts (so far, I were only able to test this with cart from a chinese shop were my pal got the system and I guess that that means the clone suports Famicom carts). Does anyone know if it does?
Regarding a NES/Fami clone I got
Don't have any old NES carts lying around to test it with, huh? You could always head to your local thrift store and drop a George Washington on a Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt cart. Barring that, it's a safe bet that your older machine is built with a Famicom-style 60-pin cartridge connector, as Famiclones that are built expressly for Western markets, sporting 72-pin connectors, are a relatively recent phenomenon.
Assuming this is the case, all you'll need is a Famicom-to-NES converter, a simple pinout-passthrough device that can be found at any number of online retailers for under $10. Start looking at jandaman.com or dealextreme.com, but a Google search will help you find the best price. These converters can also be found by lucky bargain hunters embedded in the oldest copies of the NES cartridge "Gyromite." These earliest NES releases were nothing more than the Famicom circuit boards and a NES-pinout converter, stuffed into an NES cartridge case. If you find a copy of Gyromite at a thrift store that is noticeably more bottom-heavy than the other NES carts, chances are there's a converter hidden away in there!
Of course, as I said, these converters are relatively cheap and easy to buy online, but where's the fun in that?
Good luck, and enjoy your new machine.
Assuming this is the case, all you'll need is a Famicom-to-NES converter, a simple pinout-passthrough device that can be found at any number of online retailers for under $10. Start looking at jandaman.com or dealextreme.com, but a Google search will help you find the best price. These converters can also be found by lucky bargain hunters embedded in the oldest copies of the NES cartridge "Gyromite." These earliest NES releases were nothing more than the Famicom circuit boards and a NES-pinout converter, stuffed into an NES cartridge case. If you find a copy of Gyromite at a thrift store that is noticeably more bottom-heavy than the other NES carts, chances are there's a converter hidden away in there!
Of course, as I said, these converters are relatively cheap and easy to buy online, but where's the fun in that?
Good luck, and enjoy your new machine."Oh, no, not in Utica, no. It's an Albany expression."
I was just counting the console's pins a while ago and turns out it really has 60-pins, therefore, no NES games for me. 
The converter however is indeed a good idea to play the NES games on it, the thing is, I would have to order one from online shops that make international deliveries (worldwide) and that's a little hard to come by when it comes to these things IMO.
The converter however is indeed a good idea to play the NES games on it, the thing is, I would have to order one from online shops that make international deliveries (worldwide) and that's a little hard to come by when it comes to these things IMO.
Gary, do you live in the U.S.? Or at least North America? I'm in the U.S., and I was intimidated the first time I ever ordered something from overseas, but there's really nothing to it, and I haven't had a bad experience yet. Here's a site I'm familiar with, but never ordered from personally, with a great price on an adapter:
http://www.superufo.com/product_html/Cool_Stuff_Family_Converter_60_72_Pin.html
Has anyone else here at Racketboy ordered from SuccessHK? Can anyone vouch for their reliability?
Also, here's a great guide to identifying a Gyromite cart with an adapter inside:
http://www.vintagecomputing.com/index.php/archives/23
I hope one of these options works out for you. I got a Famiclone a couple years ago (mine was built for the West, with a 72-pin slot and NES-style controller ports) and I just love it. The AV output is leaps and bounds better than the RF on my old 'toaster' NES.
http://www.superufo.com/product_html/Cool_Stuff_Family_Converter_60_72_Pin.html
Has anyone else here at Racketboy ordered from SuccessHK? Can anyone vouch for their reliability?
Also, here's a great guide to identifying a Gyromite cart with an adapter inside:
http://www.vintagecomputing.com/index.php/archives/23
I hope one of these options works out for you. I got a Famiclone a couple years ago (mine was built for the West, with a 72-pin slot and NES-style controller ports) and I just love it. The AV output is leaps and bounds better than the RF on my old 'toaster' NES.
"Oh, no, not in Utica, no. It's an Albany expression."
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room4gello
- Newbie
- Posts: 12
- Joined: Tue Jul 01, 2008 4:54 pm
- Location: so cal
why not just buy famicom carts? they are usaully the same price as NES carts and there are lots here the US. this site will help you get started www.famicomworld.com i recently bought a famiclone and a handfull of carts from one of the moderaters(tors?). good luck!