a guide to spotting conversions
- Thread starter kyo geo
- Start date
And there are. You dont have to open the cart to prove its a conversion, there are so many things that can give it away. One of the biggest helps would be a comprehensive list that tells you all the titles that never made it to AES - that leaves only certain titles - like slug- in question.
Just realize it's a double edged sword. The minute you do one of these things the people who do conversions will know exactly what NOT to do when they make them.
In this day and age people could make "conversions" that are indistinguishable from the real deal if they spent enough time on it. Scarry thing is some of these games are worth enough money to make it economically viable...
In this day and age people could make "conversions" that are indistinguishable from the real deal if they spent enough time on it. Scarry thing is some of these games are worth enough money to make it economically viable...
I have seen many people ask how to open a homecart, the search engine will return some results but I have not seen an indepth guide. Therefore.....
SSSensei's guide to opening a homecart WITHOUT a screwdriver (doesn't work all the time)
(I will not be held responsible for any damage you apes do to your homecarts, try at your own risk)
The biggest danger by using a screwdriver to pry open the clips is they may break off, or you will wind up scratching your cart.
This is a way to open your cart without damaging the label. Again, be VERY CAREFUL. Practice on a cheap old homecart first.
<img src="http://www.boomspeed.com/samuraisho/neocart.jpg" alt=" - " />
There are a total of seven clips holding a homecart together. I have numbered only the ones that concern you. The seventh is located directly at the top middle of the label.
It is important to note that the clips are actually a part of side A (the top). They latch into B (the bottom).
I recommend you do this sitting down, so you can press the cart into your chest. A strong firm grip is required for this.
-Start at the bottom near the contacts. You will start with clip 1. Using your left thumb push down on side A (area above the line for clip 1, on the bottom of the cart) Using your other hand try to reach in the area near the contacts and carefully pull up and out on side B (area below line for clip 1 on the bottom of the cart) If you can successfully seprate the two sides enough the clip should pop out.
- Use the above procedure for clip 2 as well
- Note the two dashed circles in the picture, if you have successfully gotten clips 1 and 2 unlocked, look inside the cart through the contact area. You should see what looks like two cylinders. These are actually glued together. Gently pull up on A and see if you can get them to come undone, if the glue is too strong you will have to wedge a screwdriver in there and pry them apart. These cylinders keep the PCBs in place.
- As for the rest of the clips, alternate sides until you get to the top. Again, pushing A down and lifting up on B. Go from 3 to 4 to 5 to 6.
- If you manage to get all clips undone and the cylinders seperated, the top part with the label should act as a hinge. WHEN OPENING THE CART, USE ONLY THE SMALLEST ANGLE SO YOU CAN GET TO THE PCBS. Otherwise your label could crease, crack etc....
-As for the inside of the cart, you should be able to figure out how the PCBs are sitting in there. When you are done messing around and ready to close the cart. Make sure everything is aligned and carefully start pushing the clips back into place. If done correctly everything should pop back into place nicely, and your cart should look the same as it did when you started.
As far as spotting conversions, I'm no expert. Look for EEPROMS, wires running around the place, poor solder jobs, NGH numbers on ROM chips. If factory original, it should look machine soldered and very clean.
SSSensei's guide to opening a homecart WITHOUT a screwdriver (doesn't work all the time)
(I will not be held responsible for any damage you apes do to your homecarts, try at your own risk)
The biggest danger by using a screwdriver to pry open the clips is they may break off, or you will wind up scratching your cart.
This is a way to open your cart without damaging the label. Again, be VERY CAREFUL. Practice on a cheap old homecart first.
<img src="http://www.boomspeed.com/samuraisho/neocart.jpg" alt=" - " />
There are a total of seven clips holding a homecart together. I have numbered only the ones that concern you. The seventh is located directly at the top middle of the label.
It is important to note that the clips are actually a part of side A (the top). They latch into B (the bottom).
I recommend you do this sitting down, so you can press the cart into your chest. A strong firm grip is required for this.
-Start at the bottom near the contacts. You will start with clip 1. Using your left thumb push down on side A (area above the line for clip 1, on the bottom of the cart) Using your other hand try to reach in the area near the contacts and carefully pull up and out on side B (area below line for clip 1 on the bottom of the cart) If you can successfully seprate the two sides enough the clip should pop out.
- Use the above procedure for clip 2 as well
- Note the two dashed circles in the picture, if you have successfully gotten clips 1 and 2 unlocked, look inside the cart through the contact area. You should see what looks like two cylinders. These are actually glued together. Gently pull up on A and see if you can get them to come undone, if the glue is too strong you will have to wedge a screwdriver in there and pry them apart. These cylinders keep the PCBs in place.
- As for the rest of the clips, alternate sides until you get to the top. Again, pushing A down and lifting up on B. Go from 3 to 4 to 5 to 6.
- If you manage to get all clips undone and the cylinders seperated, the top part with the label should act as a hinge. WHEN OPENING THE CART, USE ONLY THE SMALLEST ANGLE SO YOU CAN GET TO THE PCBS. Otherwise your label could crease, crack etc....
-As for the inside of the cart, you should be able to figure out how the PCBs are sitting in there. When you are done messing around and ready to close the cart. Make sure everything is aligned and carefully start pushing the clips back into place. If done correctly everything should pop back into place nicely, and your cart should look the same as it did when you started.
As far as spotting conversions, I'm no expert. Look for EEPROMS, wires running around the place, poor solder jobs, NGH numbers on ROM chips. If factory original, it should look machine soldered and very clean.
@ J Hendrix- You would be surprised at the fact that its practically impossible to replicate carts to be indistiugishable (hope I spelt that right) from the real thing. Even !arcades! conversions stick out like a sore thumb to a trained eye. Have you ever seen hhis metal slug conversion? Fucking lame, thats all I have to say.
@samuraishodownsensei- Openeing the cart to check is a last resort, and im willing to bet I could identify any conversion in a crowd before I had to do that mate. If I get the go ahead to do the guide, I'll make damn sure evryone who reads it will be able to as well.
@neo*geo- that is not the kind of information that the topic would be about as that kind of talk isnt allowed here. Its a guide to let people know what theyre buying.
Trust me, spotting a conversion really isnt that hard when you know exactly what to look for. Geez, just listing the MVS only titles will prevent 30 something games from being passed of as originals.
Shawn, I appreciate that your probably snowed under with SVC orders (placed my last night!), but if you could let me know when you get a chance, Im really keen to do this.
@samuraishodownsensei- Openeing the cart to check is a last resort, and im willing to bet I could identify any conversion in a crowd before I had to do that mate. If I get the go ahead to do the guide, I'll make damn sure evryone who reads it will be able to as well.
@neo*geo- that is not the kind of information that the topic would be about as that kind of talk isnt allowed here. Its a guide to let people know what theyre buying.
Trust me, spotting a conversion really isnt that hard when you know exactly what to look for. Geez, just listing the MVS only titles will prevent 30 something games from being passed of as originals.
Shawn, I appreciate that your probably snowed under with SVC orders (placed my last night!), but if you could let me know when you get a chance, Im really keen to do this.
- Joined
- Sep 11, 2000
- Posts
- 2,542
I tought no one opened carts like me...
Anyway here are a few tips if you are trying to open a home cart in this crazy way:
Some strenght is required to open clips 1 and 2
Very old carts have very glued cylinders and weaker clips. They require some extra attention to open.
Pay some attention to clips 5 and 6 because they break off easily
When you are closing the cart make sure that the top cylinders are matching wih the botton ones before you start pushing the clips back into place.
buster_broon
The Rock,
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2002
- Posts
- 4,098
tip 1/ if its a rarish game and doesnt have a manual - suspect conversions
tip 2/ if its not been released on aes and its for sale as an aes - suspect conversion
tip 2/ if its not been released on aes and its for sale as an aes - suspect conversion
Awesomecabbie
n00b
- Joined
- Feb 28, 2003
- Posts
- 25
Its comes down to two, possibly 3 things.
1. The Printer used
2. Paper/label used to print onto
3. Possibly scanner if you have to scan up the manual/sticker to computer.
(Last I checked the cart cassings all look the same)
Basically if you have the setup a 'factory exact' replication is easily possible.
Obtaining the setup is not worth it for Neo Geo carts (Hence the 'bodgy' conversion you see that still sell for $200+ dollars.)
but it is more than worth it for lets say currency...