NES Cart Slot Question

[coreykun667]

You see, I've been looking at top-loader NES consoles and I've found that they're all quite expensive. I kinda want one so I don't have to deal with the regular NES. However, my friend might sell me his regular NES for cheap.

I've heard that the cartridge pins can get bent from being used too much in those regular NES consoles. Is there a way that the cart slot can be modified so I don't take those chances or would I be better off with buying a top-loader?

 

[NewNeoOwner]

It takes a lot of use to wear out those pins and luckily they are very cheap and simple to replace. Look for 72-pin connectors online and ensure you have the right bit to remove any special screws.

I still have my original NES and to me THAT is the NES. The toploader feels like one of those Retron things.

 

[aha2940]

You see, I've been looking at top-loader NES consoles and I've found that they're all quite expensive. I kinda want one so I don't have to deal with the regular NES. However, my friend might sell me his regular NES for cheap.

I've heard that the cartridge pins can get bent from being used too much in those regular NES consoles. Is there a way that the cart slot can be modified so I don't take those chances or would I be better off with buying a top-loader?

I think it all depends on your soldering/modding skills. If you have them, you can get a top-loader slot (broken game genies are a good source) and solder them to the connector on the NES, turning it into a top loader somehow. If you have not much soldering/modding skills, then you may try to fix the original connector (guides on youtube) or buying a new one (not original) which may or may not be of good quality (China made).

regards.

 

[coreykun667]

I think it all depends on your soldering/modding skills. If you have them, you can get a top-loader slot (broken game genies are a good source) and solder them to the connector on the NES, turning it into a top loader somehow. If you have not much soldering/modding skills, then you may try to fix the original connector (guides on youtube) or buying a new one (not original) which may or may not be of good quality (China made).

regards.

Thank you. I wonder if someone could eliminate the part where you push the cartridge down though.

 

[ggallegos1]

Its much less work and much easier just to troubleshoot and replace the 72 pin connector as it goes. There are many guides and solutions oonline and a plethora of knowledge.

 

[coreykun667]

I'll just have to bear with it then. Has anyone ever done a straight cart slot mod though? Not like a top-loader, but just straight into the console without having to push down?

 

[ggallegos1]

I'll just have to bear with it then. Has anyone ever done a straight cart slot mod though? Not like a top-loader, but just straight into the console without having to push down?

Honestly, I didn't mod mine and I don't push the cart down st all and it works. The only thing I've ever done was replace the pin connector once and nowadays I just pop a cart in and go. It depends on your system though, I hear some cannot work without being pushed.

 

[aha2940]

I'll just have to bear with it then. Has anyone ever done a straight cart slot mod though? Not like a top-loader, but just straight into the console without having to push down?

I thought about it, but decided against it because it would be difficult to pull the cart out of the system. With the original system it's easy because it's ZIF but the top loader slots require force to pull, not really easy. I ended buying a broken AV Famicom, fixed it and works like a champ.

Regards.

 

[coreykun667]

Hmmm. I'll probably have to open up the console anyway and clean it. Doesn't look like he's used it in a while.

 

[GohanX]

Open it up and give it a good cleaning. That includes the part where the zif connector attaches to the mainboard, I don't know how it gets dirty but it does. Then bend the connectors if you can. While you are in there, disable the security chip, it's easy and makes life easier.

Put it back together and test it. If it still gives issues replace the cart slot. There's no reason without a little tlc the nes can't work perfectly. Mine works first time every time, no blinking, no anything.

 

[coreykun667]

Open it up and give it a good cleaning. That includes the part where the zif connector attaches to the mainboard, I don't know how it gets dirty but it does. Then bend the connectors if you can. While you are in there, disable the security chip, it's easy and makes life easier.

Put it back together and test it. If it still gives issues replace the cart slot. There's no reason without a little tlc the nes can't work perfectly. Mine works first time every time, no blinking, no anything.

I was thinking of definitely disabling the lockout chip. Looking back on my life, I could have so many working NES consoles that work because people threw them away due to the blinking light... I had no idea it was such an easy fix. I'm still kicking myself in the ass for letting my stepdad take apart our NES and then throw it away because he couldn't fix the spring loaded mechanism where you push the cart down... It's a $13 part that could've been replaced.

 

[GohanX]

Btw, after you bend the pins or install a new slot you might not even have to push it down. Mine works best in the up position.

 

[Jibbajaba]

Just take the connector out and clean it. There are plenty of guides online. You can boil it, clean it with super high-grit sandpaper, de-oxit, etc. I've done this multiple times and never had a problem. Just give your connector and games a solid cleaning, and then keep everything clean from then on out and you'll be fine. People make this into a much bigger deal than it is.

And replacement 72-pin connectors are shit.

 

[GohanX]

And replacement 72-pin connectors are shit.

I have heard from many people that repaired original connectors are much, much better than the replacements, but I tossed mine before I knew any better. I'd say replacing it is a last resort if nothing else works. My replacement connector is fine, but I did it a loooong time ago and I wonder if it was made of higher quality materials than the stuff sold today. It was certainly a bit more expensive.

 

[Jibbajaba]

I replaced a connector a long time ago before I knew better, but luckily I never threw out the original part. Even way back then, the difference between the replacement and original was obvious. You had to really push to get your cart in, and then practically two-hand it to get it back out.

Don't get me wrong. The ZIF socket thing was a dumb idea, but it's totally manageable if you just keep everything clean.

 

[goombakid]

It's easy to refurb a stock ZIF socket. Just use a pin or a flat screwdriver and rebend the pins on the socket up. Rescued all my FL NESs that way. Save yourself some $$ and just refurb it.

I haven't personally tried the boiling technique, but from what I've heard, it works fine.

 

[Jibbajaba]

I've never boiled either. I do this:

http://www.cgquarterly.com/articles/blinknes.htm

But I wrote that before the boiling technique was thought-up. I'm totally down to try it. In fact I have a questionable 72-pin connector around here that I should try it on.

 

[coreykun667]

I'm glad the ZIF thing was only one-time and never repeated again. From what I remember hearing, the SNES was gonna have a gimmicky cartridge slot too, but they canned the idea in favor of just a normal slot. What were they thinking when they made this...?

 

[joecommando]

Just take the connector out and clean it. There are plenty of guides online. You can boil it, clean it with super high-grit sandpaper, de-oxit, etc. I've done this multiple times and never had a problem. Just give your connector and games a solid cleaning, and then keep everything clean from then on out and you'll be fine. People make this into a much bigger deal than it is.

And replacement 72-pin connectors are shit.

this, boiling it has worked for me many times

 

[coreykun667]

Just take the connector out and clean it. There are plenty of guides online. You can boil it, clean it with super high-grit sandpaper, de-oxit, etc. I've done this multiple times and never had a problem. Just give your connector and games a solid cleaning, and then keep everything clean from then on out and you'll be fine. People make this into a much bigger deal than it is.

And replacement 72-pin connectors are shit.

Never heard of boiling em. I'll have to try those methods though. Thanks for the ideas, guys! What's a good price I should offer for it? I'm not even sure if it works or if he even has the cables for it. It's just been up in my buddy's garage for a while now. Lord knows he'll never use it again.

 

[aha2940]

What were they thinking when they made this...?

They were thinking of giving the NES the look and feel more of a home appliance, like a VCR, than a toy, that's why the carts are so big, the console is dull grey and it has the strange insertion method no other console has. Full history on the interwebz.

Regards.

 

[coreykun667]

They were thinking of giving the NES the look and feel more of a home appliance, like a VCR, than a toy, that's why the carts are so big, the console is dull grey and it has the strange insertion method no other console has. Full history on the interwebz.

Regards.

Hmmm. They kinda shot themselves in the foot with that and the fact that it only outputs RF. Sega actually got that right with the Master System. It could put out RF, Composite, and even RGB- Something that the NES couldn't do stock.

 

[scooby105]

I don't think they shot themselves in the foot. Nintendo sold plenty of NES consoles. Toaster NES systems output composite video. It stinks now that we have better TVs, but looking back, I doubt Nintendo cares that they didn't let people output RGB from their console.

I agree with just cleaning the 72 pin connectors. I clean mine every handful of years and then my system works like a champ.

 

[coreykun667]

Hmm... I forgot they output composite. It's been a long time since I've owned or even seen a NES and the last one we had was always hooked up via RF, so my memory's rusty...

 

[KalessinDB]

It's easy to refurb a stock ZIF socket. Just use a pin or a flat screwdriver and rebend the pins on the socket up. Rescued all my FL NESs that way. Save yourself some $$ and just refurb it.

I haven't personally tried the boiling technique, but from what I've heard, it works fine.

Literally just last night tried the boiling technique with a freebie NES from my buddy's girlfriend. It helped a little (went from no response at all to a solid gray with no blinking) -- but didn't fix it entirely. Gotta add on some re-bending later tonight.