NES Maintenance - Pin swap and Generic Power Cords

Hello All,



Long time no post. So, I have a few NES systems I'd like to get running before I give them to friends/sell them.



Pin Swap

I've been doing pin swaps for years, and have expirenced pin swap, but this is something new. I bought a TTX NES 72 Pin. When I insert a game, the tray depresses a bit without even locking the game in place. I checked, and it's in correctly. (I can provide pictures if needed.)



Has anyone else expirenced this?



Are there other pins you'd reccomend?



Power Cord

I don't have enough power cords for all my systems. Are there any generic power cords you'd recommend?



I appreciate your help,

- Kooopa

Comments

  • If you just swapped the pin set, it's probably not locking because you didn't get the front lip of tray under the main board when you reassembled. When that happens, if flexes the mechanism and won't latch.



    You can use about any power supply (AC or DC) the delivers 9 volts at about 1 amp that fits.
  • Basically what Duke.togo said. The lip of the cart slot is on the top of the board instead of under it.



    You can use any power supply that is rated 9V AC or DC and 1A or higher. Avoid the Retro Universal. I give my local shop crap for stocking them.
  • Most old answering machine power supplies work for the NES and you can get them for a buck at any Goodwill. They will have the specs on the cord in white lettering.
  • You really wanna make sure the power cord has the proper ampacity rating, that's usually where they fuck up. I've seen lots of 9V but they're just under the proper ampacity. It's ok to go over, in fact it's better.
  • I don't think he's saying that the latch won't stay down. I think he's saying the game goes down a bit before you ever push it down.



    A few years ago, I tried like 3 or 4 different replacements from

    3 or 4 different sources and they all did this. They all had death grip too.



    Sucks because the random one I bought on eBay like 5 years earlier worked and felt like a Nintendo original.



    I'm very aware of the carriage seating issue, but I don't think that's when OP is experiencing. It's a death-grip connector, like most pin replacements these days.
  • I'm just going to put this out there, but it doesn't matter who/where you buy replacement 72 pin connectors from, THEY ALL come out of the same FOXCONN factory in China. They are all the same quality.
  • Originally posted by: YoshiKnuckles





    You can use any power supply that is rated 9V AC or DC and 1A or higher. Avoid the Retro Universal. I give my local shop crap for stocking them.

    Which one is that?



    https://www.amazon.com/Universal-Adapter-GENESIS-nintendo-entertainment-system/dp/B001S2VT6I/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_63_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=TQVA8FFDNVAVVBQMG60S&dpID=51H0emEQd7L&preST=_SX300_QL70_&dpSrc=detail



    I picked up one of these, and I haven't had any issues with it, at all.

    And switching from AC (original NES wall wart) to DC cleaned up the image quality on my old system, since at least one of my on-board power supply capacitors was going bad.  (wavy line issues)





    I'm skeptical that there is much quality difference across the offerings for something as basic as a low wattage DC power supply...
  • Those are usually crap quality.



    Look at the ratings.likely 9v at 0.35amp, or 350 mA. Doesn't supply enough current for most of the consoles they advertise for, and if you use video cables better than composite you can usually see rolling bars of interference with them.
  • Originally posted by: YoshiKnuckles



    Those are usually crap quality.



    Look at the ratings.likely 9v at 0.35amp, or 350 mA. Doesn't supply enough current for most of the consoles they advertise for, and if you use video cables better than composite you can usually see rolling bars of interference with them.



    I've never had an issue with it, on an original NES toaster, though I use composite to a CRT.



    I'll have to check the amperage on mine later, thought it was higher than 350 mA, though don't recall it being higher than 600 mA.

     
  • You can't tell on composite or RF video, because it is blurry crap to begin with.



    I mostly play on modded consoles via s-video or better video, so it becomes extremely obvious.
  • Originally posted by: YoshiKnuckles



    You can't tell on composite or RF video, because it is blurry crap to begin with.



    I mostly play on modded consoles via s-video or better video, so it becomes extremely obvious.



    Never would have called the composite signal "blurry crap", personally. 



    RF gets "fuzzy", composite on a decent TV is pretty clean though... neither are "blurry".





    Caveat being that is with a CRT -- either signal will potentially be "blurry" on an LCD due to signal conversion issues.



    If you're using consumer grade CRTs (and not a PVM), an original NES toaster with a DC power supply (to avoid the capacitor issues with older NES power supplies) is about as clean a picture as the console will give you, for that type of screen.



     
  • I use an EPS-3 AC/DC adapter Power Supply for my NES, it looks like a laptop power supply. Supposedly it's for Comcast equipment. It has 12V 3.0A, enough to power 3 retro consoles. I use it for my Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis also with a 3-in-1 wire splitter and 2 polarity converters (the NES doesn't need the polarity converted). It never feels warm to the touch at all.



    https://www.ebay.com/itm/EPS-3-AC-DC-adapter-Power-Supply-XPSAD-04344-12V-3-0A/253830776534?hash=item3b197e46d6:g:h3QAAOSw2kNbW7aA
  • Originally posted by: Duke.Togo



    If you just swapped the pin set, it's probably not locking because you didn't get the front lip of tray under the main board when you reassembled. When that happens, if flexes the mechanism and won't latch.



    Thanks for the reply, but it's not the latch. It latches fine, and I double checked that I did screw everything in correctly.



    Ichinisan described the issue. When you put the game in the new pin (I assume) causes the game to be pushed down BEFORE even trying to latch it. 



    I guess it's just an issue with newer pins... The better part of 10 years ago, I was doing tons of pin swaps and don't recall this issue.
  • Originally posted by: Ichinisan



    I don't think he's saying that the latch won't stay down. I think he's saying the game goes down a bit before you ever push it down.



    A few years ago, I tried like 3 or 4 different replacements from

    3 or 4 different sources and they all did this. They all had death grip too.



    Sucks because the random one I bought on eBay like 5 years earlier worked and felt like a Nintendo original.



    I'm very aware of the carriage seating issue, but I don't think that's when OP is experiencing. It's a death-grip connector, like most pin replacements these days.



    Yeah, I had the latch correct. Shoot. Like you said, 5+ years ago I was doing tons of pin swaps and have never delt with exact issue. Guess it's just a thing now.



    Thanks for the response.
  • I appreciate everyone's help!  
Sign In or Register to comment.