The original front-loader NES is a very reliable piece of hardware

[CatPix]

Except that Bar Keepers Friend is not available outside the USA. There is probably an equivalent, but maybe not.

Quick example : in France we have a widely available cleaning product know as "Essence F" it's used to dry cleaning clothes, and it's a very effective and safe way to clean carts and laminated labels of price tags or just even dirt.

Sadly, it seems that this product is available in France only under that "cleaning" form; the closest thing available everywhere is lighter gas; the difference being the price, a can of 300ml of Zippo gas cost a bit more than a 1L bottle of Essence F. It seems that naphta might be an equivalent but I'm not sure of it.

 

Vinegar and cardboard are available everywhere, and most people might have some already available as they read this tip.

[MaximRecoil]

Except that Bar Keepers Friend is not available outside the USA. There is probably an equivalent, but maybe not.

Quick example : in France we have a widely available cleaning product know as "Essence F" it's used to dry cleaning clothes, and it's a very effective and safe way to clean carts and laminated labels of price tags or just even dirt.

Sadly, it seems that this product is available in France only under that "cleaning" form; the closest thing available everywhere is lighter gas; the difference being the price, a can of 300ml of Zippo gas cost a bit more than a 1L bottle of Essence F. It seems that naphta might be an equivalent but I'm not sure of it.

 

Vinegar and cardboard are available everywhere, and most people might have some already available as they read this tip.

Yes, naphtha is the equivalent of Zippo lighter fluid.

 

Brasso is another product people use as a contact cleaner; it is even mentioned in the Brasso Wikipedia article:

 

Other applications

 

Brasso can also be used to polish out scratches in plastics:

 

• It is used to polish CDs, DVDs, screens, and pools in order to repair scratches. It is a mild solvent and an extremely fine abrasive, so when applied to the reflective surface of the disc and rubbed radially (in straight lines between the edge and center), it can smooth scratches and reduce their effect.[5][6][7]

• Brasso can also be used on Lego minifigures to remove markings.[8]

• Brasso has also been used by watch enthusiasts to polish scratches out of acrylic crystals on watches.[9]

• Brasso can be used to clean Nintendo Entertainment System cartridges to remove dirt buildup that may have accumulated on the metal contacts over the years. This helps to create a better connection between the game cartridge and the 72-Pin connector inside the console, reducing the chances of glitching or freezing caused by a poor connection.

Brasso, like Bar Keepers Friend, contains oxalic acid and a mild abrasive.

 

One could also simply buy a bucket of pure powdered oxalic acid. Three tablespoons to a gallon of water; sounds like more than a lifetime suppy to me if only used as a contact cleaner, though I don't know how strong of a solution you'd want to use for cleaning contacts; probably have to experiment with it. With BKF you only need a thin watery solution, and it isn't even close to being pure oxalic acid.

Edited December 21, 2013 by MaximRecoil

[Rex Dart]

So... is there a fix for those who have already bent their original 72pin connectors into chinese cartridge traps?

[Austin]

So... is there a fix for those who have already bent their original 72pin connectors into chinese cartridge traps?

 

Bending them back down?

[MaximRecoil]

So... is there a fix for those who have already bent their original 72pin connectors into chinese cartridge traps?

I suppose you could try bending them back down, but I don't know how easy or effective that will be. If you bend them back down too far, you'll have a case like what happens when someone uses a Game Genie (the Game Genie's overly thick card edge bends the 72-pin connector's pins down farther than they are supposed to go). Once you start bending metal past its intended range of flex, it not only loses some of its ability to flex and return to its original shape (due to metal fatigue), but it is also very difficult to bend it back exactly where it was before, and especially difficult to do that 72 times. The ones that I did bending experiments on years ago, I consider ruined. They aren't completely useless, as they can serve to load a game properly some or most of the time, but I don't think they could ever be returned to their original state. I'm just glad that I put one of the original ones in a drawer without messing with it, and was able to still find it years later when I discovered the cleaning effectiveness of Bar Keepers Friend.

 

I wish people would stop spreading the bending advice around the internet, but even if they did, there would still be a lot of people bending their pins, like me when I did it in the late '90s; I didn't read any advice to bend the pins (I didn't even have a PC/internet at the time), it just seemed like an obvious thing to try so I tried it.

 

By the way: "Chinese Cartridge Trap" ... that's hilarious. I'll probably be borrowing that term if you don't mind.

Edited December 21, 2013 by MaximRecoil

[TheGameCollector]

On the bright side, I believe most of those untested NES systems would still have their original connectors. Most replaced pin NES systems are probably on ebay for "refurbished" prices, or are behind local store counters ready to sell to customers. This is one of the few times where you actually want to buy something from people who don't know what they're doing versus buying from someone who already thought they knew what was best and already ''refurbished'' it for you.

 

One time I saw someone try to sell an Atari 2600 Jr. with a mini audio plug plugged into the AC Adapter port because they're the same size plug and it fits. Talk about clueless. They listed it as for parts or not working, but with what they had going on I'd be willing to guess it was a fully functional unit.

[+wood_jl]

The "fat" PS2 models had a fairly high defect rate as well. Not as high as the original 360, but still up there.

 

Ahh, the infamous "Disc Read Error?" I *think* the earliest models (SCPH-30001) were more prone to this. I waited until there was at least one internal revision (SCPH-39001) and I still have that machine and it never erred, despite using it heavily as a DVD player back in the day when players were expensive enough to justify wearing out your console for such foolishness!

 

The original Playstation (SCPH-1001) surely goes on the list of sucky reliability. Remember turning it upside-down so it would read the disc? This was corrected in a revision (SCPH-5501) and later. The first version (1001) had RCA jacks and didn't require the proprietary AV cable. Perhaps this is why some people think it's so great for use as a CD player? One used to frequently see the 1001 model being peddled as "audiophile" Playstation. Really? I suppose if you're Data from Star Trek and you have an oscilloscope between your ears you'll know it by sound, but it's pretty much a Fool's Gold term to unload a piece of crap that's going to have to be placed upside down to not skip tracks.

[Andromeda Stardust]

My Atari had the bad Chicklet cap (intermittent fuzzy reception) which I replaced, and my NES has had it's cart connector replaced twice. My new "death grip" connector is starting to get loose now. I would almost consider modding my NES by somehow jury-rigging a cart slot from a clone system into the loading bay and having the cart stick out, but running 72 wires would be a crap-ton of work and I'd need two cart slots to pull it off.

[MaximRecoil]

My Atari had the bad Chicklet cap (intermittent fuzzy reception) which I replaced, and my NES has had it's cart connector replaced twice. My new "death grip" connector is starting to get loose now. I would almost consider modding my NES by somehow jury-rigging a cart slot from a clone system into the loading bay and having the cart stick out, but running 72 wires would be a crap-ton of work and I'd need two cart slots to pull it off.

Do you still have the original 72-pin connector?

[Andromeda Stardust]

Yes, I still have it. I also cut pin 4 of the lockout, so instead of blinky I just get a white screen if a game fails to load. I even tried boiling the original and the newer "death grip" connector still reads much better. My "death grip" connector is now gotten somewhat loose after gaming on it for several years. I've also got a spare never opened "death grip" connector, if I can ever train myself not to press down the tab when I insert game the new one should last a bit longer. Go ahead and stock up on the things; they will get loose over about 2-5 years of usage (depending on how heavily you use the NES it could last less or more longer) and need replacing. The spare adapters may not be available forever.

 

Matter of fact the new and the old connectors look virtually identical and I only can tell the difference because I wrote "OLD" on the old one with a silver sharpie.

[Andromeda Stardust]

PS - Game Genie carts are the spawn of Satan when it comes to 72-pin connectors but I don't care because the Genies grant up to three "wishes" (or more if you daisy chain them - I currently have 3 Genies) and can sometimes help to clear games otherwise impossible to play, or just bullcrap around with bizzare effects in Super Mario Brothers. Next time I decide replace the connector, the Game Genies will be strictly for clone use only.

[MaximRecoil]

PS - Game Genie carts are the spawn of Satan when it comes to 72-pin connectors but I don't care because the Genies grant up to three "wishes" (or more if you daisy chain them - I currently have 3 Genies) and can sometimes help to clear games otherwise impossible to play, or just bullcrap around with bizzare effects in Super Mario Brothers. Next time I decide replace the connector, the Game Genies will be strictly for clone use only.

If you've used the Game Genie with the original 72-pin connector then it's probably ruined, but I would still try the original connector again after cleaning it. Boiling water is not a very effective method of cleaning (despite its recent popularity as a Nintendo 72-pin connector cleaner). It will clean to a certain extent, water being the "universal solvent" and all, and the heat from boiling water being able to loosen any oils that may be binding dirt to the surface, but it doesn't have any effect on oxidation (which is invisible except in extreme cases of buildup). You can get a 12 oz. can of the original powdered form of Bar Keepers Friend at any grocery store for cheap (like so). Just make a thin well-mixed solution with water (no need to be precise with the mixing ratio; I just sprinkle a little in the bottom of the bowl, add a little water and mix it up), dip a toothbrush in it, and scrub the 72-pin connector thoroughly with it for a minute or so, then rinse and dry thoroughly.

 

Also be sure to clean the contacts on the motherboard that the 72-pin connector slides onto. I use a Q-tip dipped in BKF solution for that, then rinse it off very carefully under a thin stream of water from the faucet so as to not get the motherboard components wet (though if you do get the motherboard components wet accidently, it isn't a big deal; you just need to make sure it is completely dry before powering it up). Repeat with the Q-tip cleaning and rinsing cycle until the Q-tip comes back clean; it may take 2 or 3 clean and rinse cycles before it is clean if you've never given those contacts a good cleaning before.

 

I use the same method with cartridges; I take them apart first to make it easier. I've seen a lot of cartridge contacts that look like this:

 

 

And a lot of them look like that even after "cleaning" with a Q-tip and isopropyl alcohol (alcohol could probably remove it if the contacts soaked in it for a long enough time, but it won't do it from a few or even quite a few passes with a Q-tip, it is too "varnished" on). A Q-tip/BKF will cut through crud like that instantly, plus it will cut through any invisible oxidation which may be present.

Edited December 22, 2013 by MaximRecoil

[Andromeda Stardust]

What is the active ingredient in "BKF"? I think even my newer connectors have some crud built up internally.

Edited December 23, 2013 by stardust4ever

[MaximRecoil]

What is the active ingredient in "BKF"? I think even my newer connectors have some crud built up internally.

Oxalic acid. It is the reason my front-loader NES works the first time every time with its original "loose" 72-pin connector.

[Andromeda Stardust]

And this will remove the oxides, correct?

[RickR]

I just bought a can for $2.50.

[MaximRecoil]

And this will remove the oxides, correct?

Yes, oxalic acid cuts through oxidation like a hot knife through butter.

 

I just bought a can for $2.50.

That's about what I paid several years ago, and I'm still on my first can. I use it for quickly cleaning my stainless steel pots and pans when they eventually get a translucent whitish cloudy/hazy buildup on the cooking surface that a Scotch-Brite pad won't remove, not without a lot of elbow grease anyway (BKF on a cloth or sponge removes in seconds what a Scotch-Brite would take probably 5 or 10 minutes of intense scouring to remove). And of course I use it as a contact cleaner; it puts isopropyl alcohol to shame.

Edited December 23, 2013 by MaximRecoil

[Hatta]

"The Internet" says that BKF has a pH of 1.3. Oxalic acid has two acidic hydrogens with pKas of 1.23 and 4.19. The Henderson-Hasselbalch equation tells me that a pH of 1.3 requires .092 molar oxalic acid. In a gallon (lets's say 4 liters to make the calculations easier), that's 33 grams. That's proabaly 2 or 3 tbsp, you'd have to weigh it to be sure.

 

BTW, oxalic acid is the substance that makes swiss chard(beet greens) astringent, and even higher levels make rhubarb greens toxic.

Edited December 23, 2013 by Hatta

[MaximRecoil]

"The Internet" says that BKF has a pH of 1.3. Oxalic acid has two acidic hydrogens with pKas of 1.23 and 4.19. The Henderson-Hasselbalch equation tells me that a pH of 1.3 requires .092 molar oxalic acid. In a gallon (lets's say 4 liters to make the calculations easier), that's 33 grams. That's proabaly 2 or 3 tbsp, you'd have to weigh it to be sure.

 

BTW, oxalic acid is the substance that makes swiss chard(beet greens) astringent, and even higher levels make rhubarb greens toxic.

For pure powdered oxalic acid, your figure is right; it says to use 3 tablespoons per gallon of water. BKF on the other hand contains oxalic acid as the primary active ingredient, but is far from being pure oxalic acid, so you wouldn't use anywhere near that much water, unless perhaps you were dumping the whole can in there. The instructions just say to sprinkle a little of it on and use a wet cloth. I just mix it with water by eye. I just sprinkle a small mound in the bottom of a bowl, then add a little bit of water, just enough to cover the bottom of the bowl by maybe 1/8" or 1/4" deep and mix it thoroughly. You have to restir it often, because BKF settles quickly.

 

Aside from the spectacular job it does as a contact cleaner, the most amazing thing I ever saw it do was: I have a Western Electric payphone, and it has a volume control button mounted in a chromed metal housing. When I got it the housing was covered with little bumps/spots of what looked like rust (it wasn't rust because it is made of pot metal, but it was some form of corrosion). At first I tried a Scotch-Brite pad, but it left scratches in the chrome. Fortunately I tried that on the underside which isn't really visible. Then I tried BKF and a toothbrush. The little spots of corrosion just vanished in a matter of seconds, and made the thing look like new, aside from minor dings and scratches it already had from being on a public payphone for years (the chrome itself hadn't been damaged by the little "rust" spots yet, fortunately), and left zero scratches in the process (unlike the Scotch-Brite):

 

 

(Not a great picture; hard to take a good picture of chrome)

Edited December 23, 2013 by MaximRecoil