Thinking of getting a NES. Which is the best option

[MaximRecoil]

 

Are you sure? The back of the adapter says "Output AC 9V" and my multimeter correctly measures around 9 volts when I set it to AC. I don't think that it's the adapter.

 

Yes, the NES power supply is AC. There is nothing inside that plastic brick other than a step-down transformer, i.e., all it does is reduce the incoming 120 VAC to 9 VAC. Technically speaking, it is not a power supply / AC adapter at all, it is a transformer. A true power supply / AC adapter, in addition to a step-down transformer, also includes a rectifier to convert the AC current to DC.

 

Now, the top loader only has RF output, and with it lacking a power indicator LED, it could seem like it isn't powering on if the RF switch is bad. The stock NES RF switch is notoriously flaky. The coaxial cable they use for it has a thin stranded wire center conductor (instead of a thick, solid center conductor as on heavy duty coaxial cable such as RG-59 or RG-6) which has no mechanical bond with the center pin of the F connector. The F connector is crimped onto the coaxial cable so that the base of the center pin makes contact with the center conductor of the coaxial cable, but as things move/stretch over time with use, those two things can pull apart internally, and then the RF signal can't make it to your TV.

 

Even though I rarely use my top loader because I don't like RF in general, and I especially don't like the top loader's RF (jailbars), I fixed its flaky RF switch permanently, by replacing the crappy stock coaxial cable with some good quality coaxial cable with a solid center conductor. The solid center conductor also serves as the center pin for the F connector, so there is no longer a two-piece arrangement which can separate internally. See this thread for details and pictures.

 

I believe that RF switches from other systems will work with the NES, and you can also just bypass the RF switch altogether, and just use a coaxial cable with an F connector on one end and an RCA connector on the other end (though you lose the convenience of having the RF switch functionality). To do this you can make or have made a custom coaxial cable with an F connector on one end and an RCA connector on the other end, or do what most people do, and use either a standard "RCA cable" (coaxial cable which already has an RCA connector on both ends) or a standard coaxial cable which already has F connectors on both ends, and then get the appropriate adapter for one of the ends (i.e., F connector to RCA or RCA to F connector adapter).

Edited September 9, 2015 by MaximRecoil

[Andromeda Stardust]

So "Ninja Gaiden II" came in the mail. I tried that game.............. and ONCE AGAIN NOTHING HAPPENS WHEN I TURN ON THE @#$#%#$%$%$ CONSOLE.

 

This was listed as "very good condition... clean, tested and working great" by the Amazon seller. I'm still not sure whether I just want to return this lemon I've been sold or try a few more things first. Is it most likely an AC adapter issue when a console doesn't power on at all? Too bad there is no light on the top loader model. I don't know whether the system is even getting power or not, and I don't have a multimeter to test the adapter.

 

I am so pissed off right now.

Don't blame the seller if you can't get output from the NES. Hell, buy a cheap Yobo or Retrobit clone for $20 to test the games on before you start blaming sellers. Games need to be cleaned properly. I use Q-tips and alcohol. Wet one end and scrub with the wet then the dry side. Repeat with as many Qtips as necessary until there is no gray/black residue. 99% of the time, the games will run good. Next, try the pink pearl eraser followed by compressed air. Use Brasso only as a last resort since it will strip away some of the gold plating.

 

Have you even verified the adapter works? If the NES is 100% dead, I'd bet the regulator of fuse is the culprit and an easy fix.

Edited September 9, 2015 by stardust4ever

[mbd30]

"Now, the top loader only has RF output, and with it lacking a power indicator LED, it could seem like it isn't powering on if the RF switch is bad."

 

My satellite reception is through a cable which I had attached to the Nintendo RF adapter which was attached to the television. Would a bad RF switch mean that the signal from the NES is not getting to my TV, while audio/video from Dish comes through fine?

 

 

"and you can also just bypass the RF switch altogether, and just use a coaxial cable with an F connector on one end and an RCA connector on the other end (though you lose the convenience of having the RF switch functionality). To do this you can make or have made a custom coaxial cable with an F connector on one end and an RCA connector on the other end, or do what most people do, and use either a standard "RCA cable" (coaxial cable which already has an RCA connector on both ends) or a standard coaxial cable which already has F connectors on both ends, and then get the appropriate adapter for one of the ends (i.e., F connector to RCA or RCA to F connector adapter)."

 

Thanks! I'll give this a try tomorrow. I already requested a return from the Amazon seller, but I'll just cancel it if this works.

[mbd30]

Don't blame the seller if you can't get output from the NES. Hell, buy a cheap Yobo or Retrobit clone for $20 to test the games on before you start blaming sellers. Games need to be cleaned properly. I use Q-tips and alcohol. Wet one end and scrub with the wet then the dry side. Repeat with as many Qtips as necessary until there is no gray/black residue. 99% of the time, the games will run good. Next, try the pink pearl eraser followed by compressed air. Use Brasso only as a last resort since it will strip away some of the gold plating.

 

Have you even verified the adapter works? If the NES is 100% dead, I'd bet the regulator of fuse is the culprit and an easy fix.

 

Nothing happens when I put in the cartridge and turn it on. I mean, nothing. Not even a black or gray screen. It's as if the console is dead. I can't get it to do _anything_. I should at least get a black screen after some amount of effort.

 

I tried the game that they sent with it (which I did try cleaning with q-tips and now looks very clean), and the "Ninja Gaiden 2" cart that I just got in the mail that was listed in "like new" condition and doesn't look dirty at all.

 

Someone else suggested that it's the switchbox so I'm going to try to bypass it. If it's not the RF switch then I'm returning the system.

[Andromeda Stardust]

This is the only switchbox you need.

 

You still didn't even bother to test the power adapter to see if it was faulty. Have you also tried maybe another adapter? Got a Genesis brick? TG-16? Any 9V barrel tip adapter should work, AC or DC. Polarity doesn't matter with NES. Just plug in and if you get picture, your NES-101 is good.

Edited September 9, 2015 by stardust4ever

[mbd30]

This is the only switchbox you need.

 

You still didn't even bother to test the power adapter to see if it was faulty. Have you also tried maybe another adapter? Got a Genesis brick? TG-16? Any 9V barrel tip adapter should work, AC or DC. Polarity doesn't matter with NES. Just plug in and if you get picture, your NES-101 is good.

 

I did test the power adapter. I bought a tester today and the AC adapter is fine.

[MaximRecoil]

"Now, the top loader only has RF output, and with it lacking a power indicator LED, it could seem like it isn't powering on if the RF switch is bad."

 

My satellite reception is through a cable which I had attached to the Nintendo RF adapter which was attached to the television. Would a bad RF switch mean that the signal from the NES is not getting to my TV, while audio/video from Dish comes through fine?

 

In that case, the switch is probably okay, at least, it hasn't failed in the usual part (i.e., the connection between the center pin of the F connector and the center conductor of the coaxial cable). I suppose something within the automatic switching circuitry could be bad though, preventing it from switching to game mode but still allowing RF passthrough to work for your satellite connection.

 

This is the only switchbox you need.

 

That's the one to get if using an "RCA cable" (i.e., a coaxial cable which has RCA connectors on both ends). If using a coaxial cable which has F connectors on both ends (such as the type commonly used for connecting a VCR or DVD player to an old RF-only TV), you need the opposite of that. For example, this is what I use for my Atari 7800:

 

 

That's a section of RG-6 coaxial cable with F connectors crimped on, from the cable company (as high quality as it gets), along with an F-to-RCA adapter screwed on to one end.

 

 

Next, try the pink pearl eraser followed by compressed air. Use Brasso only as a last resort since it will strip away some of the gold plating.

 

I prefer Bar Keepers Friend. It has the same main active ingredient as Brasso (oxalic acid), but it is less abrasive (it is no more abrasive than talcum powder). Plus, since it is in powder form, intended to be mixed with water, you can make it as weak/watery as you want (even a weak solution of it cleans contacts quickly and very well). By the way, rubbing anything against anything is abrasive to some degree. Even rubbing your finger on gold-plated contacts would wear off the gold eventually. A pencil eraser would do it even quicker than using your finger, though it would take a long time in either case.

Edited September 9, 2015 by MaximRecoil

[Andromeda Stardust]

I use the F-connectors on the console side myself, but since AA doesn't sell those I thought I'd use the other type for the photo op. In fact my Atari 2600 has an F coupler attached to the bezel with an internal 1 foot Coax and a fat RF choke. The gold plated RCA F adapters that fit on top of the RF RCA jacks have a death grip, so I bought several and leave them semi-permanently attached to the consoles, and use a push adapter with my coax cable. I'm aware the push adapters can create signal loss, but remove the need to unscrew the cable every time I switch consoles, which happens to be a lot. I simply plug the coax and my homemade 6-in-1 frankendapter into whatever console I want to play at the time.

Edited September 9, 2015 by stardust4ever

[0078265317]

Or get another nintendo rf tv adapter. Tbey are super cheap on ebay.