Famicom World

How it all works

The Family Computer is a complex electronic device, filled with chips and traces and all that 80’s technology. Being complex, we’re going to try to explain in this section how it all works and how you can modify it here and there to make your Famicom not only playable in the United States and Canada but better performing and enhanced.

The Famicom has three main parts — the power source, the console and the controllers. It also has accessories, like the Disk System, which themselves can be added or modified to make your gameplay seem fresh and more fun.

Famicom World has taken it upon itself to contribute to the preservation of the system by explaining ways for dumping and writing your games, important to keep the Famicom around so us 80’s and early 90’s babies can play it with our kids and grand kids.

Nintendo explains the disk.
Nintendo explains the disk.

Video Station

The Video Station combines the Japanese love for building consoles with the design of the FamicomBox or FamicomStation. And a very cool pulse line-like "N."

Twin Famicom Power Adaptor

The Twin Famicom AC adaptor is equipped with the same prongs, and nearly the same input voltage (AC 100V) as AC adaptors used in the United States and Canada.

Maxell Quick Disk

What most people don't know is that Nintendo modeled its disks after Maxell's Quick Disks. The Quick Disks are the same size and design as the Nintendo disks with only one difference.

Famicom Test Cart

The Famicom was tested in Nintendo repair shops using test carts. The test carts would essentially tell you whether or not some part of your Famicom setup was working correctly.

Famicom Power Adaptor

The Japanese Famicom power adaptor is equipped with the same prongs, and nearly the same input voltage (AC 100V) as AC adaptors used in the United States and Canada.

Disk System Power Adaptor

The FDS power adaptor is equipped with the same prongs, nearly the same input voltage (AC 100V), and the proper output voltage (DC9V) as power adaptors used in the United States and Canada.

Disk Hacker

Disk Hacker is an FDS disk made by Hacker International that, presumably, allows a Disk System gamer to mess around with pirated disks, sort of like a hex editor.

Disk System Error Messages

Ask anyone who loves it...the FDS can be a bitch. It was never a very popular Famicom accessory for this very reason: There were too many errors!

Square-button Famicom

The square-buttoned Famicom was the first and possibly second release, and because it had problems, such as weak lockout and soft buttons that could wear down, it was revamped.

NES Zapper on AV Famicom

If you try to play Duck Hunt or any other light gun game with a standard NES Zapper plugged into an AV Famicom controller port, you'll quickly find out that the Zapper will not respond.

Build Your Own FDSLoadr Cable

The cable has been a tricky thing to build for Famicom users without technical knowledge. This easy tutorial will help you build your very own FDSLoadr cable to dump and write Famicom disks.

FDS Power Board Modifications

What is not widely known, even inside Famicom collector and technical circles is that there is another copy protection measure inside Famicom Disk System units besides the drive controller chip.

Famicom Disk System FD3206 Write Mod

A comprehensive how-to guide on how to circumvent the copy protection mechanism present in Famicom Disk System drives with the FD3206P Drive Controller chip.

Nintendo's Development Disks

When game developers were creating their Famicom Disk System games, they saved them on white Nintendo prototype development disks.