Famicom World

Family Computer => Technical & Repair Assistance => Topic started by: AAGaming on March 22, 2014, 04:24:45 pm

Title: Help with Famicom Audio/Video
Post by: AAGaming on March 22, 2014, 04:24:45 pm
I recently bought a Famicom from a seller on eBay selling them as is. When I got it, i hooked it up to my CRT with an old Atari 2600 cable and one of these: http://atariace.com/images/atariace.com/atari/images/rca-coax-rf-adapter.jpg It worked but all of the sprites were broken up into larger squares, or duplicated. After reading that i could use a NES RF switch for my Famicom. I bought one. It arrived today and after trying it on my two CRT's and mu HD TV, no input is being show. I am using channel 95. I was wondering if this is because my Famicom is broken or if it was the RF switch.
Title: Re: Help with Famicom Audio/Video
Post by: zmaster18 on March 23, 2014, 07:50:05 am
Always try every channel you have. When I used to use RF on my little CRT, it worked on channel 16 I believe. The picture all depends on your TV AND the RF cable. It's pretty hard for it to look perfect with RF, mine was always distorted. I recommend the AV mod if you want consistent results.
Title: Re: Help with Famicom Audio/Video
Post by: AAGaming on March 23, 2014, 09:50:30 am
I've tried all of the channels on both of my CRT's and nothing is showing. But on the topic of my RCA to coax adapter would that be the cause of the sprite errors that I am getting?
Title: Re: Help with Famicom Audio/Video
Post by: aha2940 on March 24, 2014, 06:31:08 am
Quote from: AAGaming on March 23, 2014, 09:50:30 am
I've tried all of the channels on both of my CRT's and nothing is showing. But on the topic of my RCA to coax adapter would that be the cause of the sprite errors that I am getting?


Please post a picture of the problem to be sure, but most problems with cabling are with distorted picture, or black and white. A cable does not have the ability to duplicate sprites or anything, that problem comes from the famicom itself. Probably dirty contacts on the fami or the cartridge.

Regards.
Title: Re: Help with Famicom Audio/Video
Post by: zmaster18 on March 24, 2014, 07:28:09 am
Perhaps you can try to shine up the metal RF connector with steel wool or stainless steel scrubber to start.
Title: Re: Help with Famicom Audio/Video
Post by: AAGaming on March 24, 2014, 11:41:47 am
This is the duplication that I was talking about. In the actual game, the sprites flicker between their actual position and one a bit to the right. This is Zelda no Densetsu on cartridge instead of disk, if that changes anything.
Title: Re: Help with Famicom Audio/Video
Post by: zmaster18 on March 24, 2014, 12:21:03 pm
I think it looks like your image is pretty clear, this is probably an internal problem with the PPU, or perhaps a capacitor needs to be replaced? Or the problem is with your cartridge slot having a little bit of dirt on a pin?
Title: Re: Help with Famicom Audio/Video
Post by: AAGaming on March 24, 2014, 12:32:23 pm
Thank you for the reply! How do you suggest I clean the pins before going and replacing a capacitor or something?
Title: Re: Help with Famicom Audio/Video
Post by: aha2940 on March 24, 2014, 06:05:50 pm
Try cleaning the cartridge connector on the famicom. Use a credit card wrapped on a thin piece of cloth or something like that. If all the games do the same, that might be the solution. The last step would be replacing parts inside the famicom, specially if you do not have experience soldering/desoldering. The pPU might be the culprit here and if so, replacing it is not an easy task (for a novice anyway).

Regards.
Title: Re: Help with Famicom Audio/Video
Post by: AAGaming on March 24, 2014, 07:57:46 pm
Quote from: aha2940 on March 24, 2014, 06:05:50 pm
Try cleaning the cartridge connector on the famicom. Use a credit card wrapped on a thin piece of cloth or something like that. If all the games do the same, that might be the solution. The last step would be replacing parts inside the famicom, specially if you do not have experience soldering/desoldering. The pPU might be the culprit here and if so, replacing it is not an easy task (for a novice anyway).

Regards.

I've tried that now and the same thing is still happening. Could you recommend somewhere that i could send my Famicom to get repaired? Also, this is happening to my Punch-Out cart.
Title: Re: Help with Famicom Audio/Video
Post by: zmaster18 on March 25, 2014, 09:07:08 am
I use a flat metal file to shine the pins in the cartridge slot. It scratches off any corrosion or dullness and makes them shiny.