Just bought a brand new FDS

[Salduchi]

It was advertised as brand new. Most of the unit looks greats except for the sides and the back which have some scratches. Is it possible this could be from sitting in storage for 35 years or scratches from manufacturing?

[senseiman]

I've never opened a new one out of the box or anything, but those scratches do not look like something that would have happened in the factory or storage. 

Really nice FDS regardless though!

[Salduchi]

Thanks! It is a really nice set honestly. The box is almost mint and the RAM adapter looks mostly new.

[Sho]

Those blemishes are indicative of a console that has been in storage and knocked around a bit over the years.

The belt could still be shot though.  New or not. 😨😂

[Salduchi]

Those blemishes are indicative of a console that has been in storage and knocked around a bit over the years.

The belt could still be shot though.  New or not. 😨😂

Even in the box? All the paper work has matching serial numbers and all. The box looks almost perfect. I wonder if maybe they are styrofoam marks pressing on the casing through the plastic bag it was in

[P]

Yeah they say the belt melts in about 5 years, so unless it was stored in a freezer chances are that it's gunk now. Making me a bit worried about my FDS which I haven't used in years (since I tend to use the FDSStick) and I think I had it for more than 5 years now.

[ericj]

Yeah they say the belt melts in about 5 years, so unless it was stored in a freezer chances are that it's gunk now. Making me a bit worried about my FDS which I haven't used in years (since I tend to use the FDSStick) and I think I had it for more than 5 years now.

I have three drives and don't use them that often with belts that are all 13+ years old. They still all work fine, but belt longevity likely depends on where you live and how the drive is stored.

[P]

That sounds more likely. 5 years is probably including extensive use and possibly bad storage condition.

[Sho]

Those blemishes are indicative of a console that has been in storage and knocked around a bit over the years.

The belt could still be shot though.  New or not. 😨😂

Even in the box? All the paper work has matching serial numbers and all. The box looks almost perfect. I wonder if maybe they are styrofoam marks pressing on the casing through the plastic bag it was in

Yeah!  I'm imagining it being stacked up against other boxes, pressed on with hot days and the like.

[Salduchi]

Well as long as it's new! I paid $270 for it but the guy refunded me $120 because I complained it didn't seem new. So a potentially brand new FDS for $150 is a sweet deal! Now I'm just waiting for a disk to come in the mail so I can test the belt.

[Salduchi]

Got my MARIO disk in the mail and tried it out....doesn't work. It just grinds really loud. I guess I'll attempt to replace the belt this weekend.

I've found some guides on YouTube, but is there a particular guide that people here recommend to use to replace the belts?

[P]

Yeah that is probably the belt. I guess 30 years was too much even for an unused one.

I haven't needed to replace any belts yet myself, but Ericj's homepage is the first thing I would think of.

[Salduchi]

When I opened it up today, you can tell it's obviously brand new. Super clean and nice inside. No dust whatsoever. But the belt was totally melted. Sucks!

[Salduchi]

I spent 5 hours trying to fix this thing. Got the belt on and felt really good about that. But I kept getting error 22. Tried adjusting/calibrating the spindle like 20 times and kept getting 22 over and over. Then the belt slipped off while I was following a different guide that said to spin the spindle till it clicked or something. I give up. I felt like throwing the damn thing at the wall.

[emerson]

I had to replace belts in both my FDS and my Famicom Twin and it was a very similar process. Lots of guess, check, repeat and frustration.

I recall reading a post somewhere that there are three different mechanisms used in the FDS, each of which requires slightly different alignment techniques. The two I own have different holes in the snail cam. One has a round hole and the other has a square hole. I believe they might even be in different locations on the cam.