How do I know if the famicom is turning on?

[Sullymac]

Just got the famicom plus the original SMB at my son's request, but I can't get it to work.
I have an NES RF switch and an AC adapter from a sega genesis master system. The AC plug will not go all of the way into the famicom so I'm worried that's the issue. Nothing seems to happen when I switch it on. Have tried various channels on both VCR and TV.

Thanks in advance for your help!

[zmaster18]

I think your AC adapter should be fine, I used to use a Sega Master System/Genesis1 power adapter.

I believe one way to determine if your Famicom is working with RF is to hold the RF cable to an FM radio and listen for game music. Somewhere else on this forum, someone posted how to listen to the Famicom through an RF cable and radio.

Another way is to use a volt meter or multimeter and see if your famicom is getting power by testing some points on the circuit board. You can even just touch the metal RF box and see if that gets hot. Famicom video through RF is kinda lousy and not guaranteed to work on your TV. Try flipping through all the channels to see if any kind of disturbance comes on the screen.

If you still can't get anything to show up on the TV, AV mod your Famicom or buy one AV modded.  

And welcome to FamicomWorld!

[UglyJoe]

I believe one way to determine if your Famicom is working with RF is to hold the RF cable to an FM radio and listen for game music. Somewhere else on this forum, someone posted how to listen to the Famicom through an RF cable and radio.

http://famicomworld.com/workshop/articles/famicom-fm/

[fredJ]

Did you set the switch on the back to "GAME" ?

[number47]

If you have a multimeter/voltmeter you can check if there is 5V between pins 1 and 15 in the extension port.

[Bakayote]

Do you live in the USA? If so, try using channel 95 or 96.