Famicare 101 (Questions about caring for your Famicom)

[super56k]

My question is who on this forum doesn't own a famicom?

I don't own one I've got a disgusting amount of clones though...

super56k: I've not seen those 100/120 before or even heard of them. Hope it works for you.

Well, I am certainly going to try it out.  I need to get my hands on a clone, I am trying to find a place that I can buy a PocketFami.

[super56k]

Bad news folks.... My Famicom is officially dead. 

In the quest to solve it's overheating issues, I tried what I thought was a suitable adapter.  It was 9v had suitable amperage, and the correct polarity.  It even had the same size tip.  But it turned out that it's output was AC.  Why on earth would a console adapter output AC!?  Do you know what adapter I tried?  It was a spare NES adapter. 

Now my 25 wholesale Famicom games are arriving.  Along with a "MULE JOYSTIC" controller.  And I have nothing to use them on.    So, I am going to purchase another HVC-001, and not use it even once, until I obtain my step-down converter.  I am going to test my Fami's AC adapter, but it should still be fine.  Major bummer!

I know that one of the rules here is no spamming smilies, but I could not possible fill this post with enough " " smiles to represent how sad this makes me.

[JC]

Damn that sucks, man. At least you put in a good effort to get yours working. I haven't tired very hard to figure out what's wrong with mine. You should grab yourself a converter, if you don't already have one, and play those games you've got coming on a NES. Better than nothing.

[super56k]

Damn that sucks, man. At least you put in a good effort to get yours working. I haven't tired very hard to figure out what's wrong with mine. You should grab yourself a converter, if you don't already have one, and play those games you've got coming on a NES. Better than nothing.

I suppose that I could do that in the mean time.  But I cannot find a converter that does not have that stupid extra cable to hook up a game from your region.  I dissabled the lock-out chip in my NES a long time ago, so I do not need such a cumbersome device.  I wish that I could find one of those honey-bee converters, or maybe a  "TV GAME" converter. 

None of my NES carts have a converter inside.  At least they do not feel heavy enough.  I have yet to receive the game-bit I ordered, and so, I can't be too sure yet.  Not to mention, I heard that a Famicom game would not fit on one without removing the case first. 

Any suggestions on where I could pick up a converter for a good price?  It seems as though there are none on ebay currently.  Not to mention they always go for so high.

[JC]

This is the one that I bought, and it works perfectly. You just have to e-mail the guy and tell him you want one.

HERE

[super56k]

This is the one that I bought, and it works perfectly. You just have to e-mail the guy and tell him you want one.

HERE

Wow, it's all in Spanish.  Well, if you got one there, then he must understand English.  The price isn't too bad either.  When I get home tonight I will take a better look.  Thank You.

[super56k]

Ok, so I bumped a semi-old topic, but I have some valid findings that I believe that everyone at "Famicom World" should know.

So, my replacement Famicom arrived.  There are slight visual differences in this ones appearance.  The "FAMILY COMPUTER" logo on the front is a slightly darker red, and seems to be more beveled.  Although I have not opened this new one up yet, I am pretty sure that this one has a shield around the RF board.  The beveled depression that the "EJECT" tab sits in seems slightly wider, as do the corresponding "POWER", and "RESET" buttons.  There are other slight differences, such as the positioning of the "Nintendo" logo, etc.

This is obviously a different production model of the same HVC-001 console, than the one I already have.  This being said...

WHY THE HELL DOES IT OVER HEAT?!?!?!? 

I measure 16vDC from the adapter, 13v with the FamiCom as a load.  The board gets a solid 5vDC, as it needs, but the RF board just gets a straight feed from the adapter. 13vDC - 16vDC in this case.

With all this being said, I have deduced:

It is not healthy for you to play your FamiCom with USA voltage.  Buy a converter damn it!

Mine should arrive next week. 

[Doc]

I don't understand though, my Famicom only was really hot on the first day of use!

[super56k]

Wa Ha!

I just played "Hoshi No Kirby" for like an hour and a half straight!  My FamiCom only got as warn as most consoles and never reached Nuclear Meltdown!!!

...all thanks to this!

I bought it at "http://www.voltageconverters.com/japan_voltage.html:, and it arrived today at around noon.

Buy one, your FamiCom will thank you.

[JC]

Um. Jedi. You ought to write when you post something. I don't think two periods count.

And cool item there, super56k. I'll have to get me one to use with all my pirate consoles! And pretty cheap, too. I bet it's so awesome to be able to play without worrying about ruining your Famicom. Finally, nuh?

[super56k]

Um. Jedi. You ought to write when you post something. I don't think two periods count.

And cool item there, super56k. I'll have to get me one to use with all my pirate consoles! And pretty cheap, too. I bet it's so awesome to be able to play without worrying about ruining your Famicom. Finally, nuh?

Thank you.  Let me know if and when you get one, and how it works out.

[super56k]

Oops - 0.0 <-that's what I typed in (made it smaller, though)

...some sort of negative number?

[Jedi Master Baiter]

Maybe I should've used this:

[Doc]

I'm thinking of buying one of those. My Famicom hasn't gotten really hot yet, but I think I may need it for just in case.

MY current problem with my Famicom is that my good VCR isn't letting it work right. The video comes in great, but I either barely hear the sound or the sound is SWAMPED with static noise. It's VERY annoying and I'm always afraid. It looks like I'm going to have to stick with emulation until I find the right VCR.

[super56k]

I'm thinking of buying one of those. My Famicom hasn't gotten really hot yet, but I think I may need it for just in case.

MY current problem with my Famicom is that my good VCR isn't letting it work right. The video comes in great, but I either barely hear the sound or the sound is SWAMPED with static noise. It's VERY annoying and I'm always afraid. It looks like I'm going to have to stick with emulation until I find the right VCR.

Ah-Ha!  In lies the destruction of FAMICOMs.   

Allright.  As I know from my findings, the internal voltage of a FAMICOM is clamped at 5v DC to the main board.  However, all excess power dissipates via heat.  The heat sink is attached directly to the clamp.  However, the RF board gets straight, unregulated voltage form the AC adapter.

It would seem as though the adapter has nothing to regulate the output voltage, and so the higher the input, the higher the output.  Under ideal circumstances, (100v AC) the output. is a steady 9v DC.  But from a US outlet, (120v AC), I would measure around 14v DC output, with the FAMICOM and a game as the load, and a wopping 17v DC with no load!

>So, maybe the large amount of unregulated voltage surging through your FAMICOMs RF board has finally started to kill it.

My overheating issue, (covered throughout this thread), all arose from my lack of FAMICOM technical nowledge.  The heat in both FAMICOMs that I own had reached temperatures, that I believe where hot enough to melt the plastic.  The thing smelled like a "Light-Bright".  With this being said, using your Nintendo FAMICOM without a step-down transformer, is the same as COOKING YOUR FAMICOM ALIVE!!!  I can not stress this point enough.  Since the purchase of my transformer, I have had not a single problem with enjoying my FAMICOM to it's fullest.

I need to compile all of my findings and information found throughout this thread into a single downloadable document.