Light gun limitations?

[rogueofmv]

I heard from somewhere that you cannot use the NES light gun on an AV Famicom because the games that use the light gun expect the 15-pin Famicom light gun...

Well, does this restriction work the other way around too? Say I'm playing a US NES game on my Famicom (original model) with a converter; would I be able to use a 15-pin light gun plugged into the accessory port with these games, or would the game expect the 7-pin Zapper?

Also, is there a cheaper alternative to tracking down a Famicom Beam Gun? Those things are wicked expensive no matter where I look...

[b1aCkDeA7h]

Read the articles on the main Famicomworld site. It's a two wire fix (four solder points).

[UglyJoe]

This article, in particular:

http://famicomworld.com/workshop/tech/nes-zapper-on-av-famicom/

[rogueofmv]

That's helpful, but it wasn't what I was asking.

I was wondering if it's possible to use a 15-pin light gun on US NES games in an original Famicom with a 72-60 pin converter.

[ericj]

Yes. The Famicom 15-pin light gun will work okay with NES games on a Famicom with a cart converter.

Also, is there a cheaper alternative to tracking down a Famicom Beam Gun? Those things are wicked expensive no matter where I look...

Yes, there is. Make a DA15 to NES 7-Pin connector to plug in the NES light gun, or replace the NES connector on a NES Zapper with a DA15 connector.

[rogueofmv]

Yes. The Famicom 15-pin light gun will work okay with NES games on a Famicom with a cart converter.

Also, is there a cheaper alternative to tracking down a Famicom Beam Gun? Those things are wicked expensive no matter where I look...

Yes, there is. Make a DB15 to NES 7-Pin connector to plug in the NES light gun, or replace the NES connector on a NES Zapper with a DB15 connector.

I thought it might work; good to know. Thank you.
Is there a tutorial on how to convert the 7-pin Zapper to a DB15?

[133MHz]

Is there a tutorial on how to convert the 7-pin Zapper to a DB15?

Sort of. Build this adapter, but only wire the second controller port to your NES Zapper:

[rogueofmv]

Is there a tutorial on how to convert the 7-pin Zapper to a DB15?

Sort of. Build this adapter, but only wire the second controller port to your NES Zapper:

I'm not too sure I understood that. Wire the second controller port? There aren't any controller ports on an original Famicom.

[ericj]

He means second NES controller port to the DA15 connector.

[rogueofmv]

He means second NES controller port to the DB15 connector.

Oh, I thought I missed something in the wording there. Thanks. :L

[P]

Sort of. Build this adapter, but only wire the second controller port to your NES Zapper:

I built that adapter with only the second controller port, and ignored the other wires, but it doesn't work as expected. First it disables the built-in famicom controller I as soon as I plug in the zapper, and second it acts as Start and Select on controller I is pressed also as soon as I plug in the zapper. If I plug it in while being in the menu it will select the next option and if I do it in-game it will pause the game. Also the game doesn't seem to recognize that I press the trigger at all.

The game I tried it with is Mad City (English localized title is Adventures of Bayou Billy), this game needs both the controller and the light gun.
The zapper is supposed to be working but I can't confirm it as I don't have a NES.

Could it be that I need to wire both controller ports and get myself a NES controller for controller port I on the adapter?

[ericj]

My guess is that you've wired it incorrectly. Remember that in the diagram you're looking at the FRONT of the DA15 and NES ports, not the back of them. I've wired 5 of these, and player 2 should work fine by itself, even without wiring a Player 1 port.

[P]

Oh I see what I did wrong now. I wired it assuming it was the male plug of the neo geo cable but it is the female port on the famicom! So now everything is mirrored! Thanks ericj I will give it another try.