HVC *GPM* (Oops)? What is the meaning? + FC CPU Board Revision Numbers

[jpx72]

Something to think about and a small advertisement for me :

Two different boards with the same revision number 05:

http://jpx72web.blogspot.sk/2015/09/two-different-rev05-famicom-revisions.html

[fredJ]

H2218170, smooth bottom, HVC-CPU-06
Maybe the PCB was replaced. The controllers were replaced to round buttons. but it came in its original box (pretty sure), that is of a square button with manual.

[JetBlackSVW]

Have two Famicoms, both HVC-CPU-07 ones.

H7150181
H9624235

[Salduchi]

I just bought a BRAND NEW square button famicom on eBay. Completely untouched with the serial number starting with H216xxxx. Since it's new I refuse to open it up to check the revision, but judging from the serial number, does anyone know what board revision it might be?

[jpx72]

You should open it and check it because there is no possible way to tell that from the serial number.

[Salduchi]

https://forums.nesdev.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=10262

Here is a link of someone who has a famicom with Rev 06 with the serial number H2219259. Mine is 100,000 units older than his so I assume it has to be at least Rev 05 which is to my knowledge the 1st revision that didn't have freezing problems.

I really can't bring myself to open it. It's new and still has its twisty ties around the controller cords and all. It's the 1st time I've ever seen a new one on eBay so I jumped all over it

[chowder]

https://forums.nesdev.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=10262

Here is a link of someone who has a famicom with Rev 06 with the serial number H2219259. Mine is 100,000 units older than his so I assume it has to be at least Rev 05 which is to my knowledge the 1st revision that didn't have freezing problems.

I really can't bring myself to open it. It's new and still has its twisty ties around the controller cords and all. It's the 1st time I've ever seen a new one on eBay so I jumped all over it

You still can't go by serial number, Nintendo used to swap boards for repairs.  Got a link to the eBay auction?

[Salduchi]

I understand. So mine would prove what revision a brand new Famicom with this serial number would have. Since it's new, it's original.

https://m.ebay.com/itm/Family-Computer-Famicom-Squared-Buttons-1ST-Edition-Nintendo-Famicom-Japan-NEW/232497161264?hash=item3621e92430:g:Zz0AAOSwYkBZxMQi

[jpx72]

Jesus, that much?

[Salduchi]

Yeah man. Had to pull the trigger. I've never seen one in over 5 years searching.

[Nesmaniac]

I recently have been getting into famicoms trying to find earliest version possible (I already have 131st NES built) so my search finally netted me a famicom Serial # H1096XXX which had the glossy smooth dust flap (I'd read that it might not exist but can confirm) and player 1 controller rd button player 2 square. Latest chip in it is 27th week of 83 & board CPU-1983 no revision but has the number 3 in corner of board by controller port. Rubber under PPU & since it's the oldest I found I decided to make it my player. Upon hooking it up RF there was tons of radio interference on channel 96 and 97 and game image was just messed up badly. I took board out of machine and bottom of the board had 2 resistors with clear heat shrink (I tested and they are 1000 ohms give or take a little) and 2 of those small brown ceramic caps. I thought someone had fiddled with it trying to do a repair possibly for Japanese RF so I desoldered those & thought of taking a picture beforehand but foolishly didn't. When I tested it I could get no image but radio station galore. I played with the trimmer capacitor to no avail. All I could get was blue, light gray, and purple screen & every so often a hint of a game screen but very little graphically. I decided to use da bears composite video mod which don't require lifting ppu leg. I wanted to keep system as original as possible board wise & still getting same results as before minus the radio stations of course. After seeing the pics here I now realize the components on the bottom (2 caps, 2 resistors bundled up in clear shrink tube) must have been done by techs when this early famicom was sent back in. Now I want to add the components back or at least their equivalent parts but don't know where to put them on the board 3. If anyone could be kind enough who has a board 3 to show me the bottom with good pics that has these components added I'd greatly appreciate it. I think the picture of the earlier board here has the same resistors and cap soldered to possibly same place but I'm thinking other cap was lower on board but I can't remember for sure. I also see the earlier board has other caps and resistors that mine didn't so I'm very curious to what these achieved to have a better understanding of how they might make it function.

[P]

I heard that hand-made adjustments like this may be done to certain boards at production time. So it may not be a mod or even done by official repairmen, but rather improvements or corrections that was discovered and done to boards before a new revision comes out.

[jpx72]

https://photos.app.goo.gl/tO06iFCLihzc2sFf2

Maybe this can help

[Nesmaniac]

https://photos.app.goo.gl/tO06iFCLihzc2sFf2

Maybe this can help

Yes, this was a life savior I had found them images of the 3 board like mine with same components added on bottom reading through the forums after posting & I appreciate you putting it up here too. It allowed me to get this old famicom up and running after doing Da Bears style AV mod. I actually saw earlier board like a 1 board that had a few extra components but the heat shrinked resistors & ceramic cap location the same. I had the other little ceramic cap (331 # with a b over number) in the location like on the 1 board (between 14 & 15 I think it was on cartridge slot bottom) but knew I had removed it from closer to front bottom of board but I soldered it at the board 1 spot and it all works. I got another little cap the same ( off NES board which the controller pins each have that same little cap on board for anyone who might need to know) & placed it right spot for my 3 board & actually ended up removing the cartridge slot 331 even though it worked fine with it I know it's not on the 3 board for a reason apparently.  Now it works great with jailbars of course showing up mostly in light blue areas but it's not bad. I'm actually thinking of ordering some copper tape & putting it over the PPU and attempting to slide it under PPU but with the rubber pad not sure it's possible without removing the chip which no way I would because jailbars aren't bad anyways. I'm thinking of restoring it with white vinyl duplicolor spray which is $8 a can & ordering that $25 decal kit with the new silicon which has all the stickers for controllers and console ($20 for just the stickers if your silicon pads are good) but at any rate here's photo's of my revision 3 in action with the AV mod. Also, this unit has a slick dust flap which I've not seen before. I have another old unit on the way from Japan that the serial number is just a few thousand above this one & I could not tell from picture if it has smooth flap or not but I think it will because I saw pictures of a system with a little higher number than it that appeared to have a smooth flap but sometimes pictures are deceptive as we all know. I'm looking at a HV serial numbered console thinking of buying it because out of all the serial numbers I've looked at the HV don't seem to pop up too often. Out of probably looking at 500 famicom serial numbers only 5-10 have the HV prefix. I'm actually thinking at one point I might have seen a HM but if I did it was a while back otherwise I would have bought it because I've not seen another. Possibly it was even HB or something else but I'm pretty sure I saw something different than C or V on one but don't quote me on that because I've looked through so many numbers from various systems other than famicom. Last image shows the smooth flap & Da Bears clean style av mod. I soldered a mono audio jack out to the RF shielded box which provides a great ground & solid connector. Using the existing RF port for composite video is the best way to go with these AV mods I think. Desoldering RF components using the RF circuitry as a path I'm not so sure about since this my first av mod on famicom. I'm thinking next one I do if I ever do will be running video from the PPU pin 21 directly to the RF port. Not sure about desoldering the ppu leg though I think just snipping it with cutters and slightly bending it up is best way to go because I've read of people breaking the pin off & ruining the PPU by desoldering it. I don't see the need for heating it up and all that when it can simply be snipped.

https://scontent.flex1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/28056210_1933000853408911_306238289352162239_n.jpg?oh=433e6d4bb780ced4c8e86949c24bc921&oe=5B121774

https://scontent.flex1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/28168200_1933001033408893_1578468987307675341_n.jpg?oh=8fdee1e27a4211d1d168caeb273b26b1&oe=5B08E3F3

https://scontent.flex1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/27973722_1926518217390508_5099097235761699552_n.jpg?oh=891bd1a428801b5358e71115c55cdb12&oe=5B0066E8

https://scontent.flex1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/27858811_1926520580723605_6746810694840468898_n.jpg?oh=0d4114f5a0c22818fc3f79f7bab140c7&oe=5B162ED7

https://scontent.flex1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/27972421_1922304311145232_878810323029905460_n.jpg?oh=6a885e7356d34d4d1346919eed583097&oe=5B06773D

[Franzy21]

Been a lurker here some time ago then moved on to early arcade Nintendo.
Anyway, I happen to also own one of these slick cover Famicoms
(the 2 other square buttons Famis in my collection don't have it, neither the HK version).
If I remember properly the serial is something 1076xxx and the board is rev.3.
I had opened it at that time hoping it was a rev.3 or 2, based on posts made by jpx72.


I would make an hypothesis that the very early Famis have the slick bottom and the slick flap (and obviously the square buttons).
Then for some reason the slick flap was replaced early by the one with a rugged finish (too many scratch marks?).
And then of course the smooth back was replaced by the rugged back (same time as the end of the square buttons? Around SN 3xxxxxx?)

Question I've always asked myself : why is there no Fami with a SN# under 1xxxxxx?
Even this japanese guy who owns a Fami with a rev.1 board has a SN#10xxxxx...
Does the 1 stands not for the millionth unit but just for the first year  of production (logical explanation)?