Technical and Repair Assistance

[ericj]

You could also try one of the carts that has the built-in LED and see if it lights up when you turn it on.

I don't remember which pins provide the voltage and ground, but I know the info is here on the site somewhere under techincal assistance.

[Rogles]

Will using an NES RF switch with my famicom output the signal to channels 3 and 4, or will it act the same as the Famicom one?

[ericj]

It will act the same as the Famicom one. Try channels 95-99.

[133MHz]

For the record, my old, beat-up workbench TV set doesn't support cable, only VHF and UHF, but it could still tune to the Famicom's signal when I used the auto search function .

[Esgher]

Hi guys,

I just hooked up my Famicom and my Disk System yesterday, but I'm experiencing some problems with it.

I put a European antenna connector on the cable that comes out of the Famicom RF Switch. I can find the signal of the Famicom on 97.00 Mhz (on  Ch2 Famicom setting). However this signal is not optimal, and there is litte to no sound. There is a lot of distortion and you can hear the Mario jingle very lightly if you listen really close.

So how can I improve the signal that my TV receives from the Famicom, and how can I make sure that I get some sound on my TV?

And about my Disk System, when I load the Super Mario Bros. disk into the Disk System (the only one I have), it appears that it doesn't load correctly. Only half of Mario, the goomba's, mushrooms and coins are rendered properly. The other half looks kinda maimed.

How can I fix this?

[Lorfarius]

Do you have another TV you can try it out on?

[Esgher]

Yes, I've tried it on a regular TV as wel as an LCD Tv, both had the same results.

[Lorfarius]

Do you happen to have another antenna or rf cable to try on the TV?

[Walky]

And about my Disk System, when I load the Super Mario Bros. disk into the Disk System (the only one I have), it appears that it doesn't load correctly. Only half of Mario, the goomba's, mushrooms and coins are rendered properly. The other half looks kinda maimed.

¿Are the cart's (and console's) contacts clean?. buggy graphics are usually caused by bad contact on some CHR pins.

About the sound.... dunno, ¿maybe interference of some kind?. I think 133Mhz (the user, not the frequency ) was having some interference with his famicom from radio station signals that are just around that frequency spectrum, but I don't think it was nearly as bad as in your case.

[Lorfarius]

Only just realised this was about the Disk system  Could just be a duff disc, might be worth buying another disk game to see.

[Walky]

I doesn't seem to be a disk problem. It looks like there is a problem with the famicom and/or the fds ram adapter.

¿game carts work fine on your famicom?

[133MHz]

Japanese CH2 is 97.25 MHz , try tuning there and see if you get sound.
If not, then you'll need to adjust the sound coil on the RF modulator board.

As for the Disk System problem, first of all, clean the contacts! Then try the RAM adapter self test (hold Select + Start as you turn on your Famicom with the RAM cart plugged in), and last, try the RAM adapter on a Famiclone if you're still experiencing the same problem.

[Ken Tama]

Before you do anything, I would suggest that you align the spindle correctly to the head,  JFgoods has outlined the belt change and adjustment at http://jfgoods.net/disksystem.html.  The steps are not numbered in his article.  However,  the procedure starts at this slide:

"Here comes the most important part.

First, slide the head so you will get a view like shown on the left."

Once you have that spindle adjusted then start adjusting the motor speed.

If you have a famicom copier, you can use a utlitiy like CopyMaster to find the speed of your drive.  If you don't have the famicom copier/copymaster setup, you have to manually adjust the speed (in small increments). 

As I mentioned before, the motor has a +/- sign etched into the motor.  You can use a slotted screw drive to make the adjustment.  Use the screw driver to turn motor adjustment screw clockwise or counter clockwise.  The direction corresponds to the speed. You have to do trial and error in terms of adjusting the motor speed. 

What this means is that you have to adjust the speed, then load a game. Keep trying this till the game loads correctly.  If the game loads then try another game.  Once you are satisfied this works for all games, then you have the proper speed.

Usually in Hong Kong, technicians adjust the speed to 5 for optimum speed.  But the important thing here is for the game to load.


Only adjust the head as a last resort.

-CFB

Does someone have the jfgoods directions, or put the guide together from memory?  I clicked on the link and looked all over the internet for the directions, but can find nothing.

[ericj]

http://jfgoods.sakura.ne.jp/disksystem.html

His new site.

[Esgher]

Japanese CH2 is 97.25 MHz , try tuning there and see if you get sound.
If not, then you'll need to adjust the sound coil on the RF modulator board.

As for the Disk System problem, first of all, clean the contacts! Then try the RAM adapter self test (hold Select + Start as you turn on your Famicom with the RAM cart plugged in), and last, try the RAM adapter on a Famiclone if you're still experiencing the same problem.

Would using my NES cable instead of the Famicom cable help?