Disk System Help!

[mammal93]

I finally got my first Disk System, and I replaced the belt and everything. It doesn't seem to power on at all. I turn it on and the screen is just black and the system doesn't seem to be making noise. Is it just garbage? 

[discgolfer72]

what system do you have
is it a famicom with disk sytem attachment
or a sharp twin with built in disk drive

[mammal93]

It's an original Famicom with an original FDS. I actually fiddled with it for a few hours and found that its the RAM attachment. I cleaned the connectors but it doesn't like to work every time and I have to fiddle. Now I'm having error 22 which I see is common. So now I'm just trying to figure how to fix that. I'm not really the kind of guy who knows hardware, and I'm kind of learning through this.

[P]

The RAM Adapter is like any Famicom cartridge and should work on it's own, even without the disk drive attached to it. If it doesn't start every time I bet it still needs cleaning. You can use a fibreglass pen to rub the pins shiny again. Also a degraded AC adapter may also cause all kinds of random problems. If you are using the original AC adapter for the Famicom, check that it's still up to spec using a multimeter.

Error 22 means it has trouble reading the disk (it can't find block 1), but it seems to happen for many reasons including bad disk, unaligned disk drive (common after belt replacement) or even an insufficient power source for the disk drive. If you are using the original AC adapter you might want to check that it delivers the correct voltage, it may have degraded over time. If you are using batteries to power it, make sure they are all new, from the same package and not of too cheap quality.

[discgolfer72]

+1 on above

I used a splitter to power 2 drives (one to write one to read)
and the read drive started throwing error 22
used dedicated power and no more error 22

think I have 8 ram adapters here and all but 1
needed cleaning when I got it

usually I just use cue tip and Isopropyl Alcohol to clean and that does the tirck

for tough carts I use
http://www.microcenter.com/product/451064/Extra_Strength_Contact_Cleaner
its the same product I use here at my shop tp clean up chip sockets and connectors on arcade games
we use it because its safe for plastics


my shop
www.daydreamskc.com

[mammal93]

I'm using a dedicated power source, but I do have it in a power strip with other things so maybe I should try a straight connection to the wall. I know that helped when my PCE was being a pain once. It is an original official cord so I'll check it with my brothers multi-meter.
The error could very well be the disk drive needs realigned if it is that common after replacing the belt, as I had just done that.
I did clean it after the first time it didn't work. My brother, who knows a lot more about hardware stuff, said next time he's here hes going to check make sure no pins are bent or anything. I am checking that link for the extra strength cleaner, I could use that for a lot of things haha.
Thanks for the help.

[P]

Cleaning with cotton swabs doesn't always help. Especially for Famicom cartridges as the oxidation have usually gone too far for cotton swaps be able to remove it. That's why I recommend a fibreglass pen if cotton swabs doesn't work. I don't know what's in that extra strength cleaner, but alcohol is usually the preferred cleaner as it evaporates very fast (which minimizes the damage done to the metal). 90+% isopropyl alcohol is what I use.

Yeah missalignment is probably the cause of error 22. I have no experience aligning though, I know there are 3 things you can adjust:

Drive Speed Adjustment
This is adjusted with a minus screwdriver on a potentiometer. I think there is a disk that can help with adjusting the motor speed. Probably don't touch this unless you know it needs adjustment.

Spindle Hub Alignment
I think this is probably what causes error 22.

Magnetic Head Tuning
This normally should not be touched unless someone else has already messed it up. It's adjusted with a plus screwdriver and there are some glue on the screw which prevents messing with it. If the glue is removed, maybe a previous owner has messed with it.

[discgolfer72]

the nice thing about the electronic cleaner is  99% of the time  you just spray down the part that is making bad contact
wipe down once then wait a few for excess to Dissipate and everything works (just don't get any on your label )

no real need to use fiberglass or any other abrasive (over repeated use abrasive methods tend to cause more problems)

a lot of the stuff we work on here is from the 70's (sometimes older . even old em games use edge connectors)
and abrasive are not a option

since a lot of the early connectors are just a thin coating on the pcb
and due to battery damage , heat , or age   even touching the connector can risk completely removing the metal


if we do need to clean more  we just use a pink eraser to polish the surface  a bit (famicom carts suck for this because taking them apart is a pain )

[mammal93]

Well luckily the RAM cart is really easy to take apart, so I'll be giving it a deep clean.

Yeah I'll be looking into adjusting it tomorrow since I'm about to go to work. Is the spindle hub the part inside the drive that holds the gear that the belt is on? I'm sure that was a terrible description.

Oh and a couple of my disks gave me an error 21. I looked it up, but didn't understand exactly what it means. All, but those two, give me error 22.

[P]

I don't really know, I just said what I've observed on these forums over the years. There should be guides here and there that tells you what is what. Ericj on these forums made this one: http://www.famicomdisksystem.com/

Regarding error 21 it means that the string "*NINTENDO-HVC*" in the disk header is missing or broken. It sounds like it could find block 1 (header block) but then that Nintendo string couldn't be read. So it could technically be that the disk is corrupt in that area, but I don't think that kind of trouble shooting is very reliable, the value it thought was the block code for block 1 could have been correct by chance on these disks and then the string would be wrong so it throws error 21 instead of 22 although it's really the same problem. Not sure if that made any sense, but what's important is that error 21 and 22 both probably usually have the same cause. Especially if other disks throws error 22 on the same drive.

no real need to use fiberglass or any other abrasive (over repeated use abrasive methods tend to cause more problems)
...
if we do need to clean more  we just use a pink eraser to polish the surface  a bit (famicom carts suck for this because taking them apart is a pain )

I don't see what's the problem with abrasives. The metal has oxided and is already gone, cotton swab or abrasive both do the same thing of removing the oxided metal layer.

Unlike on normal Famicom cartridges. the pins on the RAM Adapter are inside indents so they can't be rubbed very easily with an eraser or sandpaper. That's why I recommend a fibreglass pen, because it can reach it. Cotton swabs might or might not work as well though.