So, g'day, I've been in Japan past couple weeks. Fun!
Bought a toploader Famicom while I was there (has an AV out natively, looks like, without any RF whatsoever... weird?) but I forgot to buy a power supply of some sort while I was there. Also, I have no idea if it works or not yet anyway. So that's nice.
So I'm a moron. Why I'm here now is that I'm curious: how, exactly, would I go about getting this thing working in the sunburned land of Australia? I don't really understand the FAQ, which I've read. I need DC power? Sure, okay. I have AC. So how do I get DC? One part of that FAQ said I could just use a Sega Megadrive power supply with my Famicom, and it'd work. Seriously? That seems super weird to me. Why exactly would that work? Is it because the Megadrive uses by sheer coincidence the EXACT power supply specs that the Famicom needs? Is that the case? But I'm in Australia and every wall outlet is like 240v or something. Will this mysterious Australian Megadeth power supply take that AC from that wall over there and turn it into DC that won't fry my Famicom?
What is the simplest way with which I am going to be able to power this thing? That's the bottom line.
Thank you for your time.
Hi Mate! fellow Aussie here!
Just use a Master System 1, Master System 2 or Mega Drive 1 PSU.
Another option is to grab one of those PSU's from JayCar that come with a range of reversible tips.
While your there pick me up Twin Famicom red model LOL :diskkun:
So I've got a few options? I'll keep those in mind!
Thanks a bunch!
I had considered JayCar for transformers or something, but I hadn't looked much beyond that so I'll check them out more thoroughly.
Either way, I think my questions are answered.
One of those multi adapters is probably your best bet. Make sure it outputs 9-10V DC, and the connector is centre pin negative, and all will be well. No need for a stepdown transformer or anything like that.
If you do go to Jaycar get this one.
http://www.jaycar.com.au/Power-Products-Electrical/Plugpacks/DC-Output/18W-3---12VDC-Switchmode-Plugpack-with-USB-Outlet/p/MP3314
This is the one I use for my twin Famicom but can be definitly used for your toploader :bub:
Quote from: Mosdef on April 01, 2016, 03:01:13 pm
If you do go to Jaycar get this one.
http://www.jaycar.com.au/Power-Products-Electrical/Plugpacks/DC-Output/18W-3---12VDC-Switchmode-Plugpack-with-USB-Outlet/p/MP3314
This is the one I use for my twin Famicom but can be definitly used for your toploader :bub:
Haha, the one I use with my Twin looks just like that, except with 3 pins for the UK :) They're great, when I want to use it on my AV modded Famicom I just flip the tip to negative and bump the voltage up.
Quote from: Mosdef on April 01, 2016, 03:01:13 pm
If you do go to Jaycar get this one.
http://www.jaycar.com.au/Power-Products-Electrical/Plugpacks/DC-Output/18W-3---12VDC-Switchmode-Plugpack-with-USB-Outlet/p/MP3314
This is the one I use for my twin Famicom but can be definitly used for your toploader :bub:
So, this looks good, yeah. But it says on the bottom of my Famicom it takes 10VDC... that adapter thing doesn't seem to do 10VDC. Is that gonna be a problem? It has 9 and 12, though, but those aren't exactly it. Shouldn't I be concerned about that?
9V will be fine.
Righto, so.
I turn the Famicom on, it's hooked up to power with 9v DC. Nada. I've not got any games for it yet, but my NES boots up with a white screen when I turn it on, irregardless of whether there's a game in there or not.
Is this thing cooked? Or does the Famicom just not have that same white screen the NES has?
Not sure I get what you mean mate, if it goes to a blank screen with no game in it that is normal. But then you say "irregardless there is a game or not". So can you get a jp game to at least test on it? Does the it have a light on it that comes on when switched on? I don't have a famicom to know, I only have a twin famicom.
Don't forget the polarity on the famicom is neg in the middle and pos on the outside, so make sure your adaptor is the same.
(+)------------(o------------(-)
So, okay, I took some very shitty pictures to try and explain what I'm talking about here.
First, here's the console I've got. Never mind the PAL NES I have under it, that's not what I'm talking about. This thing has no lights or anything on it. Anyway.
Second, here's the cable I'm actually using to hook up to the TV. It's some Nintendo cable I had lying around - if I'm honest, I have no idea where this one came from, because it's certainly not what came with my Famicom. Or my NES for that matter. I think it might be an N64 component cable...
Thirdly, here's what the TV looks like with the Famicom hooked up and plugged in and turned on. The fact it says no signal has my worried.
And fourthly, here's the other end of my power cable. Worryingly, when I plugged the brick into my power board there were sparks. It's outputting 9v DC.
Have you made sure on your plug (As it is reversible) that it is (+)------------(o------------(-)
on the side of the plug tip it shows you that it can be reversed, you must make sure the middle is negative and outside is positive.
It is hard to tell in the photo if you have it the right way
I have no idea if I have it the right way, as this thing came with no instructions, and whatever markings I can find only indicate what is positive and negative on the plug itself - but I've just tried both ways anyway. Nothing.
You know what's funny. The first time I plugged this power adapter in, it produced a bunch of sparks. Now it does nothing. Did I kill the power adapter or something?
Bugger, I'd say that might be the problem if you did see sparks, another way to tell is smell the console itself and see if it smells burnt :'(
Yeah, (as weird as it sounds) I've been sniffing at things. Famicom smells fine to me. I don't think that's the problem. The sparks were emitted from the powerboard itself, actually, not the console. I figure it'd be a much more noticeable stench if I'd just killed the console.
There's a light on the front of the power adapter, which doesn't seem to want to turn on.
One annoying thing I've just noticed, the screws on the Famicom are unlike anything I have ever seen before. Damn.
Well That could be a good thing that it is just the adapter, is it an old one or did you just buy it? The screws you see are a torx screws and you can buy them on ebay for about $5 for 2, one for consoles which is the lager one and a smaller one that is for the game carts.
Where abouts do you live mate? are you in Melbourne? If so I could help you out .
Yeah, I'm in Melbourne. I bought this thing from Jaycar, see the link some other guy posted for the exact thing I got. I'm using the appropriate barrel size too.
These aren't torx screws, they look more like... bolts or something. Looks more like I'd need a wrench to get these out.
That was me that posted that link LOL
Oh yeah, so you did. I haven't really been looking backwards up the thread.
Anyway, moving forwards, what should I be looking to do here. Should I just pick up some random dirt cheap Famicom cart to see if this thing works at all? I haven't found anything around the house yet to try with this adapter to check if it actually, you know, works, either. I can't say I've ever in my life had a power adapter fail, too, so maybe this is the one? I don't know.
I'm still not even sure if the Famicom itself ever worked, or if I've cooked it tonight.
Tough call until you get yourself a cart to definitely know if the console works or not, I use a famicom to nes adapter to use my pal carts on my twin famicom.
I have had a few adapters blow up on me in the past weather or not new or old, some are just poorly made.
Let me know how you go once you get a cart ;)
Okay, haha, so, I've just tried something interesting. Set the voltage to 3v DC. Plugged in the USB adapter (which only goes in one way) and plugged it into a phone I had laying around. Nada. Plugged it into MY phone. Nothing. Not charging. Doesn't even acknowledge something is plugged in.
I think this power adapter is just dead.
Great start! hopefully the console is not harmed!
So I've just ordered a more specific power supply, for a Famicom imported to Australia (which is what I have). So, now lets hope this one works. I'll be heading to Jaycar for a refund, though. Not impressed.
Here's hoping that, yeah, the Famicom is fine. But, I must stress this right now this right now. I still don't even know if it works.
This time you better not try both sides. If you insert the AC-DC adapter with the wrong polarity you'll fry your Famicom.
So... I may have just fried it anyway?
Well shit.
If the adapter broke before you inserted it with wrong polarity the Famicom may still be fine I guess. Let's hope for that.
Well hot damn, I might be in with a chance here.
The Famicom works! Sort of! It gives me a red screen, and that's all it outputs. BUT IT OUTPUTS FULL STOP! This mean it's NOT fried! I hope!
I cannot describe how happy I am.
I bought this cheapo $20 adapter off Ebay, and it's working. But now I just need to ask, I want to play NES games on this thing as well. How do I get to doing that? Can anyone recommend a specific adapter? Or does it not really matter because any old NES > Famicom pin adapter will work? I had a brief look on Ebay and I could find a few, all different prices though so I'm not really sure who to trust.
Also, red screen? What does it mean? I don't have a cartridge inserted right now, so is that the problem? Is that all it is? Or is it telling me something more serious like there's something wrong with the console itself?
I got this one and have not had a problem http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/221834256884.
The red screen might be because you don't have a cart in it as on my twin Famicom mine goes grey with nothing inserted
Yeah usually it outputs a one-coloured screen (the colour may be different between models) if if the PPU doesn't receive any instructions to draw anything. Like if you turn it on without a cartridge as Mosdef said, or if there is something wrong with the CHR (usually it's just dirty pins on either cart or console, try clean it with isopropyl alcohol).
I've hacked together multiple PSUs for my Fami, my current one is actually a 9V adapter for my MicroKORG that I soldered a second connector on to for the FDD. Need to grab an AV Fami one of these days, the jailbars on my modded Famicom are horrid and my Turbo Twin Famicom has a very audible buzz on the audio and mushy controllers.
Also, regarding the Red screen it's just a ROM error caused by (in your case) not having a cart inserted. As for adapters... your PAL games are mostly incompatible with it. If you have US carts then you can grab a NES to Fami adapter every now and then on ebay. Else, your best bet is to buy games from Japan. If you buy multiple at a time the shipping is quite reasonable from my experience, especially from some of the folks on FamicomWorld based in Japan.
Righto, so, everything's working now! Fantastic!
Except I'm getting weird ass screen bobbing/shaking or something.
Famicom is now hooked up to a Sony HDTV via a PAL N64 cable, though, so what do you guys think?
The problem is the cable you are using. As the AV Famicom is NTSC, you must use a NTSC cable. This is why you're getting a picture issue. I recommend you buy a genuine Nintendo branded NTSC cable - forget the aftermarket stuff. It can be American (NTSC) or Japanese (J-NTSC), either will work the same.
The technical reasons as to why there is a difference between cables: http://nfggames.com/forum2/index.php?PHPSESSID=f9atn3icj02q4ao6f0gtmn9d23&topic=3203.0
PAL cables have a particular resistor and capacitor located in the console and none in the cable, whereas for NTSC this resistor and capacitor are located in the cable and none in the console. In your setup,both the PAL cable and NTSC console don't have this resistor and capacitor which you need to get the correct picture. Supposedly Nintendo did this as a form of region lockout.
Hey man, thanks a bunch for the detailed answer.
I'll see about getting onto that as soon as possible, then.
Quote from: GreenKoopa on April 28, 2016, 07:56:35 pm
The problem is the cable you are using. As the AV Famicom is NTSC, you must use a NTSC cable. This is why you're getting a picture issue. I recommend you buy a genuine Nintendo branded NTSC cable - forget the aftermarket stuff. It can be American (NTSC) or Japanese (J-NTSC), either will work the same.
The technical reasons as to why there is a difference between cables: http://nfggames.com/forum2/index.php?PHPSESSID=f9atn3icj02q4ao6f0gtmn9d23&topic=3203.0
PAL cables have a particular resistor and capacitor located in the console and none in the cable, whereas for NTSC this resistor and capacitor are located in the cable and none in the console. In your setup,both the PAL cable and NTSC console don't have this resistor and capacitor which you need to get the correct picture. Supposedly Nintendo did this as a form of region lockout.
Does this really apply to AV-cables? I've been using my AV-cables on all my Nintendo systems that have the multi-out port and it works on both my NTSC and PAL systems as far as I can tell.
QuoteDoes this really apply to AV-cables? I've been using my AV-cables on all my Nintendo systems that have the multi-out port and it works on both my NTSC and PAL systems as far as I can tell.
From what I found out a while back, Pal-A (UK, Italy & Australia) were the most profitable markets, so Nintendo wanted to ensure people couldn't import cheaper NTSC games and hardware. However, maybe they did the same thing with Pal-B (rest of Europe) so Pal-A couldn't use these items also? I've read that Pal A games won't work in a Pal-B Nes console and vice versa due to the lockout chip, so maybe they did the same thing with the hardware also? Someone else will need to confirm.
Is your cable Pal-A or Pal-B?
Standard controllers also have lockout chip - when you want to use NTSC NES pad with PAL - A / PAL - B console, it won't work. Controllers are protected like cables - resistor (or two, I don't remember) in PAL controllers.
I didn't know about "lockout" in cables before I read this thread, so I can't confirm this.
Yeah not really lockout chips but it uses discrete circuitry like resistors or diodes for a very simple region protection. This only applies to certain PAL NES controllers and all PAL SNES controllers though (Nintendo 64 and later controllers are region-free everywhere). SCN (Scandinavian Nintendo, I think it's part of PAL-B) was supposedly first in Europe and we didn't have any lockout in our NES controllers (USA NES controllers works).
Quote from: GreenKoopa on April 29, 2016, 05:03:38 pmI've read that Pal A games won't work in a Pal-B Nes console and vice versa due to the lockout chip, so maybe they did the same thing with the hardware also?.
Games yes, hardware probably not. Non-Scandinavian PAL-B NES systems requires their own controllers (and AC-adapters I believe) I heard. US NES, SCN PAL-B NES, AV-Famicom (probably), and maybe PAL-A NES too, however can use any NES controllers.
For SNES, all PAL SNES systems requires PAL SNES controllers, while NTSC SNES and Super Famicom can use any controller. So the lockout in hardware is only one-way.
Quote from: GreenKoopa on April 29, 2016, 05:03:38 pm
Is your cable Pal-A or Pal-B?
My PAL systems are all from SCN so I guess they'd be PAL-B, but I don't think PAL-A and PAL-B applies to SNES and later Nintendo systems. Which means there are probably no PAL-A/B AV-cables (since NES uses RCA sockets for AV, not the multi-out socket, and AV-Famicom is NTSC only). My AV-cables came with my Nintendo 64 and Gamecube (SNES bought new at launch, only came with the RF-switch as far as I remember), and they all work on all my Nintendo systems.