Hi everyone,
I've had a Famicom since about two weeks now and have been trying to get it to work, but it just doesn't work. Wherever I measured it says the Voltage was 5V so it seems okay. When I plug it into the TV though it doesn't do anything when turning it on. If I flip the switch from Game to TV it does show the slightest bit of Television signal through the white noise, but when flipped back to Game there is only white noise.
Does anyone know what's wrong and how I can fix this??
Thank you!!
Where are you located? Your TV might not support Japanese NTSC.
I'm located in Europe, Netherlands to be specific, is there any way to check without importing a Japanese or American TV?
I don't know any way to check. But I strongly think NTSC via RF is the problem. Your options are to either use an NTSC device like a video player or similar that has both RF input and composite (RCA or SCART contact) output and use it as an RF->composite converter, or the other option is to get the Famicom AV-modded. Either way your TV needs to support NTSC via AV.
check your's TV specifications to see if it supports NTSC , You can mod the fami for AV ,but your TV must support NTSC as well , Just try it on a more modern CRT from late 90's early 2000 they are multireione :)
I have one little Philips which supports PAL and NTSC an it is from middle 90's no problem with my PAL NES and Famicom on it :D
try channel select switch on the beck on your fami in both positions.
When trying to hook up a Famicom with its RF output outside of Japan, you must be able to answer the question "Can my device (TV, VCR) tune to the Famicom's RF frequencies?" I can answer that question with a Yes because I live in North America and have TVs and a VCR that can tune to the Famicom's frequencies. You must be able to receive at 90-96MHz (Japan Channel 1) or 92-102MHz (Japan Channel 2) to view the Famicom's signal. Look at your broadcast and cable channel assignments to see if you have a channel that corresponds to those bands. If not, it's time to mod.
And before modding you must answer yes to the question "Do my TV support NTSC at all?", if not get a TV that do.
TV manuals seldom tells you if your TV has NTSC-support, but if you google your TV's model number you may find a technical service manual for it that do.
Hello Everybody!
So before checking all of those things you've told me about(Thank you!).
My TV is a Salora 24LED3315TDW and I can't really find anything about it's NTSC support or anything.
Does anyone else have this TV or a TV of this brand? If so could he/she tell me more about if it supports NTSC?
I'll check the other TV's in the house if they do and I'll keep you updated!
So it's a modern LED TV. I think modern TVs in Europe generally do support NTSC but I remember a case with someone in Great Britain having an LCD TV that didn't. Modern TVs are no good with RF though and often can't be tuned manually with any good precision. They are also more picky about picture quality and gives up if it's too poor ending up displaying nothing.
I found the manual here: http://zoom.manuals365.com/swf/salora/salora-24led3305td-nl-fr-en.html?page=174
It seems it indeed supports NTSC, so AV-modding shouldn't be a problem from what I can tell.
I've ordered a new RF cable and when I'm home I will try it out and update you on the result!
thanks for the help so far :)
I don't think a new cable would help if your TV can't tune in to 90-102 MHz.
You need to AV-mod a Famicom, in other words build an amplifier for the composite video signal and connect the amplified composite video and mono audio to your TV's AV ports.
Alternatively use a Twin Famicom or a HVC-101.
Thank you for all the tips and help!
I'd rather not AV-Mod it to keep it original, this will be a last resort.
In another Topic I've read about sanding the RF port, I wanna see if that helps. If anyone else has tips that I could do before aiming towards the AV-Mod than please tell me.
(Does anyone know how to take off the top plate of the RF port?
Post Merge: October 04, 2017, 03:01:26 pm
Okay, I've tried Sanding the RF output and it looks a lot cleaner now, I also sprayed some WD40 in the port to see if that might give me some signal(which it didn't).
Also I have no clue how to set it to NTSC, when I go to the DVD Function it does display NTSC. At the TV function it only displays PAL, but in setting the Colormode is PAL and I can't choose anywhere between NTSC and PAL. I have no clue how it works hehe I'm a dumbass..
Saturday I'll be able to get my hands on a solder unit and will try to reflow solder points or add solder to dry solder points.
I hope this will fix it and as always I will keep you up to date!
(Any tips/tricks and hints are accepted with open arms. Please if you know anything don't be afraid to post)
Thank you!!
Post Merge: October 05, 2017, 12:31:26 pm
Hello people, I tried something again and now I have some pictures to show you what I see now on my TV.
In the Attachments I've added the pictures to show the difference when the Famicom is turned on and when it's turned off, maybe this'll help people figure out what it could be?
Post Merge: October 05, 2017, 01:19:51 pm
OKAY OKAY! Sorry for the spam! it works! I have signal during the manual search!!
I have no clue what I did, but it works. I don't have sound though, the sound is connected to a Radio station or something.
I hope I can find a way to fix this!!
I'm so happy!
Oh great! If you get a clean enough picture in colour but incorrect sound, there is a solution using an FM radio (http://www.famicomworld.com/forum/index.php?topic=9721.msg137084#msg137084). :D
Quote from: P on October 06, 2017, 12:27:01 am
Oh great! If you get a clean enough picture in colour but incorrect sound, there is a solution using an FM radio (http://www.famicomworld.com/forum/index.php?topic=9721.msg137084#msg137084). :D
Thanks for the reply!
I've tried it, but it doesn't do anything. I'm not able to hear the soundtrack or any sounds coming from the famicom. :(
Do you know anything else that might work?
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Hmm you can tune in to 95 MHz on the FM Radio but still get no sound? That's strange, maybe there's a problem with the CPU or something. Does the CPU get hot to touch when power is on?
Quote from: P on October 06, 2017, 02:19:27 pm
Hmm you can tune in to 95 MHz on the FM Radio but still get no sound? That's strange, maybe there's a problem with the CPU or something. Does the CPU get hot to touch when power is on?
I won't hear any audio from the console, just the radiostation. And no as far as I could feel not.
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try to rotate those to get the sound :gamer:
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3026/3023827066_fb2757bc65.jpg?v=0)
Quote from: FAMICOM_87 on October 07, 2017, 01:01:33 am
try to rotate those to get the sound :gamer:
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3026/3023827066_fb2757bc65.jpg?v=0)
I've tried that, my famicom is the newer 1988(?) version with the modulator stuck to the board.
This version only has one of those turn things and it didn't do much
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SO you did not get picture at all? only week radio station, consider to add AV mod just to try if the famicom actually works, and undo it later , just build separate little PCB like this one
(https://friendofmegaman.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/stripboard.png)
with needed components and solder wires to the main board cheerfully so you can desolder them after the test :)
Use this scheme for the video , you can use any PNP transistor , and do not separate pin 21 of course just solder the Base of the transistor to it :) you can even just do the contact with it and not solder.So you famy will remain untouched :)
(https://archive.is/n6djz/684931270705887f1295567222cf31193684eef3.png)
If you need to test the audio : you can get it from cartage connector pin-46
this is the conception :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfdA--W3E5A
Quote from: FAMICOM_87 on October 07, 2017, 03:05:20 am
SO you did not get picture at all? only week radio station, consider to add AV mod just to try if the famicom actually works, and undo it later , just build separate little PCB like this one
(https://friendofmegaman.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/stripboard.png)
with needed components and solder wires to the main board cheerfully so you can desolder them after the test :)
Use this scheme for the video , you can use any PNP transistor , and do not separate pin 21 of course just solder the Base of the transistor to it :) you can even just do the contact with it and not solder.So you famy will remain untouched :)
(https://archive.is/n6djz/684931270705887f1295567222cf31193684eef3.png)
If you need to test the audio : you can get it from cartage connector pin-46
this is the conception :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfdA--W3E5A
Thank you a lot for showing me how to do it, but it does display the video now, the only problem left is the audio(radio station) I want to hear the soundtracks when playing games:)
The finetuning the RF Modulator didn't get rid of the radio audio, so I hope there's another thing that could help.
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If you only do the audio part of the AV mod by taking it from cartridge pin 46 you could rule out internal problems and see that audio works at all. Though since video plays like it should I don't think there's anything wrong with the CPU.
The fine-tuning of the RF modulator and TV is the only way,
You have to tune the modulator with non metal object very slowly. and so on the TV to get the clearest sound from the console. If you still hear the radio station try shield RF coaxial cable .
(https://www.tonercable.com/images/products/t10_drop_cable_rg11_series.jpg)
TV must catch the game sound instead the radio station , may be you are in the strong field of radio waves,
I assume that the shielded cable will help in this case :)
Quote from: FAMICOM_87 on October 07, 2017, 07:54:54 am
The fine-tuning of the RF modulator and TV is the only way,
You have to tune the modulator with non metal object very slowly. and so on the TV to get the clearest sound from the console. If you still hear the radio station try shield RF coaxial cable .
(https://www.tonercable.com/images/products/t10_drop_cable_rg11_series.jpg)
TV must catch the game sound instead the radio station , may be you are in the strong field of radio waves,
I assume that the shielded cable will help in this case :)
But it can't be any cable right? Because the nintendo adapter also has a Sattelite input which I use for my channels(only way I can tune the frequency to get it to work)
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I am not sure what do you mean , I did not understand
???
Quote from: FAMICOM_87 on October 07, 2017, 12:59:09 pm
I am not sure what do you mean , I did not understand
???
Right now I'm using the Nintendo RF adapter(the grey one) and am using the input(Satt.) on that to be able to get my channels on my TV through another cable.
So I was asking if I could just use any Coax Cable to connect the Famicom and still be able to finetune my TV? Which I can't do if I have no Cable-TV connected.
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this is my coaxial cable :) just make the same, and connect it directly from the famicom to the TV Coaxial input :)
Quote from: FAMICOM_87 on October 07, 2017, 02:43:12 pm
this is my coaxial cable :) just make the same, and connect it directly from the famicom to the TV Coaxial input :)
But how do you get signal then?
I need to connect the TV to the sattelite or to cable-TV because otherwise I can't set the frequency for the TV Channel
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Your TV is strange , so you say that if you connect the cable directly there is no a fine tuning menu , that is bullshit
Is this your TV ?
go on 3:50 have you this top port above the USB on the side? It is for antenna
https://youtu.be/KZ1kon41Bpc?t=3m50s
Sounds like you are tuning with an external device, and not the TV?
Quote from: P on October 08, 2017, 11:21:09 am
Sounds like you are tuning with an external device, and not the TV?
The tuning goes via the TV, Check the pictures. Apparently now I can tune without connecting the white cable, I have no clue how, but I'll try the single COAX cable and tell you how it goes!(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20171009/001c68d9d437f32e9d3f3b86645d9e77.jpg)(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20171009/30e12b27c35e17c97363b5dfd83e185d.jpg)
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picture quality is poor , if you disconnect white cable I think it will improve video quality,.
Look in the TV menu type of analog search to be cable TV not aerial antenna.
If not work do not use the nitnendo gray RF box, try direct with cable that I showed to you in the previous post
:)
Quote from: FamiJimbo on October 09, 2017, 10:45:45 am
Apparently now I can tune without connecting the white cable
The reason the RF Switch has an extra female RF port is because it's made to be able to connect both the antenna and the Famicom to the TV at the same time. If you don't use the antenna there's no reason to connect it.
Quote from: P on October 10, 2017, 02:30:34 am
Quote from: FamiJimbo on October 09, 2017, 10:45:45 am
Apparently now I can tune without connecting the white cable
The reason the RF Switch has an extra female RF port is because it's made to be able to connect both the antenna and the Famicom to the TV at the same time. If you don't use the antenna there's no reason to connect it.
Yes I know, but at first I couldn't really finetune much of my TV(before I plugged the white cable in), everytime I would reach the right frequency but the TV would just skip it. That's why I thought I needed it.
The cable I bought had a Male and Female connector, but I found out I need a different cable because this one doesn't fit/have the right connectors
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Post Merge: October 10, 2017, 11:37:45 am
Quote from: FAMICOM_87 on October 07, 2017, 02:43:12 pm
this is my coaxial cable :) just make the same, and connect it directly from the famicom to the TV Coaxial input :)
Did you buy those adapters from the internet? If so what are they called?
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I get them from a local shop for electric and building materials :)
Quote from: FAMICOM_87 on October 10, 2017, 12:42:45 pm
I get them from a local shop for electric and building materials :)
Do you know how they're called? Because the one with the pin sticking out isn't available in the stores I've been to
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Coaxial heads shouldn't be hard to find in a common household hardware store. In Sweden that would be Clas Ohlson, Biltema or possibly Jula, Bauhaus or maybe even Ikea.
Quote from: P on October 11, 2017, 04:34:05 pm
Coaxial heads shouldn't be hard to find in a common household hardware store. In Sweden that would be Clas Ohlson, Biltema or possibly Jula, Bauhaus or maybe even Ikea.
They arrived in the mail and fit my cable, I've already tried them as well. But no sound yet, just the static sound of white noise while I do have display..
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can you post the new pictures, to see the quality :) ? If you have a chance try on another but CRT TV
I'm sorry for the late reply, but the video quality is still the same. When I boot the Famicom the quality is bad and greyscale, but that is fixable with tuning the channel.
There is still no sound though, the Radio trick doesn't work either for me, can it be that the solder on the sound-pin of the CPU or something is dry or something?? ???
Yeah maybe the solder may be cracked somewhere along the line or something. Either way I think it's a good idea to rule out that there's a problem with sound output first. I think you should be able to tap sound directly from cartridge connector pin 46. If you don't want to solder you could carefully put crocodile clips on pin 46 and ground and connect them to the corresponding pins on a headphone or other speaker (it's mono so you only need one speaker).
I'm sorry for my absence and I have a question, is it possible to post pictures on how to do it exactly?
Last time I tried it, I got no sound at all so I think I didn't do it right. :'( :'(