Hi everyone,
Recently I've found that when I turn on my Famicom with the RAM Adapter and Disk System connected, it only shows a gray screen, no BIOS or anything attempting to read the disk. This leads me to believe that something is wrong with the RAM Adapter, as it's the same thing that happens when a normal cartridge is faulty.
I've tried cleaning the RAM Adapter's pins with IPA, but no luck. I don't have great soldering skills available to me, so I'm stumped as to what to do next or how to diagnose the specific problem. Any advice, anyone?
I mean, I feel the below might seem obvious to you, but I do have to ask:
Can the console load other carts?
Have you tried cleaning the cartridge connector in the console as well?
Last I checked, yes, it does load other carts. Some are finnicky though.
If you think cleaning the console's cart connector is a good start, what's the best way to go about it?
Get something credit-card-like (stiff and thin) and put a handkerchief (or any thin cloth that won't rip or leave residue behind. Regular paper might work too, but not paper towels) over it. Soak the handkerchief in some IPA and then put it in and out of the slot a few times. Make sure that you cover all the pins.
Late update, but your suggestion appears to have worked! While the RAM adapter doesn't work 100% of the time, I can get it to work pretty consistently, and it's better than it not working at all. Thank you so much!
To get it working 100% it might be worth to take a needle and carefully bend the pins in the console one-by-one inward such that they grip the cartridge better, but, shrug.