Well folks, I received a dead Twin on Famicom. NOt the sellers fault as he sold it as is. The first thing I noticed was that it was dirty so I cleaned it. That's the first step!
I will post pictures of the Twin as I dismantle the beast and delve into the electronics. :)
You can view my repair of a red one http://www.nesworld.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1138038082 however, you have to sign up at nesworld to view it. Sorry
This new log will be exclusive to Famicom World. It's Famicom Reality Forum at it's best!
-CFB
AWESOME! I LOVE these!
Upon further diagnosis, I determined that the Sharp Twin was working with regular cartridges. Great. However, I loaded a disk into the drive and I can hear the Famicom disk go round and round.
Here is the first look:
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c325/chimyfolkbutter/STF2/First_Look.jpg)
Next I systematically disassembled the internals of the Sharp Twin. Not surprisingly, I found dirt, cobwebs, insect larvae, dead insects, crumbs, and dust.
Here is the sharp twin in its primitive and dirty form:
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c325/chimyfolkbutter/STF2/Dirty_Insides.jpg)
So, I first concentrated on the Famicom Disk. As I suspected, the FDS belt snapped and it turned into a sticky, rubbery paste. Which is a pain to clean but must be done. This can be accomplished with a small sloted screw driver to scrap the belt of the wheel and motor. Next, use some alcohol to clean remaining residue.
Here is the Famicom drive. Notice in the lower left hand corner. The belt is snapped.
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c325/chimyfolkbutter/STF2/Snapped_Drive_Belt.jpg)
Next, proceeded to identify the drive controller chip. If the drive contains the IC7201 drive controller, then this drive can be used to read/write disks with FDS copy programs, Otherwise, it will contain the IC3206 which is an evil chip that prevents copying of FDS disks.
Here are the results (sorry it is blurry):
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c325/chimyfolkbutter/STF2/FDS_3206.jpg)
In case you cannot see it, it is an IC3206. Bummer!
After some cleaning of the Power board and the CPU, the Sharp Twin is starting to be restored to its former glory.
Here is the cleaned audio-video-power board. The solder connections look great.
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c325/chimyfolkbutter/STF2/Clean_Power.jpg)
Here is the the CPU, I got rid of the cobwebs and dead bugs:
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c325/chimyfolkbutter/STF2/Clean_CPU.jpg)
After more cleaning and even more cleaning, I reassembled the Sharp Twin minus the Disk drive. Look how shiny and clean it is.
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c325/chimyfolkbutter/STF2/Clean_Machine.jpg)
So what is next? I have to replace the drive belt. I have an extra one in my workbench shop, This will take a some time and effort to fix. Not difficult but tedious.
Stay tuned. Let me know if you have any questions!
-CFB
OK, I replaced the belt. I didn't document this as it has been documented in other sites. Plus it is really tedious.
Here is the Sharp Twin ready for a disk.
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c325/chimyfolkbutter/STF2/FamicomDiskReady.jpg)
Now the Sharp Twin is successfully reading a disk. Cool.
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c325/chimyfolkbutter/STF2/FamicomDiskWorking.jpg)
Wow! Rally 3D ready to play!
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c325/chimyfolkbutter/STF2/Rally3DDiskWorking.jpg)
But wait, I still have to test the cartridge. I loaded my pirate cart into my Sharp. Ahh. You noticed! What is on top of my Sharp twin? It's a honey bee cartridge extender. I use it for my regular famicom when I use my game doctor. In this case, I was too lazy to take it off the twin.
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c325/chimyfolkbutter/STF2/SharpTwinComplete.jpg)
The pirate cart is ready to play.
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c325/chimyfolkbutter/STF2/PirateonSharpTwin.jpg)
So, the Ebay Sixty-Five dollar Sharp Twin is fully operational. If you notice in my picture above, the Sharp Twin is next to the Red Sharp Twin I fixed last year. That repair job is documented in the Workshop section of Famicom World.
Don't get intimidated. You can fix one too!
Thanks for this tuning in to this edition of FamicomWorld DIY.
-CFB
Simply amazing. :)
:D Awesome!
I know my next purchase :)
When JC comes back, I'll make sure he also looks at this as well.
HI I replaced the belt in my disk drive with a factory replacement, however now I keep getting error messages #21, 22, or 27 is there anyway I could fixed this problem?
ive got the same problem. I tried re aligning the gears from jfgoods.net web site but it still doesnt run anything. Does anyone know of any other things to tweak to get the games running??? I can only work on it for about 30 min a day before i get frustrated ;D
JFgoods site only helps with putting on the belt.
You need to adjust the record/play head on the drive.
Error 21 Disk Header block is wrong
Error 22 Disk header block recognition isn't read and can't be ignored
Error 27 Block end mark seen and ends prematurely.
Shoot, the phone just rang. I'll write a more technical explanation.
-CFB
OK, if you look at a dump of the FDS game, you can look at the FDS header in a hexidecimal editor. The first 16 bytes contain the Identifier, NINTENDO-HVC. When the game is loading, the RAM cart is looking for this header. If the head is out of alignment, then the get the errors 21, 22 and 27. The trick is to align the heads precisely to read the header block correctly. Another factor is the speed of the motor. From best practices, the speed of the motor should be set to 5 before adjusting the head.
So, how do you adjust the speed? By using utilities like Bung Copymaster. There is a function that allows the technician to adjust the motor. However, getting a Famicom Doctor and CopyMaster is hard to come by.
So, you have to wing it in terms of adjusting the speed. I just turn the screw to clockwise to its slowest speed. Then I turn the screw half way. If you look at the FDS drive motor closely, you will see a positve and negative sign etched into the motor case. Use that as your guide for increasing or decreasing the speed.
Once you adjust the speed, start adjusting the head screw and keep turning the screw until the errors go away. This is by trial and error.
1. Note the position of the head! This will allow you to know the original point of the the head.
1. Load the disk and see what error comes up.
2. Adjust the screw an 1/8 counter clockwise or clockwise. This depends on the position of the head. If it is to far up, you may have to turn the screw the opposite direction to move it down. Again, remember the original position of the head.
3. Load the disk and see if the error goes away.
4. Repeat as neccessary.
PLEASE, PLEASE be careful when adjusting the head! If you strip the screw, then you Drive is toast!
Just a disclaimer, I am not responsible for any screw ups. Please do this at your own risk.
I don't have my camera so I can't take pictures of the screw that you need to adjust.
I hope this helps. I will post pictures when I get back home.
-CFB
OK, here is a photo of the FDS head. It is the silver square in the middle. Note the position. You can also see the adjustment screw to the left. Notice the red wax around the screw. This was placed on the screw at the factory to hold its position. You have scrape it off to loosen its grip on the screw.
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c325/chimyfolkbutter/Famicom/FDSHead.jpg)
The next shot shows the adjustment screw. It is the brass screw in the middle. This is the screw that you adjust. Please use a philips head screw driver. You can buy the small screw driver sets at radioshack or even home depot.
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c325/chimyfolkbutter/Famicom/FDSScrew.jpg)
That's it. Good Luck.
-CFB
Awesome job.
I've tuned a number of FDS drives and was able to get rid of the 21/22 and 27 errors by another method that doesn't involve adjusting the head, but rather the spindle position as briefly detailed on the jfgoods site. From what I can gather, the spindle uses an index pin, similar to how old 5.25" floppies had an index hole to allow the drive to determine the beginning of tracks. By adjusting this, you can have the drive work perfectly. Too far to one side, you get 21/22 errors, too far to the other, you get 27 errors. Right in the middle and your drive will work like a charm.
The head adjustment that chimy is describing seems it would be more for radial alignment than indexing. There's a lot of unknowns with these drives, but I've gotten 100% success rather by adjusting the spindle properly. I'll try to write something up when I get home.
Cool. I do that as well but It never works for me. However, I could be doing something wrong so your methodology may provide more details. So, maybe as a best practice, do your methodology first and if that fails then do the radical procedure that I outlined above.
Overall, we are capturing and documenting the repair process which is a good thing!
-CFB
I have tryed both methods now with no sucess :( i'm thinking know that the disks I got my be the problem. both disk drives i got had broken belts when i got them and the disks I got from a thrift store were un tested. I can get the error messages to change from 21, 22 to 27 and one of the disks go to a black screen before it give me an error message but thats as far as i can get. I heard from one site that the disks erase themselves over time or go corrupt is this true?
Chimy, yea, I've only done it on 3 drives so I'm by no means a seasoned expert. That's just what has worked for me to salvage the drives. It even worked to bring one drive back from the dead that I thought had a bum belt. It worked on one that loaded 50% of the disks I have, but it now loads them all perfectly.
Ducky, if you get consistent 21/22 errors or consistent 27 errors across all disks, I doubt it's the disks. Did you replace them with brand new belts? Also, the drive speed could be off, that will cause errors as well. I found that when I swapped belts between drives, or put in different belts, I'd often need to adjust the speed accordingly. I have one drive that uses a non-OEM belt and it required tuning of the motor speed. You may want to try Chimy's method. If you want, I'd be happy to take a look at your drive and a disk or two and see if I can get it up and working for you.
Yo guy are the best!!
Im at my girlfriends tonight but when i get home tomorrow im going to get straight to work on my fds. I Hope all goes well. Does anyone know of anywhere to get these hard to find game doctors. Im thinking here in canada its near impossible. Im going to go to what we call "the chinese mall" out in a area of toronto where the chinese population is masive. I go garage saling in those area's during the summer and always find super famicom stuff. Hopefully i can find someone with some original famicom stuff. Anyways thanks again everyone!!!!!!!
Thanks for the pictures and explanations, Chimy. I'm sure there's room on the site SOMEWHERE to put them in. :D
I'll work on it. :) Very busy packing and moving, though. :-\
Nick, I can get game doctors, I'd be willing to trade them for other cool stuff or sell them at my cost from my guy in HK.
I bought 10 cheap broken famicom disk system from yahoo japan some time ago, and just now got some free time to try to fix them. (planning to sell them locally)
I have fixed many broken disk systems before, usually just replacing the belt, but now I got some problems =(.
The belts I use are close to what they need, but not perfect. Sometimes they slide off if I screw around with them too much.. =(
Anyone know where I can get belts suited for fds at a good price?
Madman, you have access to game doctors? how much does these cost?
How much do you want for the game doctors madman? Also Rockard i bought a few belts from jfgoods on ebay a while ago. he didn't really give me a deal (bout 10 bucks a belt) but then again i didn't really try bargaining with them. Since i replaced it its never came off. the seller boasts there Nintendo ones.
Also, is there any way to know if the drive has speed problems, or if it is the head that needs adjustment?
If I dont have any kind of indication of which, how do I know that the speed is correct before trying (in vain) to adjust the head?
Right know, I successfully got fooled by the jfgoods site and screwed around with the head totally.
I should have just replaced the belt without mocking with it to start with, I think.. ;(.
OR maybe I just didn't understand his method of fixing it completely.
Anyway, I have belts that are a bit to small, but they have a perfect fit otherwise. I guess I need to adjust the speed for them..
Using the speed-adjustment-screw, which way should I screw to make the motor go slower?
Since this belt I am going to use is a bit smaller than the perfect ones (I have an original belt that I measure alongside the other one),
I guess slower is the way to go.
i Screwed around with it last night for a good 1 and a half. The system ran a few games after i originally replaced the belt. So i know it has it in it. I just gata get it going. So far lately its been giving me just 22 errors. no more 27's. It also sometimes does the black screen for a bit like duckys but not lately. SO just to confirm i can adjust the head, the speed of the motor and the hight of the spindle. I was wondering how much contact the head so have with the disk. I think if i lower the spindle it might work. I will give it a shot tonight.
Good point on the spindle. One thing I have observed was the deterioation of the pressure pad on the arm . This arm pushes the disk to the head. When the pressure pad wears down, it doesn't apply the proper pressure on the disk. As a result, the head cannot read the data.
In one case where I restored an FDS, I had to replace the pad with one I cut-out from an old cassette tape. Once I did that, the FDS worked great.
The presure pad is one thing to consider when you are trouble shooting your disk.
-CFB
I'm currently working on sourcing proper belts. I've tried about 5 different types, all with failed results. My guy in HK can get ones that work for ~$3.50/ea, but I'd like to find a cheaper US source. Jfgoods is overpriced, but there's no other way to source official ones unless you use Yahoo Japan, but by the time you pay the shipping costs both ways and commission, you'd be better off w/JF.
I'll have to check prices on Game Doctors, they are pretty common in HK. I have a TGD6+ on the way to me, but can't recall the price offhand.
For motor speed, I can't recall off the top of my head, but if you turn it all the way to one way, boot it, turn it all the way to the other way, boot it...you'll hear a distinct difference in speeds and know which way is faster and which is slower.
As for knowing what your problem is, if it's a belt, spindle, head or motor...there's no real way. With a new belt you can obviously rule out a belt issue. If you have a game doctor and copy util, you can properly tune your motor speed. If your FDS reads some disks, but not others, it's a good sign you have a spindle or head issue.
I noticed that pad was a bit destroyed. Looks like i finally have a use for those extra tape decks! ;D
TGD6 stands for (Venus) Turbo Game Doctor 6M - it plays pirate disks. In the context of the post, using this in conjunction with Bung CopyMaster utility, a technician can calibrate the speed of FDS motor.
-CFB
Yea, the Famicom "copiers" weren't really copiers in the sense like SNES and other consoles had copiers. The Famicom copiers allowed users to play hacked versions of cart-based games off of FDS disks. The mappers would be emulated by the copiers (very limited mapper support) and the ROMs needed to be hacked in order for the copier to be able to play them. The best use of these copiers today is to be able to tune your motor, as well as backup your games with a single drive if you have one which can write disks.
hey, i'm new to famicom world and hoped someone out there could help me. I've recently bought a twin famicom, while the cartridge slot works perfectly i can't get the disk drive to work. I opened it up and found that the belt was melted and broken. I got a new belt and installed it. Yet it still dosen't work. When I insert a disk, it says loading but does not do anything. I also can't hear anything no whirring. Has anyone got any ideas? or is it just broken? thanks
A: make sure the connector is plugged in all the way. B: your drive is probably dead and will need replacing
thanks. I'm pretty sure the conector is plugged in all the way. so looks likes it's dead. Do you know where to get replaments for it. can you just use a normal FDS's innards and just replace it with that?
you can use a normal fds. buy one on ebay but make sure the seller says it works first as they;re a piece of shit