How can I tell if a Famicom is working?

[bkbeezy]

So recently I bought a Famicom, but it didn't come with an RF switch or AC adapter, so I got those separately. I got the NES rf switch and a Radioshack AC Adapter. I've tried it on 3 different TVs on every channel.. no luck.  But I don't know what's wrong with it... is it the system itself? The game? The rf switch? The AC adapter? Is there any real way to tell? Thanks.

[Xious]

I'm going to write this under the presmption that you have the correct AC adapter, as you didn't specif what kind you purchased, the V/A ratings, or the polarity to which either it is factory-set or manually-set. For the record the absolute correct rating is 10VDC, 850mA, Centre-Pole Negative, but there is a decent safety margin on the V/A requirements, as you can read here in other threads.

Now, on to business... First, unless you have a TV made for the Japan market, the only way you're going to be able to view anything is if you set your TV in the 90s (Ch 90-99) and cycle through with the FC powered on. Not all USA TVs are going to do this properly, if at all, so there is no guarantee of it functioning on the one you own.

How do you now if it's working at all? You can test if it's getting power with a Voltmetre/multimetre, but that won't tell you if the system is fully-operational. The only way to determine that is to have it hooked into a good video display, and depending on the make, model and year of your TV, it may not be compatible. Assuming it is, here is what you need to do:

Enable those channels (CATV 90-99) on your TV (or VCR), then hook in the Famicom, put a game into the system, power it on, and tune in Ch 90, then *slowly* flip to Ch 91, 92, 93, etc. and see if you get a picture. Don't tune the channel and turn on the FC: Turn the FC on *first*! If you can't get it to work, either try another TV, or consider an A/V mod. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions or need any further assistance.

[bkbeezy]

Thanks. Yes, the AC adapter has those specs, sorry for not posting them. I didn't realize about turning it on first, I'll try that. Thanks for your help.

[zmaster18]

Also, Famicoms don't work on flat-screen TVs, right?

[tonev]

Yes the do who said they don't only the gun does not work
btw for best view you must set your aspect ration to 4:3 every flat screen tv have that option so your games don't look badly scaled

[Xious]

Unless the TV/Monitor has a *native* 480p/NTSC resolution, they'll still look badly pixelated. That's because newer TVs need to use pixel doubling to up-scale NTSC 480p images. This is why I use older TVs & monitors, as they actually look better, and honestly, looking at a FC game on a 42" screen is just plain..weird...to my eyes, even though my plasma does support 480p in native mode.