Got a Famicom!

[GB256]

https://drive.google.com/file/d/19dcY8TkkjERJLsPNzvkUroM3TIh29foY/view?usp=sharing

Worth noting that it seems to be inconsistent on when the drive suddenly stops to error.
I've had attempts where it would spin for a good minute before stopping.

[Skawo]

...huh. It's really not supposed to be stopping when the drive is going towards home. That's... very odd.

Similarly, it's shouldn't ever take more than two passes of the disk before erroring :s

The drive is definitely still too slow, but I think there's actually another problem somewhere. Maybe a switch is malfunctioning, or something?

[GB256]

I don't like that possibility of there being another problem somewhere on the drive...
I decided to send some photos of my drive, if there's anything that looks out of the ordinary, let me know.
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[Skawo]

That does look fine to me.
Can you show me how you set the spindle screw?

[GB256]

(SORRY FOR VERY LATE REPLY, WAS BUSY)

Pretty much the same as the guides, tighten it with a hex screw.
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(I did take off the black plastic top part to do it, just didn't get any photos of that)

Also the drive is doing this now where the read head is stopping once it's back to the original position.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tzXj7xBsaJpf7BtFEbvsO4cSlbR8M5ai/view?usp=sharing

[Skawo]

Ahhh. It's getting stuck on something and never reaches the home switch. Check if there isn't a wire in the way, or something.

[GB256]

Did that, didn't seem like there was anything blocking it.
Even took it apart and reassembled it, still nothing different...

[Skawo]

See if the bars the head assembly is moving on aren't dirty.

Something is clearly stopping the head before it can reach that switch.

[TurtleKirby1234]

While I'm waiting, I guess we could chat on any technical details about setting it up and seeing if I have to clean or repair anything.

Is it perfectly ok to plug a power supply from Japan into an outlet from the US?
I do NOT want to fry the thing from lack of knowledge of this kind of stuff.

Probably not, since both the Famicom and the standard frequency in the US is 60hz.


edit: didn't see that the post had 4 pages

[P]

Regarding that, Japan has 50 Hz in the eastern potion and 60 Hz in the western potion, so Japanese electronics are normally designed to be able to work with both frequencies.
BTW this is about mains frequency which should not be confused for TV refresh rate (which is 60 Hz everywhere in Japan).

Plugging in a Japanese (100 V AC) AC-adapter in a wall socket in North America (110~120 V AC) is not ideal but should probably not fry anything. In Europe it would be fried however.

[GB256]

Yeah, the console (at least the cartridge side of it) has been working fine.
Disk Drive on the other hand...

Speaking of that, the read head is now reaching all the way back again! There was gunk on one of the rails that was stopping it from reaching it.

Unfortunately, we have a new problem, when it DOES reach the switch, it stays there for a second or 2 before moving again.
The light doesn't turn off form this, which is bizarre.

I just cleaned the read head and waiting on it to dry, maybe that could be a problem.

[GB256]

Didn't change a thing, even worse, the read head is now BACK to not reaching its point when reading the disk.
Every time I do anything during this, I feel like I'm getting so close yet so far...

[Skawo]

Take off the top disk caddy (i.e the black plastic part) to clean the rails thoroughly, then apply a light lithium grease to them.

To take the caddy off:

1. Put the drive in its "disk inserted" position (there's a little lever you have to manipulate with a screwdriver close to the motor):



2. Take off the three springs around the caddy (hold them down on one end to prevent them from pinging off, then use tweezers to unhook the other).

3. While lifting the pressure arm (the thing with the little felt pad that goes above the disk) away, press the disk eject about halfway - at that point you should be able to lift off the caddy.


While the disk caddy is off you can also calibrate the spindle to face the head exactly as it reaches the home position.

[GB256]

Was busy for a while but I did it...
THAT part's fixed, but now the drive keeps trying to read it over and over with no error again...
No read head acting wonky, the light doesn't go dark, it's just...not reading it.

[Skawo]

Can you make another video?