Famiclones

[133MHz]

It's probably a clone. Look at the RF switch thing...

I can't see the back of the system so I don't know if there's anything iffy with the RF modulator, but that cable looks like a typical poor man's hack job. Crappy as it is, it doesn't say anything about the system's authenticity. It looks pretty original to me.

Looks like they just added different controllers.

Indeed, but I haven't seen any mention of these "internal controller replacements" anywhere.

[nintendodork]

They do have Famiclones that look exactly like Famicoms..so why are we skeptical about this one?  There aren't exactly many ways to tell if it's authentic or a clone unless you open it up, is there?

[133MHz]

There aren't exactly many ways to tell if it's authentic or a clone unless you open it up, is there?

The Nintendo logo is a pretty dead giveaway, but I guess it could still be a clone .
I'm waiting for JC's word on the subject

[turbo D]

It appears to be an official famicom with aftermarket controllers.

[ericj]

I have a famiclone that looks like a real Famicom but has turbo controllers. Internally, the plug on them is the same as on the Famicom controllers, so they are interchangeable. I bet if you open yours up, you'll find the same thing. Or, someone may have just put a Famicom casing around a famiclone. My famiclone can fit a Famicom's internals, too.

[JC]

I agree with what most everyone is saying. It's an original Famicom with clone controllers -- nice looking clone controllers.

[133MHz]

Thank you everybody for your input. It isn't mine, somebody at RetroGames.cl just got it at a flea market and nobody really knows anything about Famicom over there, so I'm the one who gets called for answers and I said it was an original FC with third party internal controllers, but I wanted to confirm with you guys .

Also, turbo controllers as a replacement for the built-in controllers do not seem to be a common accessory, do they?

[NintendoKing]

If it is a clone, its a darn nice clone system. Very nice, indeed.

It is possible its real though with aftermarket controllers.

[133MHz]

Found this today on RetroGames.cl Forums. A Venezuelan NES clone!
It's not mine btw, another member from there found it recently and I'm showing it to you:

The console itself. What a blatant ripoff of the American NES, except for the writing!


Without the top cover, you can see that the NES cartridge insertion mechanism is radically different - in fact the cartridge is inserted completely horizontal and doesn't need "lowering" (maybe this one doesn't wear out quickly and produce the blinkies? Who says that pirates are always crappy? )


Removing the black NES cartridge insertion assembly reveals that it uses a 90º riser card (much like old brand-name desktop PCs like Acer and Compaq), and underneath it there's a 60 pin Famicom cartridge slot! This means that the black assembly is actually a Famicom to NES converter!


You could play your Famicom cartridges directly into this clone just by removing the top cover and NES cartridge cage.


Closer look of the motherboard.


The words "ENSAMBLADO EN VENEZUELA" (Assembled in Venezuela) and "SYSTEM" can be clearly seen on the board's silk-screening. This is an old, discrete Famicom clone with a UMC chipset. I presume that the audio is incorrect but it can probably run Castlevania III without problems. I have asked this to the owner of this clone and I'm waiting for his answer.

[MS-DOS4]

 

[Rogles]

:0 That's interesting.

[manuel]

Wow, that's very nice. 

[133MHz]

Me again, this time with a Famiclone finding of my own !

Last Sunday I picked up a Family Game clone by NTDEC with box and manual for dirt cheap, but in unknown condition.



It turned out to be really dirty and it didn't boot up any games. After a good cleaning it was pretty obvious that the cartridge slot had suffered through a lot of abuse and it was permanently destroyed. I like these clones so much that I decided to replace its cartridge slot with a working one from another (crappy) Famiclone, and it worked!

You can read through the whole process with lots of pictures on my blog:

http://133fsb.wordpress.com/2009/10/21/restoring-a-nice-famiclone-part-1/

[NintendoKing]

Nice job fixing the famiclone, it looks great.

[manuel]

Nice. And great article. I wish I could do stuff like that.