Looking for someone who can desolder an NES CPU and PPU

[satoshi_matrix]

Hey FW, I've got a bit of an odd request.

I'm looking for the services of someone who has the tools and skills necessary to remove the CPU and PPU from a Nintendo Entertainment System (or Famicom) motherboard without damaging the chips or leaving solder on any of the pins and then mailing the chips back to me.

The only thing I need are the chips themselves; I have no use for the rest of the motherboard. Whoever can do this for me can keep the rest of the motherboard (or trash it) and I don't need the casing either; it might be worthwhile if you ever wanted to build their own NES DVD player.

The only other parts of the junked NES I want to keep are the controller ports; they simply disconnect from the motherboard.

At present, I don't own a system to donate for this purpose, but I'm willing to adapt depending on who may reply and what they can offer;

Ideally, I'm looking for someone who has the tools and skill to remove the chips and also already has a dead they don't mind cutting up for me (a working system with a bad case of the red flashing power light or maybe a dead system with a shot power supply or really worn cartridge slot) Not a dead system with a bad motherboard as that wouldn't help at all with what I need

Slightly less ideally, if you can help and live in Canada but don't have an NES, can you find one for cheap? If not, I can make arrangements to ship you the motherboard directly.

Lastly, if you can help but live in the US and don't have a system to hack apart, can you find one for cheap? Again if not, I can make arrangements to buy one off ebay and have it send to you. This would probably end up being the most expensive option for me, so I'd like to avoid it if at all possible.

Beyond the potential cost of an a nonworking/cheap NES and shipping to and from, I'm offering $10 for the work itself of removing the chips. For someone with the tools, it should take less than $10 of your time. Even if you don't have a professional component desoldering device, a plain ol' heatgun should do the trick.

I'd do it myself, but I simply don't have the needed skill to be able to remove the chips without damaging them. I'd also love to ask 133Mhz, but the shipping to Chile and back would be too expensive to make this worth it. Unless he can find an NES for cheap in Chile and send me back the chips with the rest of my stuff? XD

FYI, the reason I'm asking for these chips is to place them into a socketed hardware Famiclone, which will operate as a fully functional Famicom if it's fitted with the real chips.


Sorry for the long and confusing most. Hopefully my request is understandable when read by someone else :lol:

[MS-DOS4]

Well, solder remover ribbon and an iron shouldn't ruin the chip if you don't have it pressed on the chip for a long time, would it? I'd love to help you, but I don't have one of those fancy hot air guns. I also don't have a spare NES which just complicates things...

I do have a famicom with a burnt out capacitor I could extract the chips from, but I'll have to think about that one. I'll love to help you if nobody else wants to do this that has more professional equipment.

[satoshi_matrix]

thanks, DOS.

[ericj]

IMO, it seems like a bad idea to take the chips out of a Famicom just because of a $0.50 capacitor.

[MS-DOS4]

I agree, but the case is extremely yellow, dirty, and one part has a fat ol' crack in it. I hate it and want to get a new famicom.

[jpx72]

Just a little hint - if your socketed famiclone is PAL, you also need the crystal from the original famicom (which is NTSC), don't forget about that!
BTW I have the means to desolder, but it would be too expensive to ship here and back again. But Manuel is selling some faulty famicoms for 5-10usd (not including shipping), they may be the source of those chips...

[satoshi_matrix]

jpx72, where do you live? MS-DOS4 said he has a Famicom with bad caps. Just a thought: what if I sent MS-DOS4 the postage for him to ship you his broken Famicom and then I pay you the postage and commission for your work for you to ship me back the CPU and GPU?

[MS-DOS4]

Seems like extra unnecessary payments. Also, I'm not handing my famicom over for free.    Ether one of us should just do it. Your choice.

[satoshi_matrix]

Sure, whatever makes the most sense and things can actually get done.

[jpx72]

I'm from Slovakia, postage can be calculated here http://cennik.posta.sk/en but I'm still curious if these can be bought (cheaper than all the hassle about sending famicom here and there):
http://www.arcadecomponents.com/catalog/item/3054735/2583124.htm
http://www.arcadecomponents.com/catalog/item/3054735/2583135.htm
(they didn't answered my email, although that could have been a little difficult question i've asked)

[Xious]

I don't seem to comprehend in your OP... What is your intent for the parts? Do you require a specific revision of either, and what do you want to pay for them? I can do the job, and I think I can still order new parts too, depending on which way you want to go, but I need to know if you have a price-limit in mind.

I'd need to look up my cost on new parts if you want to go that route. If you want used parts, I'd quote you based on a discount over new part prices plus a FW member discount. I'm not sure what's wrong with your request, or why a system would have to be mangled to sell pieces of it: Parts are parts... Pulling them to sell is SOP for dealers, as parting out systems is very profitable because the parts cost more individually than a complete system built out of them.

I just bought a bunch of Vs. System boards for parts.

-Xious

[satoshi_matrix]

I don't seem to comprehend in your OP... What is your intent for the parts? Do you require a specific revision of either, and what do you want to pay for them? I can do the job, and I think I can still order new parts too, depending on which way you want to go, but I need to know if you have a price-limit in mind.

I'd need to look up my cost on new parts if you want to go that route. If you want used parts, I'd quote you based on a discount over new part prices plus a FW member discount. I'm not sure what's wrong with your request, or why a system would have to be mangled to sell pieces of it: Parts are parts... Pulling them to sell is SOP for dealers, as parting out systems is very profitable because the parts cost more individually than a complete system built out of them.

I just bought a bunch of Vs. System boards for parts.

-Xious

I want to put a real RP2A03 NES/Famicom CPU and RP2C02 PPU in a hardware replica Famiclone I have which is socketed - all I would need to do is remove the clone chips and insert the real ones. 133Mhz did this on his clone which is remarkably similar to mine and it worked flawlessly.

I don't think I need any specific revisions, as long as both chips are NTSC. I've looked into buying new parts before, but they turn out to be awfully expensive and a lot of sellers won't ship to Canada, or if they will, wildly overcharge for shipping.


*Edit* I've looking to the links that jpx72 sent me, and they seem to be exactly what I'm looking for. It would cost me $23.48 USD to have it shipped. Could you offer a better price than that? If not, that's what I'll go with.

[jpx72]

I would say that buying from arcadecomponents.com is the cheapest alternative, but is this shop really trustworthy ? Maybe you should contact them first (they didn't answer my email...).

[Xious]

Yep, well as I said, selling replacement parts is a lucrative business and the cost to a professional dealer (including overhead, time and storage) isn't cheap. I can't beat a cost of $0 plus postage no matter what I'd like to do.

ArcadeComponents.com's pricing is comparable on the parts 'to my own, though I don't know if they sell internationally or offer a warranty, and unlike them, I would consider a straight trade for the clone CPU/PPU. (I find it interesting that they are pin-compatible..)

I do want to  explain that it isn't the dealers who are milking you on postage rates. It is a simple matter of what the (insert favourite expletive) carriers charge for postage, plus packaging supplies. For example, to send this package to Toronto Ontario, Canada.Postage rates have more than tripled in the last few years. I used to be able to post packages like this to you for $6 plus packaging, and now look at the price. It's killing sales more so than the devastation to the US economy.

You can check the costs for any package at:
https://wwwapps.ups.com/ctc - for UPS
and
http://ircalc.usps.gov/  - for the USPS (be sure to add extra services: delivery confirmation and insurance)

The weight on this package is appx 3oz (0.4Lbs) and about 3" x 2" x 2". If you out them in a flat-pack, they are easily damaged, and probably uninsurable, and it would only shave off a couple dollar at the cost of potentially destroying the goods within. (The USPS and UPS insurance rules change constantly, and become increasingly pricier.) The cost (to the dealer) of for raw postage for this parcel is:

UPS: $13.87 including insurance and tracking.
USPS $12.73 for the package (insured) and $2.30 for return receipt - $15.03 Total

Here is the packing material costs breakdown:
Boxing: $2.75
Static bags: $1.25
Static-sate foam: $1.50
Tape: $0.30

(Thanks to the EPA---and the falling USD---, all of this stuff costs twice what it used to cost a mere six years ago.)

Material ST: $5.80

If you go with UPS, a dealer will charge you for time and fuel to go to the USPS. (UPS picks up from commercial accounts directly.) An average fuel cost is $2 and time is...well...whatever the person is paying their employees per hour. Let's say it takes 30 minutes, or $4.50for low-wage labourers ($9/hour)

That's an additional $6 in cost for both fuel and time to send it by USPS It also isn't traceable with the USPS, and you can only request return receipt of deliver, so there is no way of knowing where it is and how long it will take to get there, and if it's lost, they require you to fill out a form while they put a tracer on it, and you have to wait 30 (or it is 60?) days for them to try and trace it before you can file an insurance claim. With UPS, you can file a claim at any time and UPS always notes in the tracking records that has the parcel, where it is, and where it's going every time it changes hands.

The only way to get this type of service from the USPS is via Registered Mail, beset with its own archaic rules for a mere $12 extra on top of the postage rate...

Thus, the final costs to the party posting it are:

UPS: $19.67 ($13.87+$5.80)
and
USPS
$26.83 ($15.03+$$5.80+$6.00)

This is why I use UPS: They're less expensive, have real (and reliable) tracking, and better insurance. They also get the item there safer, faster and in a more professional manner. (You can no longer add any kind of tracking to First Class Mail (FCM) international packages, so that isn't an option. Insurance depends on destination, and the USPS IRDC won't let me add insurance to a FMC parcel to Ontario, so I don't think it's possible to insure it either, but their rules are so convoluted it's impossible to tell until you take it to them directly.)

This is why sending a package is expensive. It isn't because dealers want to charge more, it's because these are the actual costs. Believe me, I'd have much higher sales if I *could* charge less for P&P, but if I did, it'd be at a loss and I'd have to make up for it by overcharging for the items; so it doesn't make any difference in the long-run.

Try ithe rate calculators yourself from USA postal code 90505 and see what happens. It's sickening.

[Drakon]

I'll do it if I get a famicom pcb out of this.  I've got a proper desoldering setup and I've desoldered ppus before.