Getting external audio on an NES top loader!

[2A03]

Disconnect the solder point on P-54 on the adapter first, then test and report back. I assume that you bridged the PowerPak P-54 to P-51 internally, on the PowerPak itself, correct?

I also think that either you need only bridge to the system audio input, or you need to use the two resistors in series. I'd need to check what I actually did to be sure; I only checked my reference docs earlier.  

You may also want to use a continuity tester to ensure that your solder points and resistor leads aren't bridging. It certainly looks as if they are...

By disconnecting the solder point to pin 54 you mean leave the pin on the converter floating, right? I don't have anything connected to it anymore now that I relocated the wires. The pictures make it look like the solder points are touching but in actuality they aren't. I also checked the continuity and my solder joints and everything checks out on that end.

[Xious]

It looks like (on the NES-72 side) you have the audio output line connected both to pins 51 and 54. The FC side looks like pins 45 and 46 are bridged. On the NES-72 side, assuming you already bridged the connection inside your PowerPak, then yes, Pin-54 should be floating.

I think the problem may have something to do with how the signal is mixed using the audio in/out lines. If both are required to mix the signal, which off the top of my head I don't recall, though I think they are, then you may need to do this on your adapter, which is what has been proven to work:



Inside the NES72F-->FC60M Adapter:
NES-Pin-51* o-------------[ 10KΩ 1/8W ]------o---------o FC-Pin-46*
                               R1            |
                                             |---------[ 10KΩ 1/8W ]-------o FC-Pin-45*
                                                          R2




Note how R2 is connected to R1; R1 connects through to the audio pin (46 IIRC) and R2 joins the lead of R1 (on the FC connector side of the resistor) and then to the other audio pin, which I recall being 45. I think that one feeds part of the 2A03 signal into the mixture, and then adds the exp sound back on the neighboring pin. The easy way to tell is to disconnect one or the other and see if it changes anything, but I think that the way the resistors are bridged is potentially somewhat important here. I also recall that 1/4W resistors produced far too much noise, and that only 1/8W resistors are good for this.

Bridge the Famicom side with the two resistors as shown, then tie them via a jumper wire to Pin-51 on the NES-72 end, which is the reverse side of the board on your adapter (unlike the one in the photo).

[2A03]

I've done everything you've suggested and I'm still getting the same results.

[Xious]

That really doesn't make much sense, as it should work; in theory, you should get mixed audio either way, and I know it works on my setup...

Is your PowerPak producing properly mixed audio on your NES-101 top loader? This is important (I asked before) because that would rule out if the adapter is causing this, or if it is a PP issue, or something else. 

Did it work correctly when you had the audio modification on the adapter wired to Pin-54 and no jumper wire inside the PowerPak?

I used to have one of those Family Converter adapters; i would need to search for it to see if there is anything odd that would prevent this from working, but I sincerely doubt that there would be.

You can ring me if you wish at 908-616-8747 to discuss this. 

[2A03]

Is your PowerPak producing properly mixed audio on your NES-101 top loader? This is important (I asked before) because that would rule out if the adapter is causing this, or if it is a PP issue, or something else. 

Did it work correctly when you had the audio modification on the adapter wired to Pin-54 and no jumper wire inside the PowerPak?

I used to have one of those Family Converter adapters; i would need to search for it to see if there is anything odd that would prevent this from working, but I sincerely doubt that there would be.

Yes, I get mixed audio on the top loader, albeit a bit bassy due to the circuit I used inside the top loader. It worked fine when the PowerPak was unmodified, and disconnecting the jumper wire fixes everything. I'm thinking it might be an issue with the Family Converter, which means I should start looking into another NES-to-Famicom converter fairly soon.

[Xious]

If you'd like, you may send the converter as-is to me to examine, and will see if I can deduce what's wrong with it. I need to examine both the solder joints and the PCB layout to see where the conflict is arising. I think it is trying to pick up the audio signal from both of the PowerPak connections, as if you disconnect the jumper inside your PP, then you should not get mixed (extra) sound at all, and games that feature it should have notable silence or bad sound.  

Actually, thinking about it in detail, you should be connecting to Pin-54 for the FC adapter, not Pin-51, as it still has the original audio signal and there is no reason to swap it to another pin. The internal modification is bridging it onto a second pin, which is dandy on the NES-101 with un-amplified audio, but that may not sit well on the Famicom. It would be well if I could test it to see what is the matter, and try to both correct and document it.

Honestly, I would clear away all of the changes with hot air, and then re-build the modifications from the beginning. It's up to you if you wish me to look at it: I don't particularly want to modify my PP at present, but I suppose it's not much of a bother, as i will want to do this eventually.  

I will be taking this into consideration when I manufacture my own adapters, and i am already making some slight changes to my design, which will include an internal jumper block or DIP-switch for 'mode select'. .

[Sutepuru]

Are the NES-101 pins marked on this picture the ones to pair with a resistor?

I have a (Honeybee apparently?) converter that came without a shell. Which are the pins I should connect with R1 and R2? Presumably pins in the front of the converter but which ones are the NES-51 and FC45-46?

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