Technical and Repair Assistance

Started by b3b0palula, September 10, 2006, 01:08:43 am

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Lorfarius

Well I've just bought another power convertor as the other was totally bust. Once thats arrived assuming the console still wont power up I'll start asking for more help  ;D
My own Retro gaming YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/Lorfarius

Lorfarius

November 23, 2008, 08:37:19 am #601 Last Edit: November 23, 2008, 10:00:14 am by Lorfarius
Power convertor arrived yesterday. Plugged it in and the Twin Famicom worked perfectly, disc and cartridge so I was pretty happy. However go to power it up today and...nothing. No power to the cart or FDS. Scratching my head I plugged the Universal adaptor I had back in and the cart slot started working just fine again but the Disk part was having none of it showing the Battery Err 02 message again. Not sure what to do now as I have no idea if the console has blown itself or the power convertor has gone.

I'm starting to think it might be the power regulator thats either damaging plugs or failing to work when it should. These dont come up all that often on Ebay and Id rather just buy another one if I dont get this working properly soon  :( Have a massive collection of Disk games to play and its driving me nuts that it seems to work one minute then dead the next  >:(

Edit. More to add to this  :'( With the power convertor plugged in once more I flicked the FDS part back on and the red load light flicked on, power off then  back on with a disc in....nothing. Dead again. So it seems to be receiving power at random.
My own Retro gaming YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/Lorfarius

133MHz

It might be a loose connection or a cold solder joint as ericj said.
The カセット/ディスク switch could be faulty too.

Lorfarius

Is there anything I can do? If its too complicated Ill just scrap it and buy another one but I'm itching to play some disc games. But I have a solder so dont mind giving it a go.
My own Retro gaming YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/Lorfarius

133MHz

You can open it up, wiggle the cables/tighten the connectors which go from the motherboard to the disk unit (they could be loose).
Also you can try reflowing the solder on said connectors and also on the カセット/ディスク switch

Lorfarius

November 23, 2008, 12:54:31 pm #605 Last Edit: November 24, 2008, 01:11:18 am by Lorfarius
Quote from: 133MHz on November 23, 2008, 12:47:09 pm
Also you can try reflowing the solder on said connectors and also on the カセット/ディスク switch


Well I've just taken it apart and wriggled all the cables, leads etc inside. With the top half off and the cable linking the switch to the motherboard unplugged both the FDS part and cart system work perfectly. As soon as I put that bit back in I start getting the Battery Err 02 message again. So it looks like its the switch bit. Is that repairable as I dont fancy having to leave the console open permanantly.

Looking at where the cable reaches the lid theres some sort of blue tape covering it. Cant see anywhere to solder.

Edit. What does this cable actually do? With it unplugged and out of the way I can use both the FDS and cart without it. Yet as soon as I plug it in the battery Err returns.
My own Retro gaming YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/Lorfarius

Ken Tama

Hello.  I just got a used Famicom Disk System.  I changed the belt.  I have 5 games Zelda, Metroid, Doki Doki, SMB2, Mario 3d rally.  After I changed the belt SMB2 and Metroid played fine, but the other games gave me common error messages.  I tinkered with the motor speed.  Now Metroid gives me error messages and SMB2 I can still get to work.  But none of the other games ever worked (and some of them give me different error messages depending on what I have the motor speed set to. 

I was thinking about messing with the head adjustment screw and calibrate the spindle, but I didnt find any clear guides on this site.  How do you guys troubleshoot your FDS?    Also is there anything else I need to calibrate or clean after I changed the belt.  Are there generic settings for the Famicom Disk System or do you just have to tinker with it until it works?  Any help would be greatly appreciated.
The president has been kidnapped by ninjas!

vgthing

Every now and then after playing for like 15 minutes or more, the T.V. starts to get garbled randomly. The picture gets fuzzy and sometimes is accompanied by noise. Sometimes it goes away, and other times it doesn't and I have to turn off my famicom for a while. Is this normal, or am I just freaking out?

I am using an original famicom, NES RF adapter, original Famicom AC adapter in a step down transformer.
I am also using one of those old tv's with the rounded screen, not flatscreen, though it will do it on both.
I'M GIVE UP YOUR APPELLATION'S TECHNICAL MONKEY

ericj

November 24, 2008, 05:20:22 pm #608 Last Edit: December 12, 2008, 01:04:25 pm by ericj
hmm, could be a filtering capacitor that is wearing out or cold solder joint that is acting up when the unit gets warm. Probably not a big deal unless you want to explore it in more depth.

vgthing

I just got it a few days ago. Do you think it's worth it to exchange it?
I'M GIVE UP YOUR APPELLATION'S TECHNICAL MONKEY

ericj


wolf9545

Have you tried using the Famicom without the step-down converter?  I have an original Famicom, original AC adapter and am using the NES rf adapter like you.  I live in the US and I just plug it right into my wall.  The Famicom runs fine.  The problem you have might be noise being produced from the step-down converter or the converter going bad.

Thrillo

Quote from: Ken Tama on November 23, 2008, 01:52:48 pm
Hello.  I just got a used Famicom Disk System.  I changed the belt.  I have 5 games Zelda, Metroid, Doki Doki, SMB2, Mario 3d rally.  After I changed the belt SMB2 and Metroid played fine, but the other games gave me common error messages.  I tinkered with the motor speed.  Now Metroid gives me error messages and SMB2 I can still get to work.  But none of the other games ever worked (and some of them give me different error messages depending on what I have the motor speed set to. 

I was thinking about messing with the head adjustment screw and calibrate the spindle, but I didnt find any clear guides on this site.  How do you guys troubleshoot your FDS?    Also is there anything else I need to calibrate or clean after I changed the belt.  Are there generic settings for the Famicom Disk System or do you just have to tinker with it until it works?  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Maybe these links will help you
http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=73164
http://www.famicomworld.com/forum/index.php?topic=392.0

Or maybe the games are simply dead.

PatMan33

Bleeh... alright I got a copy of Rockman 6 today but when I went to play it all I got was a white screen. So I took it down to the workshop (kitchen) and cleaned the pins up (they were diiiirty!) with a ton of q-tips and alcohol. Then I went to try it again and I still get a white screen. It's done this both in my Famicom and in my Toploader.

I seem to recall you could glean some hints as to what the problem is by the color that is displayed on the screen. Though maybe I made that up. Anyway can someone offer me some advice on to how to get this cart working? Or is it just a lost cause?

michaelthegreat

White screen means that the flux capacitor is bad.