Famicom A/V mod...sans Jail Bars!

Thanks to some forum peeps @ Neo-Geo.com, I figured out my jail bar problem.

According to one of the guides @ FamicomWorld.com, it said, coming from one of the "gurus" of the scene, that only a .01uF cap was needed to filter the bars. Turns out, it wasn't.

I upped the filter first to 32uF, then to 47uF. Like magic, the lines were a lot more faint.

...F**K!...

I just used some caps I had available. I'll have to swap it out in the very near future.

So, yay! I'm happy it's much clearer now.

Famicom...modified...

I done did it. I don't like playing games through RF, and I don't think I can ever go back to that. So what do I do?

I A/V modded the Famicom I got last week.

Was it easy? Kinda, but I'm used to crap like this.

Here's the mod itself. I took instructions from various sites.

It still gives me the "jail bar" effect when I'm playing, but it took a while to get to a decent point. What's not shown is the modifications I did to the RF box itself, since it's built together with the power circuit on the same board. I may go back in and try to use the mod I did with my TL NES...but at a later time. I'll live with the bars for now.

All buttoned up, primed and ready. I (brutally) removed the original RF jack and used a standard gold plated RCA jack for video. I removed the channel selector switch and added a 3.5 jack to use for sound. So yeah, I made it just like I did with the TL NES. I'm happy with the results.

I also broke down and got the Famicom version of the Everdrive N8 (a flash cart that uses SD cards). I can't wait to use it in this machine!

Fami, fami, fami...

Got the Famicom the other day. Along with an Avenue 6. All from WindyGaming.com. It took some figuring out, but I got it to work just fine.

I learned that my LCD needs to recalibrate signals coming from coax...probably common knowledge to most, not to me though. Anyway, it functions just fine. Very happy with the results.

Much thanks to WindyGaming.com for the sale and a lot of support. I suggest checking them out if you ever get the retro itch.

Here they are. Yes, I bought Gradius, too.

Dead computer...clean cartridges...

So, my desktop decided to go all AI on me and turn on and off at random. I showed it by switching the power supply off. Mobo might be going bad. Oh well. Time to build a new one.

In the downtime, I've managed to revive my brother's old notebook for use while I source parts for the new computer...damn, that thing's slow.

I've also been cleaning a bunch of cartridges. Did a bunch of NES and Genesis games I'm planning on keeping from that big haul from last year. Gonna clean up the Atari ones in a few days, seeing that I may be inundated from my pending Wisdom teeth removal tomorrow.

Speaking of Genesis games, I cleaned up a mod on a Model 1 Genesis I did a while back by securing wires for the A/V mod and shortening those wires. Put it with a disconnect for future openings. I'm trying to figure out how to get stereo sound without tapping the headphone jack connections just because of the volume slider and the static-y noise that comes from it. Will report success or failure in future reports.

NES "Stereo" Mod redux and an extension cable for the PC Engine...

I FINALLY got to break in my new soldering station. Took some getting used to, but the fact that it heats up quick makes it easy to get the project going and continue without unplugging and whatnot.

Anyway, I changed the "Stereo" mod up in that NES I did a while back. There was a tutorial, so to speak, that I saw that had no potentiometer. So, I went in, removed the mixer potentiometers inside, and hooked it up straight like that...Sounds a little better than with the mixer in there. I left it as is. 

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I also did an audio mod, adding a resistor to the unused expansion connector. This allows extra sound channels or something from Famicom games that have them. 

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I also, for the heck of it, made an extension cable using some cabling that I had and connectors I got from Fry's. 

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The stock cable from original PCE controller was too short (~3ft or something ridiculous like that). I used a 6 foot cable and extended that ishh. Now I can lounge on the couch while playing some old skool Ninja Spirit or Bonk's Adventure or something. 

Since I have the soldering station out, I'm going back in to clean up an old mod I did on a Model 1 VA7 (crappy model 1) Genesis. Maybe I might put that up for sale with all the spare Genesis carts I have from that score I got a while ago. 

Goodbye, Sega Saturn...

 I'm trading this little bit of kit in a few weeks. I had it just laying around, collecting dust. This is a Model 1 Saturn. I already have a Model 2, modified to play burns and region modded.

It's kinda bittersweet giving this guy up. This is one of the first mods I've done on a console. As I primed it to test (just installing a new battery for the CMOS) I was reminiscing on this mod:

It was the late 90's. The Playstation and Saturn were the current gen consoles. Also, X-Men vs. Street Fighter was popular in arcades. When it was released to home systems, I picked up the Playstation version (the only current gen console I had at the time)...popped it in to play against friends....DAMN LOADING TIMES!

A friend of mine just got the Saturn version of it. The game required the use of the 4 MB cart that was packed with the game (Japan version, the only one released). Because his console was for US region, he used another cart to load the game, then swap carts to get the 4MB to register...It took some time, but when we got it right, the fun would last all day and night.

He since got tired of the swapping and sold this Saturn to me. I was excited, but I could never get the swap just right. There was days that I just got tired of trying and trudged playing the Playstation version.

I got bored one night and Yahoo!'d (best search engine of the late 90's!) Sega Saturn import. I came up with a link to GamesX.com; a console information site for video information, controller pinouts, and some region modifications. That's where I read about the region switch; a DPDT toggle switch that will change the region of the Sega Saturn from one region to another.

I printed the instructions out, and pretty much studied it for a long time. When I was confident enough, I went out and bought the parts and went to it.

...The instructions said to cut or break the resistors that were in the way for the region mod. I still remember using my needle nose pliers and breaking those resistors off. If I knew then what I know now, I would've just used the soldering iron and desoldered them from there.

After a good 8 hrs taking it slow, I was left with a lovely region switch modified Model 1 Saturn. I remember electrocuting myself on the first initial test because I forgot to put the plastic shielding back under the power supply. That was fun.

After reinstalling everything properly, I first tested a US region game. Loaded up just fine. I then popped XvSF with the cart in place. Flipped the region switch, crossed my fingers, turned it on...On the first try, the game loaded. NO MORE SWAPPING! XvSF CHALLENGES WITH FRIENDS FOR DAYS!

I've since got a Model 2 that already had a region mod installed. I just put in a modchip to play burns and called it good. I was thinking of adding a modchip to this Model 1, but there were none available. All that exists is a mod for the modchip for the Model 2 that will work for the Model 1...forget it.

I know, though, that this baby will go to a good home and get played more than I did back in the day. I'll miss it.

I'm trading it for a Japanese Famicom. It's just something I've wanted to add to my collection since I've been hooked watching Game Center CX on YouTube.

Goodbye, Sega Saturn Model 1. You will always be the first console I've modified. May you give the same joy to your new owner as you did I back in the day. We will always that XvSF and KoF '95 to reminisce on.

2013's Challenge...

I'm doing a challenge thing than a resolution (since resolutions can be broken and be OK, for some reason...). My modding challenge is this:

Make a bartop arcade cabs using second hand parts and scrap wood. 

I'm planning on using an old Xbox as the main brain of it, which I already got for $19.99 at Goodwill. Tested and worked. Even got a bonus game with it. Softmod is in the future along with a bigger drive. I may attempt to do this or have it done by someone else. 

The monitor with be, again, from Goodwill. I'll be looking for a 17" LCD to use. 

I'm gonna reclaim joysticks from those Jakks Pacific arcade game things with Pac-man and Galaga on it. Again, searching thrift stores for that. 

Wood, I'm getting either from my brother in law from the wood place he works at in the scrap bin or from IKEA's As-Is area. They usually have slip sheets that are 1/4" or so that go for $1 a sheet. It's a decent size too. 

The only thing I may have to get new is buttons and some stuff from Ultimarc.com. I plan on making all controls JAMMA compatible, so I COULD use a JAMMA board...but that might change soon, too. 

Still trying to figure out how to connect the Xbox to the LCD...I guess I have time.