I’m too young to die!

Japan uses a 100v system for their electronics.  So if you use any type of electronic device from Japan outside of Japan, you’ll probably need to use a step down transformer.  A transformer plugs into the wall outlet (or mains) and then you plug your console (or other electronic device) into the transformer.  The transformer will give the console a nice, steady 100v of power.

Taiwan, North America and some parts of northern South America use a voltage between 100v and 127v.  So if you plug your brand “new” Famicom AV into a 120v N. American outlet, for example, the extra juice will fry the motherboard.  If not immediately, then at some point in the future it’s going to die.

Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and South America use a supply around 230v.  If you plug your Japanese console into the wall here without a transformer it will die immediately.

Some people in the States plug their Japanese consoles directly into the wall with no transformer.  I would not recommend this.  All of the tiny parts on the motherboard are rated for 100v, and the FC, SFC, N64 consoles are getting a bit old–is there a capacitor on the board ready to fail anyway that just needs a little push of extra voltage to kill your gaming fun?  I wouldn’t risk it.

Here are two step-down transformers that some of retrogamerjapan.com customers have used with success. Your mileage may vary.:

Step down transformer for N. America << Click the link for more info.

And here’s a 230v to 100v step down transformer for Europe, Africa, Asia Australia, New Zealand and South America.

Yeah, you’ve got to be a nerd to love a PCB, but check out the difference between the original FC and the AV PCBs and you’ll see what I mean. The original has got wires running around the outer edge of the case and it almost seems like the design team and the hardware team weren’t on the same page.

Does this mean I love the Famicom less? Nope. The FC has gives me the “retro gaming grin” everytime I use it that the AV fails to deliver. The AV works better and is more practical and is fun to use, but aesthetically sort of falls into that beige box 90′s hardware style that is best left in the 90′s.

Here’s the vid. I hope you enjoy. Let me know what you think.

The percentages at bottom are the relative abundance¹ of each.  So if I see ten FCs, only around one will rate an A.  Around 2 will be in the B range, then the other 7 will be C to D range.

Now the interesting part is that color has nothing to do with how well an FC unit will work.  Some really dirty, grimy units I come across have good sound and graphics and sometimes even the super white units have problems. It’s a crap shoot, so I always test everything.

Why do they yellow and how to prevent further damage…

If you let the plastic sit in the sun or any brightly lit area, it will start to yellow.  I always keep my consoles under a dark cloth next to the TV, and in the box on a shelf out of the light if they are being stored.  I don’t have any technical explanation why the plastic yellows, but usually if the cart access door has been closed, the plastic under that area will still be white, the rest of the unit will be yellow.  Same with the Super Famicoms, which have a way of turning sort of green.  I’ve seen units where there was a game cart stuck in the console and then left to sit for a decade or so.  Near the cart where the cart blocked the light, the color is good, but everywhere else, yellow.

Trick photography: compensating for a digital camera’s auto whiteness (levels) function…

Most point and shoot digital cameras automatically will do a whiteness adjustment, so your slightly yellow Famicom suddenly becomes a little whiter in the image.  This is just your camera trying to make the picture look good, but if you are buying and selling, it’s best to have a truly representative photo.  The best thing to do is to turn off the whiteness adjustment on your camera, or better yet, just stick a piece of blank white paper under the FC.  Then the image will look a lot closer to the actual console.

The first few times I replaced the belt on an FDS, I had difficulty getting the triangular piece out, but after fixing a few FDS drives since then, I can do it much faster with less chance of damaging the drive.  Here’s a quick how to:

1. Free up the wires

Starting with a bare drive, flip the drive over and make sure the wiring is free from the drive case.  You’ll have to pry up the small metal arms so the wire can slide off.  It’s important the wires are clear so later you can move the board clear of the case.  See image below.

Clear the wires at three points

2. Remove the screws

Once the three wires are clear, make sure to remove the screws holding the board and the three screws holding the triangular arm.  See image below.

3. Clear the board (carefully!)

Once the screws are removed, now clear the board out of the way.  Gently lift up from the bottom (the end near the triangular piece).  Make sure the wires are free or the board won’t move clear of the drive casing.  The black wire tends to get caught, so make sure it isn’t slowing things down.  Sometimes I’ll pull it up a little so I’ve got a little extra play.  The image below shows the way it should look when the board is completely out of the way, yet still connected.  One more thing: make sure not to gouge the delicate board on the edge of the drive case!

The board is free of the case and we are ready to remove the triangular piece

 4. Remove the triangular piece

Now, we are ready to attack the little triangular piece that used to give me fits!  First, lift up on the triangular piece a little and rotate clockwise.  That is the easy part.  Getting the darn thing out was the tough part for me, until I learned one little trick.  Lift up on the bottom part to clear the spindle in the center.  Once you are clear of the spindle, then if you push the whole thing forward, it should come out.

Here’s a vid outlining the process.

I hope that helps if you were stuck at the remove-the-triangular-piece step like I was.  Make sure the board is out of the way, then clear the triangular piece from the spindle and it should come free.

The Problem

Here’s a torn A/B button rubber part.

So How Do I Fix My Controller?

Easy.  Take it apart and replace the rubber pieces.  There are six tiny screws holding the Famicom controller together.  Carefully unscrew them and pull the top and bottom halves apart.  Gently pull up the cable and you should be able to get to all the parts.

Famicom #1 controller parts. (Bottom half is from a #2. Oops.)

Inspect!

Now carefully inspect the rubber pieces for rips, cracks, tears.  Replace any rubber parts that look like the picture below.

Torn rubber right under one of the directional buttons. Very typical.

Where do I get new parts?

That’s the tricky part.  There are no new parts.  But there are options…

Scavenging:  I usually scavenge parts from other controllers.  Usually, used #2 controllers are a great source of good rubber pieces.  The #2 is generally used less than the #1, especially if the poor kid who previously owned the Famicom lived in a rural area and had no friends to play with, or was considered strange by his peers.  Even if he did, in fact, have friends, the #2 controller probably has good parts, so if you don’t have any friends that use your #2, then use the rubber parts in your #2 until you can locate some replacements.

Buy online:  retrogamerjapan.com usually has replacement controllers and parts in stock.  eBay?  Google?

What about other console controllers like the Super Famicom, AV Famicom, NES, etc.?

Everything you’ve read here is applicable to just about any controller pad you come across.  Locate the ripped rubber pieces and replace them.

I hope this helps anyone with a bad controller. Enjoy the vid!