kickstarter.

check this out. a solution to the front loading nes cartridge slot.

Its a redesigned connector and loading tray.

This project isnt mine but its worth it i think.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/113891498/blinking-light-win-resurrecting-your-nes?ref=category

There's one major problem with this.  It will require a lot more force to get the cartridge in and out than with the zif system (zero insertion force).  That slot doesn't give you enough room to grab the cartridge easily enough to get the required amount of grip.

I prefer the idea of a new nes / famicom pcb.  I'm hoping someone could do a high quality remake of the cpu and ppu via fpga at this point.  I guess basically something like the hdmi nes fpga clone bunnyboy was working on.  Krikzz also made a nes / famicom fpga clone and it looked amazing.

I suppose this is meant to appeal to nostalgic people, so in that regard it's a fantastic solution.  I'm not nostalgic about the American NES in any way, I sold mind in 1991 because I was fed up with it being unreliable and fugly.

Drakon wrote:

There's one major problem with this.  It will require a lot more force to get the cartridge in and out than with the zif system (zero insertion force).  That slot doesn't give you enough room to grab the cartridge easily enough to get the required amount of grip.

I prefer the idea of a new nes / famicom pcb.  I'm hoping someone could do a high quality remake of the cpu and ppu via fpga at this point.  I guess basically something like the hdmi nes fpga clone bunnyboy was working on.  Krikzz also made a nes / famicom fpga clone and it looked amazing.

I suppose this is meant to appeal to nostalgic people, so in that regard it's a fantastic solution.  I'm not nostalgic about the American NES in any way, I sold mind in 1991 because I was fed up with it being unreliable and fugly.

since they are fabricating it couldnt they make the 72 pin a bit loose like an new snes connector?

I have a box of oem originals and they are not nearly as grippy as a sega genesis connector. they have just enough grip to work reliably for years.

as far as the complete nes recreation goes, kevtris is working on a multi-system fpga console that will play just about any old system. he mentions it in the hdmi nes kit videos

I contacted them. They said that the cart connector itself is a one-off custom made connector. It wont be too hard to remove the game he said.

Im going to get some of them.

mvsfan wrote:

since they are fabricating it couldnt they make the 72 pin a bit loose like an new snes connector?

I have a box of oem originals and they are not nearly as grippy as a sega genesis connector. they have just enough grip to work reliably for years.

as far as the complete nes recreation goes, kevtris is working on a multi-system fpga console that will play just about any old system. he mentions it in the hdmi nes kit videos

I can't even remember what a new snes connector feels like it's been so long since they were new.  The loose idea makes it easier to get the cartridge in and out but the looser it is the greater your chances of having a bad connection somewhere.

A multi-system fpga device is a fantastic idea.  I love how kevtris is smart enough to put as much into his products as he can fit.

mvsfan wrote:

I contacted them. They said that the cart connector itself is a one-off custom made connector. It wont be too hard to remove the game he said.

Im going to get some of them.

Great, let me know how well it works.

Ive known of kevtris at least since the early 2000s. he has made some really cool shit over the years. I have confidence he could put something like a multi system together and have it work great.

Fpgas are awesome. I dont know the first thing about programming one though. Leave it to someone like kevtris who does.

Yeah fpga is a wonderful device. I don't like programming that much which is my excuse to not sit down and learn how to use one.

I just bought a hakko fr-300 desoldering tool. its going to make my projects a whole lot quicker. Up till now ive been using a radioshack desoldering iron or a heatgun.

the radioshack iron cant heat up ground plains or thick traces effectively and the heatgun usually does too good of a job and other shit next to what im desoldering tries to fall off.

Heh. Desoldering can be a real pain sometimes.

Drakon wrote:

Heh. Desoldering can be a real pain sometimes.

yeah. The radioshack iron just doesnt get hot enough to do heavier ground traces and its my main tool. I have to use an 80w soldering gun to pre-heat the ground trace and then i can desolder those pins before it cools. its a pita.

i also find heat guns to be much better for removing surface mount chips than through hole.

Ground is tricky because it takes a lot of heat but obviously you don't want to desolder surrounding components or damage something from too much heat.

my review on the fr-300 is this. It heats up very quickly way faster than my soldering iron. Its very lightweight. its easy to clean when its hot and for ground you just turn up the heat. when you put it on a pin and press the button the solder completely disappears.

it took me 18 minutes to get a nes ppu out and thats only because i had to add a bit of solder to the pins first. it breezed through it.

Awesome tool.

I just backed this project for 2 sets of the blinking light win. ill let you know how it turns out.

mvsfan wrote:

I just backed this project for 2 sets of the blinking light win. ill let you know how it turns out.

Blinking light what?

Drakon wrote:

mvsfan wrote:

I just backed this project for 2 sets of the blinking light win. ill let you know how it turns out.

Blinking light what?

Thats what they are calling this cartridge connector project.

mvsfan wrote:

Drakon wrote:

mvsfan wrote:

I just backed this project for 2 sets of the blinking light win. ill let you know how it turns out.

Blinking light what?

Thats what they are calling this cartridge connector project.

Oh right sorry. Been a while since I looked at that link I've been busy doing other things.