Sweet SEGA Nomad find/Nomad questions

[jgenotte]

This morning I bought a Nomad in great shape with Sonic 2, Mortal Kombat, and Phantasy Star IV for $30. I had never even see one before, I love it!

I have a few questions for those of you in the know:

-It did not come with an AC adapter, what shoud the output from the adapter be?

-There is a large battery pack (6 AAs) on the back, does it come off? I dont want to break it if it dosent.

-Are there any games that, for some reason, dont work on the nomad?

-About how long will 6 AAs last?

-If using the nomad as a geneis with a TV, does the nomad have to be the 1st player controller?

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,
-james

[MarkM2112]

Nice find! I will try to answer some of these...

-It did not come with an AC adapter, what shoud the output from the adapter be? Same as a Genesis 2 adapter (9 Volts, I think)

-There is a large battery pack (6 AAs) on the back, does it come off? I dont want to break it if it dosent. Yes it does... just slide the battery pack up.

-Are there any games that, for some reason, dont work on the nomad? Most of them do... Light gun games / menacer games obviously don't work... and I think Virtua Racing doesn't work either...

-About how long will 6 AAs last? Not long... :/ I use rechargables in mine...

-If using the nomad as a geneis with a TV, does the nomad have to be the 1st player controller? Yes

Have fun with this! I love mine as well!

[Gamereviewgod]

Virtua Racing works fine. Looks great too. The slight blurring makes it seem like the frame rate is increased.

[jgenotte]

Thanks for the info!!!!!!!


Can anyone confirm the use of a gen 2 AC adapter for the nomad? Does anyone know what the amperage should be?

Thanks again,
-james

[Vroomfunkel]

I use a UK Megadrive 2 power adapter to run my nomad and it works fine, so a Genesis 2 adapter should have no problems.

Some games may be glitchy on the nomad if they have a 6 button option, but there is a way of switching the mode when you turn it on that should fix this .. but I can't remember what that is for the moment.

I'm sure someone else will oblige though ...

Vroomfunkel

[downfall]

Yeah, a Genny 2 adapter works fine!

I don't have a Nomad, but I watched bigdaddychester use one, and it worked great!

[wufners]

VERY nice find--congrats.

I don't know anything about Nomads myself, but according to vidgame.net it does indeed use the same power conncetor as the Genesis 2. Scroll to the bottom to see.

http://www.vidgame.net/SEGA/NOMAD.html

[jgenotte]

Ok, so a genny 2 adapter works.....THANKS!

What is this about the games that support 6 button controllers? My nomad has 6 buttons. I noticed the "mode" button and wondered what it was for. What is it for?

-james

[jgenotte]

wufner: Thanks for the link. I didnt even think about using the 2nd player controller port to use on the nomad, I just though it was there for use with a TV. THAT ROCKS!!!!!!!!

I have only had it for a few hours and its already my fav handheld. The best part is, I dont even need to get games for it. Woooo Hoooo!

-james

[dojosky]

congrats on the finds i still have my nomad so yes sega genesis 2 ac adaptors works on them (i have plenty of those sega genesis 2 ac adaptors they also work on sega game gears as well as picos) ...

the "mode" button is for specific games that won't work if the pad has 6 button i forgot the titles but i think some of them were such as
golden axe II
wonderboy in the monster world

u should be able to tell if its not controlling properly or the buttons doesn't register properly in that game just turn it off and hold down the mode button down while powering it on will help with most of the games that has problems with teh 6 buttons ...

hooking it up to a tv u need an av cables from sega genesis 2 systems rf switch boxes can be used but i cannot stand rf switch boxes lol ...

[evilmess]

The AC adapter for the Genesis 2 and Game Gear consoles works fine. MK-2103
If you can score a rechargable Game Gear Battery pack that will work also but if you're using 6 regular AA batteries or 6 rechargable AA's expect about 3 hours of use per six.

More infos
http://www.studio42.com/vidgame/SGNomad/nomadfaq.shtml

Beware of the rechargable Nomad battery packs on eBay. Many are dead and unable to be recharged despite being brand new.

[Bluteg]

Yes it has to be a Genny 2 though. Genny 1 is not compatible with Nomad it is with toaster NES's however and so are the RFs. The only way to play the Nomad is with an AC adapter. Unless you like shelling out $$$ for batteries. If my memory is correct good alkalines only last 2-3 hours and thats 6 of 'em. Unfortunatly the nomad isn't all that great as a portable. It's still awsome to have and a great find. I just got a New boxed one for $36 shipped on a BIN. Even had the peel off plastic on the screen.

[christianscott27]

If you can score a rechargable Game Gear Battery pack that will work also

hey i learned something useful today! dont know why i never thought of that, i've got both batt backs already

[slip81]

The Nomad is a nice little item. I got one when it first came out and sold it about a year ago on ebay because I didn't play it that much and I needed money (got $90 for it). I'll probably get anotherone in a few years.

Great find for that price though, PS IV is worth about that much alone. That's a great game, enjoy

[jgenotte]

I am using rechargeables so the $ isnt a concern.


bluteg: why dont you like it as a portable?


-james

[SkiDragon]

Yes, the battery pack does come off. I had similar troubles not too long ago.

http://www.digitpress.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=43931

Basically to get the battery pack off, I had to turn the unit upside down and then I smacked the battery pack with a stone to knock it off. Sounds extreme, but it worked and caused no damage.

[Bluteg]

Well since I don't have a rechargeable battery pack and I don't like pissing money away on $5 worth of Duracells for 3 hours of playtime anymore, the Nomad isn't a very good portable system for me. Not to mention many Nomads have a problem of being very sensitive to movement. My first Nomad would freeze if it was bumped even slightly, not good for road trips. I have had much more fun with the system plugged into the wall than I ever did with it otherwise. Genesis carts can be bulky especially with the plastic boxes, and considering its the biggest portable I have that doesn't help either.

[Cauterize]

Welcome to the elite group of Nomad owners!!!

[briguy578]

I also welcome you to the Digital Press Nomad community. The parent posts are correct, though - the nomad is best used while sitting on the couch. I hope you enjoy yours, you got an awesome price on it.

On a side note, does anyone have any idea how many nomads were made? If I can still remember ads from when I was 10, it was a Toys 'r' Us exclusive. Can anyone confirm that?

[Cauterize]

On a side note, does anyone have any idea how many nomads were made? If I can still remember ads from when I was 10, it was a Toys 'r' Us exclusive. Can anyone confirm that?

Good question! i wanted to know how many are about in the world...
More than there are Virtual Boys?