Retro Duo vs. Retro Duo v2.0?

[John Draugr]

Hello.

Can anyone here tell me the difference between the Retro Duo and RD v2.0? Are there any improvements between the versions?

Also, other than the FC3 Plus which I hear is junk, is there any other 3 in 1 systems that run NES, SNES and Genesis games?

Thanks
John

PS: Of all the nes/snes systems which one if recommended most?

[Tupin]

I've heard that the Retro Duo has gone through several revisions, but I think what they were talking about when they said "v2.0" was the power slider switch was revamped a bit. (not joking.)

[Life of Brian]

The circuit board is slightly different, but no major changes. The original revision had some unused pads on the board, which I suppose were for PAL components or something.

For example:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y36/joedog_86/DSC01373.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y36/joedog_86/DSC01374.jpg

[John Draugr]

ok. thanks for the info. So I take it that it doesnt really matter if I get the red/yellow special edition or the new blue/white v2.0.

[SnowKitty]

The circuit board is slightly different, but no major changes. The original revision had some unused pads on the board, which I suppose were for PAL components or something.

For example:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y36/joedog_86/DSC01373.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y36/joedog_86/DSC01374.jpg

that appears to be for a voltage regulator. (7805) im guessing they scrapped that idea and went with a straight 5V power supply instead to reduce heat and cost. the 8V would be the input from the power brick, the GND is ground, and the 5V is output from the 7805 regulator. the other pads would probably be for capacitors and stuff related to the regulator

[Mason P.]

I was wondering the same thing. I liked the Special edition red color, but I want to get the best version.

[jb143]

that appears to be for a voltage regulator. (7805) im guessing they scrapped that idea and went with a straight 5V power supply instead to reduce heat and cost. the 8V would be the input from the power brick, the GND is ground, and the 5V is output from the 7805 regulator. the other pads would probably be for capacitors and stuff related to the regulator

Good call on the regulator. The D1 pads are for a surface mount diode, and it looks like there was a switch on it(SW1). It's pretty common for different board revisions to leave pads unpopulated. Deciding to go with a different power adapter would be a good reason for that. What happens is that instead of paying for a whole new set of boards(thousands of dollars worth if not more) they will use up what they have with board modifications before releasing the next revision of a board.

[Diosoth]

There do seem to be revisions that mess with compatibility. Some people can get Retrozone's PowerPak to work, other's can't. Same for trickier games like Battletoads, Mario RPG, etc. But there seems to be no solid way to tell, as the evrsion on the box doesn't always tell what revision the motherboard is.