Famicom video mod

[almostgotthemall]

I was searching for the audio video mod for the famicom and came across rbudrick's post about the plans he had translated from japanese to english(roughly). So I emailed him for the plans, but unfortunately Rob is having trouble with his computer.

He suggested I post here and hopefully someone that he sent the file to will recognized this.

If you have the english translated plans from Rob, could you be so kind as to send them to me at beerdrinkinbastd at hotmail dot com. Thank you.

I told him that my famicom was missing the channel selector on the back, and there was no place for one when I opened it up. Rob thinks I may have a Famiclone because of this.

I put a few pictures of it here, and perhaps anyone can give me their judgement on it. It looks pretty real to me. And it trys to tune in on channel 88 or 89. Anyone heard of that?

The rf box has a small indent where the switch might be, but its just a dent and doesnt go all the way through. No components on the other side or even enough space to put a switch.


http://img424.imageshack.us/img424/5098/famicom19oc.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img516.imageshack.us/img516/9913/famicom24hc.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img424.imageshack.us/img424/1184/famicom35gh.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img516.imageshack.us/img516/7948/famicom44cr.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img516.imageshack.us/img516/1555/famicom55wz.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img424.imageshack.us/img424/8664/famicom67qr.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[FABombjoy]

That does look different from my Famicom (pics of the insides of mine + the AV mod are HERE (http://www.lukesandel.com/techgallery/FamicomComposite). Mine doesn't have those 3 wires, nor does it appear to have any shielding around the RF section.

If there is a 15-pin connector behind that cover on the front, it's probably the real deal.

Maybe that was a model intended for export to another Asian country with different channel allocation.

[almostgotthemall]

Sweet....thanks FABombjoy. Yeah, it has a 15 pin connector up front. I have no information on this system. I found it at Value Village.
I wonder what country it was meant for?

I took a better pic of where those 3 wires go in case you are curious(I accidently clipped one black one when I put it back together :embarrassed: ):


http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/9223/famicom79pd.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[rbudrick]

Wow...it really is an official Famicom. I didn't realize there was a hole where the channel selector went, but no switch!

Freaky. That's a first for my eyes. So...did the mod work out? Sorry I wasn't able to get you those docs.

-Rob

[almostgotthemall]

Wow...it really is an official Famicom. I didn't realize there was a hole where the channel selector went, but no switch!

Freaky. That's a first for my eyes. So...did the mod work out? Sorry I wasn't able to get you those docs.

-Rob


Not yet. This project is on the back burner until I go shopping for parts.

Did anyone have any ideas as to the origin country of this Famicom?

[Enixis]

I've got that exact same famicom, which as mentioned before, was found in the current house my parents bought a few years back. So definitely not a famiclone.

[Enixis]

I'm assuming this version is meant for Hong Kong. Notice the chinese text (its not kanji as one part of the text reads Nintendo in chinese). Check out the power adapter as well. It should be 220v instead of 110v.
The channel allocation for asian countries is channel 3 and 4, which i why i think the switch at the back was removed. Since Hong Kong is in the PAL region i thought i might be able to tune it on my PAL TV. So far all i've come close to is a fuzzy picture of the intro screen and thats it. I haven't attempted the AV mod yet, but if you get it to work, let me know.
Here's some extra photos i took of mine, and i'll try snap some pics of the internals later on today.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y148/DCSG/DSC00007.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y148/DCSG/DSC00006.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y148/DCSG/DSC00005.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y148/DCSG/DSC00003.jpg

[Enixis]

[UPDATE]

I managed to get the famicom working with colour on an old PAL only Sony TV set on channel 3. Too bad it doesn't work on my Samsung HDTV or Toshiba Projection TV.

[almostgotthemall]

PAL, huh. Explains why I couldnt get it to run. (with my NTSC game and my NTSC TV).

I will still try the mod, and hopefully this doesn't throw a pile of problems my way.

Thanks

[leonk]

That does look different from my Famicom (pics of the insides of mine + the AV mod are HERE (http://www.lukesandel.com/techgallery/FamicomComposite).

What I found interesting about your mod is the vertical lines! They are identical to the problem found with the top loader video output!

This further proves my theory that the problem is not caused due to a bad PPU but rather something else.

Have you been able to get rid of the vertical lines? I have them as well on my modded top loader (using a new video amp + PPU from front loader). They're no where near as bad as originally seen on the top loader though.

[Great Hierophant]

That does look different from my Famicom (pics of the insides of mine + the AV mod are HERE (http://www.lukesandel.com/techgallery/FamicomComposite).

What I found interesting about your mod is the vertical lines! They are identical to the problem found with the top loader video output!

This further proves my theory that the problem is not caused due to a bad PPU but rather something else.

Have you been able to get rid of the vertical lines? I have them as well on my modded top loader (using a new video amp + PPU from front loader). They're no where near as bad as originally seen on the top loader though.

I thought the new mod finally and completely eliminated the problem. The R/F output of the Famicom didn't have the lines, so the A/V mod shouldn't either. I know that the lines did appear on both the R/F output and the old-style A/V mod for the toploader.

[leonk]

The lines are still there, but not as bad.

They are almost invisible when the unit is fully open and testing is going on. But they appear when you put the system back together. There seems to be some kind of interference generated by the system.

[The Manimal]

darn. was hoping that this new AV mod for the top loader NES would eliminate the 'lines'.

[leonk]

I think the problem has to do with the power supply or bad ground.

I can't think of anything else.

[rbudrick]

A PAL Famicom? Wtf? I never knew they existed. So is the fami and the FDS 220v?

-Rob

[The Manimal]

Just playing around, I compared video output of RF from the toaster NES and the toploader on a larger TV than I have used in the past for the NES. Anyways, I think even with the lines, that RF is better from the toploader than from the original toaster NES. I used SMB and everything is so blurry looking on the toaster through RF. The toploader doesn't look blurry, and colors don't blend and smear together - they are better defined. However, there's the lines. I then tried the AV of the toaster and it the colors look just like the top loader does through RF...but without the lines. I never realized how crappy the original toaster NES was through RF. I guess when you'd always played it on a 13" screen, even RF looked alright.

[rbudrick]

Oh, I almost forgot...the Kanji (Chinese characters) on the FDS units are common for all of them, as far as I know. On top of this, the name "Nintendo" is often written in Kanji in Japan.

-Rob

[almostgotthemall]

A PAL Famicom? Wtf? I never knew they existed. So is the fami and the FDS 220v?

-Rob

The 2 power supplies that came with it are 200volt 50/60Hz input, 10.5 volt 850mA output.
So I just used a Sega supply. And batteries for the drive.

I can only get a black screen on channel 93 with the Sega supply, and on 88 or 89 with a converter on the 200v supply.

One question, shouldn't I be able to operate the drive without seeing the screen. What are the steps to load the game?
I think there may be something wrong with the system or the drive, as I cannot get it (the drive) to power up.

[InsaneDavid]

Hey Enixis, can you kill or edit the second image you posted to make this thread readable again. Thanks! :)

[Enixis]

Hey Enixis, can you kill or edit the second image you posted to make this thread readable again. Thanks! :)

Consider it done!

[rbudrick]

Just use batteries in the FDS for now. BTW, the FDS does NOT use the same power supply as the Fami.

-Rob

[InsaneDavid]

Hey Enixis, can you kill or edit the second image you posted to make this thread readable again. Thanks! :)

Consider it done!

Much appreciated! :D