NoMoreBlinking.com -- New NES Site with Info & Guides

[§ Gideon §]

... and it might be no good (http://www.nomoreblinking.com/). If you look under "Tips and Tricks," the author says to clean contacts with water... I... I... I just don't know what to say.

'Haven't gone over the whole site yet, so there may be some redeeming information. Anyway, it attacks a widespread problem, so the site just might run rampant someday through the blogsphere. You heard it here first.

[FABombjoy]

There is such an overwhelming quantity of disinformation regarding NES cleaning and repair - NoMoreBlinking.com is simply par for the course.

All this site seems to do is provide iffy information and sell you an overpriced, underperforming pin connector.

[johno590]

I dunno about that site... 20 bucks for a new connector?


Q:With this new connector, I've noticed a lot of resistance when inserting games. Is this normal?

A:Yes it is. If you take a look at the connector, you can see the black plastic housing around the actual contact point. This is what is causing the significant resistance, not the actual contact point. The connector should break in over time, but will always be more stiff than the original. This is normal and will not harm your games.

That is on their FAQ... maybe I'm reading this wrong, but isn't the black plastic always around the pins? Or is this a different 72-pin?

[omnedon]

Wow! Excellent marketing of a crappy product. LOL

[Push Upstairs]

Personally, when my NES starts blinking or giving me trouble instead of cleaning my connector with water i just put the whole thing in the dishwasher.

[§ Gideon §]

Haha. Well, you trash talkers might hush up if you knew that I got the link from TRM (http://www.digitpress.com/forum/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=122)'s Warp Zone (http://www.planetnintendo.com/thewarpzone/). I was browsing the front page the other day and spotted it. Hopefully, TRM doesn't wash his games with water...

[Push Upstairs]

Seems that place hasn't been updated in awhile.

Perhaps a kindly reminder that electronics and water aren't the best of friends is in order?

[Matt-El]

I looked on the Site and it said that to "Make My Nintendo Happy" that I shoud NOT keep games in the cartridge slot.
Where as, in fact, Its probably the BEST thing to do for most systems. Yeah, its kind of a kooky site.

[Push Upstairs]

I keep all my systems covered when not in use and even though my NES is covered (with an offical NES cover) i still keep a game inside it.

[Slate]

Heh, Connectors at $20, Well that's a ripoff, and they aren't worth $5 either.

The sandpaper fix works better, is faster, and is cheaper, too. Plus, you don't need to use a soldering iron with it!

[The Manimal]

I paid > $10 each for a batch of connectors from jdchess on these forums but these were official Nintendo connectors - ones that will actually work. I do understand not wanting to pay more than a few dollars for something like what is from MCM or what this guy is selling, given they give the grip of death to carts and don't consistently work from the start.

[Tron2005]

Everyone might be suprised but Circuit boards are washed in Water and a cleaning solvent during the Manufacturing process.

as for keeping the cartridge in the console i never do this because as a cartridge sits inside a console the connector pins are compressed and after time will fatigue and become flat

Sandpaper to me is the last resort due to the fact when you use sandpaper you are stripping the finish off of the connector pins and this will roughen up the pins which will wear the the cartridges faster and it will let it get dirtier to a point where it doesnt have good contact alot faster.

[FABombjoy]

Everyone might be suprised but Circuit boards are washed in Water and a cleaning solvent during the Manufacturing process.

Deionized water though, not tap water.


Sandpaper to me is the last resort due to the fact when you use sandpaper you are stripping the finish off of the connector pins and this will roughen up the pins which will wear the the cartridges faster and it will let it get dirtier to a point where it doesnt have good contact alot faster.

Since an OEM NES pin connector is ZIF, there really isn't any abrasion to speak of, except for the minor contact made when seating/unseating the cartridge from it's carrier. What the OEM design needed was abrasion - friction - which is what adds the self-cleaning aspect to most pin connectors.

Unfortunately, the aftermarket pin connectors have pretty much proven that you can't add more friction to the original NES design.

[§ Gideon §]

Still, he's right about sandpaper. Though, I'm more interested in what everyone's saying about leaving carts in the system... I don't see how it could be that harmful or helpful either way...

Here's my line of thinking: There's no such thing as ZIF. Electrical connection => Contact => Friction. You can't work around that. Hence, keeping a cart in the deck at all times does more harm than good--for the same reason Tron said: It accustoms the pins (if anything).

[FABombjoy]

I think the entire "NES Pin connector repair" scene is filled with speculation and conjecture and very little to no scientific approach.

If you're concerned about the tiny amount of friction caused when seating/unseating a NES cartridge, you my want to give up using any cartridge-based game system. In the big picture it's really pretty minuscule.

A second approach to mitigating friction would be to coat every single cartridge edge in a thin layer of dielectric grease. I'll pass.

I've had NES carts that were so gunked up, I had to use sandpaper to clean their contacts. I have to say that it takes a long time, even with sandpaper, to do any real damage to a cartridge.

And there is such thing as Zero Insertion Force. A ZIF CPU socket is conceptually similar to the NES pin connector: First, seat the device with little to no effort; Second, use a locking mechanism to initiate connection between the device and the mainboard.

If you want to find out if there is any merit to pin fatigue, there is plenty of metallurgical science out there to help. All that I have to go on is my observations of the 40-something NES units I've worked on over the years, of which every single one worked properly on its OEM connector once I was finished with it, no pin bending required.

[§ Gideon §]

Points taken. I didn't realize who I was talking to.

[Bratwurst]

While I must agree the OEM connector for the NES involves abrasion it is more of a rubbing, even surface along the traces of the card edge. With sandpaper you're (more often than not) working against the grain and potentially cutting into the metal with the individual grit. This exposes layers that were plated in gold for a reason, though I concede that the primary function was for conductivity.

I've seen lots of Atari 2600 cartridges recently where the tracework had corroded into powder that wiped away completely with a q-tip. Give certain NES carts time and we'll see. There's all kinds of factors like storage conditions, quality of the cart's materials and so on, but I will reject a game if I see a hint of sanding, and have done so before. I'm just not going to take that chance.

I've also never encountered an NES cart where I had to get more drastic than employing a toothbrush with nylon bristles.

[SkiDragon]

I'm confused. Are we talking about sanding carts or the connector. Sanding carts sounds like a bad idea. Sanding the connector doesn't.

[FABombjoy]

A little of both, I think. Mostly the pin connector. And yes, sanding carts is bad.

I've only had to sand maybe 2 NES carts ever, and never any other system. I tried everything else leading up to sandpaper, including scotch brite green. It was a truly last-ditch effort. I used something in the neighborhood of 1000 grit, which I suppose is really more like "polishing paper" than sandpaper. The next step was the trash, so I figured it was worth a shot.

Has anyone tried slotting the mounting holes on the pin connector so it could be pushed forward or back, shifting the connections to a lesser-used section of the cartridge edge?

[mrgreggie]

BUMP!

I recently came across this forum thread questioning the info on NoMoreBlinking.com. I would like to address a few points...

The price. MCM Electronics sells the connectors for about $10, plus shipping.
So lets see, $10 for the connector, $5 for the INCLUDED FedEx Ground shipping, and $5 for full color printed instructions and the ability to e-mail NoMoreBlinking.com if you needed help. So yes, when we were selling them, it was $20 for a new connector. Sure it wasn't the cheapest option, but I don't think anybody was being ripped off. Somebody here mentioned the “excellent marketing”. Exactly! I wasn't selling to the tech savvy retro gamer who just wanted their new connector wrapped in plastic in a box. The target market for the site was people who wanted to fix their NES but weren't the hardcore gamers that you all are. In a few cases, after assistance via e-mail failed, I ACTUALLY SPENT TIME ON ON THE PHONE WITH SOME OF MY CUSTOMERS TO HELP THEM GET THEIR NES WORKING. Somebody paid $20 and got to spend a half hour on the phone with me to get their NES working, along with the connector, shipping, and full color install guide. Just a reminder, connectors are no longer being sold on this site.

No, you SHOULD NOT keep your carts in the system. It causes additional wear on the connector by keeping the contacts constantly depressed. It's just a really bad design, and the reason the top loading NES is so desirable.

I don't like the idea of telling anybody to use sandpaper on their cartridges. While I can see how something like a 2000 grit might be effective, I can just picture too many people grabbing a random piece from their garage and sanding off the contacts. Again, my target market wasn't the hardcore gamers.

I clean my collection with a small amount of water and make sure everything is dry when I'm done. All of the game cartridges in my collection (NES, Super NES, Genesis, Game Boy, Game Gear, etc.) work fine. How am I getting bashed for using a small amount of water by anybody who is SANDING the contacts on their cartridges? If you feel more comfortable using alcohol instead of water, please do so. Also, if anybody can point me to a good reference that shows that water is worse than alcohol for cleaning contacts, I'll be happy to change the FAQ and give credit for the correction.

Everybody is entitled to their opinion, and I just wanted to get mine out there ;-)

:argue:

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Personally, when my NES starts blinking or giving me trouble instead of cleaning my connector with water i just put the whole thing in the dishwasher.

LOL!

Reminds me of an episode of the classic British comedy series from the 80's "The Young Ones" where they discuss whether or not they should clean their VCR with dish-soap. In fact ... I even found a script online for that episode (for the benefit of those who have never seen it)!

MIKE: Maybe you shouldn't have poured all of that washing-up liquid in it.

VYVYAN: But it says here, Michael look, "Ensure machine is clean, and free from dust"!

MIKE: Yeah, but it don't say, "Ensure the machine is full of washing-up liquid"!

VYVYAN: No, but it doesn't say, "Ensure the machine isn't full of washing-up liquid"!

MIKE: Well, it wouldn't would it! I mean, it doesn't say, "Ensure you don't chop up your video machine with an axe, put all the bits in a plastic bag, and bung 'em down the lavatory"!

VYVYAN: Doesn't it? Well maybe that's what's going wrong!

[Dave Farquhar]

Also, if anybody can point me to a good reference that shows that water is worse than alcohol for cleaning contacts, I'll be happy to change the FAQ and give credit for the correction.


I don't have an online reference (I was fixing computers for extra money before the Web existed, so I learned this stuff from books) but off the top of my head I can tell you two reasons alcohol is better to use than water. #1 is corrosion. Not as big of a deal on other systems as inserting a cartridge will knock the corrosion off, but on an NES, you want as little as possible. Using water is bad for the same reason blowing in the carts is bad. #2 is residue. You don't want to use rubbing alcohol (50% water) because it leaves too much residue. If it's all you've got, fine, try it, but it should be a last resort. 91% alchohol, Everclear (190 proof, so it's 95% alcohol) or denatured alcohol from the hardware store are best. Or use zero-residue contact cleaner, sold in aerosol cans at hardware and auto parts stores.

Since 91% isopropyl alchohol is a household item and available at any pharmacy, I see no reason not to recommend it. If it were hard to find, I'd look for alternatives, but it's not hard to find, nor is it expensive.

For a really stubborn dirt on cartridges that alcohol alone won't remove, use a soft eraser on the contacts. My favorites are sold in art supply and craft stores. I think they're called Magic Rub or something. They cost about $2 and last a long time. They're tough on dirt but they don't scratch the contacts.

[CZroe]

Sorry for bumping such an old thread, but this keeps coming up in my Google searches so often and over so many years that I figure I better correct the record for others stumbling across it. It seems that the NoMoreBlinking website owner himself didn't explain this, so I'll have to.

But first: Even though the website is long gone it seems that the owner's SEO services are still going strong and raising the ranks of results that include references. By mentioning Google's search rankings and services to manipulate them, Google should down-rank this thread at least a bit. ;)

Anyway, who seems to think that water is safer than alcohol? Well, Nintendo themselves, of course! I've known since I first used an official NES Cleaning Kit ~30 years ago. The manual very clearly says to use WATER. I can't recall if they suggested distilled water but it wasn't anything fancy like PCB-safe "deionized." I can actually check when I get home because I have three Official NES Cleaning Kits (two CIB). They do expect you to dry it.

They said to use isopropyl ONLY if water alone didn't work (last resort?). Even then, they said to dilute it with 50% water. There was nothing about common 70% vs 91% concentrations. I just stick with 99.9% and ignore their instruction to water it down. This evaporates faster! They didn't call it "rubbing alcohol" and didn't warn against it either. My suspicion is that they didn't want to sound like they were contradicting their own "Do not clean with alcohol" care instructions.

TL;DR:
Water is safe but obviously doesn't work as well.
Nintendo themselves tells you to use water.
They also say to use 50/50 isopropyl+water if that doesn't work.