This past weekend I went on an archeological survey in an attempt to unearth gaming goodness. A few false leads including finding the original box to my NES console I was ready to give up and close the storage building. Fortunately my father had a keen eye and unearthed from a box an NES, 2 controllers, and a mess of games. Gathering the find into a box I rushed back to the lab (home).

First things first, remove the funk. Storage had left a bit of a moldy smell and filth on the console and carts. Sitting on the front porch I lovingly cleaned the system and all the games down to the controller wires. Reviving the surface was just the first step, making them tolerable to enter the house. Then I setup an assembly line, systematically cleaning the contacts on each game with the most special of tools, something called a Q-Tip. Progress had to end here, for I was with out the AC adapter and video cable.

The following day I journeyed to the geek attic in Lynchburg "The Vault". I was able to pick up several more games and both cables I required. Moving from there quickly to a friends house for some 8-bit goodness I was confronted with "BLINKIES". Yup, powering up and blinking on and off was no way to get a game to work, so the NES was scheduled for surgery that night. If you have never been inside of an NES it is worth taking a look at the simplicity that gives so much pleasure. I removed the 72-pin connector (the part that the cartridge actually sides into) and began doing a little cleaning and praying. That night I managed to play Goonies II and Castlevania, other games were still not responding.

Researching more into the 72-pin connector I learned that new ones could be purchased, but reviews said these tend to be of a poorer quality. What to do? Digging further on the net I discovered directions for bending all of the pins back to their former positions. After a tedious work session I now have Mario Bros. 3 working as well. Now I will attempt to work with it further and pray to Miyamoto for the salvation of a loving console that I know is not ready for the pearly gates...

Anyone else have a ressurection story, or in the process of performing one?