DP MYTHBUSTERS : Blowing in NES Cartridges

[Rob2600]

Cool experiment. I'm curious to see the outcome. A quick thought:

When a child turned on a game and got a blinking screen, how often do you think that was because of the lockout chip being out of sync with the game and not because of dirty contacts or bent pins? Then, when the child removed the cartridge, blew on it, put it back in, and turned it on again, maybe by coincidence sometimes the lockout chip was now in sync with the game, making it boot up just fine.

How big of a problem/coincidence do you think the lockout chip was vs. dirty contacts/bent pins?

[Cornelius]

How big of a problem/coincidence do you think the lockout chip was vs. dirty contacts/bent pins?

You weren't exactly asking me, but the answer is very little. Back in the day I remember we'd turn it on and off a few times, take it out and put it back in and have very little success. One quick blow, and bam, it would work. Pretty much anyone that played/plays it a lot will tell you that blowing definitely works well, though like someone said, we used to all think it was dust.

As an adult trying to get these games playing it is even clearer that corroded contacts are the main problem, since taking them apart and cleaning them thoroughly is the single most important way to get them going.