cart blowing

[googlefest1]

im sure this has probbaly been asked before

i searched but came up with nothing


why does blowing on cartrages always make them work

- ive tried using alcohol - that dosent work

i thought mabey that blowing on the carts heated up the traces just a bit - so i tried rubbing the traces with soft cloth - and heat - this also didnt work

-- im afraid blowing on the carts will cause them to build up oxidation fromt he moisture in the breath

my carts are very clean and i dont see a reason why they shouldnt work with out blowing on them

mabey someone here will enlighten me as to why blowing on the carts works-
please?

[Daria]

I read once that some of the saliva that you spit out during blowing actually works an a conductor between the pins and the cartridge. Don't know how accurate that is though.

[-hellvin-]

it's magic

[Kejoriv]

Rubbing Alcohol and a qtip ALWAYS work for me. Ive only had one dead cart in all my 12 years of collecting and playing

[bargora]

There was a lengthy thread on this topic somewhere in the past. Basically, the conclusion seemed to agree with what Daria said regarding the incidental saliva providing a conductive liquid matrix (I just wanted to say matrix there). Also, the saliva assists formation of further corrosion, so it's not really recommended for the long-term health of your carts.

If alcohol and a Q-tip didn't work for you after one treatment, then go ahead and do it again. And again. If you see green junk on the Q-tip after a cleaning, you're still removing electricity-blocking corrosion from the traces.

Another thing to think about is possibly replacing the 72-pin connector on your NES deck, if it's NES carts that are causing you trouble. The pins on the connectors can become both bent and corroded over time, which compounds the problems of corrosion on your carts.

[musical]

I've had N64 carts that looked absolutely BLACK on the connectors. Some alcohol and Q-tips made them work. In some case I had to literally SCRUB the connector until it wa shiny.

[Mr. Smashy]

First you wanna kill me, now you wanna kiss me. Blow.

Gotta love MS Paint.

[badinsults]

According to Nintendo, you should not blow into your carts, as it corrodes the connectors. It only makes sense.

[kainemaxwell]

I clean my carts but I still blow them out of force of habit growing up. Know what I mean?

[Lemmy Kilmister]

I clean my carts with either a cleaning kit or a q-tip with some form of solution. It always makes me faint when i see some redneck or fat kid blowing inside the cart. It just makes me want to run over and slap them in the face.

[googlefest1]

like i said my carts are very clean - i clean them every time before i use them

it crossed my mind that saliva could be adding conductive paths - but i dismised that becasue the traces are VERY clean and there should be no reason why there isn't enough conductivity at the traces --- thats why i leaned more towards heating up the traces

i dont have this problem with all carts

also i have this problem with all systems from NES to N64 - not pre-NES

heating, alcohol, fast wipe - dont work -- they just clean the cart - i HAVE TO blow on them -- and its realy freaking bothering me

thanks every one

[omnedon]

[Dr. Morbis]

heating, alcohol, fast wipe - dont work -- they just clean the cart - i HAVE TO blow on them -- and its realy freaking bothering me

That makes no sense. It's not the blowing that is making your carts work, it's the fact that are taking them out of the system (to blow them) and then reinserting them, that is making them work. This is especially true for NES.

Pitfall Harry has a rather lengthly explanation/FAQ on the harms of blowing on game carts in a thread on Atari Age, if you want to bother looking for it.

[jonjandran]

There is actually 2 different reasons blowing on carts get them to work.

1. Blowing on them sends hot air over the contacts causing condensation which provides a slightly better conducor than the corroded contacts , allowing the game to work sometimes..

2. Sometimes in electronics you get "cold circuits" . This is where an electronic part stops conducting properly when cold. Blowing the hot air warms it up enough to start properly working.

[zmweasel]

This thread is filled with almost as much pseudo-scientific bullpuckey as a creationist website. "Incidental saliva" and/or condensation creates a "conductive liquid matrix"? Hot breath revives "cold circuits"? I-yi-yi.

I have no idea why Googlefest's carts are working only when he blows on them. Perhaps he's not properly swabbing the cart contacts with the alcohol/Q-Tip. Perhaps he's conveniently forgetting the misses when blowing doesn't work, and only remembering the "hits" (which may or may not have anything to do with his blowing). We'd need to look at his cartridge contacts and/or game system to know for sure. But there's certainly a logical reason that has nothing to do with incidental saliva or conductive liquid matrixes.

Sorry for the rant, but my skeptical self needs more than a few anecdotal theories to accept something as fact.

-- Z.

[jonjandran]

This thread is filled with almost as much pseudo-scientific bullpuckey as a creationist website. "Incidental saliva" and/or condensation creates a "conductive liquid matrix"? Hot breath revives "cold circuits"? I-yi-yi.

I have no idea why Googlefest's carts are working only when he blows on them. Perhaps he's not properly swabbing the cart contacts with the alcohol/Q-Tip. Perhaps he's conveniently forgetting the misses when blowing doesn't work, and only remembering the "hits" (which may or may not have anything to do with his blowing). We'd need to look at his cartridge contacts and/or game system to know for sure. But there's certainly a logical reason that has nothing to do with incidental saliva or conductive liquid matrixes.

Sorry for the rant, but my skeptical self needs more than a few anecdotal theories to accept something as fact.

-- Z.

I've been repairing electronics for 15 years now.

You need to know a little more before you run your mouth sir.

If you've never heard of " cold circuits " then you don't need to be responding to this thread. That's why they sell super cold electronic spray at electronics stores. Sometimes you can have cold solder joints or also electronic parts that will fail when hot. Cold spray helps to find and solve these problems. And I've got many electronic items to work by using a hair dryer to warm up "cold solder joints".

And as for water being a good conductor. OMG are you just stupid ? Do you also use your blow dryer and toaster in the bath tub.

Think and/or do research before posting.

Sorry if this comes across as being rude, but seeing how you could care less if you're rude, I'll respond in kind.

[zmweasel]

I didn't say water isn't a good conductor. I said it's ridiculous to claim that "incidental saliva" is the reason why blowing on a cart works (when, in fact, it often DOESN'T work). That twists good science (water as conductor) into non-science (anecdotal "evidence").

Google's claim that his carts ONLY work when he blows on them is dubious, and the explanations in this thread are equally so.

And are you seriously comparing the heating effects of a puff of breath to a hair dryer?!

-- Z.

[Predatorxs]

i THINK girls started the whole blowing thing?! ..........Ohh wrong thread..

Also i'm not sure but have you tried cleaning your snes console (as in using a cleaning cart!? on the console?)

..XS

[jonjandran]

And are you seriously comparing the heating effects of a puff of breath to a hair dryer?!

-- Z.

Why yes I am. Let's see, the air in a standard house is 74 degrees . The air from your mouth is 98.6 degrees. Hmmmm

I've seen electronic parts ( resistors, transistors, capacitors ) work or not work with a variance of 2-3 degrees.

Like I said, Know something about what you're talking about before you call it stupid.

[omnedon]

Someone please move this to Technical Restoration so I can lock this stupid thread.