DP MYTHBUSTERS : Blowing in NES Cartridges

[dao2]

The metal would have to be exposed to both moisture and oxygen in order to corrode, so your container of spit wasn't doing much but waterlogging the circuit board. However, I'm still fairly skeptical that there will be any noticeable corrosion in Frankie's experiment after 30 days. If there's anything visible it would probably just be some dried salts left behind by Mr. Says_Relax's breath, which could be wiped away easily (those same salts would surely contribute the oxidization of the metal in the long run however). Maybe i'm wrong, though, and the oxidization will happen faster.

Where are you performing this experiment, Frankie? If you're somewhere dry like Nevada, you're probably wasting your time. Unless the air is relatively humid, the moisture in your breath will evaporate too quickly. And if you're really at the bottom of Suda Trench, you'll have the same problem as NES_Rules and his bucket of spit.


Have you ever seen 100% alcohol for sale before? We use it at my work and we have to order it from a laboratory equipment distributor. The highest I've ever seen for sale in a store is 85%. The remaining percentage is made up of water, though, which is indeed more likely to be left behind and cause oxidization after the alcohol evaporates, so I guess pure grain alcohol would be better in theory. I doubt it's anything much to worry about in reality, though, since you're not using it very often.


...word is bondage...

I see isopropyl 91% all th time does that count ;S?

[gum_drops]

I see isopropyl 91% all th time does that count ;S?

I use 99% isopropyl alcohol produced by Swan all the time to clean cart contacts/whatever else needs cleaning. I have always assumed the 99% is better since it evaporates in seconds but I wonder if its rougher on the contacts?

[remowilliams]

I use 99% isopropyl alcohol produced by Swan all the time to clean cart contacts/whatever else needs cleaning. I have always assumed the 99% is better since it evaporates in seconds but I wonder if its rougher on the contacts?

It's not 'rougher on the contacts.' 99% should be used all the time if possible. Lower percentages contain (obviously) more water and that's the enemy of electronic contacts, not the alcohol.

[s1lence]

I'm surprised by all the "negative" comments here. I think its a good idea, especially since a good portion of us live in not so dry areas. It should be interesting how bad those pins start to look.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

I'm surprised by all the "negative" comments here. I think its a good idea, especially since a good portion of us live in not so dry areas. It should be interesting how bad those pins start to look.

I haven't seen any negatives really ... just people with their own theories, which I absolutely welcome, and it's totally cool with me.

I enjoy provoking thought/discussion over this kind of thing.

And even MY theory, while I base it on years of first-hand visual evidence may in fact turn out to be "busted" (at least in the short term of one-month worth of mouth spit moisture exposure).

[punkoffgirl]

Frankie, if the contacts don't show any visible corrosion after the month is up, are you open to extending your experiment?

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Frankie, if the contacts don't show any visible corrosion after the month is up, are you open to extending your experiment?

If people want me to keep going until something happens, I don't see why not. If I don't net any results, I could even modify the conditions...but I don't want to "force" it to happen. That's not very scientific.

The whole reason that I believe that blowing in games is a direct correlation to them having increased oxidation comes from my years at Funcoland:

Every time there was a batch of awful looking, heavily oxidized games, I'd ask the owner if they blew in their games to get them to work, and the answer was always "yes". And in each batch of games, the ones that were popular and likely heavily played often had the worst of it (and probably got blown in the most frequently).

I don't believe that heavy oxidation (especially to the point of damaging the contacts) is a spontaneously occurring phenomenon ... it has to come from somewhere, and most people didn't keep their games next to a humidifier. I really think it's directly linked to "blowing".

In any case, we'll take a look at the results at 30 days and go from there.