Friday, May 22, 2009
Welcome!
Welcome to NoMoreBlinking.com, a guide to maintaining and repairing your NES console. While we no longer sell new 72-pin connectors, the following install guide should prove to be very useful. If you need a new Nintendo 72-pin connector, check out MCM Electronics for a good deal.
Friday, April 1, 2005
72-Pin Installation Guide
Flip your NES upside down and remove the screws that hold the case together, six in all. You may have to flip your system back over to get the screws out after you loosen them all of the way. Just be sure to not lose them.
Once your NES is exposed, remove the metal RF shielding (not pictured). What you now see is the motherboard with cartridge bay. Removing the bay can be a slight chore because of the tight space that it is in (youll see what I mean when you try to remove it). Remove the screws holding it down and slowly pull the bay out. You may have to pull slightly upward to clear the screw tunnel on the bottom of the case.
Now you have the motherboard (with a shield under it) and the 72-pin connector remaining. To remove the connector, youll have to unscrew the motherboard. When you do this, the main board will still be attached to the bottom with some wires. While the wires have removable plugs, it is best to leave them connected.
With the main board removed from the system, you will now be able to pull off the old connector. From age (and glue as Ive seen in some cases), the connector may be on the board pretty tightly. Pull firmly, but as always be careful not to crack or break anything. Pulling on one side at a time in small increments seems to work best for me.
Once the connector is off, simply plug in the new one and the install is done. Screw the main board back down, attach the cartridge bay, reattach the RF shielding, and finally the top of the case again. Game time!
Thats pretty much it for installing the connector!
Important Notices For This Guide
Please be careful when taking apart your NES or any other game system. Always unplug your system before servicing it and only attempt to carry out the instructions in this guide if you feel you are capable. Im not responsible for any damages to your NES resulting from the instructions in this guide.
Once your NES is exposed, remove the metal RF shielding (not pictured). What you now see is the motherboard with cartridge bay. Removing the bay can be a slight chore because of the tight space that it is in (youll see what I mean when you try to remove it). Remove the screws holding it down and slowly pull the bay out. You may have to pull slightly upward to clear the screw tunnel on the bottom of the case.
Now you have the motherboard (with a shield under it) and the 72-pin connector remaining. To remove the connector, youll have to unscrew the motherboard. When you do this, the main board will still be attached to the bottom with some wires. While the wires have removable plugs, it is best to leave them connected.
With the main board removed from the system, you will now be able to pull off the old connector. From age (and glue as Ive seen in some cases), the connector may be on the board pretty tightly. Pull firmly, but as always be careful not to crack or break anything. Pulling on one side at a time in small increments seems to work best for me.
Once the connector is off, simply plug in the new one and the install is done. Screw the main board back down, attach the cartridge bay, reattach the RF shielding, and finally the top of the case again. Game time!
Thats pretty much it for installing the connector!
Important Notices For This Guide
Please be careful when taking apart your NES or any other game system. Always unplug your system before servicing it and only attempt to carry out the instructions in this guide if you feel you are capable. Im not responsible for any damages to your NES resulting from the instructions in this guide.
Tips and Tricks
Stop blowing into your game carts!
Stop, the game is probably not that dirty! By blowing on your games, you are causing a slight moisture buildup, allowing the contacts to make a better connection. This also means that minutes after you start a game, it may become unstable and do all sorts of freaky things, or just crash. On top of that, the moisture accelerates the corrosion process, so blowing into your games is actually damaging them over time.
Do you have just that one game that doesnt work, even after you service your NES?
This could be bad. In a few extreme cases, I have come across game carts where the connector on the game itself is actually worn out. This may be from incredibly excessive use, or caused by use in a machine with a connector that has been improperly adjusted (see the FAQ). Either way, I have not found a good way to fix this yet. However, I am researching ways to correct this problem.
Clean and care for your games.
One of the debates Ive seen is what to clean your games with. Glass cleaner really cleans them, but leaves a residue behind that interferes with the connection to the system. Alcohol cleans very well, but Nintendo says not to (edited). Finally, theres good old water. Truth is, cleaning in general does put wear on your games. The method I recommend is to use water and scrub the contacts very well (but not too hard, obviously). If there is very heavy corrosion, you can use a pink eraser to remove it. Again, be careful not to wear away the contacts. Once your games are clean, storage is very important. The less you have to clean them, the less wear and tear. The original dust covers are good so long as they are clean themselves. Personally, I keep my entire collection of NES game cartridges in individual Ziploc bags.
Other Suggestions to Keep Your NES Happy
Frequently Asked Questions
Q:With a 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.Q: I read an article that I can repair my old connector by bending back the pins. Why not do that instead of spending money on a new one?
A: Well, it does work technically, but it is a VERY short term solution. The basic problem with the NES is that the connector becomes weak over time; the pins sag downward and fail to spring back up when a game cartridge is removed. While bending back the pins will make the connection stronger the first time you put a game in, they will fail again soon after because the metal is just weakened from age and use. On top of that, if you bend them back just a little bit too far, you will cause extreme wear on the connectors on the game cartridge itself, ruining the games over time. If you want to fix the system yourself, just pick up a 72-pin connector (I sell them here, hint hint).
Q: Ive heard that those rare top loading systems dont have the same problem as the older models.
A: True, they instead have their own set of problems, mostly relating to image quality. For one, the newer system doesnt have AV connectors, so youre stuck hooking it up with the RF adapter. If youve never used the AV ports on the side of your system, youre missing out. Another image quality issue is the output itself. Due to a change in how the newer systems are manufactured, there are many noticeable lines going across the entire screen from top to bottom. The color output is also washed out. Finally, not all of the accessories that worked with the original NES work with this one. Try to use your old Game Genie with a top loading model, for example, and youll be in for a surprise when it doesnt fit. As a collector of games and systems, Id love to get a top loader, but Ill be playing my games on the original Nintendo.
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