In Hardware

Hey, stumbled across your site looking for some NES instruction manuals. Figured I'd "prove" myself with a short description of one of my many NES-related projects.



Though the Atari 2600 was the system that got me into videogaming, NES was the system that I grew up on. Up until very recently, I've been playing most of my NES through emulation. A friend and I even built several versions of a stripped-down Windows-based PC, The NESDES (NES Dedicated Emulation System) whose sole purpose was JUST to play NES Games. Complete with original POWer/reset buttons, all input to the computer was supplied through REAL NES peripherals, as we wired NES ports to the system's motherboard. The project was fun, but I prefer playing my games on a real console.

My NES and games were pawned off long ago by my little brother, but I had recently begun picking up a few select titles, with no system to play them on. I decided I really wanted to get an NES Hooked back up in my entertainment center, but I didn't want it to look out of place next to my black 'Cube and XBox. I started thinking of ways I could modify an NES to make it look sleeker and more modern next to my other consoles. I decided I would replace the red LED in the system with a blue one, paint the hole system black, and stencil a sprite on the top. I dubbed the project The Necrofamicom, and a friend with a spare NES gave me a free system.

I ended up running into LOTS of problems, ESPECIALLY with the stencilling. I had about half of a Drybones (the skeleton koopas from SMB3) on top, when I realized my paint was bleeding under the masking tape. I had to sand the ENTIRE paint job off and start the top of the system over again. I finally dropped the idea of painting a sprite on top, and left it as a black system with a blue LED.

Here's some pics:

The "before" pic:


The first coat of paint:


Some sprites I ripped while I was deciding what I would stencil on top. I was looking for sprites that fit the "death" theme for "Necrofamicom". The ORIGINAL idea was to use a poison mushroom from SMB2 (Jap), and I also considered Bob-ombs or Bullet Bills:


This was the first POWer-up of the new blue LED after I got it soldered in. I honestly didn't think it would work. I'm REALLY bad at soldering:


Here's a couple glam shots I took over at a friend's, where his PS2 took back seat to an all-night Necrofamicom party:





Shortly after I had completed the system, I grew weary of how unreliable the NES is. The system I had was PARTICULARLY annoying, and I would have to fight games sometimes for several minutes to get them to work. I knew I needed a new 72-pin, so I called Nintendo, told them my NES never worked, and they sent me a shiny new 72-pin, free of charge:


About a week later, my connector came in the mail and I took the Necrofamicom apart one last time for the finishing touch: RELIABILITY.

The new connector:


The Necrofamicom with the lid removed:


The new connector in place:


The Necrofamicom now works FLAWLESSLY every time. All new cartridge purchases are THOROUGHLY cleaned before I use them, and I have a strict "no blowing" rule on all my games. No dust + no blowing = perfectly booting games. (The vapor in your breath and your saliva corrode the system's pins over time. NO BLOWING!)

During the Necrofamicom's construction, I came into possession of a couple more systems that I can tamper with in the future. As my first attempt at a console painting job, I'm pleased with how the paint job turned out, but know I could do better. My current plans for a Necrofamicom II are in the works. I plan on building a WHITE system with higher quality paints and my airbrush (instead of several coats of spraypaint + sanding between coats), a WHITE LED, custom "Necrofamicom" lettering on the lid, along with custom "POWer" and "reset" logos on the buttons. I plan on stencilling a white/gray Goomba from SMB1's dungeons (not the underground levels, the dungeons).

Anyway, hope you enjoyed reading and looking at the pictures. I may be hanging around this forum for a while, because I love the NES.

Anyone who goes through those lengths to play their Nintendo again must love the NES!!! That's some pretty cool stuff! Welcome to NES Files!

By the way, what the heck is that white deal in front of the PS2?

Those are Wavebird receivers, man.

I've actually been planing something VERY similar for a long time. the black paint and blue LED that is. the sprite would rock, but it seems you had some trouble with that... perhaps try a different paint? also, I think I would have done it it two differen't colours. I'm so used to seeing the standard two-tone that solid black almost looks out of place.

Yeah, on the second Necrofamicom, I plan on using a white with a very pale gray, and dark gray lettering. I will be using higher quality paint for the stenciled sprite AND the console's paint, so I shouldn't have a problem. I plan on using model enamels this time. Will that work and not wear off? I'd like to do a matching controller, but I don't want paint wearing off on my hands over time. I think a high quality glossy model enamel will work well, with several coats of clear coat.

Hey, stumbled across your site looking for some NES instruction manuals. Figured I'd "prove" myself with a short description of one of my many NES-related projects.
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Anyway, hope you enjoyed reading and looking at the pictures. I may be hanging around this forum for a while, because I love the NES.

Welcome! I loved your post-- pictures, and all. I'm thinking I may have to start a hardware forum here-- everyone does all these cool hardware hacks with their NES!


--
Derek

I'm no expert, but the more clear you put on the less chance of it wearing off.

Hmmmm... I wonder how much success others could have in such attempts...

Hmmmm... I wonder how much success others could have in such attempts...

I actually learned from a friend online that Nintendo would send you a 72 pin free of charge. He recently replaced his and told me it worked wonders for his dying NES. I called and they happily sent me mine, but when I told some people online that tried themselves, they were told Nintendo was out of them. When I called, they said they were running low on them, so they may be seriously out of them, or maybe I got lucky and got a nice representative. Who knows? The only way to know for sure is to try yourself.

I think I will try that tomorrow. any tips on what to say?

This is basically how our conversation went:

Me: Umm, yeah, my NES hardly EVER starts correctly. Games will EVENTUALLY work, but it takes a lot of fumbling with the cart. A friend of mine said that a new 72-pin could fix this problem.
Rep: Okay, if you could look in the system for me, can you tell me what sort of condition the pins are in?
Me: *grabbing a flashlight* Yeah, they look kinda corroded in there.
Rep: *takes my address, etc* Okay, we'll send one out to you.

The friend that did this originally said that he had to have two games on hand, and the rep had him try both games to make sure it wasn't a cartridge problem, and ONE of the games had to eventually boot to prove it wasn't something else wrong with the system. The guy talked to didn't have me go through nearly as many steps. It may vary, or like I said, they may REALLY be out. They told both me AND my friend that they were running low on them.

Well, I'll give it a shot and report back.