Yes, get thyself a cleaning kit as Mr Blue Sky recommends. Use it on the system and the games. Also, you can try the old trick of wedging another game on top of the one you want to play. Push the game down as far as it will go and slide the other in, not just over the game-to-play, but also the plastic piece it is nestled in. Normally, after depressing the game it will start to rise but trigger a catch. If done properly, the second cartridge will prevent the first from ever rising.
Hitting it makes you feel good if you are frustrated, but I somehow suspect that is why I needed to use the cartridge trick in the first place.
My roomie and I had the same problem a year or so ago. You should definitely have a go at cleaning off the connector first - a little rubbing alcohol and a q-tip seemed to work reasonably well for us (works wonders on the games, too). We finally decided to go ahead and replace it, though, as we were still having some problems - much more annoying when it cuts out on you mid-game 'cause the guy living under you just kicked in his bass than when it simply won’t start. My roomie got the replacement off someone on ebay. It shouldn’t be too hard to search around and find one.
However, today just might be your (even) luck(ier) day - it just so happens that I’ve been procrastinating on the exact same dilemma, my having moved elsewhere, and the NES having stayed with the roomie. So I’ve been meaning to ask him for the name of his ebay contact (it cost $5 or something, without any hassles), and I’ll post it to the thread once i get it.
It occurred to me that promoting a particular ebay purveyor might possibly be contrary to board rules (can’t say I’ve read them too recently). If so, kindly let me know.
This problem is all too common; in fact, I’ve never seen an NES that worked reliably. I think the newer versions of the NES (redesigned in the style of the SNES) are more reliable.
I never used the “second cartridge” method when the locking mechanism on my NES broke…I noted that the standard oval BIC brand lighters I used worked perfectly as a “hold-down”
I have that problem with my NES as well. The connectors are not the issue, it’s something at the back from when you push down the cartridge. What I found works is to have the lid on the machine up, push the tray down (with a cart in it, obviously) and then power on. IF it doesn’t work, turn it off, push the tray up, then push it down again (note, you are not removing the cartridge, just pushing up and down on the tray inside). You may have to do this several times, but it will work eventually.
First off, thanks to everyone for the suggestions.
Bob55, I’ve used several different emulators, but nothing compares to playing Duck Hunt with a real Zapper.
Mr2001, The “top-loader” NES is probably more reliable, but they are rare and expensive these days, and I had the old style when I was a kid.
I wish I had the supplies, skill, and workspace to build that portable NES, but dorm rooms are not exactly the best areas for electronic experimentation.
Get the type of cleaner that has a part you jam into the slot in the NES.
You can also try not putting the game in quite all the way before you push it down. It should scrape the front of the NES when you push it down. I have no idea why that helps, but it does.
I got one last year for Father’s Day - mine’s persnickety, too - I guess they all are now.
What works for me is to put a game in ‘rough.’ You put the game almost all of the way, but not all of the way, horizontally, so when you push it down into place it kind of snaps roughly over the ‘hump,’ as it were.
Works every time for me. I read about it at a site I can’t find at the moment (I think it was a Ninja Gaiden appreciation site).
This works for me. Get an emery board & sand the contacts on one game On both sides & then clean with a qtip. The emery board should also fit in the slot in the nes to clean it too. Make sure everything is nice & shiny & you should be all set.
Sorry for the long delay; now you can see why I’m not exactly on the ball on fixing my own. Sadly, the ex-roomie lacks exact info for ebay. But it seems that WindFish has stepped in in my stead. I would definitely encourage you to replace the connector if you’re still having problems - ours worked like a charm once we did.
There is an article floating around the net about mirrors, light and color identification, however I remember back in the summer I tried stuffing a bunch of paper into the barell so as to block any possible light and the gun still worked fine.
Is it GPS? Satallites? How does the dang thing do it?
Cecil answered the zapper (I presume you mean the gun for ‘Duck Hunt’).
When you pull the trigger, the TV lit up - the bullseye one color, the rest of the TV another. The ‘barrel opening’ of the gun was a detector - if it was pointed at the bullseye, it would see that color; otherwise, it would see the ‘rest of the tv’ color.
I guess its too late to suggest “did you blow in it?” ? I found that the NES, SNES and SEGA Genesis all seemed to work better when you blew on the cartidge and inside…something about dust…
It’s a silly answer, I know, but its worked in the past!
