Non-Working Famicom

[burgundy]

I bought a Famicom this weekend that is looking more like a Nintendoriffic paperweight. Anyone have one of these things and/or any tips to get one to work?

[NeoZeedeater]

What exactly is wrong with it? No picture showing up?

I haven't used a Famicom in a long time but it just uses regular R/F and AC adapters, doesn't it?

[burgundy]

Supposedly, it uses the same hookups as the NES. I'm getting nothing out of it - if it has an LED like the NES, I'm not finding it. And I've doublechecked all my wires with my toploader.

The switches on the back say CH 1 - CH 2 and TV - GAME, but I\'ve tried almost all the combinations and I\'m not getting any sign that anything is getting any power.

[NeoZeedeater]

So it uses an early '80's style TV-Game switch TV hookup? Interesting.

[burgundy]

What exactly does that switch do? I'm not proficient in early consoles.

[NeoZeedeater]

I don't know the exact reason why but early consoles had TV hook-ups that made you have to set it to "TV" when you're watching TV and "Game" when you are using the console. The Atari 5200 eliminated the need to do this with the R/F adapters that did this automatically without the need of a switch and the NES popularized the usage of the new TV hook-ups.

[burgundy]

So does it follow that a NES RF switch might not work on a Famicom?

[NeoZeedeater]

My guess is that a NES RF adapter will not work. Using NES RF switches on older machines that need TV-Game switches has never worked for me.

If your TV-Game hook-up is what's broken, then I suggest looking at some thrift stores. Those switches should be easy to find if Atari 2600s are nearby.

[adol]

Mine only works on one of my TV's. I had to use a NES RF switch, set it to channel 2 on the deck, and cycle through every channel on my TV until I found one that it would come in on. 98 on mine, by the way.

[Wilykat]

I use a generic NES RF adapter on my Famicom unit, and it's an original model as well. Though it responds on channel 96 for me.