Fixing the NES flashing red light - NES Restoration [Part 2]

Has this ever happened to you? You're playing Nintendo to drown out the sound of your parents fighting in the other room, and then all of the sudden the red light starts blinking and your games aren't loading anymore? Well, not anymore!
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▶MUSIC USED
Reed - Dansze Mucyka
DualTrax - Shitune #1
CORE - mr spock's cryo-bed
DualTrax - orion crackmusic
Graff - rain eater
Maktone - class cracktro#15
zoolrave
BLiZZARD - Contraduct Design
Kalachnikov - Mental delivrance
xyce - jetstream (xyce.bandcamp....)

[@miqwerty]

Damn, Mario got locked out of his own house.

[@TheSuperiorLite]

😂😂😂🤣🤣😅🥲

[@gamesvanwablief9140]

Scary loigis manshion

[@ThatOneSuperCircuitGuy]

perfection

[@owendinostudios1200]

Lol ya

[@toadmushead]

Lol

[@nooranik21]

1. I don't play videogames 2. I have no idea how this and part 1 ended up in my suggested 3. I am not privvy to the history or significance of anything here However, I was sucked in start to finish and feel incredible satisfaction from seeing super mario load.

[@WestOfLee100]

“I don’t play video games” HOW THE F-

[@abandonedaccount5]

@@WestOfLee100 You and me should be friends! Lol

[@WestOfLee100]

Joseph7765 *sniff sniff* what’s that? Free v bucks?

[@abandonedaccount5]

@@WestOfLee100 I not going to give u free v-bucks I HATE FORTNITE and I take back what I said... You dickhead

[@WestOfLee100]

Joseph7765 aight just better be safe than sorry

[@venialgaming4295]

The super Mario cartridge could've been a European game, which would explain why it only worked after you region unlocked it.

[@venialgaming4295]

@Johnny Li You’re thinking of the snes, American and European carts are definitely the same and famicom carts are the same internally minus the expansion port pins, so it makes adapting them really easy, but you have to disable the lockout chip or it will do what it did in the video and play the game but restart every second.

[@windowsxpnt2347]

he lives in australia, where im 95% sure they used pal and not ntsc so it would also read European games

[@venialgaming4295]

@@windowsxpnt2347 In part 1 he says it is an ntsc model despite coming from Great Britain

[@kkmac7247]

@@windowsxpnt2347 it is pal in Australia

[@danielcastiblanco8253]

@Johnny Li They aren't, but the console itself is region locked.

[@jokeletsplay]

dang why is this channel so small? i opened your win98 on modern hardware video and thought you were just as big as other youtubers of this topic, then it hit me. you just got a well deserved sub from germany, please keep up the good work, and buy yourself some tools :D

[@Tobi_DarkKnight]

Hätte es nicht besser sagen können, du Kackbratze

[@ByakurenEnjoyer]

if anything he deserves to be this small

[@i05af]

@@ByakurenEnjoyer no

[@mysticaxolotl8215]

​@@ByakurenEnjoyer💀💀💀

[@DigitalHandle]

​@@ByakurenEnjoyerif anything, you deserve to be 6 feet under.

[@Sarah-hs8ir]

I learned a lot from this, super underrated channel 😄

[@somekidplays355]

MattKC: nO

[@alarmingly_good]

Rjdueurhrh4vdvxgxhfjcjdgxhZgxufhsgdbdbdfrh5j zgifohxvmzcnaitfykc9yvigcy8

[@_lun4r_]

no handle? 🥺

[@red182ek92]

Highly underrated channel! Hope to see some massive growth, you deserve it! :)

[@goober183_]

He predicted it.

[@MatthewCobalt]

The 8 bit guy is good at retro brighting. He practically only had one (on video) instance of having the streaking patterns and it was on the Original Osborne Computer.

[@Kara_Kay_Eschel]

You had me at 8-bit guy.

[@awilliams1701]

There is a better method he hasn't tried (yet) where you just leave it out in the sun as is. It is FAR slower than the hydrogen peroxide in a mostly sealed container method, but it works and it's less damaging to the plastic. I don't know if I'll retrobrite my C64 as the case only noticeable when it's taken apart and you're comparing the outside to the inside. But the keycaps could certainly use it. If I do, I'll leave it in the sun.

[@gram.]

@@awilliams1701 I didn't know what this comment was about until I read your reply. Such a weird feeling, heh...

[@MatthewCobalt]

@Kaleb Prince Um, what?

[@MatthewCobalt]

@Kaleb Prince Ohh... You mean the old prototype hardware he got back and practically broke by ignorance and off hand advice. Gotcha. Of course, in all likelyhood it probably already was a paperweight by the time he got his hands on it. He was also outside of his element, where he practically had to guess his way though an attempted repair. If it was like a C64 or even an NES, he probably could have made it look brand new by the end.

[@EpicLPer]

Ohey, my video at 3:27 ;)

[@qtlunacyy]

lol

[@windspeed3990]

Awedaz lol

[@EpicLPer]

WindSpeed3990 lol

[@therobot1080]

Cool

[@gram.]

@@therobot1080 fukka you

[@Epex]

A tip: you can use the end of an eraser on the pins to help clean them. The ones that work well are those bigger rectangle erasers.

[@ruinfox4108]

the white erasers or red ones? idk if it makes a difference

[@igotsomespace]

Highly underrated channel indeed! Your style of editing the videos, sound effects, background knowledge/history about the topic, ...all the little details really makes me enjoy your videos that much more. I hope to see some massive growth and success for your channel : )

[@cornbreadgaming4280]

Normal People: buys a new cartridge MattKC: lol what

[@TheMovingChicane]

Was not expecting an entire vid mainly on the lockout chip. Very entertaining. Thanks Matt

[@mirabilis]

@5:05 Classic Maktone (Class01)! You've got great taste!

[@JadedJaden]

"Atari Porn Games" Noah, get the boat.

[@abandonedaccount5]

@@rowboat10 nice

[@rowboat10]

@@abandonedaccount5 69

[@abandonedaccount5]

@@rowboat10 wtf

[@abandonedaccount5]

Lol I'm typing while somehow watching the video.... I don't fucking know how but it's full screen and it's weird....

[@rowboat10]

@@abandonedaccount5 ok then

[@AlwaysUpgradingRCTurko]

When I restore my nes games I clean them with Brasso initially and then finish with 91% rubbing alcohol. Flawless performance every time. Nice video !!

[@pointedspider]

I had a chip missing on my NES in the same exact spot..... weird

[@laggianput]

Probably worked lol

[@shimaafrazmanesh130]

haha ruined ur 69 likes.... father i have sinned

[@ariel78_]

@@shimaafrazmanesh130 you're not funny

[@General12th]

@@shimaafrazmanesh130 Don't listen to Arielol. You are *extremely* funny. You're also appreciated and respected. :)

[@Lychu]

@@shimaafrazmanesh130 you're not funny

[@YourLazyLawnDeveloper]

4:23 I laughed after watching AVGN videos

[@MagicalPhi]

But did you land the plane in Top Gun? We HAVE to know this.

[@MattKC]

sure did, avgn's a punk 😎

[@tylern6420]

@@MattKC lol, he broke the first law.

[@soursugar4867]

AAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

[@joelhoon1707]

@@soursugar4867 bad

[@vladimirmlotschek3265]

This was an adventure to watch, great set of videos on the NES! :) Another option instead of using steel polish or something similarly abrasive, a friend of mine recommended vinyl erasers for a step-up from alcohol. Used it on both the pins on the NES where the 72 pin connector slides on and all my cartridges. Ended up removing a lot of the dirt, grime, and crap without being too rough on them. Usually you’ll wanna clean off the little film that the vinyl eraser can leave on the pins with alcohol after, but it’s crazy how well it works. Anyways, subscribed! Can’t wait to see what you do next :)

[@windowsxpnt2347]

i don't know if people have told you already about this or if you have already done this, but a good permanent fix to the blinking light problem would be to get a blinking light win kit, it basically means that you don't push down on the cartridge every time, stopping the problem of pins not making contact, it also unlocks the region of your nes

[@DavidSanguineti]

*Stanley Knife* "Look how they massacred my boy."

[@hubsche1]

I feel so bad for that poor ceramic cap, haha.

[@LilyBloomVee]

I just thought about it, you mentioned that cutting the pin makes it region free. Could it be that the SMB cartridge ws from another region all together? Like, it was a NTSC console. Could it be that SMB was PAL before disabling the CIC?

[@Kippykip]

Nope, PAL versions have a "Distributed for Nintendo by Mattel" or "Only use for Pal Mattel Nintendo Entertainment System" or something along those lines on the bottom part of the cartridge label.

[@LilyBloomVee]

Kippykip I have to disagree to that. I live in the PAL region and never read anything close to that. None of my games ever mention Mattel in any way.

[@goldenfreddy4122]

NTSC NES American Fly to United Kingdom. ✈ MattKc got NTSC NES in eBay or Amazon.

[@Kippykip]

​@@LilyBloomVee Literally all of mine do except my US Bomberman cartridge. But even my copy of MegaMan 2 says that which wasn't released in Australia(?) so I had to import it from the UK. @Marko hOLY BRAp sup

[@jakedesmon1535]

@@LilyBloomVee It's probably where they live that it says that

[@observationduty]

You are the only one I clicked the bell for , and I am subbed to 100+ channels for more than 10 years lmao.

[@割]

i gotta say i stumbled across your channel a few days ago and i am in love with your style of videos! also i absolutely love your choice of chiptune/keygen songs through your videos! please keep up the amazing work, you channel is heavily underrated!!

[@matthewc4224]

Just attempted this and... success. Honestly i cant believe this just worked. Every game turns on first try flawlessly now.

[@slicy0046]

this channel is so underrated

[@prodbyfaith]

Well, when you disable the lockout chip you effectively make the console region free so, given that NES cartridges looked the same in every region, the Mario cart must've been a PAL one.

[@gamecubeplayer]

the mario cartridge doesn't say anything like european version so it's ntsc cartridge with a broken cic chip

[@michaelepica3564]

@@gamecubeplayer no, it’s a pal version based on the seal of Nintendo

[@gamecubeplayer]

@@michaelepica3564 pal a versions says nes version or mattel version and pal b versions say european version and ntsc versions don't say anything

[@emmettturner9452]

3:37 "Which made opening these cartridges really easy-don't tell the cops" Too late. You can see me spilling the beans to the cops in my April 7, 2018 video. ;)

[@starwalkeranon]

The bonsai buddy voice in the intro filled me with *rage*

[@Macallion]

I still have my original and still functioning NES.

[@sedrosken831]

You might have also gotten a little more reliability out of the repro cartridge slots that don’t push down. It’s not a big deal to use them since you can still close the lid, and it’s a good way to know at a glance if it’s modded in such a way or not. The whole problem with the design was that the cartridge slot pushed down in the first place, making the pins bend out of shape over time and such.

[@travisanderson9766]

I was super excited to play bayou billy again when I put it on my nes classic mini, and then realized that it had been so long since I played, that I’d forgotten you need the gun to play half the game. :(

[@boodro2122]

😂

[@SuperfieldCrUn]

One of the first things you learn when collecting old consoles is to cut pin 4 on the NES lockout chip. I remember doing it when I went on a brief collecting spree almost... jeez, 10 years ago.

[@SuitUpDubstep]

I know this is an old video and you might not even see this comment, however, it never hurts to try. So I have dabbled in collecting retro games on and off for a few years (well, actually closer to a decade and a half). Currently not so much, as I've gone back to school and can't afford spending the little money I have on old video games. However, back when I was the most active in collecting I got my hands on a few games for the Sega Mega Drive. Got them from a friend that grew up with the games, all complete in box and all. Had been stored in a dry place so there's no damage from humidity or anything like that. Overall, great condition on all of them (except for a sports game that was included, which I don't care about at all). All games worked flawlessly, except for one, Castle of Illusion. It didn't even start up. Just a black screen and no sound. It isn't an import as it is a swedish sold PAL game trying to run on a swedish sold PAL Sega Mega Drive, so region locking shouldn't be a problem, unless it is a problem like in this video. I know there's a lot of variables that can be the cause, but I was hoping that maybe you would know of any sources I can turn to in order to troubleshoot the cart, that would be somewhat understandable to someone with practically no knowledge in reading electrical charts and such. I'm just praying that the ROM chips isn't the problem. I know I could just buy another cartridge of the game, but I'd rather fix the game to preserve the amount of copies that are out there, as it really feels like preserving a piece of video gaming history. If you don't know, no worries. I'm sure I could find at least something to work with when I'm done with school and return to collecting. But if you by any chance know of anything that could be useful, I'd be eternally grateful.

[@mageguy3]

Haha I remember finding out about pin 4. It was life saver.

[@NotEvenOnce]

I would recommend buying the "Blinking Light Win" 72 Pin Connector from arcadeworks. It's a 72 pin connector but you don't have to push the cartridge down you just push it straight in and start the console.

[@davidminton2174]

This is a very informative video. I had just replaced my nes cartridge reader and had the same results. Even after a deep clean of the game system and games themselves. I will try this. Thanks for the upload five years ago!

[@MrMegaManFan]

This issue bugged me so much I bought a top loader. Thankfully that was shortly after eBay became a thing so it didn't cost a small fortune. PS: I find I can clean carts easily with a rubbing alcohol and Q-tips without even taking them apart. One side to wet and remove the gunk, one side to dry. Also the screw sets with the right heads for removing proprietary Nintendo ones are easily available everywhere these days. My mate Phil had so many he gave me a spare free.

[@Daniel-ye8px]

Omg maktone music as a bakgrund noise, new favourite channel... 😍

[@adventureoflinkmk2]

7:15 -- yeah was gonna say we played NES on our CRT TVs back in the day. And they all flashed blue for us.. my guess is why you're getting a SMB picture rather than blue would be NTSC vs PAL differences, because PAL is slower than NTSC you can see the smb briefly

[@jek__]

0:01 sounds like chocolate man, sidemouth would be proud I'm glad you swapped the old one back in just to check, it feels satisfying not to leave that thread hanging

[@Linuxdirk]

Damn, you slaughtered that pin!

[@millenniumtree]

No hardware stores within 1000 miles, I'm sure. :P

[@Shea7TDM]

That classic startup glitch when it can't read anything and just slaps everything onto the screen xD

[@SolidSonicTH]

Thanks for explaining how this worked. It allowed me to target a problem with my own NES that I...um...never used before. It stopped the system from turning on and off but right now it's still stuck on a gray screen. I ordered a new cart slot, hopefully that clears it up. Also I couldn't use my own cutters to get in there because those caps are just too snug against it. What I ended up doing is using a small flathead screwdriver as a chisel and just hammered it off.

[@SolidSonicTH]

Cart slot didn't help. :(

[@BobbyxZx]

lol, the most beastly nes mod i've seen to date. i think you might have corrosion problems in the future with those carts, having removed the protective layer completely. in the future, it's much preferable to use solvents that are not abrassive. also, the method you used for the lockout chip mod probably leaves your nes in less than collectable condition. that, and it looks like someone poored a coke down the cartridge slot back in 1989, so i think you're good on the color mod. shine that baby up.

[@DBDickerson]

That was insanely educational. You've inspired me to wanna yank mine out as well.

[@miwiki6]

oh hey, a music channel!

[@batmov1199]

Congratulations on 5K!

[@boodro2122]

2 years later....229k

[@batmov1199]

​@@boodro2122 Yeah, this channel exploded in these two years. I forgot I was a subscriber back when he only had 5K subs.

[@boodro2122]

@@batmov1199 🙂👍🏻

[@tomasthemas]

As soon as I get motivated I'm cutting that one pin and permanently fixing all my finicky NES games. I've spent so much time blowing, and seating games juuuuust right to get them to work, I mean authenticate. This one trick solves everything.

[@sheriffcowboythecountrywol4465]

Theres also another problem that some dont know, the lockout chip will become faulty and cause the red light to blink disabling the lockout chip will restore the function of the nes

[@mer2329]

you can try a pencil eraser for future pin cleanings i keep the wedges on hand and gut em down to get in tight places

[@emmettturner9452]

I've tested literally thousands of games and never found one with a bad CIC. Also, the vast majority of NES players back in the day had to deal with the NES console's reliability quirks if they wanted to play NES at all, so it definitely wasn't because of decades of dirt and grime. ;)

[@racer927]

I remember that the lockout chip was part of Nintendo saving the industry, the other, from what I heard, was the marketing behind the system(s) at the time of the crash. In Japan, the system was known as the "Family Computer" to brand it as a computer system that could play games like the ZX Spectrum or Commondore 64 of the time while NTSC and PAL got the Nintendo Entertainment System. That's also why peripherals, no matter how cheap, were prolific like the Famicom's keyboard, the Zapper, Power Glove, and, of course, R.O.B to make it less like a game and more like toys that could interact with your TV for entertainment.

[@Iceflkn]

Makes sense that the pins on the old cartridge wear out as much as the internal pins might. Between pitting on the pins, buildup and such, the contacts wearing down creates gaps between the two interfaces. Can you refurbish the pins themselves in the cartridges? Build them back up, that is?

[@StigDesign]

5:05 perfect transition to that song :D whats the song at 8:11 love it :D

[@JohnSmith-mi9qi]

NES... I still have one in the attic. That era was full of difficult games :(

[@gopro2804]

“A piece of video game history”. Butchered with a Stanley knife. Love your work.

[@Ian.Smith44]

The steel polish just removed the gold coating, that's nothing to worry about, it can just oxidize now

[@who_cares848]

I've actually made a lot of money buying blinking Nintendo systems on eBay for like $20 and replacing the cartridge connecter, finding a few cheap and common games/controllers at goodwill and buying a 6 dollar power adapter, then sell it as a package on eBay for like $100-150 depending on the games and overall condition.

[@KXFOX]

loving your content. So glad I found your channel

[@nameswastaken]

I understand almost nothing that you say but still enjoy watching

[@MaximNightFury]

To bring all the replies to the front of the comments section: the SMB cartridge was a PAL region cart, not a NTSC one, the perfect circle "Seal of Quality" emblem is a clear indicator of this.

[@emptylog933]

Still hurts years later watching that gold getting wiped off the contacts. Oof.

[@mattrockets391]

I’m glad I’m not the only one

[@lucho3410]

Ive had that red light flash burnt into my brain since i was a kid

[@MOPE540]

Thank for this!!!! Subscribed. I have 2 of the NES game systems. Box #1 would show the flashing light with all but one game (Mario Bros., Duck Hunt). Very little effort is required to insert or remove game cartridges from that box. Box #2 requires a firm push to insert, or a firm grip to remove the games because of the tighter cartridge slot retention. All games work fine with it. Some day i might take apart box #1 to fix the sprung springs in the cartridge slot.

[@theannoyedmrfloyd3998]

I recently fixed a bad VRAM chip on a friend's NES. I also replaced the cartridge slot and disabled the 10NES chip. And cleaned the games. EVERYTHING worked.

[@stefanmadethen5359]

nice! and love the perfectly timed ad spots

[@johnsimpsen5]

Only OGs remember taking the cartridge out and blowing on it

[@BloodyClash]

Actually really a completely underrated channel. All that cool technical stuff you do....and those damn id...ts who share make up tips and other useless crap have millions

[@VileStorms]

This is what is happening to one of my uncles old NES's that he left me before he passed, thank you

[@ZeldaTheSwordsman]

Interesting thing about NES cartridge disassembly: At least some NTSC-U Legend of Zelda carts actually use those flattop-compatible screws instead of the proprietary GameBit design. I know because I looked at my Zelda 1 cart a few minutes ago.

[@edcola6671]

I internally screamed when he didn’t realise the Mario cart was a PAL copy.

[@DonYagamoth]

Oh... That lockout-reset explains so much about that 1 in 42 cartridge I have doing that weird reset-thing. Little me decided, that maybe some force could get it to work, and jammed a color pencil in there. If I rattle the cartridge nowadays, pretty sure it still has the tip of that pencil inside... Nice

[@Ramiroyaben]

Great work Matt, love watching these videos!

[@datriaxsondor590]

Nicely done, bud. Were you able to resuscitate the bug from episode 1?

[@boodro2122]

He let it die because it was a relative of the queen.

[@newtome-jessegates6310]

Top gun is the second game I ever played as basically an infant. The first was a bizarre looney tunes game I barely remember

[@dream_killer-cc3vr]

I pity your childhood

[@Jasons_Arcade_PLUS]

Very good narration and delivery. Keep it up!

[@Agera_TV]

Those replacement 72-pin connectors are funnily enough not more future proof. I would recommend using the old one again after boiling it, (yes I'm serious). Getting a card (like a credit card) with a smooth microfiber cloth, akin to one you clean glasses with and pouring alcohol on it and inserting it a bunch, just like the mario cartrige

[@phone-cat2058]

0:01 thanks dave for the help!

[@ChiEKKUsama]

Thanks! This solved my issue. For some reason I was able to play Castlevania 3 JP version on my NES, but then suddenly it stopped working! Disabling the lockout chip did the trick, so many the one in the cartridge went bad.

[@seemsprettygaytome6116]

I still have an NES from when my siblings were kids and I have boxes of games from it and the duck hunt set and I’m very thankful my siblings never got rid of any old games or consoles because of them I also have an old wii and two Ps2’s a black and a white one with plenty of games for all of them

[@83ky]

A few years back I wanted to play a few games from my childhood but never owned the specified titles on NES, I had borrowed them from friends back then. I still had my old system but as I live in Finland my system is the SCN (Scandinavian) model. There were lots of games for sale (for cheap) on British Ebay so I first bought a copy of TMNT from there as I was feeling to torture myself again - I had cleared it once as a kid. Tried to play it and of course I got that flashing light. Knew about this, snipped the pin with small cut off pliers and then I bent it a bit out of the way. Of course it felt kinda bad while doing it, "molesting" the very same and dear system from my childhood (I still have the same console I played on as a kid). But I thought it would be a greater good this way and give some more longetivity to it and when TMNT booted right up on the first try I dropped all of those bad feelings about what I did. I have been able to widen the search for games to the whole PAL region - though mostly I buy from GB because they are in English like SCN games do. I think Spain and maybe Germany have the games in their languages.

[@Diclonius02]

KZbin: Wanna watch this Video ? Me: shouldn‘t i Start with part 1 ? Yt: i don‘t give you part 1, deal with it.

[@SatoshiMatrix1]

Hey mat, what is the song at 8:00 in? I've heard that in old keygens, its been AGES since I heard it. What is the name?!

[@TheSillyPotato]

Wondering the same thing! I recognize it so bad!

[@JazzyWaffles]

I fixed this problem by slightly loosening the screws holding down the cartridge tray. Somehow that made the lockout chip work.

[@thegamingconnoisseur4151]

That into gets me every time 😂

[@retrodude6215]

I remember watching a video showcasing your fails. R.I.P Mitsubishi crt

[@realsigsegv]

If you don’t blow the cartridge you can’t expect this will work. People may say what they want but blowing is the best medicine.

[@boxman139]

underrated channel alert!!

[@jesseburrows5595]

Reflowing the solder on these old cartridges can fix weird issues like this. It could also be bad, but that's usually the first thing to try.

[@user-xu7rp3kw3z]

imagine putting in an nes cartridge only once, turning it on once, and concluding it doesn't work so hard that you decide to repair it those things are notoriously flaky. I've messed with an NES with an original pin connector before, and it functioned 100% fine. But every single time I wanted to play a game, I just have to sit there for 5 minutes straight going: turn it on, check the screen, turn it off, wiggle the cartridge around, repeat

[@elephystry]

If the 10NES (lockout) chip is damaged or has been tampered with, some games are programmed not to function.

[@rich1051414]

What games? I never had an issue with my top loader, which doesn't even have the lockout chip.

[@pvtpeppers6176]

You sir are a scholar and a Roman war god. Now my games work. Thank you ever so much.

[@drakethedragon457]

If this was a region issue it would explain this issue, in the NES and the game cart it contain a specific chip which is called the CRC [No idea what it stands for] but this chip is essentially a CPU with custom programming, this chip prevents the boot of the game/console if if the data between both chips on the console and the game CRC is different this could relate to: bad connection, broke game, invalid region or bootlegged game, either way it prevents the console from working, it could be disabled by removing one of the pins from the CRC chip on the console.

[@nastya0391]

Hi.. I tip i got form another video is to use an eraser, instead of alcohol . That worked as the best on all the old cartridges that we have .

[@temmiegamer3958]

Bayou Billy: *Exists* Nintendo: Yeah, that's okay Mario: *Also Exists* Also Nintendo: NO

[@lilpisser124]

Matt: 0:25 Also matt: contracts covid

[@Hephera]

would have been nice to desolder the lockout chip from the console and use it to replace the faulty one in the game. that way you would have an unlocked console AND a fully functional game that could work in other systems if you were to ever sell or gift it to someone else. plus its just kinda sad to break a chip on such an old system, even if the chip doesnt actually do anything useful

[@Wenlocktvdx]

Well done, but please don’t use steel polish, you took the plating off the pins. Gold plating protects the pins from oxidation and provides more reliable contact. On retrobriting, try just putting the plastic in the sun for a few hours, the yellowing is caused by bromine fire retardant leaching out over time. My NES had a problem on the motherboard when I scored it from the local thrift store. As I had no game game other than an HES 4in1 cart that needed an official cart piggybacked to work I decided to clean the socket while I waited for a game from eBay. When the game arrived it satisfied the lockout chip but I only got a grey screen. Back to the socket and this time I took the carriage out to clean the lower end. I noted a bodge wire on the motherboard. Cleaning failed to get any further, so I looked into the bodge wire and found a cut trace. The wire was bridging that cut. Hm, someone tried to fix a dirty socket by cutting IRQ? Looking closer I realised the cut had gone into an adjacent trace, grabbing the meter, I buzzed it out and got no continuity at all. I added another wire and fitted the cart for test, using my phone to hold it down. Power up and the game boots! So a heavy handed cowboy caused the damage. It hasn’t missed a beat since and I hope to find more games soon.

[@KmF0X]

I just got this video recommanded by YT I have 2 NESes, the 1st one have a new connector, the second one was just a spare motherboard I 3D printed a casing for that NES mobo, I used two 72-pin connectors meant for bootleg NES, Soldered some IDE cable between the two connectors and I thought it would be the ultimate thing that will get myself rid of the ZIF connector flaws Welp. I'm glad you showed up how to clean carts, because my own new connector didn't changed anything XD

[@derekamaral3689]

Every month you upload one video