Huge NES Flaw Finally FIXED With New Sliding 72-Pin Connector // Ninten-Drawer

[@BlueShell3D]

Just to clarify on those Greenband games. Thin Greenband games are more common and can be a extra fickle if they are not clean, but its the very rare THICK greenband games that are outright incompatible. The version of DuckTales shown is compatible with the Ninten-Drawer, but the Thick banded Hydlide is not Thick Greenband games wont even work in the NES002 Toploader.

[@technocolossus]

Y'all got any info on the cartridge connector you used for this? I've been looking for a replacement cart connector for my top loader for YEARS.

[@Roshenbo]

​@@technocolossusReach out to Greg from Laser Bear, he'll actually answer your questions. 👍

[@BlueShell3D]

@@technocolossus We use a custom solution for the NES slot. Cant say more beyond that

[@RobbWes]

​@@technocolossusI just got the Japanese version of the nes top loader. Since it comes with the multi out port like that on the snes. It is called the AV famicom. Just needed a famicom to nes adapter. It also has the expansion port that is on the original famicom.

[@MajorOutage]

@@BlueShell3D For those of us who already have a Blinking Light Win in our possession, is there any chance at making a replacement PCB available using your updated connector?

[@BlueShell3D]

Thanks so much for taking the time to review our product! We spent a good year developing and testing the Ninten-Drawer. We're really proud of what we created, and just ecstatic that you viewed it so positively.

[@MachoNachoProductions]

You can definitely see all the design effort that went into it, great work! Came out amazing 👍

[@khiclark31]

Great work! Now your next project should be fighting stick drift for the Switch lol

[@PapaMurphTV]

thank you for this. blinking light win has been a pain for years, already ordered ninten-drawer

[@joveaaron-real]

I'm making this but open source.

[@JigglypuffTutorials]

@@khiclark31Already been solved by gullikit

[@RockerGaming]

Thank you so much to Tito for sharing our project with everyone! Blueshell3D and I are excited and hope this breathes a lot of new life into the front loader

[@jayzah]

Such a great mod guys awesome work!

[@RockerGaming]

​@@jayzah 🙏🙏🙏

[@MachoNachoProductions]

It’s a really awesome mod! Great work you two!

[@markwayne86]

It takes less than an hour to service the original connector. I’ll stick with it over this ugly orange thing.

[@davidlevy706]

@@markwayne86 I'd go with an RGB-modded top loader.

[@jakeiswayblack3377]

This is a big part of the reason why I get multi-carts or flash carts. Piracy isn't just about getting games for free, it also helps keep the hardware alive

[@anonamatron]

That doesn't mean you need to pirate ROMS. You can load backups of your own collection. I have pirated ROMsets myself, but my point is just that flashcart does not equal piracy.

[@im1fadedRob]

@@anonamatron You definitely shouldn't call it piracy if you're dumping your own ROMs or just using a flashcart to play homebrew as far as I'm concerned, but that's such a small minority of people that actually do that compared to how many people are totally just downloading whatever games they want lol.

[@anonamatron]

@@im1fadedRob I think downloading a copy of something you physically own is fair game. Not that practical to dump your own game when it will be identical to what's online. Now that I say that though I remember that there's is/was no complete copy of Beyond the Beyond for Playstation 1 online. The copies online are all missing the videos.

[@themonsterunderyourbed9408]

There's nothing wrong with downloading something you own or something you can't buy. Nintendo isn't selling NES cartridges for the NES anymore. It's fair game to download the roms at that point.

[@SuperFlashDriver]

@@im1fadedRob It depends. Piracy just means you got it for free, either from someone who bought it and gave it to you for free without paying the person who sold it to you, or who made money by making a duplicate copy of the original product, or you downloaded it online, to be inserted into the cartridge without supporting or paying the original companies/devs. But piracy isn't really included when you dump your own purchased copies of the original game, even if it hasn't been sold in 10/20+ years since its release, OR, games you have purchased and owned physically, but choose to get a copy of it online of a game you already own in your collection.

[@briangilmartin662]

As someone who grew up with the NES in the late 80s, I dig this solution! It's also great to know that someone picking up the slack with a new solution since Blinking Light Wins haven't been made in a long time

[@themonsterunderyourbed9408]

We only needed to wait 30 years... And for someone who isn't Nintendo to come up with the solution..

[@KSHickeyJr]

Woah...now, not only do I want a Clear Shell NES, but I want a Ninten-Dawer printed in that exact same "Macho Nacho" Yellow! THAT looks awesome!

[@RockerGaming]

It pops so hard... I need to upgrade my unit too 😂

[@SonyUSA]

Clear plastic like that will yellow crazy fast, also it looks a little wobbly to me... I would keep my original shell!

[@rabidwallaby84]

I just modified my OG nintendo with a cartridge connector that worked in the up position, avoiding the bending that occurred when you pushed down. It also didn't have deathgrip

[@LPcrazy_88]

The screws you mentioned @ 7:39 are called self tapping screws. There is no threading for those type of screws because they are held in by biting into the material they are screwed into. It's good to mention that a higher amount of friction is to be expected though ofc, it can definitely feel wrong or at least be surprising with fresh posts.

[@buxtech]

SOLD OUT, BUMMER! These modders/sponsors need to up their stock if they know this guy is reviewing it.

[@Brew78]

Yeah, I haven't been able to use my NES on more than a couple games for quite awhile now. Tried all the fix its and cleanings and polishing of pins and etc but the damn thing just doesn't want to work most of the time. This sounded like a great solution to breathe some new life into the thing but I guess not any time soon. At least the SNES still works :D

[@justinmohns8279]

@@Brew78 I found the boiling method fixes most that have metal fatigue, but I hope BlueShell3D have more stock soon.

[@charlesmckee4719]

They're back in stock

[@Brew78]

@@charlesmckee4719 Thanks for the heads up!

[@Brew78]

Ha, there's something I didn't expect! The installation video link for the actual product goes to this same video 😄 Installing now. Edit: I did have to mash the reset button a bunch of times to get it out of the reset cycle, but the first game I popped in, RC Pro-Am, which I'd had questionable amounts of luck with in the past, did indeed fire up immediately! I didn't play it though, I promised my kid we'd play the first game together.

[@lexacutable]

The difference in energy between those two guys made me think immediately of Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, ahah

[@RockerGaming]

Bro I'm dead... 😂

[@BlueShell3D]

I'll accept this comparison. I have no KZbin chops. I just stay in my cave and drag my knuckles on the floor while I try to build stuff. Frankly the light scares me

[@lexacutable]

@@BlueShell3D oh I certainly didn't mean it as negative in any way!! tbh building stuff while dragging your knuckles on the floor is pretty impressive

[@gluttonousmaximus9048]

Honestly I won't be surprised if someone's made a fully automated cartridge feed mechanism, not unlike an actual VCR or laserdisc machine.

[@kaio0777]

i was thinking about that too but i think you would need to remake the whole nes around it but it would a great custom project.

[@Ybalrid]

There is an old episode of the "Ben Heck Show" where he does that more or less successfully ...

[@marcellachine5718]

Multi slot devices existed, exist.

[@jvogler_art4708]

Amazing. I’m more of a snes and up Nintendo fan but if I was super into nes I would for sure buy this.

[@metroid-mj9pw]

@@jvogler_art4708 Although I do agree that the SNES has a great library of games. The NES also has a bunch of games that are vast and would be a great game for someone who plays SNES games.

[@JamieStuff]

The engineer's mantra: "If it's worth doing, it's worth OVERdoing." Good job, guys!

[@jacktheaviator4938]

Over engineered is not a positive thing. It has pointless moving parts and failure points. There is absolutely no reason for the slide action, or the magnets. And the ribbon cable constantly flexing is a guaranteed failure point, it's just a matter of when. You could super glue the mechanism so it didn't move, and stayed in the out position, and it would be a far better design. But weak minded people love pointless gadgets, so they will probably sell out quickly.

[@CyberGamingStudiosOfficial]

there is a reason a rf shielding exists, it's to help with ground and protect from rf signals even though its not necassary it does serve a good purpose

[@jacktheaviator4938]

Anyone dumb enough to buy this gimmicky gadget is probably not smart enough to understand that RF radiating from electronics can disrupt all sorts of signals. But they will be quick to complain when they start having issues with connectivity in their devices. Everything we own has a radio signal these days.

[@jakd.rabbit]

Congrats on the shout-out over on Austin Evans' channel. Was watching his Mystery Tech video yesterday when I was surprised he gave you a shout-out on his GameBoy he built in the video.

[@MachoNachoProductions]

Thanks! I just saw it the other day. Absolutely surreal 🤯

[@Silvermike]

The only "con" i can think of is that I will miss out on the original push down mechanism, which was kind of satisfying. But the reliability outclasses the "con"

[@thejubieexperience]

Thanks, Tito! It's a pretty slick fix. I haven't messed with modding at all and was able to install it in under 20 minutes in an old NES I wasn't gonna be upset if I screwed it up. It starts games perfectly every time. I'll probably reshell it in atomic purple when I get some money. The only issue I have is the games are much tougher to get out. I'm hoping this eases up a little bit or I figure out a better grip. I didn't know they ran out so quickly. I randomly stumbled upon your video of it and went to the website and bought it

[@kingpolt98]

This is awesome! Ive wanted a top loader for awhile because no matter what i do to my childhood NES its always unreliable. New connector is scary tight. Cleaning and bending the original has had inconsistent results. Im very excited about this.

[@Null_Experis]

if you hadn't bent them already, I found that placing them in an overfilled steamer pot (fully submerged, lifted off the bottom by a strainer) and simmering it for 30 minutes fixed it pretty consistently for about 6-8 months.

[@kingpolt98]

I do have another NES I haven't messed with yet. Might give that a shot. Thanks 😁

[@scikoolaid]

@@kingpolt98 It sounds crazy, but literally boiling the connector in water works and fixes it.

[@LinuxRocks101]

Even in a clear case and not putting the RF shielding back on I'd have screwed those extra screws into the empty holes. Just so that way I'd never lose them. lol

[@ShinXyres]

This looks so dang good! I'm really glad that flash carts work, I was thinking of taking my brother in laws broken SNES and getting it working for him and giving him a flash cart so its good to know this mod will work.

[@astout94]

It makes me so happy that people keep repairing and improving on these consoles and portables from our past. I thank all you guys from the bottom of my heart god bless you all.

[@mileskosik472]

I'm not even very much of a purist, but I love the satisfying push down action of the original. I would take this solution over that for it's reliability, but imagine a hybrid of the two.

[@BlueShell3D]

Sadly, its the ZIF connector that makes the original so unreliable. If we did add a push down, we would still keep the non-ZIF slot and the push would just be for fun. It would also make the Ninten-Drawer more expensive.

[@Zixe123]

@@BlueShell3D For those who reflexively push down the cartridge, does the Ninten-drawer prevent such motion being made or if you, like myself, push down because of muscle memory and screw the whole drawer and have too buy a new one?

[@torshec8634]

"I can fix him!" And so he did.

[@HokusaiXL]

I was also going to say that green band games are considerably more common than people think. At work 1/3rd of all NES game buy ins we get are green band. It's just a simple matter of the ZIF connector on the NES clamping down further onto the card edge than your traditional card edge connector that you can buy today.

[@Zeaiclies]

Back in 2006, a good friend of mine and I decided to hardwire a Game Genie inside of the NES and make it look stock. A lot of work later and it worked perfectly. I would love a better easier way to do another one.

[@SmallSpoonBrigade]

The RF shielding used to be absolutely mandatory, my friend's Tandy computer was capable of sending a signal from clear across the house that would cause Mario to unalive himself in the nearest hole. There's also the potential to interfere with other electronics, although that's probably less of a risk these days.

[@scikoolaid]

Indeed. I think it's foolish that all these modders dismiss the shielding as completely useless. These old electronics can interfere with their own trace lines being too close, any outside interference will effect them. It's always best to have shielding when possible.

[@jnharton]

@@scikoolaid It's because they aren't electrical engineers and don't really understand what's going on. To be fair, I don't have an EE background either. But I do know enough that I am well aware that my understanding is incomplete.

[@jnharton]

@@scikoolaid New electronics are still subject to interference, but not necessarily the types that are most common. The older stuff generated electrical noise and RF that could easily cause problems with radio and television.

[@thedude5295]

As a kid in the 80's and 90's, I always hear people younger than me talk about the video game crash of the 80s, but none of us even knew it was going on. We all had video games and never once thought they were going anywhere.

[@skRapKlan]

Really awesome design! This is definitely something I will consider for my future NES ultimate build.. Thanks for the great video and detailed breakdown of the drawer!

[@travismarshall3089]

Kudos to the team for the battery of tests they put the connector through (12:18). I really feel like other companies in the market neglect this and that is why, in large part, the "Death Grip" is so rampant. However, I'd suggest they simulate many thousands of hours more to really break down that death grip and get closer to that true Zero Insertion Force. Or you can do this yourself and manually bend the pins with a sewing needle or component tweezers. This is what I did to a secondary NES of mine with the affirmentioned Blinking Light Win. After I bent the pins to a more "broken in state", it truly became a ZERO Insertion force connector. That was nearly 10years ago and games still slide in and out like butter using just my thumb and forefinger. That's how a true ZIF connector is intended to operate! I'd do the same for this if I had my hands on it!

[@solidussnake1906]

Had been following BlueShell for a while, all of his stuff looks nuts.

[@alienJIZ1990]

I got a BLW years ago, snagged one since they're always sold out, and it's been collecting dust because I immediately noticed the death grip before installing it and was like "nuh uh" Glad to FINALLY see an alternative! Edit: Just pre-ordered it. Hell yeah, been waiting years for this

[@jeremyf1901]

I really like the addition of creator interviews!

[@Magical_Flame]

the shell and mod look beautiful together, makes a great show piece.

[@cidelogic]

That clear shell gives it that prison electronics look.

[@brianwalker7771]

Great video. I love the Blinking light Win so seeing something similar that fixes the short comings a bit is great to see. That shell though the manufacturer should include metal clips with it. Seriously the shell you used Costs $110 it should come with those stupid little spring clips as well as some new screws at that price.

[@thegooddoctor7898]

I'm fairly new to the Nintendo Console world in general, I had a DS Lite and DSi growing up, oh and a Wii of course, but I love how everything in the NES, except some items on the motherboard, looks repairable compared to today I love how nothing is welded, glued, or otherwise bolted into the shell!

[@lulkLogan]

In defense of the Blinking Light Win: NES cartridges don't need to be pulled by that recessed area you were using pliers on. NES carts also have ridges on the right and left sides for grip. So you can easily your two index fingers on both sides of the cart to pull them out of the BLW. It requires more force than the standard connector, sure, but it's still plenty easy

[@WhatsOnMyShelf]

Regardless, Arcade Works stopped producing BLW. This is a newly available solution. I've seen the BLW sell on ebay for $100+

[@rustinashackleford1367]

I figured out pretty quickly how to easily get carts out of my BLW. Theres also files out there to 3D print specialized pliers to pull carts. They work so well I actually printed a set for a friend with muscle atrophy who has issues with even aged stock connectors.

[@twistedtechnology]

Looks like a great mod. I just received an NES-Slotmaster that I plan on installing this weekend. Much simpler design but hopefully it works just as well.

[@arbayer2]

Hey, Tito! Another excellent episode on a fascinating new option for the retrogaming community, I really dig your content's exposure of applied design and science to improving the user experience after official options are no longer possible. One of the things you do with production values is consistent and classy music selection, but I'd like to request if it's possible to cite the track used in the outro of your Retro Renew episodes in your description template since it's a really catchy track and I often find myself having to reverse-research the name of the track every once in a while to find it again. Since Matthew McCheskey's contribution to the intro theme's cited, would it be possible to put the citation below that? Outro Music - Dusty Decks - Stone Cookies via Epidemic Chill Beats Thanks for your attention, and keep up the awesome content!

[@MachoNachoProductions]

All my music except for the intro comes from the website epidemic sound.

[@RandomGreenFishPhone]

Maybe there is some variation with the molding and I got lucky with my Blinking Light Win, but I never had a problem with a "death grip", especially now that it has been broken in. The Ninten-Drawer is pretty cool though. I like the concept and it will certainly make it easier to remove the carts. If I didn't already have a BLW, I would definitely get one.

[@ForceWhisperer]

I think the death grip on the BLW was just the first production run, then it got fixed. Mine certainly doesn't have any problems with a death grip.

[@ChairmanMeow1]

I love that you still get a 'click' when its fully inserted. You gotta have that click.

[@heartfang13]

I've never had an issue getting a cartridge out with blinking light win, but this does look even better.

[@steinthor]

Nice Feature on Dizzy! That's the major game of my childhood that I still haven't beaten to this day!

[@tannuroakes2553]

Got mine yesterday and installed today. Is better than I had hoped!

[@alankebab2187]

Excellent video. Thanks for making it. What video game crash? Says anyone outside of the USA 😂

[@forceablepizza764]

Thanks, i just ordered both the shell and the drawer for my nes as well. Ive also got the NESessity 1.3 board so I will be combining all 3 mods into one awesome system.

[@TaliaIGhul]

Could this finally stop the "blowing in the cartage" thing people do?

[@BlueShell3D]

Probably not. People will always blow and try to push down

[@kruks]

The reason it's needed is to bridge the connection to the pins, which this replaces. So hypothetically, sure. Will it stop them from doing it anyway? Probably not.

[@metroid-mj9pw]

PLEASE DON’T BLOW INTO YOUR CART.

[@therealavolpe]

Blowing into carts removes dust 🤭

[@metroid-mj9pw]

@@therealavolpe 🤦‍♀🤦‍♀🤦‍♀

[@dwightdixon8508]

Looks like a good fix. I just preordered it! Thx for your review, install and thoughts

[@GGigabiteM]

It's indeed a very well thought out and tested replacement for the original cart connector. I still don't like the ribbon cable though, as someone who does board level repair. The sharp flexing of the FFC and the sudden magnet snapping are likely over time to cause solder failure and breaks in the cable. Though, there's unfortunately no real better way to do it without just having a fixed cart connector and the cartridge sticking out the front of the console, which doesn't look very nice.

[@thevectorchef]

New subscriber here ! I was always curious about things like this and was happy to come across your channel. It's too bad the pre-orders are sold out, but I hope there's some way we will get notified when they are available again.

[@Larv6464]

I love that it is plug and play with no soldering involved!

[@fallguy316]

Cool mod, I wish the clear shell had "Nintendo Entertainment System" on it for that original feel. Also if they put some kind eject feature but addressed the 72 pin connector issue nicely.

[@seishino]

Huh. I was kind of expecting that slide backward / forward to close around and release the cartridge pins, kind of like taking a bite. Pragmatically though I can see how it would be be really fidgety to build it that way, not to mention requiring building an all new version of the pin connector probably in molded plastic. Being able to slide it out far enough to get a grip and really pull it out still seems like a large step forward. Also, that yellow version looks really great.

[@ugzz]

Very cool stuff! I've never touched the pins on my Famicom AV top loader and it's been fantastic.. but I definitely have on the ol grey NES.. but it has a blinking light win in it already, so i doubt i'll swap. But If I ever get another one that needs pin work.. this looks like a fantastic way to go!

[@jayzah]

I love these videos, keep the good stuff coming Tito 😊

[@overtoke]

seems they could avoid the "do not press down" warning by making it more impervious to pressing down by extending the lip to the unused screw hole. i think a release button could be added as well so you don't have to pull the cart out.

[@DJSnowmanne]

but I like to push the cartridges down

[@Openreality]

I feel the same, however I think I'll get used to it if I want to play the games using their respective carts. I think for me, I'm good with buying a NES mini that has 30 games for the same price as an old school NES with maybe 2 controllers. I'll buy a SNES mini classic again once i get a TV again. Right now I'm fine with playing switch games.

[@rustyshackelford1413]

I just bought a new 72 pin connector took the top off of my front loader. Problem solved.

[@aphinity]

Looks amazing! Hopefully they'll let us print our own internals so their queue isn't so long. I'd love to print my own! Happy to pay a healthy fee for that ability, too. BTW, what wireless NES controller are you using? It looks like an original?

[@InsatiableMonkey]

This is a cool product, and I'm glad they made it. I'm one of those folks that is interested in simplicity and reliability. I have a blinking light win and my take is that this thing's only practical benefit over the BLW is more surface area to grip the cartridge. The looks, custom plates, magnets, etc. are all cool, but superfluous in terms of functionality. The movement and flex cable are a design negative for me juat because movement and more complexity invariably brings a higher chance of failure, but it'd likely not be an issue in our lifetime. More options are good. Well done, guys.

[@boredstudent]

I don't have an NES anymore but I love the new cartridge bay for it. As a kid, I had the Nintendo Entertainment System and I remember the blinking lights.

[@thegametinkerer]

This is a very cool product. I personally don't have a use for it, but I know a ton of people that do. Thanks for showing this to us all. Keep up the great work Tito

[@sneakingelephant]

This sounds amazing but I wish they came in more colors. I’m usually someone who just prefers black or grey but I’d love a vibrant color or a white option

[@BlueShell3D]

We are planning for more colors in the future

[@sneakingelephant]

@@BlueShell3D sweet! Looking forward to purchasing one. This will revive my childhood NES

[@blarghblargh]

@@BlueShell3D awesome. I will be a future purchaser then :D

[@knghtbrd]

The one thing I wonder about with this would be an original Game Genie, but I can't imagine that being a good option in 2024 given the availability of flash carts. It's rare to want to just tweak a few values in a game for anything but screwing around. A flash cart is essential because romhacks are totally worthwhile, and you can patch a few bytes just as easily as rewrite major parts of the game once you've got one.

[@RetroMythologist]

A clear Ninten-Drawer would look really nice in that clear case 👍

[@kbkimoseley]

Quite innovative and a needed product. My personal opinion is unless you are playing on a CRT or trying an upgraded AV cable for modern TV it is a reduced market for this device. I personally play on my Retro AVS and would recommend an Analogue Noir Nt. It's one of those things that it's a preference for how you want to play.

[@TheCoolDave]

Neat, I have a re-furbished 72 pin connector in mine, once it dies/gives me problems, I will look into this.

[@monkeywithocd]

Has no one made a mod like this that preserves the "push down" mechanism? That's honestly been my biggest complaint about the blinking light win, since I like mods to keep the apparent functionality and behavior of vintage electronics as close to stock (or at least era-appropriate) as possible.

[@Paco8478]

ward

[@kruks]

Agreed. The trend of changing the look and function of old consoles I find bewildering. Some of these consoles - including the Famicom - are 40 years old now. I'm all for correcting the flaws, but I'd like to keep the historical feel and look of them wherever possible, otherwise I'd just switch to FPGA.

[@BrainSlugs83]

Nah, I mean, that's the main reason these connectors are so famous for failing, and why people started blowing into cartridges... Like having a cart connector where the contacts literally deform is just asking for trouble. Even Nintendo stopped doing it when they released the North American top-loader. It's just a bad design.

[@monkeywithocd]

@@BrainSlugs83 I'm not talking about using the same flawed connector, I'm talking about, for instance, having an edge connector attached to a push-down mechanism (I can't remember if the official part has the tray separate from the connector) that for authenticity you can push down.

[@BrainSlugs83]

@@monkeywithocd For why though? -- More moving parts = more modes of failure. -- The reason the original pushed down is that it actually served a purpose, it put the loose connector into tension, basically forming a temporary death grip on the cartridge until you let it up and removed the tension. You want it to push down... but just for the sake of pushing down? -- Like for nostalgia maybe? -- I could see that... but as far as I know, no one has done it... If you're going to push down, you might as well use the original connector.

[@Iceykitsune]

Good idea to use a clear shell to show us the mod in situ, more reviews should do it.

[@SoundToxin]

I did the boiling trick to get an original connector working better recently and it seemed to work quite well. Not sure how often you have to do this. Good to have a more durable replacement, I guess. I've seen some fixes that end up with not being able to push the game down anymore (whether it's bending the pins on the original or using a third party one), they just sit in there at the top position, which bothered me. Looks like this one doesn't push down either, but at least it seems high quality.

[@djnick9425]

I've never heard of 'Green Band' games, and upon further review, my copy of Duck Tales has that band. Is that a thing on all copies of Duck Tales or just a few? Thank you for all the great vids!!

[@BlueShell3D]

I think all ducktales versions have it. Thin greenband games arent generally a problem, its the thick greenband that you have to watch out for

[@djnick9425]

@@BlueShell3D Thank you for the clarification!

[@OTGYota]

Really cool product. Maybe this is a stupid question, but is there any possible negative effects of having magnets around the original hardware or game cartridges?

[@Moony_Os]

I'm wondering this too! Having magnetic fields so close won't flip any random bits and make me wrong-warp will it?

[@Dark_Jaguar]

I love my Blinking Light Win, but yes that death grip is an issue. I've used it long enough I noticed a few things. NES games are tough but manageable, but those unlicensed games often have smaller grips or grips only acccessible on one side, and those were for a long time practically impossible to manage. I realized that the BLW didn't have the same "angle of attack" so to speak for inserting cartridges. It's totally horizontal, instead of the downward slope of the original slot. THAT was what kept me from getting a good finger grip on the edge to pull the cartridge back out! For a long time, I'd hoped that someone would make something like this but with the "sloped" insert path of the original. This one doesn't do that, but just allowing the cart to slide out a bit manages the same solution. It even more closely resembles a VCR this way too. Neat! I should add one thing. I'm pretty sure my BLW also has a CIC chip in there too which works the same way. By the way, this is the first I've heard of "green band" NES games and searching for it on Google gave me no sensible results. AI spat something out at me but it was utterly unintelligible nonsense about how to mod a cart with Pokemon Green or something. Thank you Google.

[@aramusbelmont4992]

Finally! My only complaint about this is the price point. It's great for what it offers, not arguing that at all. But I'd love to see a version that is basically just the end connector, without the fancy magnetic sliding parts and customizable tray. At $30, the BLW was almost in the right price range for almost anyone to buy it and replace the original connector. At $50, which is right around the going rate for a used NES, this is going to be a harder sell to the non enthusiast/speedrunning crowd. Don't get me wrong, I'm buying at least two of them for myself, and will likely be installing many more for friends. Awesome job, and I can't wait to get my hands on them.

[@ErichMoraga]

Right, I don't see why the magnetic latch was necessary. There's beauty in simplicity.

[@juneinblack]

That clear NES shell is SO choice. Wish they made one for the SNES 2... I would love to have one for that console.

[@TheJadeFist]

One think I would like to see with this kind of a set up, would be an eject button. It's not needed but it would help with the VCR feel of the NES.

[@alexallison7824]

Yet another high quality video by Tito. Always look forward to these.

[@blainerohlfs]

Gotta get yourself a set of Japanese Industrial Standard drivers. More common in older Japanese cars, but from this side of the screen it looked like all of the screws were JIS. That's why the one on the controller port stripped. I like Vessel tools personally (the made in japan ones) but any Japanese tool brand sells them.

[@lookitskazzy]

Pretty sure the ifix kit has JIS bits, either he didn't use them or that screw was already chewed up enough that removing it again was the last straw.

[@kumarp3074]

Cool product. Although part of the experience growing up with the NES was fiddling with the cartridge until it worked.

[@BlueShell3D]

Good news! If you use cruddy games you can still expect to fiddle with them sometimes. We cant clean your games for you

[@SlCKB0Y-sb1kg]

Carts not working due to a poor connection was never a fun part of gaming even when viewed through the rose coloured glasses of nostalgia. It was always frustrating.

[@blarghblargh]

@@SlCKB0Y-sb1kg turns out the solution was always to actually deep clean em. I know cause I have 200 carts that now work flawlessly on the first try, and a lot of them didn't arrive that way.

[@SlCKB0Y-sb1kg]

@@blarghblargh You mean to tell me the solution was never blowing so hard on the cart connector that you sprayed saliva all over the pins? 🤣

[@fuurinkazan164]

Tito how do you always find these amazing mods? I am always impressed!

[@SpiralPegasus]

Although as usual I think your content is great, I also believe that a runtime of 20 minutes for a single connector is complete overkill, however good it is. Keep up the great retro insight

[@SlicerJen]

My tab has the message "What a horrible night to have a curse". Castlevania II. Very cute.

[@Dikwili]

would love to have a restock on these. I missed the original run

[@TheUffelpuff]

fist flaw i saw was a ribbon cable... sure they do the job but my experience is moving ribbon cables usually in the long run just results in a broken ribbon cable when moved enough times..

[@CaseyLClose]

All you need to do is proper ultrasonic clean the OEM connector and they work perfect. No resetting the pins or anything. I wish more people knew this.

[@adonian]

Wow you’re early today bro. I barely sat down to eat breakfast. I usually see you once I’m at work 👍

[@garytman007]

This is cool, but they came out with a solution years ago and it has worked for me ever since. It was a module that you installed in your NES. It works 95% of the time. After a few tries my other games worked as well. This is really cool though.

[@TRDiscordian]

I don't remember exactly what I did but 17 years ago when I replaced my 72 pin connector it's worked fine and doesn't need to be pushed down (and can't be).

[@TRDiscordian]

Pretty sure I just changed tension somewhere, making sure the mainboard seemed to not be taking too much.

[@SockyNoob]

I've been following this for awhile. Glad it's something you can actually buy now.

[@GareWorks]

I've seen something similar before. Can't remember what it was called but it was sold out. This one's sold out already too. Man, it'd be great if we could get something like this mass-produced for once... My NES has needed something like this for a long time now. Now if only we could get a 60Hz/NTSC mod for PAL NES consoles, but since you basically need the hardware of another NES and most people don't care about the PAL NES, I doubt this will ever happen.

[@UnprofessionalFlip]

I like this a lot. It’s got me thinking though. I wonder if there is a way to have all that this mod offers and add a method to press the cartridge down. It’d be purely for feel, but maybe something similar to how magnetic cabinet doors do their thing. Likely not enough space, but one can dream.

[@Lerod_Driger]

The only con that I could think about that this mod would not work with, is the Game Genie. It's design was to push the drawer down to make the console think the game is pushed down as it activated a switch. That is the only flaw with this mod that I could think of unless it has been tested. HOWEVER you can remove the plastic extension that the Game Genie had to make it work with this mod. I am aware they did make a second revision to work with the top loader version. But overall awesome mod guys and showing how to install it! These simple and solderless mods are excellent for game preservationists that want to play the classics without frustration. Is it bad that I am a millennial and remember playing this console since it came out? I have played just about every main stream USA console since then.

[@albert_vds]

The grip of death on 3rd party solutions is caused by the cartridge connectors being new. You can easily fix it by pushing the pins back so they loosen a bit. $47 for the Ninten-Drawer is not that bad, but there are other solutions which are much cheaper like the NES Slotmaster.

[@metroid-mj9pw]

That’s probably one of the best mods I have heard of in a long time. I just have one question that actually means a lot to me. Can you still play light gun games with it? I am actually a big fan of the light gun games. And it would really break my heart if I did this mod only to come to find out that I couldn’t play them anymore.

[@RandomGreenFishPhone]

Light guns will still work with this and other replacement cartridge connectors like the BLW. As long as you hook the NES to a CRT television they should work just fine.

[@itchyisvegeta]

I had a Blinking Light Win in my HDMI modded NES. But ended up selling it cause i missed the nostalgia of pushing the game down before playing it.

[@hdroid18]

Hell ya itchy! I feel the same way. I know that it will wear the pins out and the cartridge connector will need to have the points bent back into place at some point, but I like the motion of the ol push down design as well. 🤘

[@Lando00100]

I wonder with a flash kart if you have to power cycle it to get back to the main menu cuz hitting reset would activate the region chip.

[@yobb89]

i was going to ask about the flex cable durability until 12:25 xd , love a bit of engineering testing

[@christianbryce]

saw the testing on twitter, this is definately one to get!

[@urbanknish]

Your NES looks amazing but I won't get past running it 16:9. ;) ha ha ha

[@MachoNachoProductions]

Haha, sorry about the 😅

[@urbanknish]

@@MachoNachoProductions Just having a little fun! You can't really do it wrong.

[@itsjustagamechannel]

Definitely going to give this product a closer look.

[@inceptional]

Dang, that transparent NES is gorgeous.

[@MrMegaManFan]

No notes Tito. Just leaving a comment as a show of engagement for the algorithm. Keep up the good work!