Improving the $10 8-bit handheld game console

[@andymouse]

I think you rushed by cutting the buttons ...two pieces of Kapton tape over the contacts would have been a better idea...think future!!

[@bitoxic]

Adrian likes to rip things off like the C64 RF shields! 😁👍

[@brianv2871]

It's funny, watching a retro channel we're quick to 'OMG, he just wrecked that device by cutting that'.. but then you realize this is an $8 piece of cheap Chinese crap that probably won't survive the year before it breaks or gets tossed. :)

[@brianv2871]

come back to LA, where food trucks are 2 Chinese Handheld NES'.. Maybe that should be a new currency reference :)

[@misterhat5823]

I just scrolled down to say the same thing.

[@melissahermsen5630]

Bitoxic keeping the rubber mat intact and taping off the contact would have been the proper way and opened the option to rotate the mat once often used buttons start to malfunction. And going by the argumentation "it did not cost anything why treat it with respect" - why buy it in the first place and not spend the money on food?

[@travelwithoutmoving8842]

10:00 have to be a genius to figure that out. Made all the colors right with changing a resister i dont know how many things you will have to know about to figure that out. Hats off. Those Chinese sellers need to contact you for finalizing products.

[@kubkubs3234]

Hold a and b while powering this thing on, it gives me a weird menu to test buttons

[@michaeljonas3165]

Used your 47 ohm resistor trick from this video. I had to mod my old 80's computer to get composite out of it...it only had RGB, monochrome composite, and RF. For some reason no color composite, partly because it was a UK machine and had a pin designated on its DIN-8 connector for PAL composite but only gave a 5 volt signal instead (which seems to be common for the US version). So when I grabbed the signal off the pin from the video chip (well sub-chip, MC1733) and re-routed it to one of the unused DIN-8 pins, the picture was a bit washed out color wise. When I put the 47 ohm resistor in line, the color came out fully again. So that trick worked, thanks!

[@twocvbloke]

"Blob" is a perfect name, I see it as an acronym of "Black Lump On Board", kind of like COB being Chip On Board... :P

[@bland9876]

I always thought those were called glob tops

[@wyldelf2685]

😸🏆👍

[@maxcypond]

Yes, this is the video I was hoping someone would make. Thank you one thousand times over, I have no electrical engineering knowledge - so you answered all the questions I was wondering about.

[@MrDowntemp0]

Would love to see more projects like this. Simple tweaks to ultra cheap gizmos that are easy to order!

[@fryode]

Dividing the crystal oscillator frequency by 12 yielded the exact clock frequency of the NTSC NES. Dividing by 13 yields almost the same frequency as the PAL NES. Clever.

[@bigalanwgordon]

So the first thing I noticed while playing Mario was the timer count down speed was almost twice as fast! possible to fix? installing a different crystal oscillator?

[@fryode]

@@bigalanwgordon The timer was arbitrary. It's not meant to be in seconds. IIRC, PAL areas with 50Hz refresh had a slower timer than 60Hz NTSC areas.

[@bigalanwgordon]

@@fryode it's not just the timer but the music and game speeds are faster, at first i thought i might have pressed a button combo to speed up the game but it's in all the games on the handheld.

[@GeorgiaRidgerunner]

​@@bigalanwgordonhey guy i know im way late but a lot of these chinese 8 bit devices are running an smb rom that is meant to run on some other device ive mistakenly downloaded that rom before its also worth noting that i have the fast rom on a multi cart as well if you start changing the oscillator speed you may fix the mario rom but youll create issues in all the other games on the machine likely theyll run slow as you were trying to fix a fast running rom by slowing it down hope this helps

[@wilsondavenport6939]

I bought this just today my first time at 5 below, I am super glad you have a video on it!

[@johndrippercreates]

5:24 anybody found a way to install different roms on the flash memory?

[@stanislawkaminski4571]

Well, the easiest way would be to buy a similar games console and swap the motherboard. It's about $2.

[@marcusgurley9495]

great video. i just bought the updated version of this for my cousin's 6yr old today. only difference is that it now has a controller that plugs into it when connected to the TV. thanks for answering all of my questions! you got my sub!

[@tildesarecool7782]

I'm still pretty basic in electronics but wouldn't it be possible to use a potentiometer instead of a resister? That way you could just it as you're looking at the screen to "dial-in" the best value.

[@archive8080]

No

[@DuckGWR]

Therapist: headless PET isn't real, it can't hurt you Adrian's PET with the monitor removed in the background of the intro:

[@StarkRG]

If a PET is headless, is it even still a PET?

[@camthehedgehog]

@Duck GWR-Yes.... that’s a good one!

[@chrisg6597]

Instead of modifying the video output of the unit with an inline resistor, it may be better or easier to modify the video cable.

[@maxcypond]

Modify how? Like in what way?

[@SeMr7en]

@@maxcypond splice in a resistor inline, add heatshrink

[@chrisg6597]

@@maxcypond If the connectors aren't moulded, then put the inline resistor in the connector. If the connectors are moulded, then you could replace the connector (preferably at the monitor end) with a normal wire-able one and fit the inline resistor in there.

[@emprsnm9903]

Would adding a sink resistor to ground (to avoid cutting traces) work? Like soldering a 560 Ohm(or whatever) across the ntsc output tp to a gnd tp?

[@chrisg6597]

@@emprsnm9903 Possibly... I was wondering if the issue wasn't caused by the monitor not being terminated correctly (i.e. normally a composite signal would be terminated in the monitor with a 75R resistor). If the input impedance of the monitor is too high, then adding a resistor between the composite out and GND could very well solve the problem.

[@camthehedgehog]

You talked about the usb interface supporting the 3-pin controller. Well in the link you gave us there is an option to buy it with a controller (+$3.00) that does, indeed, use the mini-B interface. Just thought you would want to know.

[@a2zgarage697]

for the dozens asking YES YOU CAN PUT NEW ROMS ON IT. the hardware to flash a tsop56 is about 200 bucks, plus software and knowledge. youre better off buying a clone that reads roms via musb for about 40 bucks. this thing is useless lol

[@tuxnoel]

Can we add more games to this by flashing the EEPROM ?

[@happyd6145]

You have to install another SSD and 1 graphics card.

[@pvim]

technically yes, i have dumped the original firmware from one of these mine had a Winbond W29GL128 and i have found the addresses of all the roms, and now can replace them but doing so is pretty much out of scope for the avg user

[@uniqelibyan]

​@Hungry Box can you make a video about it

[@pvim]

not really cuz its a lot of work but overall i would say not worth it since the console itself is trash, too much work, but if you are still interested the author for that was a russian guy called "promolife"

[@pvim]

@@crisivannacis2742 no cuz its too much work to make a tutorial and not worth it since these consoles are extremely cheaply made and will in most cases not survive the process, plus you can buy consoles which use an sd card for games cheaper than the EEPROM mod is gonna cost

[@boodro2122]

I love this channel, the creator is awesome and a blast to listen to...where has this channel been?!?!! So glad I found it. I can't think of another person I would rather sit down with and play retro games! It would be so fun and full of laughs! Lol. Well I'm here now, so keep going buddy. Good stuff....

[@fradd182]

And the added capacitor on the backside was for...

[@lordmmx1303]

just for the heck of it

[@simontay4851]

Just because its supposed to be there. For completeness. If it should be there it will be there.

[@VAX1970]

@@lordmmx1303 Just for the Ben Heck

[@ct6502c]

Is it possible that adding that capacitor is what caused the voltage on the video output to spike in the first place? Maybe that was why they changed the design and decided not to put in the capacitor?

[@seshpenguin]

@@ct6502c I'm pretty sure the voltage was always hot, even before the cap was added.

[@Gadgetman1989]

Something I just thought about, if you got a NOR chip, you could probably get a E3 nor flasher kit like ones for a PS3 and attach it to the memory and 'dump' the files :) good video as always

[@primepikachu5]

I'm impressed by these cheap handheld tbh. So cheap and able to even give a working gaming experience

[@dcfly]

Great video Adrian, as usual. I'm happy you removed the battery; I'd hate for you to get shocked down there in the basement.

[@simontay4851]

He's not going to get a shock from a 3.7V nokia lithium battery.

[@raggededge82]

I get the feeling if he turned the camera around we'd see a Jacob's ladder and a huge knife blade switch that throws off a shower of sparks

[@emralcrewrblox]

I wonder if you could rewrite the memory to play any nintendo game?

[@a2zgarage697]

this is why im here lol

[@jonlima9897]

2024 and nobody have done that yet... They make this hardware nearly Impossible to perform that hack

[@ELTABULLO]

@@jonlima9897 Someone HAS done it and let me tell you, it is NOT worth the hassle and it is unfortunately not even doable for beginner programmers

[@jonlima9897]

@@ELTABULLO I heard that some russian hacker did it. He should show it in a video not for the sake of profit but knowledge and finally Say mission accomplished

[@MuayThaiDreadlock]

@@a2zgarage697 same

[@avivmizrachi4382]

Hi Adrian, I hope you'll see this. I found your video bc I'm looking to "mod" a similar handheld. I found a small Chinese device that has the same baked on os as most of these Nintendo drvices. but, since it's so small, I wish I could emulate like Gameboy or gamegear instead... makes more sense for the form factor. That device has a removable micro SD running the os. Same Chinese os as your device here. What kind of os can I flash onto that card?

[@tookitogo]

Though I also would have just used Kapton tape, another reversible alternative to nail polish would be pure rosin. I bought some rosin chunks and dissolved them in solvent (you could use straight isopropyl, a blend of isopropyl and ethyl alcohol, or just commercial flux remover), and I paint it onto etched PCBs to protect the copper from oxidizing. (The more rosin in the solvent, the thicker the coat, but longer drying time of course.) This would work as a removable insulator for the buttons, since pure rosin isn’t conductive and is not hygroscopic.

[@BxCx666]

Glad you did these videos - I'm actually have ordered one of these handhelds a while ago, so now I know what to expect and how to fix! Thank you!

[@MrCleetSR388]

I was asked to charge one of these up to test it was a red one. I am shocked to find this random video that shows the device could have been better. Very kewl

[@ChopperCharles]

You know a small piece of electrical tape under the pads would have been a better solution for your turbo buttons

[@misterhat5823]

2V video? I bet they forgot the 75 ohm series resistor for termination.

[@adventureoflinkmk2]

3:06 -- not really. Remember Nintendo released a turbo controller for the NES, first party.

[@adventureoflinkmk2]

@Rex Warden oooh I forgot the NES advantage..

[@bland9876]

When emulating turbo Graphics 16 games on an actual Wii you get Turbo so it's at least not cheating on that system but developers on the NES didn't develop with turbo in mind so it could be cheating

[@mrburns366]

Contra

[@adventureoflinkmk2]

@@mrburns366 Festers Quest too

[@kuricosmos]

Correct, making this a DOWNGRADE in game play, shame. Though the mod for the video was great. This video makes me wonder how much little QOL stuff is missing from these cheap stuff, given this is the proper chips. The rom modification doesn't help either I imagine.

[@os.phanuel]

I really appreciate your efforts Be blessed

[@sharebrained]

Hey Adrian, drop by my office with that thing, and we can hot-air the flash chip off and read it with my TL866+adapter. Maybe we can load different ROMS in it!

[@gopro2804]

I just bought one.... you can take mine apart if you like :)

[@christiansamulak5797]

Yes!! Please do it!

[@antonindaro]

can you try it? how did it go?

[@sharebrained]

@@antonindaro I have not. I got four units a few weeks after I saw this video. They all had a BGA-style flash chip on a carrier board, with castellated-via contacts to the main board. So it was not a trivial matter to flash one of these with the hardware I already had.

[@antonindaro]

@@sharebrained we have to enjoy it as it is. thanks man! greetings from Argentina

[@DaisyHollowBooks]

I lack your electronics knowledge, so I thought it was super cool how you put in the resistor to lower the video output voltage. This was pretty interesting all around.

[@Xsses]

Wow. I always wanted to have a decent portable console and this is not only cheap and decent but also actually a real modern copy of NES running original NES games.

[@RyGuy0520]

If you are from the US you can pick up a similar system almost identical to this at five below in their five beyond tech section for $10

[@Xsses]

@@RyGuy0520 But I bought that exact thing with shipping to EU on Aliexpress for 15€ like a 2 months ago.

[@sadasulna6056]

That flash rom looks a little scabby which makes me think they tore it out of an old phone, the Chinese reclaim parts from tons of junked e-waste, its actually nice to think they have a second life. Devil World is an awesome little game.

[@leberkassemmel]

I wonder if one can replace the 400-in-1 ROM on the Flash with other ROMs.

[@BFKAnthony817]

I would guess probably yes because the system already has a 5v connector in addition to the USB port. So what other reason would it need a USB port if not just for charging when there is a 5v plug on it?

[@pacman10182]

@@BFKAnthony817 charging while the second controller is plugged in?

[@coolthinghere6853]

my Organization Mode is just itching to have the repeats and glitched games removed and put everything in alphabetical order (w the homebrews after official releases)

[@retropolcey3509]

Is there any modding way to use the screen for retro handhelds… like gameboy color, sega game gear etc …

[@NomaddUK]

Is there a way to add other gays to this system? Obviously it would require an SD card wiring in.

[@casperandthebeast5780]

Is there a way you can edit the games on it?

[@maxodgaard1335]

Just bought 4 pieces through Lazada in Bangkok for 4usd each whaaaat with 400 games.... can this thing be flashed, or is it possible to transfer some of my mame roms to it? It contains too many trashy games as is.. Thank you for your knowledge and enthusiasm 👏💪

[@MichaeldeGans]

have you ever got this to work? adding and removing roms on this handheld? If so, could you tell me how? 🙂

[@mikegravgaard340]

I think a single piece of sellotape would also have worked. I hoped you were going to take off the flash chip and then try modding it further.

[@ERROR0x7CF]

Should adding the resistor outside the console by hacking up the video cable produce a similar result? In addition, what resulted from adding the capacitor? Did it reduce the audio buzz mentioned in the previous video?

[@andrewdupuis1151]

ymm i wonder that screen work on raspberry pi 4

[@jonlima9897]

I asked the same question now 3 years later but no one seemed to cracked that yet

[@AleksaZ]

Please, how can we flash games or os to it ?

[@happykid21garcia84]

Can you add more games into these?

[@MatDeLong]

Is there any way to delete some of the games on this device?

[@TalpaDK]

I wish I could find a datasheet for that LCD display, could be used as a nice case and display for a diy game console, maybe using a FPGA, who doesn't love those things?

[@QuetzalToon005]

is there a way to hack it and add or change the games on the handheld?

[@00darkblaze]

Is it possible to add more games to these devices? Tried looking online can't seem to find much..

[@jonlima9897]

No one has ever done that, its nearly Impossible

[@irongaster7628]

uhh hey ı just saw that channel and just got a sup gameboy 400 in 1 but there is no pokemon how to add pokemon to it? can somebody help please ı love pokemon so much

[@slybunda]

do you have a replacement screen part number? mine is cracked

[@jayminer]

Devil World was released in Europe aswell! It is an interesting game, by Shigeru Miyamoto if I'm not mistaken.

[@battra92]

Sort of his take on Pac-Man, ya know before he made a Pacman game.

[@COMBOY]

I guess it was not released on the USA because of those Christian religion references, crosses, demons, the Bible, etc.

[@padraigf6041]

any especially useful bits that can be salvaged from this board other than the battery? Could the screen be connected to any kind of standard connector for arduino/raspberry pi?

[@theR6969]

a little piece of tape between the pads and the carbon rubber push buttons would've done the trick.

[@elmariachi5133]

Yeah, he still got learn how to not destroy things when not needed ;)

[@gileraarcore]

Thanks for the video! It is possible extract the s-video for crt monitor?

[@mxbunnycatter]

My curiosity leads me to ask now; would it be possible to mod a cartridge connector on it, and turn it into a 10 dollar portable nes :3

[@hunterh.8353]

I try looking for a answer but i didnt seen it. Can it be able to change the games it already has and how? By now a clear answer would be best so people dont have to keep scrolling to then see there was no answer to the question. And to add if is possible to it whom can do it and about how much w It will be . thanks every one

[@adriansdigitalbasement]

Nope, no easy way to update the games.

[@orangeActiondotcom]

Turbo would be great for shmups like Star Soldier, Abadox, anything where mashing the buttons repeatedly would just be impossible on such a tiny screen. Devil's World was a cartridge game, it's one I like to go back to when I break out the Famicom! Now I wanna know how to reprogram or replace the storage chip.

[@HackingInfo]

6:15 it will connect if you hold down the reset button but some unknown hardware. I know cause I have something similar

[@Ma.ReginaRivera-zl7ev]

Amazing! I hope someone will go and see how it was coded. I manged to play Rock Man / Mega Man on this game box last year. Now, I can't remember how.

[@dandalu47659]

Is there anyway to add ROM so I can save?

[@deveereigundam]

Wonder if you can remove everything in the flash storage and replace it with an 8 bit video that will play when you turn it on. Ex: B-MO's face or something.

[@jonlima9897]

Nearly Impossible to do that

[@Nukle0n]

I could've told you that clipping off those rubber pads would've made that cheap, cheap button array rattle :P

[@ToTheGAMES]

Did I miss the part about modding it for a controller or isn’t it in the video?

[@mrburns366]

He was wrong about the controller interface. It was a quick caption after he said that. It would be a lot of trouble to add a NES controller to this thing as it is.

[@ojmachine9545]

the mini usb port does support controllers and you can get them on aliexpress that was made for the device and does player 2 (I have one)

[@bigemugamer]

This was probably the coolest video regarding these cheap and horrible $10 devices, I really enjoyed it. =D

[@RGBLoungeBrasil]

As for the generic TFT screen, is there any type of microcontroller to use with it, in case I want to plug in a raspberry pi, for example?

[@Skatep321]

Do you think you would use a Gameboy housing to replace the original clone one?

[@NinSonyFan]

What if you swap the chip containing the games with another chip from another $10 console that have different games on it? Would it work?

[@giridharg82]

I recently got a SUP game box. It works only when it is plugged in. I thought it was a bad battery and swapped it with a new one but it didn't work. Any suggestions how to fix it. Thanks.

[@Nomad_Wanderer]

Can we use the screen from this sup on any of the gameboy? Just asking if you can see

[@sanelb1147]

is it possible to program the chip with new "original" roms

[@jonlima9897]

No one has ever done that... Its nearly Impossible

[@imbadwrench]

I swapped my buttons for some buttons i had out of a Nintendo DS. they are concave and almost perfectly flush.

[@falecomigo]

Thanks for the tip!!

[@Mystiskmusli]

Is it possible to access the memory and install your own ROM's?

[@jonlima9897]

Its nearly Impossible to do that

[@derekp9737]

could the screen from this unit be compatible with lets say raspberry pi w/ raspberry pi 4? that would be super cool! Also, what is the benefit of adding the capacitor? Thank you. It would be awesome to be able to use a raspberry pi in this case with this display.... :) an alternative to the $100 overpriced piboy

[@Nele_BiH]

if anyone finds out how to acess inernal memory please let me know beause i have version with AA bateries

[@Kps117A]

I have one of these that i picked up for 7$, for that price it's a decent console but i wish they allowed USB access to change games from a PC... I was wondering, there's any way to access the 128 mb memory and mess around with the games or even with the OS ? Alternatively, do you think it would be possible to reuse the screen, case, buttons and some part of the board and connect everything to a Raspberry Pi 0 ? Seems like it would be a great 5$ upgrade.

[@HildegardActual]

So my thing with the last part of this comment is that if you wanted to go the Pi route, there's better options. There's 3D printer STL files and kits available to make something better, and easier. However, if you already bought it like me, I can see the appeal then. And I'm pretty sure you could get it to work with a Pi, but you're probably gonna have to do a lot of fuckery for finding the driver for the screen (I would think) so I just don't know if that's worth it. Just learning how to flash more games onto the existing consoles definitely seems worth it though and I'm about to try it this weekend if I can figure it out.

[@szigo3211]

@@HildegardActual Did you succeed with adding new games?

[@a2zgarage697]

@@HildegardActual any luck?

[@mr.animationxd4040]

​@@HildegardActualyou did it?

[@MagesGuild]

Adrian, to what lines is the cap that you installed connected? Do you have any guess as to why it was not on the finished design? I have one of these, but have yet to open it. The LCD is far too bright for me without computer glasses, so I'd like to put a variable resistor on the power line to the LCD itself.

[@12villages]

Can I feed external rca video into the LCD ? To use it as a portable monitor.

[@Kippykip]

I wonder where NOC's are bought from

[@pixelflow]

They most likely come from this company www.vrt.com.tw/datasheet.htm its an nes core thats been extended to support driving lcd's and flash memory, even '16 bit' graphics! some highlights here wiki.nesdev.com/w/index.php/VTxx

[@amerigocosta7452]

I just bought a very similar unit for 10 €, sold - quite incredibly - at a retail shop. The only thing I'd like to add would be a pivotal ball for the dpad, because it registers two directions at times.

[@74656trekkie]

You could have used electrical tape to cover the contacts on the board to disable the buttons wirhout destroying them.I always try to make modifications in a way that they are non-destructive in case I want to remove them later...

[@74656trekkie]

OK , I was too early with the comment, you had the same idea to the end of the video...

[@mystic_780]

is there any way to add more games

[@the_famous_seatbelt]

2:51 the buttons are right b is at the bottom

[@Robin-dt8wy]

very nice improving handheld

[@jeffdewe]

could of used black tape under your turbo buttons, would of save snipping them.

[@lorenzoporciani]

Someone think he should try to read the flash memory? Would be nice!

[@seshpenguin]

Your videos are always so entertaining and relaxing at the same time. Keep it up!

[@thesilentcitadel]

Any chance of extracting the data of the memory chip and figuring out hacks that could be done on it? Ie, remove copies, rename games, default to English etc etc?

[@pixelflow]

Maybe not this one specifically, but there is a lot of overlap/re-skinning. This wiki has tons of info on the developers/game clones. bootleggames.fandom.com/wiki/Nice_Code_Software They also have a forum to discuss dumping and emulation/etc. bootleg.games/BGC_Forum/index.php

[@pixelflow]

You can also learn about the underlying blob chip here wiki.nesdev.com/w/index.php/VTxx and SDK's exist too! Searching for 'multicart' dumps will probably lead you to various editions of these games, or collector websites like somerussianmariodude.blogspot.com/

[@iulianispas8634]

I did play around with this thing myself an add my own roms with a IC Test Clip, DIP 64 pin ( you have to cut some traces in the procces ) only nes roms work i try game boy and snes with no succes

[@EcSsAwS]

Hello. I just got my handheld game yesterday in the mail. Is there a way to turn down to screen brightness?

[@iceberg789]

is it still working though, or failed ? people often complain display fails.

[@mc-minhchien2172]

Anyone know how i can delete the games on that tf card and add new games in?

[@simonis8256]

or this screen connector same like in raspberry pi? can i use this display in raspberry pi board?

[@cirenala]

Thank you so much for the video fix. bought a NES clone form aliexpress a few years ago and it has the same problem. Looking forward to trying the resister and hopefully cleaning up the video.

[@DomainDuSac]

I wonder what the purpose of that missing capacitor is. Fun video, thanks for sharing!

[@bisayangdaku]

Sir can you make video for LDK game console tear down and repair

[@GrimDeal]

It seems that "red led" indicating charging will never go away, even after a few hours of charging. How long should i charge this chinese-boy?

[@ryanbrown3488]

have you tried to modify the games offered on it? Add your own ROMs to it?

[@MichaeldeGans]

have you ever got this to work? adding and removing roms on this handheld? If so, could you tell me how? 🙂

[@gabryproject]

My question is.. How could the nand be modified? Interesting..

[@gabryproject]

Or how access to nand for dump for example.

[@MCrockett1]

Great video. What would it take to change the games or add to them?