Hey. It's been awhile. Summer has stopped me from blogging and playing video games due to a full time job, actually having friends in this town, and tendinitis and carpal tunnel. What makes me truly the saddest though, is that I haven't had time to listen to RetroforceGO! since i no longer have to walk all over town to get to where I want to go. I hope that once I go back to the old hell hole I'll actually have time for my beloved Destructoid and my weekly feature that I attempted to start. But anyways, on to more serious business.
(Serious business face... GO!)
Last Monday was TsunamiKitsune and my one year anniversary. He gave me possibly the AWESOMEST gift you could possibly give a girl on her anniversary: an SNES. Growing up, I was a Sega girl and kind of missed out on Nintendo until the crash of the Dreamcast and I had really wanted to play Final Fantasy III (VI) but couldn't find a good NOT emulator to run it on my NOT R4 or NOT PSP.
Here I come to the problem. It was a very heartfelt gift, especially since I have a newfound fondness for retro gaming and it was the original SNES that he had when he was younger, but in its age (or something else for all I know) it has lost its ability to produce color so it only plays in black and white. I was wondering if there was anyone in the community that knew how to fix my problem. I remember hearing Topher say on RFGO! that he knew a bit about fixing consoles or at least has taken them apart a bit, but if anyone could help or tell me what I should do, that would be great. Thank you! ^_^
I was told upon receiving in that it only played in black and white so I'm assuming that more than one game was played on it. Right now all I have for it is Gradius III. (I didn't really kick it btw...)
Not here to only suggest something that will cost money.. (I hate when ppl suggest an expensive solution to me - I like to do things for free or on the cheap)...
It sounds like you will have to take it to someone (preferably a pro) that has done some SNES/all console work before.
Reason being it is power going through the A/V that is inadequate, (bad power supply possible, resistor or capacitor or something like a chip could be bad too). I have studied electronics engineering, and I still probably wouldn't know what to do.. I just say this since making solder connections may/may not do the trick and risks making the power bleed over onto somethig else and causing circuit damage instead of being the right Voltage/Amperage.
Sorry, I just think if there is someone in your town / nearby that does mod's or legit work, they need to be your best friend. I know a guy in Tulsa that does ... erm.... totally(!) legit and charges me $30 for anything game console to repair.
Bottom line, maybe a place that refurbishes/sells used SNES systems might take yours as a trade-in or something if you don't want to wait/don't want the cost of having a repair person labor.
Also, it sounds to me like the thing has been dropped once too many times.. It probably wouldn't hurt it too much to try and re-solder the pins going out to the A/V, but if it has been dropped once too many times (like I suspect) there could be something else going on.. try and re-seat any/all chips on the mobo. (Make sure you discharge any/all static by touching the RF shield frequently before you begin.)
if you are looking for a good SNES emulator for the PSP use snes9x 0.4.2, its the best out there, but it's still slow for some games, even with frameskip and everything. it's even compatible with the slim&lite.
If you want an easier fix, and this may not work, but try using the NES RF adapter for it. The specialized AV cord that it originally comes with may have a bad port, but you can hook it uf using the RF port also. Or, if you are using the RF port, get the SNES only AV cords.
If you want to go the Topher route, the special bit you'd need to open the Super NES case is available on Play-Asia. That's where I got mine for when I decided to mod my Super NES to play Japanese titles (which is basically opening the case and removing two tiny plastic pieces).
Okay, so I got a lot of answers there. Thank you all. But um... which solution should I go with? I really don't want to get a new SNES since it has sentimental value and I don't want to spend tons of money. SNES specialist are few around these parts and SNESes are fairly rare as well. I would like to avoid soldering anything myself since the only things I've soldered have involved robots and guitars. I've tried various AV adapters on it and that doesn't seem to work. I might consider investing in a nutdriver and mod it while I'm at it if the work isn't above my head.
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about me
Name:Unknown (Alias: MissHinasaki)
Age:20
Sex:Female
Blood Type:X
Fighting Style:Fetal Position
Origin:...Sega?
Location:Midwest, USA
...is waiting on you! (Said in a voice that is somehow both irritated and sexy.)
...is Gordon Freeman.
...is making peace with the FPSes.
...doesn't RTS?
...doesn't care what you say, she fucking likes it!
...hates vans.
Favorite Genres
-Action/Adventure
-Arcade (Can that be a genre from now on?)
-Fighters (especially 2D)
-Hack and Slash (it's totally a genre)
-Platformers
-RPGs (although rarely these days)
-Rhythm
-Shooters (Run and Gun, Top Down, Horizontal Scrollers, Shoot 'em Ups, not so much FPSes... )
-Survival/Horror (Favorite Genre)
Systems I Own
-GameBoy Original
-GameBoy Color (Special Pokemon Edition >_>)
-Nintendo DS (Receives more NOT love now that I have a NOT R4.)
-Nintendo 64 (Least favorite system)
-GameCube
-PSX (I have one in the trunk of my car and I don't know why.)
-PS2 (Demoted to second favorite system)
-Sega Dreamcast (Favorite System)
-PSP
-PowerJoy (You don't even wanna know...)
-XBox 360 (lives in limbo of system favoritism.)
-SNES (Doesn't play in color)
Favorite Games (Alphabetical Order)
-Brutal Legend (360)
-Everyday Shooter (PC)(PSP)
-Fatal Frame series (PS2)
-Galaga (anything you can put it on)
-Geometry Wars: Galaxies (DS)
-Gex series (PSX)
-Gitaroo Man (PS2)
-Guilty Gear series (DC, PS2)
-Ikaruga (DC)
-The first half of Indigo Prophecy/Fahrenheit (The second half can rot in hell.)
-Jet Grind Radio (DC) (Favoritest game EVAR!)
-Left 4 Dead (360)
-Loco Roco (PSP)
-Lost Kingdoms II (GC)
-Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete (PSX)
-Mass Effect (360)
-Mega Man: Powered Up (PSP)
-Metal Slug series (PSP)
-No More Heroes (Wii)
-Persona 3 (PS2)
-Pokemon Pinball (GB)
-Pokemon: Silver Version (GBC)
-Pokemon Snap (N64)
-Rez (PS2)
-Warning Forever (PC)
-Zero Wing (Genesis)
Other Things That I Do
-Psychoanalyze absolutely everyone
-Pee in showers
-Watch women from afar
-Read comics
-Raise Rats
-Cry myself to sleep
-Drink soda
Things That I Hate
-Tacos
-Fanboys
-Republicans
-Video Games
-Everything
Destructoid is an independently-run publication forged by our love of video games and the gaming community's need of accountable enthusiast press living the dream since March 16, 2006
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Have you tried using different TV cords? If you have a Nintendo 64 or GameCube, use their AV cords on the SNES and see if that helps things.
Listen to the Shark..it's most likely the AV cords.
Nope. Still black and white.
You could do what I used to do with my old SNES when it acted up... kick it.
Didn't work. >_>
LMAO.
It seems like the only thing you can do is get a new one assuming you have more than one game that you tested, of course.
I was told upon receiving in that it only played in black and white so I'm assuming that more than one game was played on it. Right now all I have for it is Gradius III. (I didn't really kick it btw...)
Kitsune dropped the ball here. Selling you a broken SNES. Shame Kitsune SHAME
See if you know anyone with soldering skills. It could simply be the AV connector being partially disconnected from the mainboard.
I have slight solding skills. Thank you. I'll try that.
@Vlambo
It was a gift.
Kitsune dropped the ball here. Gifting you a broken SNES. Shame Kitsune SHAME
:P
Uh, blow in the cartridge slot/av outlet/etc?
Elitechief: Yeah, that'll solve the black and white issue ... >_>
Not here to only suggest something that will cost money.. (I hate when ppl suggest an expensive solution to me - I like to do things for free or on the cheap)...
It sounds like you will have to take it to someone (preferably a pro) that has done some SNES/all console work before.
Reason being it is power going through the A/V that is inadequate, (bad power supply possible, resistor or capacitor or something like a chip could be bad too). I have studied electronics engineering, and I still probably wouldn't know what to do.. I just say this since making solder connections may/may not do the trick and risks making the power bleed over onto somethig else and causing circuit damage instead of being the right Voltage/Amperage.
Sorry, I just think if there is someone in your town / nearby that does mod's or legit work, they need to be your best friend. I know a guy in Tulsa that does ... erm.... totally(!) legit and charges me $30 for anything game console to repair.
Bottom line, maybe a place that refurbishes/sells used SNES systems might take yours as a trade-in or something if you don't want to wait/don't want the cost of having a repair person labor.
You can ask for retro console help on the c-blogs?
*starts writing*
Also, it sounds to me like the thing has been dropped once too many times.. It probably wouldn't hurt it too much to try and re-solder the pins going out to the A/V, but if it has been dropped once too many times (like I suspect) there could be something else going on.. try and re-seat any/all chips on the mobo. (Make sure you discharge any/all static by touching the RF shield frequently before you begin.)
if you are looking for a good SNES emulator for the PSP use snes9x 0.4.2, its the best out there, but it's still slow for some games, even with frameskip and everything. it's even compatible with the slim&lite.
damn. that sucks. Make him buy you a new one.
I can probably show you how to fix it, but you'd need a specialized nutdriver to get it open. :(
Way to drop the ball, kit.
Also, nutdriver sounds dirty.
You should buy him a Genesis that has no sound. That'll learn 'im.
I think Topher just hit on you.
If you want an easier fix, and this may not work, but try using the NES RF adapter for it. The specialized AV cord that it originally comes with may have a bad port, but you can hook it uf using the RF port also. Or, if you are using the RF port, get the SNES only AV cords.
If you want to go the Topher route, the special bit you'd need to open the Super NES case is available on Play-Asia. That's where I got mine for when I decided to mod my Super NES to play Japanese titles (which is basically opening the case and removing two tiny plastic pieces).
Okay, so I got a lot of answers there. Thank you all. But um... which solution should I go with? I really don't want to get a new SNES since it has sentimental value and I don't want to spend tons of money. SNES specialist are few around these parts and SNESes are fairly rare as well. I would like to avoid soldering anything myself since the only things I've soldered have involved robots and guitars. I've tried various AV adapters on it and that doesn't seem to work. I might consider investing in a nutdriver and mod it while I'm at it if the work isn't above my head.
something tells me if the snes was busted you wouldn't see shit. try hookin that sumabitch up thru the coax connection.
PAL Snes on NTSC Tv or Visa Versa?