RF Generation Message Board

This is somewhat of a morbid question but I think about it a bit.

Do you think in our lifetime(lets say your the age of those who grew up with the NES) we'll see a time when NES carts and NES consoles cease to work?

I have electronics from the 60s and 70s that still work, although in the case of a few guitar amps they needed many parts changed to continue to work today.

 I cannot think there is a reason for them not to work over time. The systems themselves will probably always wear with enough use and since there are parts directly connected to the power supply, surges are a risk and can damage them, either needing parts to repair or replaceable by systems like the Retrons; but I don't think the games would wear in the same way, and I wouldn't think would get damaged unless a surge can travel through the system into the game.

Thinking deeply into it, would NES carts have voltage regulators or surge suppressors within them? Those are the only electronics I can think of with unstable elements in them that degrade over time. Even then though, most voltage regulators and surge suppressors still work just fine even after the cobalt or krypton within them have degraded past their half-life cycles.

Philosophically, its all dust on a timeline. Battery-backups aside, solid-state electronics from the sixties on up have a generally good lifespan if there are no moving mechanical parts or power surges, but it'll all wear down eventually. Best to mentally and physically treat it as such.

Just my thoughts. :)

I would think the main point of failure beyond the pin connector would be the capacitors, which are easily replaceable as they aren't surface mount. I have no fear that these will continue on well past my lifespan.

isn't there still electrical technology from the early days of electricity functioning fine in museums and the like? i'm pretty sure that what doesn't last could be fixed, and even what can't be fixed can be remade (retron 5 etc). NES specifically has way too much notoriety and fame to ever truly die, but lesser known consoles could be another story.

FDS has been on the outs for awhile now hasn't it?
Fragile and not enough market for replacements.

I'm sure there are other examples of rare-er systems where the pool of availability has begun to dwindle over the years do to lack of popularity, obscurity and/or rarity.

How about the RDI Halcyon?

I had that written up but then went on a tangent about other stuff not related to hardware malfunctions.
R-Zone is what primarily sent me on the tangent ;)

I delete far more than i ever post.

What do you guys think about CRT TVs?  Ticking time bombs?

Certainly these will require maintenance to replace faulty parts, but a well kept CRT with no burn in should be repairable for quite some time. The challenge will be finding people knowledgable in repairing them.

Uh no, NES carts are essentially just a few chips with a handful of resistors and caps (and in some cases a lithium battery). I take it you've never seen what an NES cart looks like on the inside?

No, I have not. :)

If this site allows hotlinking, you will see an image below...
[img width=538 height=316]http://www.classicplastic.net/dvgi/editorials-davidnesconvert002.jpg[/img]

Wow...that is a LOT less than I figured would be under the shell. Thank you for sharing.

There are ROM chips on the other side of the PCB...
This is interesting: http://multimedia.cx/nesgallery/

I think the NES (and other cartridge systems) will survive for as long as we have a place to plug them in. And by that, I mean we may not always have TVs that are compatible. Its only a matter of time until TVs are devoid and coax and composite inputs. We'll have a few more years of using old TVs obviously, but those will eventually wear out, and replacement parts to get them up and running again, will likely be hard to find.

Sounds like an episode of the Twilight Zone.  Finally get all the carts from your childhood and can't find a TV to play them on.

at least things like the retron will keep the dream alive

Converters. :)

I dunno how I feel about the Retron5.  It's cool that that technology is being developed.  But after the latest scandal with the "stolen" emulators I'm more turned off to Hyperkin than I was before. 

I hadn't heard about that. Here's a link to the article mentioned:
http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2014/09/hyperkins_retron_5_console_allegedly_infringes_on_the_rights_of_multiple_emulator_authors

Interesting discussion around it too:
http://www.gaijinworks.com/interact/showthread.php?560-Retron-5-Using-Stolen-Emulator-Code&s=575b2fb4853e5b983572829593aeb2e3

I'm not educated enough to say how long a cart will still work but considering I have 25+ year old cartridges that work on the first try on a 25 year old system (NES) and work glitch-free, I don't see why they wouldn't last another 25 years, minimum. Those cartridges are built to last, unlike the piece of crap consoles they're making today which become disposable after 3 years.

This. I've been playing on a Framemeister for the last month or so on my TV. the only reason I haven't thrown out my CRT is because it weighs more than I do.