Famicom Disk System

[techwizard]

big milestone for me today, i picked up my first import console and one that has intrigued me for a while, the FDS with the RAM thing to attach to the FC.

problem is, it's missing the AC adapter. does anyone know the power specs of the official adapter? is it safe to use an alternative, like the north american NES adapter?

second problem of course being that i don't actually have a Famicom to attach it to...hoping to rectify that in the near future. is there anything else i need besides the FC with AC & A/V cables, the ram plug thing, and the FDS with AC adapter to get this all up and running? and of course an FDS game too.

[Duke.Togo]

DO NOT USE AN NES ADAPTER! The NES power supply outputs AC power, and will fry your poor DC loving Famicom and Disk System in a hurry.

A model 1 SEGA Genesis power adapter (or applicable substitute) will work great for powering both. Don't bother with import power adapters unless you want to do the whole step-down transformer thing. If you're not going with an AV Famicom then you will need a TV that can tune channel 96 or so. I recommend skipping that completely and going with an AV Famicom. It uses the same multi-AV out that the SNES and N64 uses, although it can't do RGB or S-Video.

[techwizard]

DO NOT USE AN NES ADAPTER! The NES power supply outputs AC power, and will fry your poor DC loving Famicom and Disk System in a hurry.

A model 1 SEGA Genesis power adapter (or applicable substitute) will work great for powering both. Don't bother with import power adapters unless you want to do the whole step-down transformer thing. If you're not going with an AV Famicom then you will need a TV that can tune channel 96 or so. I recommend skipping that completely and going with an AV Famicom. It uses the same multi-AV out that the SNES and N64 uses, although it can't do RGB or S-Video.

awesome, that's exactly what i needed to know! is japan on higher voltage power? i always thought they did things the same as north america. either way though, looking at the cost of some of the import ones on ebay, i'll probably just use your suggestion of a genesis power supply. the AV famicom looks like the way i'll go, i didn't have plans to RGB mod it anyway.

[singlebanana]

DO NOT USE AN NES ADAPTER! The NES power supply outputs AC power, and will fry your poor DC loving Famicom and Disk System in a hurry.

A model 1 SEGA Genesis power adapter (or applicable substitute) will work great for powering both. Don't bother with import power adapters unless you want to do the whole step-down transformer thing. If you're not going with an AV Famicom then you will need a TV that can tune channel 96 or so. I recommend skipping that completely and going with an AV Famicom. It uses the same multi-AV out that the SNES and N64 uses, although it can't do RGB or S-Video.

awesome, that's exactly what i needed to know! is japan on higher voltage power? i always thought they did things the same as north america. either way though, looking at the cost of some of the import ones on ebay, i'll probably just use your suggestion of a genesis power supply. the AV famicom looks like the way i'll go, i didn't have plans to RGB mod it anyway.

If you're looking for a Famicom, sensaiman sells them at a great price. Shipping isn't bad either.

[nupoile]

is japan on higher voltage power?

Japan is on lower voltage. 100 volts for them.

Often, things that need electricity actually say right on them the voltages they are okay with. Like this power cord for our laptop right next to me, it says AC 100-240 Volts. It is made to accept anything in that range.

This isn't true for everything though, the Japanese 3DO I have doesn't say anything on it. I still haven't plugged it in yet just because of that. Maybe some Japanese electronics only accept 100-110 volts?

As I understand it though, and I got this information from the internet so it must be true, the 120 volts we have in North America isn't enough to damage something made for 100 volts, generally speaking. If you plug it in and it seems to work, doesn't get hot or start to smell funny, it's likely fine. Wall voltage varies anyways, it's not like we get a consistent 120 from our outlets, so designers have to make products with that in mind.


But yeah, like Duke said, don't mess up the AC/DC thing. Bon Scott would not be happy.

[Duke.Togo]

Honestly just hide all NES power supplies the instant you get them. Even the NES runs just fine on DC, so putting them away means you'll never accidentally fry anything.

[SirPsycho]

100 to 120 V should work without a transformer in most cases. If you want to be safe there should be 1:1.2 transformers all over the interwebz.

[techwizard]

@techwizard:

I would ask senseiman/recommend an AV famicom as it has native av support, us controller support, and looks nicer RGB modded.  It doesn't have a microphone though.

Here's the link in the RFGEN database: http://www.rfgeneration.c...fo.php?ID=J-027-H-00010-A

If you are looking at the original Family Computer there are three major releases that I know of:

Square button release - http://www.rfgeneration.c...fo.php?ID=J-027-H-00020-B

Round button release - http://www.rfgeneration.c...fo.php?ID=J-027-H-00020-A

Famicom Family release (Has FF on the front to the left of where it says Family Computer )- http://www.rfgeneration.c...fo.php?ID=J-027-H-00021-A

If you are going with an original Famicom I would go with either the round button or FF version.

http://etim.net.au/nesrgb/ - RGB Information

Also look here for some power supply information:

http://www.famicomworld.c...um/index.php?topic=6933.0

TLDR version: use a Sega Genesis Model 1 (1602) power supply.

taking this discussion from the price check thread to here. so, i'm leaning towards the AV famicom thanks to addicted's info. i've got a couple questions about it though.

is the AV cable for it the same as the NA snes/n64/GC cable, or is it something different?

also does the option of using the genesis PSU only work for the original famicom, or does that work on the AV one too?

and third, does the AV famicom work with the FDS?

and does this seem like a good deal? http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Ni...0&hash=item234e008041

[Addicted]

@techwizard:

It uses the same cable as the N64/Snes etc see this thread for proof with response from ApolloBoy.

http://forum.digitpress.c...Famicom-AV-Cable-Question



It does work with the FDS:

http://www.famicomworld.c...um/index.php?topic=2789.0

Power requirements:

http://www.famicomworld.c...m/index.php?topic=11081.0

[techwizard]

@techwizard:

It uses the same cable as the N64/Snes etc see this thread for proof with response from ApolloBoy.

http://forum.digitpress.c...Famicom-AV-Cable-Question



It does work with the FDS:

http://www.famicomworld.c...um/index.php?topic=2789.0

Power requirements:

http://www.famicomworld.c...m/index.php?topic=11081.0

awesome to all 3 answers, thanks! most of the ebay famicoms don't come with cables, i was worried it might be expensive to piece everything together separately. still waiting on a response from senseiman, but in the meantime what do you think about that ebay link i posted above? does that seem like a good deal or should i just wait on senseiman?

[Duke.Togo]

That seems to be a fairly standard deal for an AV Famicom, as the games themselves are very cheap commons. If you buy from eBay be sure to pay the extra few bucks to get SAL tracking. The last package I got was damaged in shipping, and I had to go through the insurance reimbursement steps with the seller. It all got resolved, but it took months.

[techwizard]

got a response from senseiman, decided to go with his AV famicom. same price as the one i linked to on ebay but much better condition, original PSU and AV cable, and a second controller. also picked up Twin Bee CIB from him as well, bundled together for $110. the extra games with the ebay one were very tempting, but i would have tried to resell them anyway because i only want CIB. got the SAL shipping with tracking too

one last question that i can think of because i ordered the original FDS power adapter, and senseiman's shipment has the original famicom adapter. i'm looking at buying this step-down transformer, linked below, for the 120 - 100 V conversion (i know i don't 100% need that, but i'd rather not risk damage due to overheating). can i use a regular north american power bar or extension cable to give myself an extra outlet, or will that mess with the step-down voltage conversion? i'd rather not buy 2 transformers just to run the FDS if i don't have to.

http://www.voltageconvert...om/itemdesc.asp?ic=VC100J