Resurrecting Your NES
 

I, as I'm sure many of you are, am a pretty major retrogamer. I love emulators and ROMs, but there's a certain quality to the real thing. I own ten different systems, but nothing compares to the love-hate relationship I have with my NES. It's getting a pretty bad case of the blinks.

I need some advice on bringing my 8-bit machine back to its former glory. So far I've found one place to buy new connectors, but they seem kind of pricey. I also found some guy who recommends cleaning the machine's connectors by soaking them in alcohol, but I'm not sure if that's the best idea.

In summation: Does anyone know A. where I can get a better deal on new connectors (I tried e-bay, but there's just some guy selling refurnished old ones) or B. a better way to clean/repair my old ones?

Good old NES. Ive had one since i was like 6...and i got a busted connector right from the start. After about 4 years of toiling i finally bought my friends but its also, wasnt new but it was better then my old one. A few months ago i dug mine up and couldnt find the connector. So i went to the local pawn shop and bought one for 50 cents...ya...50 cents, and it worked better then my first one.

About cleaning one, i have no idea if the alcohol bath will work, but i took mine apart and did the alcohol swab thing and it worked a bit better. My advice is to keep looking around in pawn shops till ya find one. thats how i got lucky :)

Edit: I cant spell

Good idea its been a few years since Ive played The legends of zelda. :)

I pull mine out from time to time, i still have the connector but the wires are freyed so you just have to get it right at the sweet spot to make the connection or it doesn't work. But sometimes a man just has to have some of that original Ninja Turtles Arcade magic.

I bought a new connector-pin assembly from eBay a while back- my NES now works better than it ever did. I'd recommend going that route... the original assembly is copper, and even if you take it out and polish it, it'll tarnish again over time.

This here is the same seller I bought my assembly from- they're reliable, and I think you'll find the price ($9, including shipping) somewhat more reasonable.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...category=41046

Ressurect? When you own Contra, the system never dies :D

Mine is in practically mint condition. In fact, I can still pop in a catridge and voila! Linear landscapes galore. Sorry, this probably doesn't help your situation, but that reminds me of something I read a while ago, about building a PC out of your old NES. Then there is always the DIY Arcade Cocktail Cabinet. Pretty swanky ideas if you're crafty enough to do it.