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Started By
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Posted on 4/1/24 at 10:41 pm to TackySweater
I wasn't calling video game hotlines from my friends house in the 80s/90s
Posted on 4/1/24 at 10:59 pm to stuckintexas
quote:
I wasn't calling video game hotlines from my friends house in the 80s/90s
Some people were
Posted on 4/1/24 at 11:02 pm to TideSaint
How did we all know to fix NES cartridges as kids in the 80s/90s?
Learned it from the elders that grew up with Atari 2600s.
It worked on those as well.
Learned it from the elders that grew up with Atari 2600s.
It worked on those as well.
Posted on 4/2/24 at 12:06 am to TideSaint
quote:
You're telling me millions upon millions of American kids just figured this out on their own with no medium to share it yet everyone knew about it?
How?
You learned it from people who used to clean Atari cartridges.
Posted on 4/2/24 at 12:33 am to moneyg
quote:
blowing on it did nothing.
TWSS
Posted on 4/2/24 at 12:45 am to TideSaint
quote:
If blowing air into it didn't work the true fix was inserting the cartridge 95% of the way and then forcing it down
Posted on 4/2/24 at 4:09 am to St Augustine
quote:
Absolutely. Shitloads of dust got in those things INSIDE the Nintendo in the two hours since we had previously played.
You have to realize most homes were dustier than today’s homes. People still smoked like chimneys and shag carpets were still in people’s homes holding years of dust that was never really vacuumed up. It was just recirculated each vacuum. Plus that cigarette smoke put a nicotine glaze on everything.
I just picture a YouTuber fixing a 1970/80’s console TV and commenting how baked it was with the nicotine smell emanating from the capacitor and board components when he first turns it on.
Posted on 4/2/24 at 4:48 am to TideSaint
quote:
How did we all know
Simple.
The things we did were printed on the cartridge packing to NOT do. That's where people got the idea from...
quote:
GAME PAK PRECAUTIONS / MAINTENANCE
Avoid touching the connectors with your fingers. Do not blow on them or allow them to get wet or dirty. Doing so may damage the Game Pak/Controller Pak and/or the Control Deck or Controller.
Game Paks/Controller Paks are high precision pieces of electronics. Do not store them in places that are very hot or cold. Do not hit, drop or otherwise abuse them. Do not take them apart.
Do not clean with benzene, paint thinner, alcohol or any other solvent.
Always check the Game Pak/Controller Pak edge connector for foreign material before inserting into the Control Deck or Controller.
Do not rapidly turn the power switch on and off, as this may cause backed-up Game Paks to lose your stored game information.
I had to access this site the other day when my Nephew told me you didn't have to press down on the Nes cartridges to play them.
I almost slapped him.
NES Website
Here are some other precautions from Nes
quote:
FOLLOW THESE PRECAUTIONS WHENEVER USING VIDEO GAMES:
When using your NES ® , Super NES ® or Nintendo ® 64, do not sit or stand too close to the television screen. Play as far back from the screen as possible.
Play video games on the smallest available television screen.
Do not play if you are tired or need sleep.
Always play in a well lit room.
Be sure to take a 10 to 15 minute break every hour while playing.
I;m guessing there was reasons we thought their precautions were bullshite.
Posted on 4/2/24 at 5:31 am to FutureCorridor49
No, it didn’t.
That pulling it and putting it back in to the pins connected right was the magic, but it’s a better story to believe we all had magic dragon breath.
That pulling it and putting it back in to the pins connected right was the magic, but it’s a better story to believe we all had magic dragon breath.
Posted on 4/2/24 at 5:35 am to TideSaint
quote:
If blowing air into it didn't work the true fix was inserting the cartridge 95% of the way and then forcing it down. That shite was money.
This.
Most of the time i just skipped step 1 and started with step 2 and found a 90% plus success rate.
Posted on 4/2/24 at 5:46 am to Parrish
quote:
There were also different button combinations for effects, cheat codes to advance to later levels, short cuts, and sorts of stuff we knew before using the internet. Many were in magazines but many were not but still spread around.
Up down up down left right left right B A B A select start, now your ready to beat Contra
Posted on 4/2/24 at 6:31 am to BeachTiger2018
We always put the game under our shirts and blew on it, so the saliva didnt get on the cartridge
Posted on 4/2/24 at 6:32 am to TideSaint
quote:
You're telling me millions upon millions of American kids just figured this out on their own with no medium to share it yet everyone knew about it?
It never really “worked” more than it was a placebo that made you think it worked after trying the cartridge several times.
This post was edited on 4/2/24 at 6:36 am
Posted on 4/2/24 at 7:05 am to TideSaint
I mean, there’s only so much you can do to “fix” something quickly. Blowing any dust or debris out seems like an obvious first step.
Plus, people see others doing it.
Plus, people see others doing it.
Posted on 4/2/24 at 7:06 am to Tarps99
quote:
You have to realize most homes were dustier than today’s homes. People still smoked like chimneys and shag carpets were still in people’s homes holding years of dust that was never really vacuumed up. It was just recirculated each vacuum. Plus that cigarette smoke put a nicotine glaze on everything. I just picture a YouTuber fixing a 1970/80’s console TV and commenting how baked it was with the nicotine smell emanating from the capacitor and board components when he first turns it on.
I know I lived it. Cartridges still didn’t accumulate dust inside them every couple of hours
It was that you kept taking out the cartridge and placing it back in slightly differently. Once we learned you could just kinda push the grip part side to side a few times and it would do the same thing without taking out the game we never had to “blow dust” out of them again.
This post was edited on 4/2/24 at 7:08 am
Posted on 4/2/24 at 7:19 am to TideSaint
If the blowing, and hard press down from 95% method didn't work, you got your mom to buy you the video game cleaning kit, which was basically a big arse Q-tip with some rubbing alcohol. If it didn't work after that, you were screwed.
This post was edited on 4/2/24 at 7:23 am
Posted on 4/2/24 at 7:29 am to Parrish
quote:
There were also different button combinations for effects, cheat codes to advance to later levels, short cuts, and sorts of stuff we knew before using the internet.
Internet
Posted on 4/2/24 at 8:09 am to TideSaint
word of mouth: the cleaning instructions said not to blow into the cartridges.
80s/90s kids: this must be the way
80s/90s kids: this must be the way
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