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N64 Rescue


Atari 5200 Guy

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I know some here enjoy reading things like this so I hope you enjoy something that happened to me this evening.  

 

Well.  Had a nice surprise today.  Around 5:30pm CST I get a knock at my door.  There is a friend of ours on the other side when I opened the door holding a Nintendo 64.  He said he found it in a dumpster at his apartment complex and thought I would like to have it.  Naturally I can't turn down another console even if I already have the same model.  I bring it in with him in tow and plug it up.  No power.  I get the power supply to my wife's Grape N64 and...no power.

 

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So I begin the task of cleaning it up and hoping that might solve something.  But, I don't have the "special" tool required to open these things up.  Curse you Nintendo for using those stupid security screws!!  After two hours of trying a few tricks I finally managed to get all the screws out and the top shell off.  Inside I find...BUGS!!!  Most of them are dead but a few are still kicking around.  I rush immediately to the shower and begin spraying everything down with Totally Awesome spray cleaner.  

 

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Only after that do I begin to really remove all the other screws to remove the main board and all other parts.  After seeing all those bugs everything will have to be sprayed off in my book.  Those are my rules.  Yes...the main board too.

 

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Bath time!  I'm not going to show one of the pics with the bugs in it.  Those things are just nasty and I can't stand roaches.  I don't mind any other bug usually but those things ... why did God create such a creature?  If there ever is an Armageddon those things would survive it! 

 

Whoops...guess I got sidetracked.  Most will probably say that water and electronics don't mix.  As long as it doesn't have any power going through it, is not in operation when it gets wet, and if it is allowed time to dry completely then any electronic circuit board can get wet.  Which I drenched everything and used the shower to spray off anything that was not suppose to be there and to help remove the chemical I used.  

 

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I think the guys who designed this must have liked jigsaws puzzles.  I dried everything off, using a hair dryer to help dry off the main board and other electronics like the cart slot and other areas, then re-assembled everything.  At first there was no power again.  Using my wife's N64 as a guide I reworked the metal plates which I got the few for the memory expansion slot mixed up.  Once corrected I tried the system again.

 

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And the results are actually impressive...

 

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It works!  Another console saved from a landfill.  This is my trade and I love fixing these things.  I just wish I could make a living at it haha.  It does score me some consoles once in a great while so that's a plus for me.

 

I hope you enjoyed this rescue.  Now I just need to get a controller and something besides Dr. Mario 64...that's the only 64 game we have and that one is my wife's game.  Oh...and I forgot...which is why I'm editing this...those screws got replaced with regular Philips-head screws and the N64 ones got pitched.  I despise those things.

Edited by kamakazi20012
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Thanks for sharing and WOW I am impressed with your results. Great patience and care rewarded! 

I am Rob aka MaximumRD aka OldSchoolRetroGamer and THIS is my world http://about.me/maximumrd

"For you, the day Bison graced your village was the most important day of your life. But for me, it was Tuesday."

 - M. Bison

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That's so cool!

 

If you're wondering what games to get for it, you can't go wrong with Super Mario 64, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and Super Smash Brothers. Also, my brother and I really enjoy the Spider-Man 2000 game for N64 (though it would probably be better to go with the PS1 version that same game), so I always recomend that too.

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It will probably be a long time before I pick those titles up. They are asking really high prices for those titles which I think is stupid. Thanks for mentioning those and I'm open for other suggestions. I loved Blast Corps and Rush 2 on this system when I had one in the 90's. I also remember having an RPG I loved but I can't remember the name of it but I am thinking it might have been Quest 64. The N64 is a good console but not one that I dug into full force.

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I really enjoy playing star wars pod racers and that one is actually really cheap. Mario 64 of course! Kirby 64 is one of my favs for the system. Banjo kazooie and banjo tooie.

 

Another great one i have beaten is star soldiers

 

I've thought about the Star Wars Episode 1 Racer and Star Soldiers.  I heard those are really good on this system.  I've heard that all of the Star Wars games are good on the system.  I remember playing Rush 2 to death and it makes a fun multi-player game.  I did find Mario 64 and Ocarina cheaper at GameStop no less.  

 

There is a used game store in a large city 30 minutes south of my location called Slackers I am seriously thinking about checking out sometime.  I've never been there.  And there is a Game X Change in another town west of where I am I thought about checking out, too.  But I don't plan on checking those out until warmer weather.  

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I will say star soldiers gets really tough towards the end of it

Earth Defense Force on the SuperNES does the same thing.  One of my favorite SNES games, though.  

 

Looks like I just need a controller, memory expansion cover, and I'm good to go.  I'm using the wife's Grape N64 controller and, while I can use it, we are trying not to use it too much.  The value on those colored N64 systems has really skyrocketed since we got the Grape model.  I had no idea until I started hunting down that cover and another controller for this N64 I fixed.  Wow.  

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The value on those colored N64 systems has really skyrocketed since we got the Grape model. I had no idea until I started hunting down that cover and another controller for this N64 I fixed. Wow.

Yea i hear ya. I think its ridiculous. I was trying to hunt down a donkey kong banana controller for the N64 for a Christmas gift for a friend, but i couldn't find one at a reasonable price

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Yea i hear ya. I think its ridiculous. I was trying to hunt down a donkey kong banana controller for the N64 for a Christmas gift for a friend, but i couldn't find one at a reasonable price

Just a standard, original N64 controller, not one of those non-branded remakes, is expensive.  So I can just imagine how much the DK one was going for.

 

As for games for the N64...I'm think I will make that a New Year's resolution.  Pick up a Wii (which I have been trying to do since Spring 2016) and pick up games for the N64.  Of course if I find Atari games I am missing I will pick those up as well.  Super Mario 64 and Zelda: Ocarina are high on the list.  But I think it would be easier to grab titles that are not as popular like Rush 2 and F-Zero X (both are my top faves).  Plus, there are lots of "budget" titles (meaning under $15) that might be good.  I can still remember the start up theme to Cruis'n World which was one of my favorites as well.  Those games I've mentioned, except Zelda, are pretty much all the games I remember playing.  So here is another console that will be completely new to me.  It's not Atari, I know, but an interesting console in its own way.  That and I like the cartridges.

 

If other members know of online places to get games for this thing that they visit frequently let me know, please.  As of now there are only two online sites I am aware of outside of E-Bay.  Also, any titles not already mentioned I should watch out for I'd like to know about them please.  Thanks in advance.

 

Forgot what I was going to ask.  It has scuffs and scratches across the top shell.  Any ideas on how to kind of remove them or should I just leave 'em?

Edited by kamakazi20012
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Forgot what I was going to ask.  It has scuffs and scratches across the top shell.  Any ideas on how to kind of remove them or should I just leave 'em?

 I wonder if Novus polishes would work ( use the stuff on pinball playfields )

 

https://www.novuspolish.com

 

http://www.pinballlife.com/index.php?p=catalog&mode=search&search_in=all&search_str=novus

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