Messages

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Re: White/Grey residue on PCE/DUO controller d-pads]

That's incredibly helpful, and insightful. I hadn't thought about sanding/grinding/etc down the outer layer. Given the issues with the CD-ROM2 gear ... aging poorly ... I suspected that the D-Pads (or some batches of them) may have been manufactured from a plastic with different aging process or something. Heavily annoying problem - I take pretty good care of my stuff, and almost all of my retro hardware is mint/near-mint EXCEPT these couple of d-pads ..

Ah, the joys of retro gaming ...

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Re: White/Grey residue on PCE/DUO controller d-pads]

I'm not at home at the moment, but the picture in this ebay listing shows what I am talking about - check out the D-Pad on the bottom-left controller compared to the others

https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEC-PC-Engine-Controller-Set-Core-Grafx-II-4pc-Japan-Import/232458653040?hash=item361f9d8d70:g:tFMAAOSwXwBZm-JD

Here is one where its just starting
http://www.ukvac.com/forum/uploads/573/pcenginepad.jpg

Another mild case
https://res.cloudinary.com/lmn/image/upload/fl_lossy,q_80/f_auto/v1/gameskinny/6a43e03c0194a54b7cb926dab694f3d5.jpg

Whatever is causing that - it doesn't wash off with any of the conventional means I've tried - but CAN be chiseled out/off with a dental pick. Both of my JP pads have this, one is worse than the other, my US pad does not. I'm at a loss.

[Console Repair/Mod Center / White/Grey residue on PCE/DUO controller d-pads]

Ok, oddball question - I don't know if I'm the only one who has this problem.

I have a US "TG-16 turbopad" and two JP PC-engine controllers (a white, and a gray).

Both of the JP controllers, but not the US one, have a white powder-like residue on the D-pads. I can't seem to find a way to clean it off. I've soaked the d-pads in water, rubbing alcohol, peroxide, nothing seems to work. The only method I've found is using a fine point needle or dental pick to chisel the residue out of the plastic's texture, but I don't have anywhere near the patience for that.

Has anyone else run into this?

Anyone have advice on how to clean this residue out?

[Buy/Sell/Trade / Re: Turbografx-16 & PC-Engine Reproduction Hucards Now for Sale!!!!]

Thanks. There might be a possibility that these cases will be available separately in the near future.

PleasePleasePleasePleasePleasePleasePleasePleasePlease.
I'll buy ten.

[Buy/Sell/Trade / Re: Ninja Spirit, loose hucard, up for trade.]

Bump. Still available for trade. Not looking for anything specific, first PM with a non-shitty offer gets it.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Controllers and D-Pads]

Thanks for the feedback.

I'm strongly leaning towards buying a late-model Duo controller (and adapter cable) and seeing how it works out.

[Buy/Sell/Trade / Re: Ninja Spirit, loose hucard, up for trade.]

Oh, it's not completely "loose" - I'll trade it off in a brand new clear sleeve.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Controllers and D-Pads]

A question for those more traveled in the turbo/PCE world than I am;

Are all NEC controllers made equal?
The reason i ask is that I've only ever used regular TG-16 turbopads, have used 3 of them over the years, and all have had very clunky D-pads which sometimes feel like they stick/click in one direction or another.

Anyone have experience with any of the various Japanese PCE/Duo grey/white/etc NEC pads? Any of them have a different feel to them? They look identical, except for the colors, but sometimes looks can be deceiving.

[Buy/Sell/Trade / Ninja Spirit, loose hucard, up for trade.]

I've got a spare Ninja Spirit hucard in near-mint condition, looking to trade.
(I was given one as a gift, but already had it)

Games I'm interested in and don't have ;
Shooters like blazing lasers, r-type, etc.
Bonk's revenge
Legendary axe 1 or 2
Jackie Chan Action Kung-Fu
Cadash
Dragon's Curse
Vigilante
Order of the griffon
Tiger Road


I have absolutely no idea what would be a fair trade, so I'll just throw out that my spare Ninja Spirit is available instead of asking for anything specific. PM me offers, first good sounding offer will be accepted.

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Re: Tennokoe Bank battery replacement model?]

Great info, thanks.
I suspected as much but always like to double check these things before cracking stuff open.

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Re: Tennokoe Bank battery replacement model?]

So any old CR2320 should work, with the caveats about physically fitting it back together et?

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Tennokoe Bank battery replacement model?]

Anyone have a model of a replacement battery confirmed to work as a replacement in the Tennokoe Bank card?
Or will any old 3v watch battery do?

I'm going to be getting one soon (second hand, obviously) and would like to give it a fresh battery before I put it into use.

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Anyone tried replacing save cap in TGCDdock with battery?]

Does anyone know if anyone has tried replacing the capacitor that powers the TG-16 CD Dock's save system with a regular battery of some kind?

Or if anyone has tracked down exactly which capacitor it is on which board that serves this function?

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Thoughts on good "quick pick up" games?]

I can't leave Keith Courage out of this discussion. It doesn't get enough love!

It is true that blind jumping into spikes does, in fact, not get much love. ;-)

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Thoughts on good "quick pick up" games?]

To clarify, I didn't mean "expect to finish the game quickly" just that the game isn't generally multi-session etc etc.

Good start - I'll look into those. :-)

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Thoughts on good "quick pick up" games?]

So looking for some thoughts and opinions.

I'm trying to make a small list of games to look out for that are good for 15-20 minute pick up gaming. As an adult gamer, I only occasionally get the time to sit down and enjoy a longer game like Ys or Dragon's Curse and more frequently get gaming time in smaller chunks. So I'm looking for games (platformers, shooters, whatever - the only genre I'm not really interested in is sports/racing) that I can pick up for 20 minutes and not feel like I've missed out by not being able to put more time into an individual gaming session.

Does that make sense?

Examples of games fitting this kind of niche would be stuff like Tetris, SMB1, Blazing Lazers, Dynasty Warriors, Pinball, etc)

Any thoughts on good turbo games that might fit that bill?

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: Megaman PCE thread]

I saw a youtube vid about this but haven't been able to find a download.
Any links?

[Buy/Sell/Trade / Re: Free game: Galaga '90 + worn manual]

Opt me in ! :-)

[Buy/Sell/Trade / Re: Free Game: Dragon Spirit]

As usual, anyone can opt in and I'll determine the recipient however I choose.

This is a loose TurboChip.

Recipient pays for shipping by Canada Post. Game will be sent in a bubble mailer without tracking or insurance. If it gets lost, that's the risk you take.

Shipping to the U.S. is usually $4 USD.

Opt me in! :-)

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Re: CD-Rom2 Troubleshooting / audio CD loads, game test burn fails]

Now I've got turbo rip working again I don't mind  ripping one of my games for you and burning it to a 650 mb Taiyo Yuden disk just to see if you fair better before shelling out on CD-Rs. I bulk bought some incase they disappear from sale & ive had good success with them in PCE & PS1

I'll PM you

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Retrobright works on HuCards]

please dont whiten anything with the boards in it
its extremely corrosive and can destroy them

Yeah, I should have mentioned that - best to stand the card upright so only the bottom half is dipped in.

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Re: CD-Rom2 Troubleshooting / audio CD loads, game test burn fails]

Further troubleshooting -

On the advice of one of my buddies, I slid the laser head assembly back to the edge of it's track, and powered on the unit to verify that it resets the laser to the center. It does, and now it's loading burnt games - BUT - load times are incredibly long, and it hangs (that is to say I give up waiting after 5-10 minutes) after a few of the intro cut scenes in the couple of games i've burnt for testing.

Anyone seem these symptoms before?

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Laundry List of Sources for Optical Unit used by TG-CD and PCE CD-ROM²]

Trying to comb through this thread and a few others - just to confirm , if I need to replace the laser assembly (for a black US/NTSC TG-16 CDRom2 model HES-CDR-01) and not JUST the glass lens itself - a scavanged KSS-220 out of the models confirmed to have one on this thread would be compatible?

I'm in the process of troubleshooting some issues with my CD-Rom (mentioned in another thread) and arranging for repairs - if it comes to the laser, I want to be prepared for that as to not have wasted $150 in repair work.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Retrobright works on HuCards]

WOW your gear was a LOT worse off than mine! (at least the CD-ROM)
Can't even begin to explain how glad I am that someone figured retrobright out.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Retrobright works on HuCards]

Incase anyone else has HuCards yellowed from age after a previous owner left them in the sun for prolonged periods of time for whatever, I can confirm that retrobright works wonders and restores them to a beautiful white shiney luster and does so VERY quickly - far faster than with other yellowed plastics I've come across. One hour under the blacklight and a highly-yellowed Bonk's Adventure is now squeeky clean.

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Re: CD-Rom2 Troubleshooting / audio CD loads, game test burn fails]

Ick.

Correct me if I'm wrong on this, but from an electronics standpoint if any of the caps were blown wouldn't there be other more severe symptoms? Failure to power on, problems reading audio CDs, so on and so on?

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Re: CD-Rom2 Troubleshooting / audio CD loads, game test burn fails]

That one worked.

It recognized the game (Valis III has been my test burnt disc since it'll work without the SS3.0 card) and ripped an enormous amount of files - the normal track2.iso plus a .wav AND an .iso for all the tracks up to 36, then only wavs for 37-62, then an iso and wav for 63 audio track in addition to creating a .cue

Neither the original burn nor the burn I just tried to make from the turborip results are loading reliably in the CD-ROM2 however.

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Re: CD-Rom2 Troubleshooting / audio CD loads, game test burn fails]

Turborip is crashing for me, unfortunately - tried that.

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Re: CD-Rom2 Troubleshooting / audio CD loads, game test burn fails]

Burnt audio CD playing as good as a stamped commercial disc.

Upon further reading online it may be related to the disk image I had. It was a .cue and .bin without the .wav files , so it might not have been a proper rip. If anyone has a source for known-working images feel free to shoot me a PM.

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Re: CD-Rom2 Troubleshooting / audio CD loads, game test burn fails]

So I cracked it open and took a look inside - removed the board just enough to peek in with an LED flashlight, didin't disconnect the ribbon cables or anything - and it's still got the stock/yellowing gear , which leads me to believe the entire unit is stock. This is what I was expecting, as my source hadn't even turned it on in a very long time.

How would I know if the caps need to be redone? Other than age, would there be any obvious symptoms? For example, would it simply not power up etc etc?

Update - I got it to load a test burned game disc, kindof, for a few seconds. It loads up a glitched screen then the title screen for the game. Push run to start a new game, gets about 10 seconds in, and quits back to the systemcard 2.0 screen/menu.

Is it a safe bet that it's the discs and not the drive?
(Still planning to get the stock gear replaced, and other questions about how to know if I need a recap remain)

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Re: CD-Rom2 Troubleshooting / audio CD loads, game test burn fails]

Yeah, music discs are loading ok (tried a couple)

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Re: CD-Rom2 Troubleshooting / audio CD loads, game test burn fails]

Great tip - I'll throw a disc at turborip and see what I get.

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Re: CD-Rom2 Troubleshooting / audio CD loads, game test burn fails]

I tested the burned disc with the magicengine emulator and it loaded up ok, which is what makes me think that something about the discs themselves or my process are causing an incompatibility.

And just to be clear - I'm not looking to pirate any of the games or anything, just trying to verify that the drive works properly and loads games at-all before I start expanding my collection into no-longer-cheap original game discs.

[Console Repair/Mod Center / CD-Rom2 Troubleshooting / audio CD loads, game test burn fails]

So, got a TG-16 with the dock and CD-ROM2

The CD drive is reading audio disks fine, without any issues, no odd noises (in fact, it's near silent), no issues jumping between audio tracks etc so I'm fairly confident the internals and laser are in ok shape.

I've failed to read any of the 10 attempts I've made to burn a game disc though, as I had hoped to validate everything worked correctly before hunting for 'original' game discs.  (hangs on "just a moment" with the disc spinning and occasional laser-seeking noises)

Is it a safe bet that it's an issue with my burns, and not an issue with the drive?

Are there any specific types of CD-Rs folks are having good luck with?
(I've been using some fairly basic verbatim discs, imgburn bin/cue method, and an LG internal sata drive)

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Question about 6-button controller compatibility]

Another noob question (and thanks so much by the way, you guys have been an enormous help) as I'm still new-ish to NEC hardware.

What are the options for a 6 button controller (for SF2, for example) on a US TG-16?

Will the controller from a Duo-RX work if you use a regular Duo-To-TG16 adaptor cable?

Are there any other "official" NEC 6 button controllers to keep an eye out for?

Third party controller that is generally accepted as good?

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Re: Casemodding turbotap into TG-16 chassis?]

Awesome! Thanks for the link, great video.

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Re: Casemodding turbotap into TG-16 chassis?]

I've considered snagging a "parts only" $20 range 16 off ebay to play around with this idea. It seems like the left side of the case has the physical space and unused frontage to make this happen, but I don't think I've ever seen/handled a turbotap in person so it's difficult to be sure. I've done a fair amount of PC casemodding before, so I tend to enjoy these kinds of projects.

Not sure if I'll get around to trying, figured I'd ask if it was already "a thing" first to absorb any pre-existing wisdom.

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Casemodding turbotap into TG-16 chassis?]

Just curious,

Anyone know if anyone has tried doing a bit of a casemod project to use a turbotap's guts inside a TG-16 chassis to add more controller ports to the front of the unit? (even if just two)

It seems like a fairly obvious project, but I haven't been able to find any docs on people doing it.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Super System Card 3.0 : US vs JP?]

Interesting unit mickcris, I'll have to take a closer look at the PCB designs to see if I can figure out exactly how/where that attaches. Looks simpler than the other options at a quick glance.

(I'll be going with a "plain" US/NTSC TG-16)

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Re: TG-16 disassembly/etc - any special screwdrivers/tools needed?]

Awesome, thanks so much guys.
Mostly asking since I'll be getting a used system and want to be able to clean the plastic shell. I already have a gamebit driver set, glad to know it's the same as the other systems.
(Not new to retro systems, just new to TG hardware)

[Console Repair/Mod Center / TG-16 disassembly/etc - any special screwdrivers/tools needed?]

Noob question - what, if any, special screwdriver heads/tools are needed to disassemble a standard black US/NTSC turbografx-16? (for purposes of repair, or cosmetic cleaning/wash of the outer plastic shell)

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Super System Card 3.0 : US vs JP?]

Based on pictures I've found online, it looks like either there is only one card or the US and JP cards are visually identical.

The JP 3.0 card has the HE logo while the US card does not, so they're not exactly identical in appearance.

GREAT tip, thank you!!!

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Super System Card 3.0 : US vs JP?]

VERY useful clarifications - thank you!

In referencing the TED 2.4 , I presume you mean this ? https://krikzz.com/store/home/35-turbo-everdrive-v24.html
My understanding was that those would not function as a CD system card (v2 or v3) and were only useful for game roms. Am I mistaken?

From the sounds of it, one of these "obey" region mod chips might be my best bet , http://www.tg16pcemods.com/tg-16pce-obey-chip-v3.html and then just use a JP super system 3 card (they look cheap on ebay, $20 range). Any known disadvantages to going that route, beyond potentially breaking compatibility with everdrive type devices?

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Super System Card 3.0 : US vs JP?]

Hi Gang,

Noob question - trying to get educated before I throw down some cash.
The super system card 3.0 for the TG-16+CD ; is this region specific?

Based on pictures I've found online, it looks like either there is only one card or the US and JP cards are visually identical.

Any guidance on the topic?

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Question about video output / converters / options]

The TurboGrafx only has RF out.  It does not have composite out.  Google "RF adapter" to see exactly what I mean.  The RF out is horrible IMHO.

I meant composite out using something like this : http://www.cgquarterly.com/2010/04/26/building-a-turbografx-16-pc-engine-composite-av-cable/

Sorry, I shouldn't have said "built in" :-)

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Question about video output / converters / options]

Forgive my ignorance on this - I'm competent with a soldering iron, just not familiar with the TG hardware - does adding the CD unit complicate things?

I've seen a few modded systems with the RGB/Component output built in to the right hand side of the case, but if you attach the CD-ROM add on does it's own composite output "override" those kinds of mods?

Does my question make sense?

[Buy/Sell/Trade / Re: HuCard/TurboChip 3D Printed Cases]

Looks like the OP isn't making these anymore - anyone have any idea where to get similar repro/replacement/whatever HuCard jewel cases?

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Question about video output / converters / options]

So I'm sure I'm not the only one who faces the challenge of making older consoles work on newer/current generation displays that don't have RF inputs.

I'm hesitating to pick up a TG-16 (have wanted one since I was a kid) until I'm confident I can get it's display output working on a modern screen, preferably preserving the original aspect ratio instead of "stretching" the image sideways to widescreen.

Anyone have any guidance on the topic? Good luck using the built-in composite out plugged into green component on modern displays? Converters-to-HDMI that are known to work ok for the TG-16?

[Buy/Sell/Trade / Re: FS: TurboGrafx 16 Case label Stickers: Large, Small & Duo/CD sets.]

Are you still selling these? It would save enormous time making them myself. :-)