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[Off-Topic / The “What-Did-You-Buy-Today?” Thread]

Wasn't "today" but the police wouldn't let me say too much when I found it a couple weeks ago:

You made the news here in Chicago.  Saw the story on TV.

This one? http://wgntv.com/2018/04/16/drugs-found-inside-video-game-cartridges/

Being a superstation, WGN Chicago is inadvertently national news.

A CNN guy contacted me and marketed it to the CNN affiliates but I don't think that means HLN or CNN proper. I've seen his package show up on local stations like this:
http://www.wwlp.com/world/video-games-stuffed-with-suspected-drugs/1126067504

Pretty exciting!

Wow, I almost missed your story, that's wild!

Were the drugs identified, was that reported somewhere already ?

They didn't test it during their visit and the police report only gives a physical description (NY Post quotes the police report). Newnan PD passed it on to Carrollton PD and Carrollton never contacted us. Of the people reaching out to me who would know, they unanimously say it's some kind of heroin.

I've been told that the street value of heroin is typically $20 per 100mg, which is $22,600 (!) for the 4oz we found. Since it appears to be pure/uncut, it could be significantly more valuable.

Yeah, it definitely made the rounds. On 4-20 (hurr hurr!) Jimmy Fallon even made a pot joke out of it:

(Jump to 3:11)

It isn't the first time I found something cool inside an NES game while recording video (Xexyz prototype) but it's going to be hard to top that one.

[Off-Topic / The “What-Did-You-Buy-Today?” Thread]

Maybe your case is what inspired customs to do this Recently happened too

In the unlisted "full police visit" video (linked in the description, you can hear us lament about exactly that.

We voiced concern that this might increase scrutiny for other innocent collectors who already have horror stories about new/sealed stuff being opened for inspection.

Sucks!

[Off-Topic / The “What-Did-You-Buy-Today?” Thread]

Wasn't "today" but the police wouldn't let me say too much when I found it a couple weeks ago:

You made the news here in Chicago.  Saw the story on TV.

This one? http://wgntv.com/2018/04/16/drugs-found-inside-video-game-cartridges/

Being a superstation, WGN Chicago is inadvertently national news.

A CNN guy contacted me and marketed it to the CNN affiliates but I don't think that means HLN or CNN proper. I've seen his package show up on local stations like this:
http://www.wwlp.com/world/video-games-stuffed-with-suspected-drugs/1126067504

Pretty exciting!

[Off-Topic / The “What-Did-You-Buy-Today?” Thread]

Wasn't "today" but the police wouldn't let me say too much when I found it a couple weeks ago:

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Everdrive Fail]

Also for those of you in the US you know you can get Krikzz stuff from Stoneage gamer in the US, and have regular shipping and get it in a few days instead of waiting over two months.  The price is the same (though maybe he doesn't do the black friday sale, but I guess to me its worth it not to wait almost 2 1/2 months).

The 2 months is because of the backorder, excessive demand on Black Friday, holiday shipping delays, winter storms, international shipping, etc. All of these things are affecting Stone Age Gamer too (where do you think he gets them ? ;)). In fact, they're still backordered even now and Ryan (SAG owner) isn't going to get them to you any faster when they aren't in stock (extra step, in fact). Krikzz has been including a free shell and label at a price comparable to SAG's PCB only price and this year they started including nice boxes with fitted foam inserts. Not as nice as SAG's cases, but nice none-the-less.



They're good guys at SAG, but during the Black Friday sales Krikzz is the easy choice. The people talking about 2 month shipping are all from that period late Nov-Dec and SAG has been backordered just as long.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / UperGrafx PC Engine 720p DVI Widget]

NEU!!!!!!!
http://www.upergrafx.com/ugx02_ja

I want this, especially now that the Super SD System 3 creators and supporters consider video purists to be pariahs and express disdain for anyone who cares about it.

If you sign up to the neo-geo.com forums you can read their statement about video/audio in the dedicated thread in their dedicated section. They apologized and completely agree with the video purists and worked with some of the experts who understood the situation better than most of the people complaining as well as Terra Onion themselves. They've fixed the RGB and audio and the new model will work perfectly with a standard Genesis csync cable.

They're recalling the shipped units and the new model is now the standard.

No reason to punish yourself because of random thread out of context.

Oh, I read every word of it along with every word prior and every word following. If you did too then I must say that either you believed everything they said without looking into it or you must live on a different planet. I can't actually blame you because the moderation there will not allow anyone to tell you the reality of the situation.

Here's the thing: I actually didn't care about the RGB issues and would have bought it with or without them acknowledging the problem and offering to fix it but I can't possibly do that after seeing what they did/said AFTER their statement and proposed resolution. That's right: They lost my business AFTER acknowledging the problem and agreeing to resolve it. Not before.

Why ? Because they continued to place the blame for the entire debacle on a Good Samaritan and relentlessly rallied everyone against a completely innocent man. Not only was this man completely blameless, but he was willing to help and could have saved them thousands of Euros if they had responded differently. He had nothing to do with the resulting debacle. He is their scapegoat.

I implore you to actually look at the three or four RetroRGB weekly updates where Bob discusses SSDSys3. Time codes are in the descriptions.
Bob never called it a disaster.
He never told people to demand refunds.
He never asked for a free unit.

They made all these claims repeatedly and continue spreading these lies. Meanwhile, on Planet Earth (reality):
Bob was supportive.
Bob was enthusiastic.
Bob was sympathetic.

Even when confronted with a screenshot clearly showing that he only asked to borrow one, they doubled-down on the claim and further riled up the community against it. They claimed that "borrowed" was code for "free" because no one borrows a review unit and companies can't use he returned units, ignoring that reviewers and producers actually do this all the time. Not only has Bob done this numerous times, he went on to arrange it with another member here who enthusiastically ordered it within 15 minutes of it going on sale.

Voultar is the one they thanked for helping even though MobiusStripTech tried to help too. But get this: Bob was offering the exact same help as Voultar before release. They are closely associated, you know. Bob has been nothing but supportive and sympathetic to their project. They viciously continued attacking him and blaming him and even had the nerve to complain that he sold his own personal NeoSD without reviewing it. News flash: People are allowed to sell their stuff. He paid for that with his own money and planned to get another for a future comparison. He had no obligation and it wasn't even related to his field of expertise (video).

Even GadgetUK had to bite his tongue when calling them out in this. Unless Terra Onion admits that they were wrong to attack him and apologize, I will not buy a SSDSys3.

What they did is the exact opposite of gracefully acknowledging the problem and offering a resolution and yet people keep talking about how "professional" they're being. I must live on a different planet.

I'm no RGB purist. I don't even have an RGB-capable display (yet), but as soon as I saw Terra Onion and GadgetUK's videos on YouTube in December even I immediately had questions about the Gen/MD 2 cable because I knew that the consoles did not output standard RGB and that you needed different cables depending on your mod.

Making it to spec with whatever cables they had around does not surprise me. Again, I planned to buy it anyway. My issue is with them taking an upstanding community member and taking him over the coals unjustly.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / UperGrafx PC Engine 720p DVI Widget]

NEU!!!!!!!

http://www.upergrafx.com/ugx02_ja

I want this, especially now that the Super SD System 3 creators and supporters consider video purists to be pariahs and express disdain for anyone who cares about it.

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Re: Modding/building an arcade stick for PCE and SFC]

Ah, I don't have a Neo Geo and thought it was the same. I probably shouldn't have quoted it in my post. I used VGA-type DSUB ports for mine.

I also use a cheap SNES-to-USB adapter with that padhacked SNES box so I can play PC emulators.

If you switch to the two-row DSUB 15 then your setup would also work on superguns and some native arcade boards with no extra adapter (many MVS games have controller ports)! Another reason: many other DIY controller projects use the Neo-Geo pinout... like this one:

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Anyone made their own DIY multi tap? 6-button controller?]

Damn that idea is cool.

DO IIITTTTTTTTTTT.

I think I recall a link to a multi tap schematic here a long long time ago . . I'll let you know if I find it.

Thanks! It's a thrift store find and I'm still trying to figure out how to get it home. They'll only hold it for me so long. Even if I can borrow a pickup truck I'm going to have to take it apart. It's built so sturdy that even that is going the be a problem.

The rim is welded and the platforms are suspended on steel pipes with flanges that are bolted to each. The middle platform has four holes so that the top set of steel pipes thread into the bottom ones. It's a sturdy beast but I think it's perfect for housing a supergun, a Sony Trinitron HD KV-32HS510, and all my 4:3 consoles. The wheels will let me move the whole thing around in the man cave, since it will undoubtedly find itself in the way when we are doing something else. I'm seriously wondering if it's even possible to get that TV up there since lifting it onto the ledge where it is now took everything from three people and we didn't have to reach like we would here. I guess the 304 pound KV-40XBR800 is definitely out of the question.

Mocking up the joystick positions with three NeoGeo and two 6-button arcade-style sticks:

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Anyone made their own DIY multi tap? 6-button controller?]

You can't afford a multitap but you can build multiple six button arcade panels? Isn't a multitap like $20?

You misunderstand. I can afford a multitap. I can't justify it with a single controller for a second player and I'm not about to buy two standard controllers, two Avenue 6 controllers, a multitap, and two PCE to TurboGrafx converters. I already have a solution for two players (OSHPark PCB and two NeoGeo sticks). My curiosity can only justify so much. My sticks are multi-purpose and adapted for use on various consoles. They are EASILY justified, and most of them already exist.

The tap is $40-$60 and the pad is $35-$45. Spending $75 minimum to add only one player does not appeal to me. Being able to make my own multitap to use controllers I have does. Being able to share that with others appeals to me as well. Heck, I have 8 NeoGeo sticks and a dual 6-button stick ready to go. Only reason I'm interested in building another is to go with this:



I want to load it up with consoles on all sides and have a large rotating CRT on top. There's Room to position five sticks around one corner, spilling onto two sides.

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Re: Anyone made their own DIY multi tap? 6-button controller?]

Well, Googling for Ptchnk led me to a French forums with this schematic for the Avenue 6 controller:



I still need to find multitap schematics but this still helps tremendously.

Link:

https://www.ultimate-consoles.fr/topic/17348-pce-vers-control-panel/

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Anyone made their own DIY multi tap? 6-button controller?]

I've got one TurboGrafx controller (well, two if you count the Turbo Express) and I definitely want to expand my options. The expense of adding a second controller is just too much to justify since I don't have a multi tap or two-player adapter and I have to factor that cost in too. I'd rather do the NES to PCE/TG16 controller mod and build my own multi tap. I'm sure I could clone it if I had one to analyze, but I don't. Does anyone have the info on building DIY multi taps?

Actually, if I build my own controllers, I'd like to build a couple six-button arcade control panels... or more. I was already planning on building a 5-player control panel that I can adapt to various consoles. I stumbled on a PCB from Ptchnk on OSHPark that seems to incorporate the 2P adapter for your own arcade control panels but it is for standard two-button pads and doesn't really tell me how to scale to 5-players. If it's a matter of daisy-chaining shift registers then I can probably figure it out from there, but I have no idea if it's that simple without having found the info online.

PC-Engine 2-Players Control Board V1.1

https://oshpark.com/shared_projects/5BpBrxA5
wayback://oshpark.com/shared_projects/5BpBrxA5

I'd appreciate any info on this!

[Console Repair/Mod Center / “Junk” PC Engine CD-ROM^2]

It now spins up and starts audio playback reliably, but the recovery when I induce a skip still confuses me. It can resume/recover when I induce a skip but it doesn't recover at the right place. It usually goes to the previous track. The track number on the display counts down and everything, so the player is aware that it has changed tracks. Is this intended behavior?

AFAIK, there's no position recovery on these old CD-ROM drives.  When I was refurbishing my Duo, and was having some problems, I induced skips noticed that it doesn't seek back.  I'm playing with a CD-ROM2 now and when I tap on it to induce a skip, it does not recover its old position either.  I'm going replace that middle gear even if it's working right now, because I know it's only a matter of time before it breaks.

I also noticed that it's absolutely essential that the laser assembly glide smoothly and freely.  Dirt, hair, or minute obstructions can cause playback problems.  If the laser cannot home completely, the CD won't spin.  And if the CD system detects an obstruction when seeking, it won't work at all until you power cycle it.

Thanks! Comforting to know. The adjustment guides for the other platforms say to induce a skip at an early track then a later track and ensure it can recover from both, but they must mean "recover" as in "audio resumes" even though it did not recover the old position.

Though I still don't have my Turbo ED or a System Card, I moved on to testing audio CD playback on the dock last night. My Atari 5200 plug was *almost* perfect (fits, ~11v, ~1.5A) but it's the wrong polarity and I'm not about to splice it up for a TurboGrafx-CD dock PSU. Instead, I went to a thrift store and found a 12v 3A "Hyundai" brand switching PSU that fits (5.5x2.5mm). I reversed the polarity and brought the voltage down with some diodes. It works perfectly! Now I just need some discs and a SysCard of some kind.

I actually ordered a couple PCE CDs last night and the replacement Turbo ED shipped from the Ukraine 18 days ago (can be made to work as a System Card). It took 20 days to arrive after my first Turbo ED shipped but that one arrived Christmas Eve and wasn't delayed by Christmas/New Years like this one. The PCE discs will very likely be here first (they were already in the country). Very close to finishing this. Thanks again, guys!

My advice to anyone else who finds themselves attempting to adjust this:
start with VR102, just like BlueBMW's advice for a Duo... or just order the $89 drive from gamedoctorhk.com, since it comes with an adapter and works without a $20 gear or laser. I ended up spending about the same but with a lot more headaches. I'm going to reassemble the Discman D-180K with the old PCE CD-ROM^2 laser to see if it works there. Because I removed it without adjusting, there's a good chance that I have a working spare out of all this, at least.