The Nintendo Leisure System, or NES, has a particular industrial design. Even those that didn’t develop up with it really feel compelled to insert a cartridge, press all the way down to lock it, after which hit energy. Nevertheless, the connector accountable for that nostalgic insertion fails over time, leading to a blinking pink mild and flashing display. (And no, blowing on the cart doesn’t repair this challenge!) Merlin Shaw of Geek Island Gaming has designed and open-sourced the NES Slotmaster, a drop-in NES Entrance Loader alternative connector.

The unique NES cartridge connector’s contacts develop into worn over time. Finally, they lose rigidity and not grip the cartridge’s edge fingers. The most typical fault is that the console and cartridge’s authentication chips fail to speak, leading to an limitless reset cycle. This reset cycle is why the NES blinks its energy mild and flashes the tv display.

Through the years, a number of options have come to market. For instance, you should buy alternative NES connectors that retain the pop-up design. Nevertheless, these are possible to wear down finally, as properly. One other instance from a number of years in the past was a Kickstarter undertaking known as Blinking Mild Win (BLW.) [Author note: I backed this project and was happy with the solution!] This equipment changed your complete slot-loading mechanism. Nevertheless, it’s not accessible.

The NES Slotmaster’s design is much like BLW’s however doesn’t depend on proprietary elements. It is advisable fabricate a custom-printed circuit board (PCB) and 3D print a bracket, however each designs are freely accessible. The 72-pin electrical connector is a contemporary half that’s available. An NES Slotmaster swap requires no mechanical or electrical modification on the console!

Shaw mentions another design within the works that makes use of a versatile printed circuit (FPC) cable. That design trades off solder factors however could also be much less accessible for modders with newbie soldering abilities. Once more, the prevailing through-hole resolution that’s accessible now doesn’t require soldering contained in the NES console.

You possibly can obtain the PCB gerbers and STL file from the NES Slotmaster GitHub repository. There’s a invoice of supplies accessible (which needs to be underneath $20) and directions on assembling the unit.