I have ongoing problems with people putting unrecyclable crap in my recycling bin every week. Even when I only put it out real late at night, some bastards sneak out and fill it with non-recyclable shit I have to remove - if I happen to see it, and I probably don't half the time.
This week I came home from pub trivia to find the bin crammed full of decrepit electronic gear. Acres of ethernet cables, a dusty router, RCA cables etc. And amidst that, a SNES and a pile of cartridges.
When I saw the lone SNES, I didn't pause too much, but after I found the carts as well, I gathered them all up. I've never even owned a SNES. I brought it inside, sorted it out. The only thing missing was the AC adaptor. I have one of the correct voltage, but lower than needed ampage.
The regular output cable seems to be screwed. It was putting a fraction of warbled image signal to the TV, but I could hear the sound a bit. Clearly the console itself was running, though. There was also a 'multiout' cable, running via a regular antenna connection. I couldn't find the channel, but there was a separate socket on this for picture only. I assume you'd use this to play a multiplayer game with 2 TVS, getting sound from only one?
Anyway, the picture cable from the multiout gave a decent picture. It's basically 80% there. There are a couple of warbly bands in the pic, and I don't know if that's the cable, or something in the console that's old and frazzled. I also don't know if running it at below recommended ampage could affect that, or is bad for it. I didn't run it for too long, but it was too tempting to not try it a bit.
I've got about 10 games, including Super Mario Kart, Donkey Kong Country, F Zero, Zelda_ Link to the past, Star Wars, The Lion King.
For anyone who's got an old SNES - do you know if the video hardware is prone to going out with age? Should I expect a better picture (from an old console which has clearly been used a ton, and also been thrown in a garbage bin eventually...) Any advice or observations in general would be appreciated.
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honestgamer - September 27, 2011 (02:15 PM) Nintendo built its older consoles like tanks. There's not a known issue that I'm aware of with the SNES, with video or otherwise. Someone clearly just didn't take care of his or her hardware. But did you really find a SNES in the recycle bin, along with games? Really? 10 SNES games in a recycle bin is quite the haul! |
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dementedhut - September 27, 2011 (03:03 PM) Sorry, can't help you with your problems, also. Just wanted to comment on someone throwing away those SNES carts. I can understand the system, but, the games? They could've made a quick buck selling them, especially those games. |
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jerec - September 27, 2011 (03:25 PM) There's an AV cable you can probably buy online (it's compatible with the SNES and the N64). I've seen the cable at Gametraders, if you've got one of those nearby. If the machine has any other problems, I wouldn't know how to go about fixing them, since my SNES was pretty crap in its old age. Mostly it was prone to freezing at the slightest touch and erasing all save data on a regular basis. My solution was to get rid of it. |
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bloomer - September 27, 2011 (06:24 PM) Thanks guys. Yes indeed HG, this is a totally true story! The empty 33% of my bin was packed solid with this stuff. The SNES wasn't immediately apparent, since it was buried in a pile of ethernet cables, old power cables, hard drive mounts, speaker wire, RCA cables, a router, etc. A lot of this stuff was still in the original transparent bags, though looked like it had been sitting in garage for decades. The green shopping bag with the SNES in it smelled like it had been taken fishing. And the SNES and carts are quite dirty and smell mildewy. So maybe it's all been getting dirty in someone's garage for years. |
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qxz - September 27, 2011 (06:37 PM) honestgamer wrote: Nintendo built its older consoles like tanks. There's not a known issue that I'm aware of with the SNES, with video or otherwise. Someone clearly just didn't take care of his or her hardware. But did you really find a SNES in the recycle bin, along with games? Really? 10 SNES games in a recycle bin is quite the haul! Making this an even sweeter deal is that Bloomer got all this stuff for free! The one question I have is that, since Bloomer didn't mention this outright, did this once abandoned system include controllers along with the games? I ask because I don't want to make any inaccurate assumptions. |
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SamildanachEmrys - September 27, 2011 (06:40 PM) I've got about 10 games, including Super Mario Kart, Donkey Kong Country, F Zero, Zelda_ Link to the past, Star Wars, The Lion King. Very nice haul! Quite a selection of classics. Even The Lion King is a respectable enough game, should you feel like a generic 2D platformer. |
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bloomer - September 27, 2011 (07:59 PM) Yeah, 2 controllers. When I was testing the unit out with picture only, I got Bomberman running, and one controller seemed to work ok. |
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jerec - September 27, 2011 (09:13 PM) Do a stakeout on your bins sometime and if he comes back thank him for the SNES. :D |
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bloomer - September 27, 2011 (09:52 PM) But I'd want to punch him or her for the other 20 times my bin has been filled with non-recyclable crap! |
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japanaman - October 02, 2011 (09:34 AM) Nice. Real nice. Just clean the carts' exterior with GooGone then let them dry. Clean the inside with Windex or Rubbing Alcohol and they should work. The SNES 1 model should have two types of ports so try the other one out. I have had multiple used SNESes with only one that was gimmicky and reading carts. I never saw a SNES with a video problem, though I have seen plenty of Genesises with video problems, though Genesis is the most easily fixed console on Earth. Genesis models are like roaches. You might just have a faulty video plug as well. Can you test the RF or AV cables you're using on a different console? By the way, the only free game I ever found was a bubbly Skate or Die 2 cart on my trash can in my backyard. Fortunately, with a whole lot of rubbing alcohol, I got it to work. |
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zippdementia - October 02, 2011 (12:29 PM) Playing Earthbound and Secret of Mana on my original SNES today. Still works great! |
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bloomer - October 02, 2011 (09:42 PM) Thanks for the pointers japana. Yeah I'm pretty sure one of the vid cables is a dud, and will borrow a working one from a friend to test it. |
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