A few NOAC questions

[The Fred Goober]

Hello everyone! I know you're all probably sick and tired of noobs coming in and asking the same silly questions, but I've been reading and reading this forum for two days now doing research, and there's a few questions I want to ask. I've read all the stickies and topics I could find after searching.

I have a Super Joy III. I took it apart and was instantly confused. Question 1! Which part of the NOAC is the actual NOAC? Is the part with the cart slot the main board or is the part with the controller contacts the main board? I want to know what parts I absolutely must keep. (This probably reveals just how noobish I am. I've used a soldering iron before, but everything else has always been observation rather than reorganization. ) In fact... did G-force ever get a how-to guide made? That would be insanely helpful.

Question 2! It may be silly to start with something so hard, but I'd like to try something like G-force's NES-in-a-controller. Did he connect the NES controller's original board to the NOAC or did he relocate the existing leads? I've read so many pinouts and charts that my brain is spinning and I don't have a clue how someone would connect the NES controller board to the NOAC, if that's possible.

Question 3! Well, I'd better wait. It looks like I'll be sticking with manually connecting a 72 pin slot to the board if I want to keep that capability, since the adapters are nowhere to be found anymore.

Thanks!

[goodie]

Question 1! Which part of the NOAC is the actual NOAC? Is the part with the cart slot the main board or is the part with the controller contacts the main board?

It's the part with the cart slot.

Question 2! It may be silly to start with something so hard, but I'd like to try something like G-force's NES-in-a-controller. Did he connect the NES controller's original board to the NOAC or did he relocate the existing leads? I've read so many pinouts and charts that my brain is spinning and I don't have a clue how someone would connect the NES controller board to the NOAC, if that's possible.

He connected the NES controller's board to the NOAC. Is there any text near the bottom of the board? Sometimes the lines will be labeled, if not, there are pinouts around the forums.
Here's some I found:

This is a pinout that Ben made.
This thread has a document with lots of information on the different NOACs.

[The Fred Goober]

Thank you very much, goodie! I'd found that document before, but I'm still trying to determine which revision of the Super Joy III I have. I have a better idea what to expect, I think. I shall no doubt return with more questions later!

[The Fred Goober]

Ok, will someone help me determine which Super Joy III Revision I have? Just when I start to think I've determined which one it is, I notice a missing part or an extra part. I'm fairly sure it's revision II, but it's shaped and organized a bit different from the definitive guide, I think.

[gamemasterful]

Looks like you have one very similar to the one I have except yours is blue, Here's a controller pinout. It might work, I haven't tried it on mine yet.
http://portablesofdoom.org/page.php?page=nes" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Second one down.

[The Fred Goober]

The ribbon cable is on the wrong side. See, this is where the issue is. They start to look similar, but then are different in the smallest of ways...

[gamemasterful]

I would see if the +5v, Audio (A), and Video (Y) are in the same place and if there are the same number of wires. If so, attack it from that point of reference.

[The Fred Goober]

That's a good idea. I'll have to do that. I'm a bit concerned that the unit may be fried, though. I seem to recall (for reasons unknown) that the NOAC only worked with the flimsy RCA cable that came with it. That cable is lost/destroyed/in cable heaven. Now I'm unsure if I've managed to fry the unit or if I just need the proper cable. I don't know if the plug is cheapy and deformed and needed an equally deformed cable to make contact or what.

Is that a common problem? Or have I misdiagnosed and/or fried the unit?

Second question, if there's still hope for this thing, is what gauge of wire is necessary, if there is a necessary gauge.

I hope this new soldering iron and braid sucker weren't bought in vain.

Thanks!

[gamemasterful]

Any cable should be fine. Did you perhaps have the game cartridge in backwards? Or even the cables? Or if yours has the internal switch (I can't tell from the pics) try switching it. It controls whether you can use the 76000+ internal games or you can use Japanese cartridges. The one I've had seems pretty hard to fry, and I've placed it in a lot of random areas in my room with no protection. The same with the superjoy game cartridge, which had a missing case when I got it.

My cable was also cheap, I used one of my better ones and it was fine. I threw the cheap one away since the connectors were practically coming off.

[The Fred Goober]

Hmmm... must be fried. I have no Japanese cartridges so they couldn't be backwards, and there is no switch.

Well crap.

[gamemasterful]

Have you desoldered anything? If so try putting the pieces back together and turning it on.

[The Fred Goober]

Nope, I didn't desolder anything. I guess if I want to continue I'll have to buy another NOAC, because nothing I've tried has worked.