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 gentle and flashing display screen. (And no, blowing on the cart doesn’t repair this subject!) 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 turn out to be worn over time. Ultimately, they lose pressure and now not grip the cartridge’s edge fingers. The commonest 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 gentle and flashes the tv display screen.

Over time, a number of options have come to market. For instance, you should purchase alternative NES connectors that retain the pop-up design. Nevertheless, these are seemingly to wear down ultimately, as properly. One other instance from a number of years in the past was a Kickstarter undertaking referred to as Blinking Mild Win (BLW.) [Author note: I backed this project and was happy with the solution!] This package changed your entire slot-loading mechanism. Nevertheless, it’s now not out there.

The NES Slotmaster’s design is much like BLW’s however doesn’t depend on proprietary components. It’s essential to fabricate a custom-printed circuit board (PCB) and 3D print a bracket, however each designs are freely out there. 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 expertise. Once more, the present through-hole resolution that’s out there 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 out there (which needs to be underneath $20) and directions on assembling the unit.