livingonwheels Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 Recently I got a rather large stash of Turbografx 16 games, consoles, tons of controllers, Turbo Sticks, and other accessories, Turbo Express, TV Tuner etc. Too much really to list at this time, for I'm still going through it. It was from a NEC employee, and I also have quite a bit of his personal paper work relating to Turbografx ( ads, specs, lots of interesting correspondence from NEC employees during the time of it's release). I'll eventually scan it and post it for the curious to see. Anyway, these items were obviously stored for a very long time untouched. The amount of dead insects and the like in all the consoles and boxes they were stored in is beyond anything I've ever seen, and I've been video game collecting for many years. Anyway, I know that stories of HuCards not working is pretty rare, which is why I'm surprised that this stash contained 5 non working games. I've cleaned them extensively, and tested them in multiple consoles, but get nothing. Of the 3 Turbografx 16 consoles, only one works (not surprising, I need to recap them) and the Turbo Express needs a recap too, which is not unusual. Here's a picture of the games that don't work. It kills me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+cvga Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 Wow. Some great games too! I haven't played Dragon's Curse much but the other 4 are all very good! Would love to see more of the non-gaming items! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingonwheels Posted September 20, 2020 Author Share Posted September 20, 2020 NEC Employee discount: 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Clae Posted September 21, 2020 Share Posted September 21, 2020 Try a contact cleaner such as Deoxit D5 on the cards and system. Try another system eventually too. I'll bet they work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingonwheels Posted September 21, 2020 Author Share Posted September 21, 2020 Yes, I've tried Deoxit and multiple TG16's, including a Turbo Express. Spent most of today cleaning those games, but none of those 5 (out of the 50 games I received yesterday) are working. I contacted some guy on eBay who has done recapping for me in the past and he said "Someone probably fried them on a bad system. I have 3 copies of bonks and a few sports games with the same issue. A few get hot when you pit them in." Who knows. I hate to give up here, but I think I may have no choice. For the guy above, here are pictures of these weird Turbografx 16 bases that belonged to the NEC employee. The consoles fit very tight in these things (there are 2 of them). Why he would need something like this, I have no idea! And that square 1x2 piece of wood on the back...what was that for? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatPix Posted September 21, 2020 Share Posted September 21, 2020 Maybe the non-working games are Japanese pinout versions they got for testing and design approving for the US market? Shorting seems really odd, but could be an explanation. For the weird box, I can imagine that if he tested the systems he wanted to just slam the cards in, so he made a snug fitting support to just push the cards in without having to hold the console (I'm gonna assume they use the same card connector that the PC-Engine, and those are nice and tight) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NE146 Posted September 21, 2020 Share Posted September 21, 2020 Yeah I have the same problem with some of my Hucards, which I bought retail back in the day. i.e. They simply stopped working, and I have no idea why. Although since I tend to just keep the Everdrive in the slot these days it kind of makes me not think about it too much. I dig those wood bases though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatPix Posted September 21, 2020 Share Posted September 21, 2020 Maybe the US "flipped lines" cause more issues to Hu-card - pardon me, Turbo-chips - than the original Japanese. or the manufacturing process was less good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lost Monkey Posted September 21, 2020 Share Posted September 21, 2020 (edited) I have a similar issue with 1 system and many games. I have included a picture of the games that worked on the system and a picture of the games that did not work on it. Still haven't figured it out... Working: Not working: They all work on my other systems. All the games that work were TTI releases. All the games that don't work were NEC releases except Bonk III. I have a feeling that my issue is a damaged cart slot. Edited September 21, 2020 by Lost Monkey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Pendleton Posted September 21, 2020 Share Posted September 21, 2020 (edited) I've heard somewhere before that sometimes US HuCARD games just don't work despite appearing to be in perfect condition. This is concerning for people that own US systems + games. Has anyone had problems like this with Japanese games or is it just the US ones? Although all media and systems will eventually die, I am pretty certain that the last PC Engine/TurboGrafx will die long before the last HuCARD does, as HuCARDs generally seem to be very well-designed and durable for what they are. Edited September 21, 2020 by Steven Pendleton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatPix Posted September 21, 2020 Share Posted September 21, 2020 Yeah. I have over 50 Japanese Hu-card and many of them bought in "lots" made by Japanese seller to get rid of unwanted games. I haven't had a single dud yet. I do have a few games that are a bit iffy with my system but I suspect that my PC-Engine connector may be the culprit (pushing Hu-cards all the way in cause issues on a few ones, pulling them back by a mere millimeter : works flawlessly). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingonwheels Posted September 21, 2020 Author Share Posted September 21, 2020 Here's another interesting letter: 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Black_Tiger Posted September 21, 2020 Share Posted September 21, 2020 11 hours ago, CatPix said: Maybe the US "flipped lines" cause more issues to Hu-card - pardon me, Turbo-chips - than the original Japanese. or the manufacturing process was less good. Most defective HuCards are Japanese, which is likely due to the fact that most HuCards are Japanese. By far the number one games for various levels of defectiveness is PC Genjin 2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R.Cade Posted September 22, 2020 Share Posted September 22, 2020 (edited) I got a lot of cards from Japan once and I really had to go at them with a pink eraser from every angle on the contacts. I could not tell I was making a difference, though. They looked clean to the naked eye. They eventually started working, though. It could be the plating has just worn or is scratched off on yours, and they won't make contact anymore, or they are just burned out or corroded inside. Edited September 22, 2020 by R.Cade Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikebloke Posted September 22, 2020 Share Posted September 22, 2020 14 hours ago, livingonwheels said: Here's another interesting letter: [snip] I'm genuinely impressed that a mailing list in 1993 had 2,000 people on it! Especially for the Turbografx! I have to admit I haven't tested my blazing lasers yet on my system, which I'm 99% sure was originally a US version before being modded for RGB. I should probably do that sometime. Its a shame about the OP, both bomberman games, Final Lap Twin, would love to own these games, but not particularly common complete availability for the UK (at least, not the US version). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+GoldenWheels Posted September 22, 2020 Share Posted September 22, 2020 huh....I've got most of the US library and at least another 150 PCE hueys....I believe I have come across maybe 1 dead huey in all that time. The letter scans are pretty interesting, please keep them coming! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+GoldenWheels Posted September 22, 2020 Share Posted September 22, 2020 On 9/20/2020 at 9:58 PM, livingonwheels said: For the guy above, here are pictures of these weird Turbografx 16 bases that belonged to the NEC employee. The consoles fit very tight in these things (there are 2 of them). Why he would need something like this, I have no idea! And that square 1x2 piece of wood on the back...what was that for? It looks strong enough that maybe he put his small CRT TV right on top of it? Except he power cable doesn't have a cut out....could it have been run through the RF cable hole first? Both of them have that little extra wood piece on the back....don't even have a theory there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingonwheels Posted September 22, 2020 Author Share Posted September 22, 2020 The power cable won't fit, it's too tight. Weird. Why wasn't the hole just made bigger? I'll keep the scans coming as I come across them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiddlepaddle Posted September 22, 2020 Share Posted September 22, 2020 Those wood holders are interesting. They would stack nicely, which TGs don't, even with a power brick and controller attached, which could be placed in those empty spaces behind the console. If you were switching between several devices, that would be useful. Maybe the guy was just really excited about his wood-working skills. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingonwheels Posted September 22, 2020 Author Share Posted September 22, 2020 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingonwheels Posted September 22, 2020 Author Share Posted September 22, 2020 Some Bonk stickers found in one of the Employee's envelopes: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingonwheels Posted September 22, 2020 Author Share Posted September 22, 2020 Is there anyway to change the title of this post? I'd just like it to also reflect that I'm posting NEC Employee Letter Scans: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingonwheels Posted September 23, 2020 Author Share Posted September 23, 2020 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingonwheels Posted September 24, 2020 Author Share Posted September 24, 2020 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punisher5.0 Posted September 25, 2020 Share Posted September 25, 2020 On 9/22/2020 at 6:24 PM, livingonwheels said: Is there anyway to change the title of this post? I'd just like it to also reflect that I'm posting NEC Employee Letter Scans: I changed it. Just let me know if you want it changed to something different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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