Yobo NES Clone and Famicom Disk System?

[youarefree]

Hey everyone.. long time lurker, first time poster.

 

Just picked up a Yobo today, and for the most part I'm happy with it. More reliable than my toaster NES, at least. Anyway, my friend in Japan is going to send me a Famicom Disk System.

 

Has anyone used their Yobo and a Famicom converter to play the Famicom Disk System? I haven't seen any mentions on the web about the American version and the FDS.

 

Also.. I'm considering "modding" my Yobo to add a little more support and weight to the console. Has anyone else done this? Cute little bugger, but I cringe everytime I put my hand on top of the system to pull out a cart and the whole thing flexs.

 

Cheers!

 

-Robert

Edited March 29, 2006 by youarefree

[Flojomojo]

I thought the FDS attached to the expansion port, which is missing on the Yobo?

[youarefree]

I thought the FDS attached to the expansion port, which is missing on the Yobo?

 

No, the FDS sits underneath the Famicom, but it doesn't attach. It communicates to the Fami through a "Ram Cart" that goes in the regular cartridge slot. The FDS and Fami look pretty sharp together... I guess we'll see how the Yobo looks. I'm in the process of reinforcing the Yobo to add to its durability. I'll post the webpage when I'm done with the project.

[Bruce Tomlin]

No, the FDS sits underneath the Famicom, but it doesn't attach. It communicates to the Fami through a "Ram Cart" that goes in the regular cartridge slot. The FDS and Fami look pretty sharp together... I guess we'll see how the Yobo looks. I'm in the process of reinforcing the Yobo to add to its durability. I'll post the webpage when I'm done with the project.

In that case, since I don't think the Yobo has both Famicom and NES ports, wouldn't it still not work?

[MetalSlime23]

I have a Yobo, but I have never heard of anybody tryong to mod it. (but at only $25 a piece, it's not a bad idea )

 

One questions I have about the Yobo: Does the Zapper work with it? I have heard it doesn't. I currently don't have a zapper, but was going to get one if it will work.

[youarefree]

I have a Yobo, but I have never heard of anybody tryong to mod it. (but at only $25 a piece, it's not a bad idea )

 

One questions I have about the Yobo: Does the Zapper work with it? I have heard it doesn't. I currently don't have a zapper, but was going to get one if it will work.

 

I would assume it does, since the American Yobo comes with regular NES controller ports. The guy at the store I bought it from says it works with everything.. so I'm going to say the Zapper works fine. I haven't read anything to the contrary.

 

-Robert

[youarefree]

No, the FDS sits underneath the Famicom, but it doesn't attach. It communicates to the Fami through a "Ram Cart" that goes in the regular cartridge slot. The FDS and Fami look pretty sharp together... I guess we'll see how the Yobo looks. I'm in the process of reinforcing the Yobo to add to its durability. I'll post the webpage when I'm done with the project.

In that case, since I don't think the Yobo has both Famicom and NES ports, wouldn't it still not work?

 

Well, theoretically with a NES > Famicom adapter.. it should. But I hadn't read anything about it until a guy at NESWorld's forums says he uses a FDS with the RetroCon and it works fine.

 

-Robert

[n8littlefield]

I have a Yobo, but I have never heard of anybody tryong to mod it. (but at only $25 a piece, it's not a bad idea )

 

One questions I have about the Yobo: Does the Zapper work with it? I have heard it doesn't. I currently don't have a zapper, but was going to get one if it will work.

 

I would assume it does, since the American Yobo comes with regular NES controller ports. The guy at the store I bought it from says it works with everything.. so I'm going to say the Zapper works fine. I haven't read anything to the contrary.

 

-Robert

It does. I have the US Yobo & a zapper and they do work fine together. I think the Zapper not working part refers to the old model Yobo that had Famicom ports instead of NES ones.

[JB]

As far as I know, it'll work as well as any other japanese cartridge.

 

Which means no FDS sound channel, and standard FamiClone glitches on the base hardware.

[Bruce Tomlin]

I have a Yobo, but I have never heard of anybody tryong to mod it. (but at only $25 a piece, it's not a bad idea )

 

One questions I have about the Yobo: Does the Zapper work with it? I have heard it doesn't. I currently don't have a zapper, but was going to get one if it will work.

Cartridge ports, not controller ports. The FDS doesn't plug into the controller ports. And the Famicom uses DB-15 controller ports anyhow.

 

http://www.silicium.org/console/nintendo/famicom_disk.htm

 

Wow, what a clunky mess... it makes the Tower of Sega (Sega CD + 32X) look good in comparison!

[youarefree]

http://www.silicium.org/console/nintendo/famicom_disk.htm

 

Wow, what a clunky mess... it makes the Tower of Sega (Sega CD + 32X) look good in comparison!

 

I quite like the look, actually. Nice and square. At one point I had the Sega CD2 on a Genny2 with the 32x. That's a total of three power plugs, along with the jumpers for each system. I think the FDS wins over the Genny/CD/32x debacle. Plus... come on.. NES games on floppy discs!!!

Edited March 30, 2006 by youarefree

[n8littlefield]

Definately keep us posted, I'd love to see what you end up doing to keep the system from flexing when swapping games!

[JB]

http://www.silicium.org/console/nintendo/famicom_disk.htm

 

Wow, what a clunky mess... it makes the Tower of Sega (Sega CD + 32X) look good in comparison!

 

I quite like the look, actually. Nice and square. At one point I had the Sega CD2 on a Genny2 with the 32x. That's a total of three power plugs, along with the jumpers for each system. I think the FDS wins over the Genny/CD/32x debacle. Plus... come on.. NES games on floppy discs!!!

Agreed. The Sega Frankenstien looks way worse than the FDS.

 

Partially because hte 32x, in an attempt to blend with both models of Genesis, fails to look good on either. The Power Base Converter, being designed solely to match a Genny1, looks like it actually BELONGS when it's connected.

[youarefree]

http://www.silicium.org/console/nintendo/famicom_disk.htm

 

Wow, what a clunky mess... it makes the Tower of Sega (Sega CD + 32X) look good in comparison!

 

I quite like the look, actually. Nice and square. At one point I had the Sega CD2 on a Genny2 with the 32x. That's a total of three power plugs, along with the jumpers for each system. I think the FDS wins over the Genny/CD/32x debacle. Plus... come on.. NES games on floppy discs!!!

Agreed. The Sega Frankenstien looks way worse than the FDS.

 

Partially because hte 32x, in an attempt to blend with both models of Genesis, fails to look good on either. The Power Base Converter, being designed solely to match a Genny1, looks like it actually BELONGS when it's connected.

 

The Power Base Converter was a great little accessory. No external power supply.. fits well on the genny, and opens it up to lots of great SMS games. Too bad I don't have one anymore. Think I have a SMS somewhere, though. Sans controllers and hookups.

[JB]

http://www.silicium.org/console/nintendo/famicom_disk.htm

 

Wow, what a clunky mess... it makes the Tower of Sega (Sega CD + 32X) look good in comparison!

 

I quite like the look, actually. Nice and square. At one point I had the Sega CD2 on a Genny2 with the 32x. That's a total of three power plugs, along with the jumpers for each system. I think the FDS wins over the Genny/CD/32x debacle. Plus... come on.. NES games on floppy discs!!!

Agreed. The Sega Frankenstien looks way worse than the FDS.

 

Partially because hte 32x, in an attempt to blend with both models of Genesis, fails to look good on either. The Power Base Converter, being designed solely to match a Genny1, looks like it actually BELONGS when it's connected.

 

The Power Base Converter was a great little accessory. No external power supply.. fits well on the genny, and opens it up to lots of great SMS games.

Quite simple piece of hardware, too. The Genesis is already SMS-compatible, so all the PBC does is tell it to boot in SMS mode and adapt the cart slot to fit the 8-bit software.

[Bruce Tomlin]

Quite simple piece of hardware, too. The Genesis is already SMS-compatible, so all the PBC does is tell it to boot in SMS mode and adapt the cart slot to fit the 8-bit software.

Yep, all it did was set the "M3" input (referring to the Sega Mark III), and the cartridge slot was multiplexed to the Z-80 instead of the 68000, including an input for the RESET button. It was, however, missing the TMS-9918 modes that Mark III games and a very few SMS games (most notably the F-16 card) used.

 

The Genesis 3 supposedly does not have the M3 input or the multiplexer.

[JB]

Quite simple piece of hardware, too. The Genesis is already SMS-compatible, so all the PBC does is tell it to boot in SMS mode and adapt the cart slot to fit the 8-bit software.

Yep, all it did was set the "M3" input (referring to the Sega Mark III), and the cartridge slot was multiplexed to the Z-80 instead of the 68000, including an input for the RESET button. It was, however, missing the TMS-9918 modes that Mark III games and a very few SMS games (most notably the F-16 card) used.

 

The Genesis 3 supposedly does not have the M3 input or the multiplexer.

Genny 3 allegedly lacks the z80 entirely. I've never had a chance to confirm that, but it's technically possible(not likely, based on my non-random sampling just now).

 

The emulator Gens lets you disable the z80 to see what the diffrence is, and it really surprised me. Some games run flawlessly, others exhibit minor to ear-devastating sound glitches, and I've been told a select few blow up entirely.

[jpfalcon2003]

Is the Yobo system a better system to get versus the Generation NEX system?

[JB]

Is the Yobo system a better system to get versus the Generation NEX system?

I would say yes. They're the same hardware, but the Yobo costs half of what the NEX does. Your mileage may vary.

[youarefree]

Is the Yobo system a better system to get versus the Generation NEX system?

I would say yes. They're the same hardware, but the Yobo costs half of what the NEX does. Your mileage may vary.

 

I don't have the Generation NEX, but from what I've heard the compatibility is no better (or worse) on the NEX. The NEX has great design and built in wireless, but all other reviews have been less than favorable. owever... that doesn't stop me from wanting one...

[Bruce Tomlin]

Genny 3 allegedly lacks the z80 entirely. I've never had a chance to confirm that, but it's technically possible(not likely, based on my non-random sampling just now).

Since the Z-80 was supposedly used by many games for sound, I find this unlikely. However, since the M3 multiplexer was only used for the PBC, there is no reason to keep it around.

 

The emulator Gens lets you disable the z80 to see what the diffrence is, and it really surprised me. Some games run flawlessly, others exhibit minor to ear-devastating sound glitches, and I've been told a select few blow up entirely.

Exactly. Because the Z-80 is usually used as a sound coprocessor. ("ear-devastating"?)

[JB]

Genny 3 allegedly lacks the z80 entirely. I've never had a chance to confirm that, but it's technically possible(not likely, based on my non-random sampling just now).

Since the Z-80 was supposedly used by many games for sound, I find this unlikely. However, since the M3 multiplexer was only used for the PBC, there is no reason to keep it around.

 

The emulator Gens lets you disable the z80 to see what the diffrence is, and it really surprised me. Some games run flawlessly, others exhibit minor to ear-devastating sound glitches, and I've been told a select few blow up entirely.

Exactly. Because the Z-80 is usually used as a sound coprocessor. ("ear-devastating"?)

Ear-devastating games exhibit MAJOR sound flaws. Like emitting shrill whines seemingly at random.

Minor sound glitches is just a bit of missing "oomph" on the drums.

There's also games that are almost completely mute, have sound effects but no music, etc.

 

It's an interesting option to play with, really.

Most of my sampling was early games. But Bloodlines was in '94, and it's music-less. Was also a Majesco re-issue, so it was being sold alongside the Genesis3. I hadn't tested Bloodlines z80-less before, so I'd been assuming that later games ran solely on the 68k for the ease of coding.

 

 

 

The missing z80 thing seems to be one of those urban myths that just keeps popping up.

People just can't grasp that you can consolidate parts, or that parts get cheaper as time goes by.

 

I've seen it claimed on the Genny2, which I knew was wrong immediatly upon seeing it, since my Power Base Converter works on a Gen2.

 

I was willing to give it a chance on the Gen3 because it shows up a LOT, and the Gen3 isn't exactly high-quality merchandise. But now that I've actually checked, even for the quality level they were going for it just causes too many problems.

More likely, the mis-wired AV port(some genius didn't hook the audio pins up right) caused a lot of audio issues, and people assumed it was because the "sound processor" was missing.

Edited April 2, 2006 by JB

[n8littlefield]

Is the Yobo system a better system to get versus the Generation NEX system?

I would say yes. They're the same hardware, but the Yobo costs half of what the NEX does. Your mileage may vary.

 

I don't have the Generation NEX, but from what I've heard the compatibility is no better (or worse) on the NEX. The NEX has great design and built in wireless, but all other reviews have been less than favorable. owever... that doesn't stop me from wanting one...

The only thing I've heard about the NEX that could potentially make it worse than a Yobo (other than $$) is I keep reading that the sound output is pretty quiet compared to an NES or other clones - but I'm not sure if that's true or not. I've heard some owners complain about it, and others say it's not true - but worth a mention I suppose

[RJ]

I got a Yobo last weekend after cashing in some unplayed PS/PS2 games for store credit ($40). I got the indigo model & a couple games I liked playing 20 yrs ago, though I never owned an NES, I had friends that did.

 

BaseWars (this game NEEDS a next-gen update!!!)

RoboCop (hey, it was $2)

 

& more on the way from ebay:

 

Wrecking Crew

Archon

Mario Bros (not Super)

Gyromite (yeah, but it was 5 CENTS & I recall having fun w/ it back then)

Edited April 4, 2006 by RJ

[youarefree]

I got a Yobo last weekend after cashing in some unplayed PS/PS2 games for store credit ($40). I got the indigo model & a couple games I liked playing 20 yrs ago, though I never owned an NES, I had friends that did.

 

BaseWars (this game NEEDS a next-gen update!!!)

RoboCop (hey, it was $2)

 

& more on the way from ebay:

 

Wrecking Crew

Archon

Mario Bros (not Super)

Gyromite (yeah, but it was 5 CENTS & I recall having fun w/ it back then)

 

Gyromite for 5 cents.. who wouldn't buy it? Plus.. it might contain the famicom adapter inside. Wrecking Crew is another nice find, one of those older titles that isn't that common. I just picked up Ice Climbers for 50 cents.

 

In the next few weeks I'm going to be "modding" my Yobo to make it more sturdy.. I'll start a new thread when I do.