Twin Famicom Audio buzz, will a recap fix it?

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Sonny_Jim
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Twin Famicom Audio buzz, will a recap fix it?

Post by Sonny_Jim »

Slightly disappointed to plug my Twin Famicom in the other day and found that it had a really loud buzzing noise on the audio. Two questions

1. Is it likely a recapping will fix it?

2. Is console5 a good source for cap kits?

Thanks
unregistered
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Re: Twin Famicom Audio buzz, will a recap fix it?

Post by unregistered »

[WAY LATE EDITS]Note: I made a mistake in these posts. I’m using “cap”, but I’m talking about the Twin Famicom’s RCA jack. Ben Boldt eventually confirms that this information I shared is helpful after knowing I meant RCA jack. :)[/WAY LATE EDITS]
Sonny_Jim wrote: Tue May 03, 2022 6:38 pm Slightly disappointed to plug my Twin Famicom in the other day and found that it had a really loud buzzing noise on the audio.
Hi Sonny_Jim.

Is the cable that carries audio, from your Twin Famicom to the TV, in good condition?

Obviously, this answers neither of your questions; but, buzzing can also happen if the cable isn’t properly shielded.


Also, changing the cap would possibly provide much needed grounding to your Famicom, who might be buzzing due to wanting crucial grounding.


If the Famicom’s audio cable is anything like an electric guitar cable, then replacing a faulty cap would do wonders for buzzing.

Electric guitar cable, an unbalanced TS cable, provides a connection to ground from the amp via the sleeve and provides the audio signal from its tip (TS == Tip Sleeve). If guitar electronics aren’t properly grounded, lots of buzzing happens during use. Ground is a destination; not a signal. :)

So, replacing a faulty cap would allow ground to travel be connected from the building’s power box, to your electrical outlet, through your tv, and into your Twin Famicom.

Sry, I’m clueless about buying Famicom caps. :(


EDIT: fixed logic with bold statement and strikethrough.


FINAL-EDIT: Your Famicom audio probably travels through a TRS cable (TRS == Tip Ring Sleeve). TS is near the same as TRS; except that a TRS cable’s ends are separated into three sections. So, three separate connections are possible with a TRS cable.
Last edited by unregistered on Fri May 06, 2022 12:52 pm, edited 4 times in total.
Sonny_Jim
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Re: Twin Famicom Audio buzz, will a recap fix it?

Post by Sonny_Jim »

Yeah I suppose the first step is to try a different cable, although I've noticed the problem getting gradually worse in the years I've owned it.
unregistered
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Re: Twin Famicom Audio buzz, will a recap fix it?

Post by unregistered »

Sonny_Jim wrote: Tue May 03, 2022 10:37 pm Yeah I suppose the first step is to try a different cable, although I've noticed the problem getting gradually worse in the years I've owned it.
Well, if the audio cable is faulty then it needs to be replaced to cure its creation of buzz.

Just, examine the cable. See any tears in the cable’s shielding, then it should be replaced.
[EDIT]Actually any shielding would probably be only around the ground wire inside the cable. The wire covering isn’t shielding so just looking for tears in the shielding is probably not simple.[/EDIT]


A faulty cap may be faulty because the wire connections, on the machine’s inside, become unsoldered. Though, that probably doesn’t happen with a Famicom?

You probably know this: Replacing a cap requires removing the wires from the old cap, trimming them slightly and then stripping their ends, and soldering them to the new cap.


Maybe the cap’s outside can be cleaned. The sleeve connects to the cap’s outside also. A dirty surface would provide a poor ground connection. Though, maybe the entire cap is way dirty by now and needs replacement?
Last edited by unregistered on Tue May 03, 2022 11:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Fiskbit
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Re: Twin Famicom Audio buzz, will a recap fix it?

Post by Fiskbit »

(Note: I am not a hardware guy)

The problem getting worse over time would make me think a cap might be going bad, so I'd try a cap kit.

On Famicoms, I've had issues with buzzing related to the microphone. I'm not sure what the fix is, but you could try moving the second player controller around or playing with the microphone volume slider to see if that has any effect on the buzzing.
calima
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Re: Twin Famicom Audio buzz, will a recap fix it?

Post by calima »

Yes, console5 should be fine. If you want to be sure, google the brands and types of caps they use.
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Ben Boldt
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Re: Twin Famicom Audio buzz, will a recap fix it?

Post by Ben Boldt »

I am sorry to be critical unregistered, but you are giving some advice that makes no sense whatsoever.
unregistered wrote: Tue May 03, 2022 10:01 pm Also, changing the cap would possibly provide much needed grounding to your Famicom, who might be buzzing due to wanting crucial grounding.
unregistered wrote: Tue May 03, 2022 10:01 pm So, replacing a faulty cap would allow ground to travel be connected from the building’s power box, to your electrical outlet, through your tv, and into your Twin Famicom.
Changing a capacitor has no effect on grounding. What you are saying here makes no sense at all. However, the advice to change the cap is good.
unregistered wrote: A faulty cap may be faulty because the wire connections, on the machine’s inside, become unsoldered. Though, that probably doesn’t happen with a Famicom?

You probably know this: Replacing a cap requires removing the wires from the old cap, trimming them slightly and then stripping their ends, and soldering them to the new cap.

Maybe the cap’s outside can be cleaned. The sleeve connects to the cap’s outside also. A dirty surface would provide a poor ground connection. Though, maybe the entire cap is way dirty by now and needs replacement?
Cleaning a dirty capacitor won't fix it. The old cap should be completely removed. The new cap has "wires" or "leads" coming out of it already. You should completely remove the old capacitor with a soldering iron, then directly solder in the new capacitor.
unregistered
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Re: Twin Famicom Audio buzz, will a recap fix it?

Post by unregistered »

Ben Boldt, sigh, thank you so much! I didn’t read cap as capacitor… I stupidly thought cap was talking about the audio jack, whatever it is called (“Audio jack” means the metal piece the audio cable plugs into; the audio jack I was thinking of would be in the Twin Famicom. However, maybe Nintendo made a different type of cable; bet that happened.).


So, sry OP. 😔 Please replace the capacitor as Ben Bolt explained. :)
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Ben Boldt
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Re: Twin Famicom Audio buzz, will a recap fix it?

Post by Ben Boldt »

unregistered wrote: Wed May 04, 2022 12:15 pm Ben Boldt, sigh, thank you so much! I didn’t read cap as capacitor… I stupidly thought cap was talking about the audio jack, whatever it is called (“Audio jack” means the metal piece the audio cable plugs into; the audio jack I was thinking of would be in the Twin Famicom. However, maybe Nintendo made a different type of cable; bet that happened.).


So, sry OP. 😔 Please replace the capacitor as Ben Bolt explained. :)
Hey unregistered, I don't mean any offense, actually I just didn't understand that you are talking about the RCA jack. You bring up a great point: it might be the RCA jack has broken solder joints, and that would certainly cause a grounding problem that can cause the humming. This is a great thing to check. Also, some of these old jacks can get crusty and not make good contact. Your point exactly: cleaning them could fix it. It is easy to simulate this issue by not plugging in the RCA jack all the way, so only the center makes contact. If wiggling the connectors or cables affects the humming, then you know you are on the right track.
unregistered
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Re: Twin Famicom Audio buzz, will a recap fix it?

Post by unregistered »

Ben Boldt, hi, no offense taken. :)

You make great points. Thank you for mentioning RCA jack… now I know. And I’m sorry for misspelling your name at the close of my previous post.
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