DON'T GET RIPPED OFF: Flash Carts

This week, I humbly present to you another installment of my series, Don't Get Ripped Off!, in which I give you my best advice regarding things to spend your hard-earned money on. This week, I discuss flash carts, a range of ingenious devices that are definitely on the must-have list for any hardcore nerd.

Extreme Flash Advance, a Game Boy Advance flash cart, with a USB cable plugged in.

Flash carts are flash memory devices, similar to those USB storage devices found on keychains everywhere. Instead of plugging into your computer's USB slot, however, however, these devices plug into your vintage game console. This enables you to plug in your flash cart to your computer via a special cable, load up whatever game or program you like, then play it on a real, live, physical console. Neat, huh?

Flash carts are primarily used by programmers wishing to test their games during the development process, but they're also tremendously useful for gamers who want the authentic experience of a game console with the convenience of an emulator. There is a staggering variety of flash carts available online from online retailers like Amazon.com and eBay; most are made in China and are of poor quality. The most common ones are made for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance and DS.

Atarimax Ultimate SD, for the ColecoVision (also Atari 2600 compatible).

Generally speaking here, the more expensive units are the best. A 512mb GBA cartridge can cost as much as $200, but it's probably not necessary to spend that much, as most games are relatively small in size and need very little memory. Nevertheless, expect to pay at least $100 for a new unit; consider any price lower than this to be suspicious. Used carts are cheaper, but since flash memory has a limited number of read/write cycles, they will likely fail earlier. Some flash carts are actually memory card adapters, which are simply an adapter for a memory card (like an SD or CompactFlash card) built into a cartridge. These should be avoided like the plague. With a few exceptions that I list below, these adapters are unauthorized Chinese-made copies and are very flimsy and unreliable.

Flash carts for consoles other than the GBA and DS do exist, but are generally boutique items and not commonly offered for sale. Below are a few I've found to be well-recommended:

• The Atarimax Ultimate SD is an SD card adapter for the ColecoVision console. It includes a 32mb SD card and a high-speed bankswitching card that can handle very large games (up to 512K). Made by Steven J. Tucker and available now online.
• The Harmony Cartridge is an SD card adapter for the Atari 2600. It is currently in development, though the creator is taking orders on the product's website. It includes a 2gb SD card and a USB cable for connection to a PC or Macintosh.
• The Cuttlecart is another Atari 2600 flash cart produced by Schell Electronics. Versions were also created for the Atari 7800 and Intellivision. All are long discontinued and quite dated (Windows compatibility only, requires a serial cable). It is, however, very reliable, and occasionally pops up for sale on eBay.

If anyone finds other flash carts they'd like to recommend, please comment and let us know! Happy hunting, and remember: caveat emptor...

Don't Get Ripped Off #1: NES

Today at This Old Box marks the start a new series: DON'T GET RIPPED OFF!, in which I explain to you the most important mission of being a nerd: buying used video game consoles that actually work, and bargaining for a fair price on them. So before you bid on that eBay auction or head off the the flea market to do some snooping, read my guide and make sure your purchases are extra-smart.

This time on DON'T GET RIPPED OFF!: the Nintendo Entertainment System. Unfortunately, the NES is one of the flimsiest of all vintage consoles, despite Nintendo's squeaky-clean reputation for quality. So many things can go wrong on one, as I'll explain, that it's a small wonder any still exist. Luckily for you, there are a few easy red flags and things to look out for to determine if the system you're looking at is a dud.

The first thing you're going to do is head over to Radio Shack and pick up an RCA Male to 3.5mm Female cable (for around $3). It looks like this:

The reason you're buying this is to insert that red thing into the RCA jack in the back of your Nintendo here:

The RCA output is the jack to the right.

The reason you're doing this is so you can use headphones to listen to the system as you start it up, so you don't need to plug the thing into a TV to make sure it works. You'll also need to insert a working game into the system while you test it. If you hear nothing when you power the system on, you're almost definitely experiencing one of two problems:

Problem 1: The reason for around 50% of NES system failures is a problem with the front-loading zero-insertion force (ZIF) cartridge slot. Frequent insertion and removal of cartridges will wear down the pins in the slot, causing it to malfunction. Open up the front cartridge door, and use a flashlight to take a look at the cartridge socket. If it looks tarnished or dirty, chances are it needs to be cleaned or replaced. Cleaning it poses a risk of electrical shock, and replacements haven't been sold since 1991. So, you're best off simply avoiding a system with a dirty cartridge socket.

Problem 2: The other 49.99% of NES problems are caused by the lockout chip. The lockout chip is a special chip that's used by Nintendo to "lock" any game that's not licensed by sending a spike of electricity to the system, preventing it from starting. If the lockout chip has oxidized or is otherwise malfunctioning, the machine will reset every second and the front power light will blink on and off.

Looks are decieving, so don't just buy the best-looking console that you see. The NES is constructed from reinforced ABS plastic, which typically yellows after years of exposure to oxygen and sunlight, so even completely functional systems can look like crap at first glance. What matters is not what the outside looks like, but how the delicate internal components perform. If the machine starts up normally and audio can be heard from your special magic headphones, with no hissing or blinking lights, your console is most likely good to go.

When it's time to bargain on a price, haggle aggressively. Usually, a working NES should sell for between $25 and $75, depending on condition and included accessories. There were several models and packages sold over the system's lifetime, some of which are rarer than others. The NES-101 model is particularly collectible; it was made for only a very short period of time in the early 90s, lacks the problematic lockout chip, and sports a sleek redesign far superior to the original, flimsy VCR player-style console. Boxed consoles are also particularly collectible and can fetch hundreds.

If you see one of these in a flea market or thrift store, buy itI It's worth a lot of money...

An extra tip on the general topic of buying used video games: when you're haggling, make your offer lower than the actual value of what you're purchasing, and bargain up. Due to the uniform nature of video games, buyers have a marked advantage over sellers in the used market. Take advantage of this and be bold.

One last tip: Don't go to large corporate video game stores (like GameStop, FuncoLand, EB Games, etc.) to buy vintage video games. These chain game shops usually focus on new equipment, and when it comes to selling used games, all they care about is profit. Often they don't even check to make sure used cartridges work. Many times I've had the experience of buying a used machine at EB Games, bringing it home, finding out it didn't work, bringing it back to the store, and getting a lecture from a pimply teenage employee about the store's "as-is" return policy. Don't waste your time or your money.

From me to you, I heartily wish you: Happy console hunting! And finally, because this is a blog about homebrew stuff, I present to you: the NES Mouse...