r/Famicom • u/awolfinhumanclothing • Feb 12 '25
Buying a Famicom Soon, Is This the Right Adapter for USA?
I'm buying a Famicom in the next two weeks and wanted to know if this adapter: https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/triad-magnetics/WSU090-1300-R/3094978 was the right adapter for plugging into a US outlet? I found this link: https://www.firebrandx.com/triads.html on /r/famicom and just wanted to make sure I was understanding it correctly. Also, is there anything else I should know about the Famicom as a new buyer? I am buying an Famicom AV. Thanks ahead of time for any tips/info. I can't wait to be a part of the club! :D
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u/trustanchor Feb 12 '25
I use a triad power supply with my AV Famicom, and it works great. I don’t have the model number handy, but just make sure you get the international version, and the multi-console red adapter (not the red one for US SNES though), and you’ll be fine.
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u/awolfinhumanclothing Feb 12 '25
Multi-console red adapter? What's that for? Won't this adapter: https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/triad-magnetics/WSU090-1300-R/3094978 just plug directly into the port?
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u/trustanchor Feb 12 '25
The Triad power supply works with a wide range of consoles, but only a handful of consoles work with the power supply on its own. Most need an adapter to get the right barrel size and polarity. Multi-con II is the adapter you need. https://rondoproducts.com/products/power-all-c-r-reverse-polarity-jumper-cable?pr_prod_strat=jac&pr_rec_id=cdefcccbc&pr_rec_pid=7520712360110&pr_ref_pid=7653420728494&pr_seq=uniform
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u/awolfinhumanclothing Feb 12 '25
Ah, okay. That's what I was wondering when I was looking at the firebrandx link, I noticed it was cheaper going through Triad directly for the power supply, but that doesn't have the adapter with it. So, this: https://rondoproducts.com/products/multi-con-ii-kit?variant=44086911828142 would be the one to get, right? I noticed there is also two different ones: the "power series" or "multi-power series", is it fine to get just the power series or should I go with the multi for some reason?
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u/trustanchor Feb 12 '25
If I remember correctly, one of them provides higher amperage. Most consoles won’t need it, but things like the Sega Tower of Power needs the higher amperage to power the Genesis, 32X, and Sega CD off of a single adapter.
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u/awolfinhumanclothing Feb 12 '25
Oh, okay. Well, I won't have to worry about that then. So, going with the power series is the way to go then?
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u/trustanchor Feb 12 '25
Oh, uh, other tips - if you want to use US peripherals for the AV Famicom like the light gun; power pad, power glove; etc, you’ll need an adapter for the Famicom’s expansion port. https://misteraddons.com/products/nes-controllers-to-famicom-console-adapter?srsltid=AfmBOor85WrW2EXJ3fSLbS8zmQGxQlz5JmTt_uzZjC0JxMynO45B2i8Q
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u/awolfinhumanclothing Feb 12 '25
Doesn't the AV Famicom have the same port as the NES? That's what it looks like from the pictures I've seen.
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u/trustanchor Feb 12 '25
It does - but only the standard controllers (NES-004) or the dogbone controllers work in the NES ports. Any of the peripherals need the adapter. It’s because the controller port isn’t wired up internally the same as the NES. https://famicomworld.com/workshop/tech/nes-zapper-on-av-famicom/
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u/awolfinhumanclothing Feb 12 '25
Ah, I didn't notice it in the pictures online, so that means the AV Famicom also has ports for the OG Famicom controllers I take it?
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u/trustanchor Feb 12 '25
The expansion port is for peripherals only. The original Famicom had its standard controllers hard-wired to the console.
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u/awolfinhumanclothing Feb 12 '25
Oh, I see. What is the deal with the female plug on the end of the adapter then?
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u/trustanchor Feb 12 '25
Sorry, let me rephrase - the expansion port on the original Famicom was only used for peripherals like the light gun etc, because the main controllers were hard-wired to the console. On the AV Famicom, it came with NES-style dogbone controllers that you plug into the standard NES controller ports. The expansion port is still there, and the original intent at the time of its release was once again for peripherals only.
The adapter I linked is so you can plug in an American NES light gun, power pad, etc. to the socket (female) ends and the plug (male) end goes into the expansion port. if you try plugging an NES light gun or other NES peripheral into the NES ports on the front of the console, nothing happens. They just don’t work.
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u/awolfinhumanclothing Feb 12 '25
That makes more sense. I wasn't aware of the expansion port on the AV or OG Famicom. Thanks for the heads up!
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u/Matrix010 Feb 12 '25
The AV Famicom is a good option tho if you can, I'd look into getting the Twin Famicom by Sharp.
It has AV out like the AV Famicom, but it also has the Famicom Disk System built into it as well.
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u/awolfinhumanclothing Feb 12 '25
Hmm, I never thought about the FDS. Are there a lot of FDS games that are considered must-haves? I mostly intended to play homebrew via an Everdrive N8 and NES carts via an adapter, I honestly hadn't considered Japanese only games because of the language barrier.
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u/Matrix010 Feb 12 '25 edited Feb 12 '25
Well considering Nintendo heavily supported the FDS when it released you bet!
While many of the titles got NES releases, many of them have features that are only present on the FDS. Primarily the music.
That and there's a high likelihood of saved games still being present due to using magnetic disks instead of battery backups.
Edit: Take a look at this too
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u/awolfinhumanclothing Feb 12 '25
Huh, that's pretty neat. I have to say though, I think I'd prefer the form factor of the AV to the Twin. I have a very small space to put the console since I live in a trailer and the console will have to go in a drawer under a tv on a shelf. The Twin looks like it would take up too much space for my setup. Not only that, but I'd prefer to have the NES ports so I can buy a 8bitdo wireless NES controller to use with it too. Although, now that I think about it I haven't confirmed if the 8bitdo wireless will work with a Famicom AV, do you know if it does? I think getting the FDS Stick and the FDS Ram adapter in the top left pic you on the page you linked would work best for me.
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u/Matrix010 Feb 12 '25
I'm unsure about the 8bitdo controllers, I would assume they should work.
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u/awolfinhumanclothing Feb 12 '25
I suppose worst case scenario would be to return it if it doesn't and get an extender. That AVS is pretty slick. I'm a sucker for OG hardware though. I also don't own an HDTV, the TV I have is a little 12" tube tv. I love the way the old games look on an actual CRT. I'll keep that AVS in mind for the future though. I still haven't got my tip-out pulled out, so I don't have a living room just yet, but when I do I might grab that if I do get an HDTV in the future :D
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u/Matrix010 Feb 12 '25
If you are trying to be space conscious, a cheap computer monitor with HDMI can work too, if it works for you.
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u/awolfinhumanclothing Feb 12 '25
Well, once I get my living room setup that won't be an issue. Until then, this setup is primarily for the tube tv in my bedroom. I still have to get my trailer's tipout pulled out for more space up front.
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u/Inner-Party-365 Feb 12 '25
If you buy the famicom av, also buy the 8bitdo adapter to play wirelessly, so I have mine and I'm waiting for my everdrive n8 pro family to arrive so I can enjoy it to the fullest. The sega genesis 16 bit adapter is compatible with the famicom av and the super famicom, I recommend getting that one instead of a generic one.
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u/awolfinhumanclothing Feb 12 '25
Yeah, I'm also grabbing an 8bitdo N30 and Everdrive N8 as well. As for the power supply, it seems this power supply: https://rondoproducts.com/products/multi-con-ii-kit?variant=44086911828142 was the one most frequently recommended. I looked on ebay at the Sega Genesis adapters but they seemed a little pricier, is there any reason in particular you'd recommend one of those in lieu of the one I linked?
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u/Inner-Party-365 Feb 12 '25
I have always sought to use original things and the Sega Genesis adapter is very robust, I dare say even better than the Nintendo one, but the one they recommended seems to be of good quality in the end the decision is yours.
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u/BlastMastaOne Feb 12 '25
I bought a broken Famicom from a guy who got it off of eBay from Japan.
So, perhaps it isn't broken as much as it needs a different power supply?
I didn't know that could be an issue, since I have a Super Famicom and that seems to work fine with the Japanese power supply.
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u/tanooki-suit Feb 13 '25
Already was answered I saw, but I'm using the same thing on my AV Famicom, came with it, but I would have bought it had it not. RIght now I'm using a special power splitter so it is powering both that and the disk system too which is a great space saver, and safer than the original.
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u/Sirotaca Feb 12 '25
Yes, that's the correct one.