Can You Use the Famicom Disk System on Budget Clone Hardware #Shorts

In this #YouTube #Shorts episode, we take a look and see if the Famicom Disk System can work with budget NES clone systems.

In a recent video, a viewer asked if the Famicom Disk System can work with inexpensive third-party clones. Specifically, the Super Retro Trio 3 Plus and the Retro 3 HD. I had never tried the system with a clone cancel, but granted I just got it a week ago so I haven't had a whole lot of time to experiment. I had never heard of it working with third party systems, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't. I know for a fact that the Retro USB AVS works with the Famicom Disk System, that's one of the reasons why they designed it the way that they did. I also believe that it works with the Analogue NT, but those are also much more expensive systems.

For my testing purposes, I used the same AC adapter for all of the systems tested here. That was a Samsung 5 volt 1 amp output AC adapter, more than enough for each of these systems. I also used the same HDMI cable, and had my new copy of Castlevania 1 for testing.

I started off with the Retron HD, and as soon as I powered it up I got an error message from the system. The specific error, Battery 02, indicated that there was an AC adapter or battery supply issue. Strange, so I connected the system back to my HDMI NES top loader. No such error. So the battery or power supply warning was tied into being connected to the system and not due to any actual power supply issues on the disk system.

Next up, the Retron HD2, and it threw the exact same error. In fact I got the same error with the Retron HD 3, and the Retro-Bit Super Retro Trio 3 Plus. Each of these systems was incompatible with the Famicom Disk System. I decided to test it out with the Retron AV, which does not utilize an HDMI output and has some different components in it. Unlike the other systems, I got the normal Famicom Disk System boot screen. This was encouraging! Once I inserted the copy of Castlevania, however, the battery error returned. So based on my tests here, none of the budget clone consoles that I had handy worked with the Famicom Disk System.

I will admit, I honestly did not expect the Famicom Disk System to work with clone consoles. I know most accessories like this, the power base converter for the Genesis and the 32x are prime examples, do not work with third party clone consoles. It's interesting that the error that I got was related to a power issue, which I did not expect. I know on the Famicom two of the center pins are indeed used for power, or signal, or something along those lines. However in this instance, I guess you could say the a pig and an elephant's DNA just don't mix.

#RetroGames #FamicomDiskSystem CloneNES #Pickups