REV-A NES Cartridge Teardown
Tools
These are some common tools used to work on this device. You might not need every tool for every procedure.
Background Information
The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) game cartridges, officially acknowledged as the Game Pak, acted as the software storage medium for the NES in Japan on July 15, 1983. All officially licensed NTSC-U and PAL region cartridges are 13.3 cm (5.25 inches) tall, 12 cm (4.75 inches) wide, and 2 cm (0.75 inches) thick.
Early NES Game Paks are held together with 5 small, slotted screws, but cartridges manufactured after 1987 were redesigned slightly to incorporate two plastic clips molded into the plastic itself, eliminating the need for the top two screws. The standard screws were also changed to 3.8 mm security screws to further secure the ROMs inside from tampering.
The Famicom's Game Paks featured a 60-pin cartridge design, which allowed for the cartridges to be smaller than the United States NES, which featured a 72-pin design. While the US's NES does have more pins than its Japanese counterpart, early NES games used the same printed circuit boards as the Famicom by incorporating a converter directly into the cartridge allowing it to fit into the NES.
Technical Specs
Storage and Memory
- ROM Capacity: Maximum of 512 Kilobytes
- RAM Capacity: Maximum of 8 Kilobytes
Power
- Battery Backup Type: 2032
Chipset and Connections
- Lockout Chip: 10NES
- Connector Pins: 72-pin Connection
Dimensions
- Length: 13.3 cm (5.25 inches)
- Width: 12 cm (4.75 inches)
- Thickness: 2 cm (0.75 inches)