Making the choice between an adaptor or modding your system.

***Cosmonautical*** · 04-16-2007, 07:03 AM

Having moved to Australia, and brought all of my systems and games with me, I haven't had a lot of options available. I've had a lot of luck - the "new" tv I got from a pawn shop is able to display both PAL and NTSC. This lets me play most of my Nintendo systems with their australian-version power convertors. When we got an australian Wii, I bought a "freeloader" disc, to let me play my american GCN discs on it. The newest freeloader disc works flawlessly, and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking to import.

My one problem in this all - the heavily region-protected SNES. The differences between the american and australian SNES are the greatest of any system - Each edition of the system has its own version of the lockout technology - like the NES did. Not only that, but to mod the system like you could an NES is much harder - you need a special screwdriver just to get into it. Even the system's casing is differently shaped, preventing me from inserting an american cart into my australian system. Hell, even some games - after you've modded the shell of your system, and after you've disabled the lockout interface - still can detect whether your system outputs the older PAL 50hz signal or the usual NTSC 60hz. Also, I couldn't just use both systems to play their games - the power adaptors have different heads, making them completely incompatible.

So, unless I want to heavily mod my system just to play my games from the US, I've had to order an adaptor that piggy-backs the lockout technology of a local cartridge to fool the system into thinking the game is australian. I ordered it earlier this week from a store in the UK, and was expecting it to take at least a week to get here - but it came today!

I was surprised to see that it actually works with the games that detect the 50hz-60hz difference, like Super Metroid. I'm also impressed that it actually is compatible with games that use all of the pin connectors available on the SNES. Later/special games such as Starfox or Yoshi's Island make use of these extra connectors on the cartridge slot, because they require it for the system to interface with their unique technology (like Nintendo's FX chip). Because earlier games never used these extra pins, the majority of adaptors for the SNES opted not to employ the full range, likely to keep production costs lower.

So, this adaptor works flawlessly. It actually appears to be brand-new. If anyone is looking for an adaptor like it, it's labeled as the "Universal Adaptor AD-29". I'd tell you the brand name, but there are no details about who made it anywhere on the box or the adaptor itself. I bought it direct off ebay, and I'm sure there will be more if you search for them.

Adaptor technology is much better than it used to be. I'd recommend it over system modding - Sure, it'd be great to just dive into my SNES and cut this pin and install this switch and so on, but I'm not experienced in it and I'd probably just cripple a good system. And, to quell those usual dissidents; Playing games on an emulator just isn't as good or the same as playing the original system.

04-16-2007, 07:03 AM	#1
*Cosmonautical* Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: I rub my tilde all over your asterisk Gender: Posts: 28,100 Thanks: 2,156 Thanked 5,338 Times in 2,433 Posts	Making the choice between an adaptor or modding your system. Having moved to Australia, and brought all of my systems and games with me, I haven't had a lot of options available. I've had a lot of luck - the "new" tv I got from a pawn shop is able to display both PAL and NTSC. This lets me play most of my Nintendo systems with their australian-version power convertors. When we got an australian Wii, I bought a "freeloader" disc, to let me play my american GCN discs on it. The newest freeloader disc works flawlessly, and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking to import. My one problem in this all - the heavily region-protected SNES. The differences between the american and australian SNES are the greatest of any system - Each edition of the system has its own version of the lockout technology - like the NES did. Not only that, but to mod the system like you could an NES is much harder - you need a special screwdriver just to get into it. Even the system's casing is differently shaped, preventing me from inserting an american cart into my australian system. Hell, even some games - after you've modded the shell of your system, and after you've disabled the lockout interface - still can detect whether your system outputs the older PAL 50hz signal or the usual NTSC 60hz. Also, I couldn't just use both systems to play their games - the power adaptors have different heads, making them completely incompatible. So, unless I want to heavily mod my system just to play my games from the US, I've had to order an adaptor that piggy-backs the lockout technology of a local cartridge to fool the system into thinking the game is australian. I ordered it earlier this week from a store in the UK, and was expecting it to take at least a week to get here - but it came today! I was surprised to see that it actually works with the games that detect the 50hz-60hz difference, like Super Metroid. I'm also impressed that it actually is compatible with games that use all of the pin connectors available on the SNES. Later/special games such as Starfox or Yoshi's Island make use of these extra connectors on the cartridge slot, because they require it for the system to interface with their unique technology (like Nintendo's FX chip). Because earlier games never used these extra pins, the majority of adaptors for the SNES opted not to employ the full range, likely to keep production costs lower. So, this adaptor works flawlessly. It actually appears to be brand-new. If anyone is looking for an adaptor like it, it's labeled as the "Universal Adaptor AD-29". I'd tell you the brand name, but there are no details about who made it anywhere on the box or the adaptor itself. I bought it direct off ebay, and I'm sure there will be more if you search for them. Adaptor technology is much better than it used to be. I'd recommend it over system modding - Sure, it'd be great to just dive into my SNES and cut this pin and install this switch and so on, but I'm not experienced in it and I'd probably just cripple a good system. And, to quell those usual dissidents; Playing games on an emulator just isn't as good or the same as playing the original system.