Removing cartridges / sticky buttons

[nitro322]

Hi.  I just received a shiny new Retrode 2 a couple days ago, and while I'm certainly quite happy with it, I have a couple issues I wanted to ask about:

1. Is there a 'proper' way to remove a SNES cart?  or do I just yank it out?  I guess this may sound like a somewhat silly question, but it is hard to remove SNES carts from my unit (I haven't tried Genesis).  It feels like I'm ripping the cart out of a powered-on SNES; ie., with the locking mechanism engaged.  As far as I can tell the Retrode has no such thing, but seriously - I need yank quite hard to get the cart out, and every time I do it I feel like I'm going to break the thing.  Is that normal?

2. The two buttons on this unit are rather sticky, by which I mean when I press one down half the time it sticks in place and I have to try to pry it back up with my fingernail.  It also happens all of the time when pressing both buttons at the same time, making the firmware update process rather difficult.  Again, is that normal, or am I doing something wrong?

Would appreciate any feedback.  THanks.

[Muzer]

You do just yank it out - I'll agree with you, mine seems rather stiff as well. I haven't broken it yet


I do, however, find that the software works better if I yank it out when the Retrode has been unplugged, and I believe it's safer too (less likely to wipe your saves), but it makes no difference to the force with which you have to pull it out.



As for the buttons, that definitely doesn't happen with me.

[Matthias_H]

I agree that getting SNES cartridges out can be a bit of a challenge sometimes. An ejection mechanism would have more than doubled the cost of the entire case so I ultimately decided against it. The way that works best for me, I pull on the cartridge in the top middle to avoid that sideway tilt that causes it to get stuck.

As for the buttons, they should definitely not be sticky or anything, unless there is something very fishy. The mechanism is rather simple: the plastic levers push down on two buttons on the board. You may want to peek into the Sega slot and see if the pins sit nicely on top of the buttons, or if they have slipped sideward.
You might even find a bit of injection flash on the pin itself (due to case manufacturing process) which you could easily remove with a cutter knife. Use a PZ1-size screwdriver to open the case, and let me know what you find.

[nitro322]

Thanks for the responses.

Removing the cartridges isn't that big of a deal, was just unexpected.  Like I said, wanted to make sure I wasn't doing something wrong.  :-)  Also, I agree about the ejection mechanism; definitely no need for one, especially if it doubles the cost of the unit.

I do have a couple suggestions that might make this a bit easier if you ever design a Retrode 3, though:

1. Make the lid either removable, or open in such a way that it's not so close to the SNES slot.  I can't get a grip on the cart without sliding my fingers down the narrow gap between the cart and the lid and then pushing the lid out a good half inch with my knuckles.  It'd be helpful to be able to get an easier grip on the cart.

2. Reinforce the center plastic strip.  As it stands now, I'm very reluctant to push down on that part of the unit to counteract the force required to yank the cartridge out.  I tried that the first time, and the thing started creaking like it was going to crack (at the time I didn't realize that the center strip was just a bridge, with nothing supporting it from below).  The only other option I could come up with is placing my thumb on the right side of the unit and the stretching the rest of my fingers over to the left.  That works, but it's far from the most comfortable position.  Just being able to push down in the center would be a whole lot easier.

As for the buttons, I agree, they shouldn't be sticky.  :-)  They're actually working quite a bit better now, so I guess they just need to be worked a bit before loosening up.  I don't see any of the possible problems you suggested, at least.  They still stick when I press both together (though not as badly - releasing one now causes both of them to pop back up), but that'll be a quite infrequent process, so I'm not too concerned about that.

Anyway, just to be clear, I'm still very, very happy with it, despite the above issues/complaints/suggestions.  The only major drawback is that now I want more!  :-)  More cartridge adapters, joystick adapters, etc., particular for my NES stuff.  I'm really hoping suitable adapters get made (and sold) for NES carts and controllers one day.

[Muzer]

Controller adaptors *might* actually exist for real consoles, I haven't checked properly.


EDIT: Not sure they do, but they seem trivial to make... I've been planning on making my own, but need to get around to buying connectors