NES test cartridges
are hot items among NES collectors today. Their usual going rate
is roughly $120 on auction sites. Although it is not in the same
monetary league as the prices prototypes generate, it is surely
expensive enough considering there is not very much to do with
them after you plop down the dough and watch a simple test be
performed.
Nintendo shipped
5 different variations of test carts all over America's service
centers in the '90s. The function of them was to try the system's
hardware and accessory to make certain internal and external equipment
were working properly. Some examples of the sort of things a normal
test would diagnose: Video RAM, colors, control ports, Power Pads,
joysticks, etc.
Recently
a seller, NES.God, auctioned off his NES Control Deck test
cart, which he initially bought for $127.50. Yours truly ended
up with the winning of $51. "Why so cheap?" Well, first,
missing is any official label on the front of the cart and the
typical orange/yellow casing (though some were in gray, as well).
Second, there's evidence that points to a mixture of both real
authentic Nintendo parts, such as the correct test PCB board,
but also a fake casing and potentinally homemade chip sets.
The rom chips
inside look suspicious enough. Intel '83? Compare with the NES.God's
bona fide test cart. Authentic pieces could have been blended
with more recently-made EPROMs due to rom bit or interested sellers
wanting to make some quick cash. Most of my purchased cart resembles
the mold of an officially-made Nintendo test cart, though, and
it gets the job done.
Listed below
are pictures, information, and downloads of the various other
test cartridges used by Service Centers.
The NES Test
goes through RAM, color, joystick, and control tests. An 'OK'
shows up if system passes test.
DOWNLOAD
CONTROL DECK TEST .NES ROM
POWER PAD
TEST
DOWNLOAD
POWER PAD .NES ROM
NTF2 TEST
DOWNLOAD
NTF2 .NES ROM
PORT TEST
DOWNLOAD
PORT .NES ROM
JOYSTICK
TEST
DOWNLOAD
JOYSTICK .NES ROM
-Thanks goes
to NES.God
