Oops, This Open Source N64 Expansion Pak Is Frying Consoles – Time Extension
GuestLogin | Sign UpTime ExtensionGuestUser”I may have killed two N64s with this…”As gaming hardware gets older, finding replacement parts gets harder and, therefore, more expensive.It’s for this reason that we’ve seen a bunch of community-made replacements, one of which is the Open Source Expansion Pak (OEXP), a replacement for the N64’s Expansion Pak which aims to provide a cheaper alternative to the real deal by combining two 2MB RAM chips rather than using a single (harder to come by) 4MB module.The project is a noble one, but it hasn’t been without its problems. Back in December of last year, Swiss modding and repair company Consoles4You reported that the current PCB design was flawed and could actually kill the N64 console it was inserted into.”Since I own some RAM chips, I decided to order some oexp PCBs,” says Consoles4You. “Unfortunately, testing the first pcb instantly fried my n64. The issue is that the edge connector is designed symmetrically, but the real connector is larger on the left side. Depending on how the pcb factory cuts the pcb the oexp pcbs will instantly short all pins, killing the n64. I’ve already redesigned the edge connector + fixed a few more errors on the pcb and will order more samples soon.”Later the same month, Consoles4You stated that the PCB had been redesigned to avoid the issues. However, we’re still seeing reports that the OEXP is frying N64 consoles:Consoles4You insists that the latest redesign solves this issue.As noted by the original creator of the project, the total cost is pretty close to what it costs to pick up an original Expansion Pak – so unless you have a burning need for a replacement, it might be worth keeping your distance from this project until the community is completely positive that its problems have been fixed.Thanks for the memoriesZelda! Mario! GoldenEye! F-Zero!It’s “a broken mess” according to the retro gaming YouTuber PrevNext About Damien McFerranDamien has been writing professionally about tech and video games since 2007 and oversees all of Hookshot Media’s sites from an editorial perspective. He’s also the editor of Time Extension, the network’s newest site, which – paradoxically – is all about gaming’s past glories. Comments 12Even better idea. Buy one for someone you really hate.“Excellent but dangerous” is an interesting way to describe something.Yikes. Reminds me of a friend back in the day who bought an off-brand expansion pack to save $10 and had constant overheating problems (despite sticking out the top of the slot with a vent). They aren’t super cheap but it’s not like N64 expansion packs are crazy expensive or hard to come by. Just pay a little more and get the real deal.@Coalescence Very true, but the desire to get “everything for nothing” drives some people, often to the point of overriding common sense.It’s not excellent if all it does is destroy your gaming system. Just use the real one instead. There’s a reason why the real one doesn’t destroy your Nintendo 64, cause it’s made by Nintendo themselves. It’s in the name already. Stop buying garbage from third party manufacturer unless they got a good track record of making reliable high quality product.Only really half joking here, but I always kind of assumed that there would be like zero market interest in the expansion pak since they gave it away for free with Donkey Kong 64.@Coalescence I had one of thee 3rd-party ones, and I didn’t really realize the top weird grate thing was a heat sync. I removed it for asthetics and then the 64’s picture gets randomly scrambled for a half-second, then rights itself, and seems ruined. RGB-modded too ;p@N64-ROX Just like with everything retrogaming, it’s more like people decide to change increasing amounts for something and people keep paying it, regardless of how plentiful it is.@N64-ROX I was so upset about that because I already owned an Expansion Pak at the time. It had already been available as a standalone accessory for months before DK64 came out! I refused to buy the game until they offered it without an Expansion Pak and it never happened.@chefgon yeah that would have been infuriating!@N64-ROX Which usually get separated.I need a expansion pack for my N64, cause one of my favorite games for the platform is Majora’s Mask.One of the few games that needs it to operate.Because off course.@GhaleonUnlimitedBecause the damn things these days are expensive regardless.As usual with retro gaming.I think the negative comments above should re-read the article since they seem to think this is some knockoff from a Chinese wholesale site rather than an open-source project from a single person trying to help everyone out.@Coalescence the point of this project isn’t just to get them cheaper, but to reproduce an accessory mandatory for certain titles that is somewhat exotic. They ain’t making these anymore and the originals will become unobtainium eventually. This stretches that pool.Noble cause indeed. I’m all for this project. 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