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Step 2Opening up and carving out the cartridge
This part is just going to cover how I opened the cartridge and points on where to 'clean up' inside the cartridge. Some of the places that are cut out are Extras specific so be sure to read all of the steps before attempting!
When referring to the cartridge, to avoid confusion. Faceplate is the top piece of the cartridge that usually has the game title on the front of it, backplate would be the piece of the cartridge that has all of the Nintendo legal jumbo on it's side. Top, left, right, and bottom are referring to the cartridge sides.
Drink that 20oz beverage as you work along.
Lets start with those screws. They're irregular ain't they? This will be problem unless you have the right bit for it. If you can use a pair of needle nose pliers to get at them and unscrew them. My pliers were not small enough, and my tweezers were just not strong enough. If this is your problem you can do what I did.
Flip the cartridge over so the title is face down. Power up your soldering iron and push down inside that gap right around where the screw is.
If you hit resistance, success! You hit the screw dead on! Now just leave it there for a minute and just press on the screw, slowly it will move downward! What you're doing is heating up the screw enough to melt the plastic around it. Do this until the head of the screw is completely out then remove the soldering iron and use a pair of pliers to finish getting the screw out, either by simply pulling or unscrewing it the rest of the way. Repeat for the second screw. (there are only two, you can toss them unless you really want to dremel them down and superglue them back just for looks.)
Turn the cartridge back over and the front face plate should come off easily You'll then see the actual game. It might be held in by a single screw. It'll be a Phillips head or flathead screw, depending on the game, but you should have the screwdriver for the job, so take out this entire fixation and chuck it as well, we don't need the innards. (Bye Madden) Lay the cartridge pieces side by side like in the picture.
Inside there are different supports and ledges that were for the actual game. Most of these are going to come out! Especially the center ones. Take a pair of normal pliers and take off those 'hooks' that are on the top faceplate part of the cartridge that lock into the top backplate part and toss them into your bin. On the inside 'top' of the cartridge halves are tiny half nubs. Take your sanding drum on your dremel and sand these down. There is also a crossbar area on the frontplate. You only need to take out roughly a half inch from each side of this crossbar, the middle is nothing.
Where the screws were at on the backplate are two raised 'cylinders'. Take these off with your pliers and chuck em.
The faceplate has a very thin 'lip of plastic that sticks out and rests inside the backplate. Get your dremel sander band and dremel away the entire top lip, but not the sides or bottom lips.
The backplate has an inner ledge where that lip sat. Dremel away the center section of the top of the backplate until it's level with that inner ledge. Don't worry about the sides of the top.
START OF THE EXTRAS!
If you want something that just hold cards, you can ignore this part. Any other hollowing out will be in the section for that specific extra.
On the inside of the blackplate there is a 'side area' to the left and right of the piece. On almost every horizontal piece of plastic, sever the edges that touch vertical pieces with either wire snips or dremel. Then take a pair of normal pliers and pull them out as whole as you can. The only exception to these horizontal pieces is the bottom piece on the right side of the backplate. For now just leave this piece alone. SAVE THESE PIECES! You might need them later on for battery placement and will prove useful.
Take a piece of sandpaper and sand down any irregularities then go over it with a fine grit (320-400) sandpaper to make it smooth.
That about takes care of the basic hollowing out. Move on!
When referring to the cartridge, to avoid confusion. Faceplate is the top piece of the cartridge that usually has the game title on the front of it, backplate would be the piece of the cartridge that has all of the Nintendo legal jumbo on it's side. Top, left, right, and bottom are referring to the cartridge sides.
Drink that 20oz beverage as you work along.
Lets start with those screws. They're irregular ain't they? This will be problem unless you have the right bit for it. If you can use a pair of needle nose pliers to get at them and unscrew them. My pliers were not small enough, and my tweezers were just not strong enough. If this is your problem you can do what I did.
Flip the cartridge over so the title is face down. Power up your soldering iron and push down inside that gap right around where the screw is.
If you hit resistance, success! You hit the screw dead on! Now just leave it there for a minute and just press on the screw, slowly it will move downward! What you're doing is heating up the screw enough to melt the plastic around it. Do this until the head of the screw is completely out then remove the soldering iron and use a pair of pliers to finish getting the screw out, either by simply pulling or unscrewing it the rest of the way. Repeat for the second screw. (there are only two, you can toss them unless you really want to dremel them down and superglue them back just for looks.)
Turn the cartridge back over and the front face plate should come off easily You'll then see the actual game. It might be held in by a single screw. It'll be a Phillips head or flathead screw, depending on the game, but you should have the screwdriver for the job, so take out this entire fixation and chuck it as well, we don't need the innards. (Bye Madden) Lay the cartridge pieces side by side like in the picture.
Inside there are different supports and ledges that were for the actual game. Most of these are going to come out! Especially the center ones. Take a pair of normal pliers and take off those 'hooks' that are on the top faceplate part of the cartridge that lock into the top backplate part and toss them into your bin. On the inside 'top' of the cartridge halves are tiny half nubs. Take your sanding drum on your dremel and sand these down. There is also a crossbar area on the frontplate. You only need to take out roughly a half inch from each side of this crossbar, the middle is nothing.
Where the screws were at on the backplate are two raised 'cylinders'. Take these off with your pliers and chuck em.
The faceplate has a very thin 'lip of plastic that sticks out and rests inside the backplate. Get your dremel sander band and dremel away the entire top lip, but not the sides or bottom lips.
The backplate has an inner ledge where that lip sat. Dremel away the center section of the top of the backplate until it's level with that inner ledge. Don't worry about the sides of the top.
START OF THE EXTRAS!
If you want something that just hold cards, you can ignore this part. Any other hollowing out will be in the section for that specific extra.
On the inside of the blackplate there is a 'side area' to the left and right of the piece. On almost every horizontal piece of plastic, sever the edges that touch vertical pieces with either wire snips or dremel. Then take a pair of normal pliers and pull them out as whole as you can. The only exception to these horizontal pieces is the bottom piece on the right side of the backplate. For now just leave this piece alone. SAVE THESE PIECES! You might need them later on for battery placement and will prove useful.
Take a piece of sandpaper and sand down any irregularities then go over it with a fine grit (320-400) sandpaper to make it smooth.
That about takes care of the basic hollowing out. Move on!
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