Replacement TV AV Cable for Bitt-Boy

The Bitt-Boy handheld TV cable is a bit thin and weedy. Mine didn't last long and seems to have a loose connection on the TV end.

I contacted Bitt-Boy for a replacement cable. They didn't respond to my email.

Via Twitter they sent me a photo of the cable (which I already have), and told me to go on ebay and order a "Av line one minute two 2.5 RCA lotus line millet"

Which basically means take a risk and order a 2.5 mm AV cable from ebay.

Which Cable?

I had already bought a "nokia 2.5mm to RCA AV Audio Video out TV cable" but since (I assume) that has 3 connectors it didn't work. Shame. It was a super quality cable.

You might already have a cable

I tried the cable from another handheld TV Game a "Retro Games Controller" from Thumbs Up with "200 built in games". I hunted through all my direct to TV games and tried this one.

http://www.thumbsupuk.com/Products/Retro_TV_Games

And the cable worked fine - better than Bitt-Boy cable and probably 'good enough'. So cables from other devices might work. But it still screams 'cheap cable' and probably won't last if it is used a lot.

The Perfect Cable

I then took a punt on a "Fuji Finepix 2.5 mm AV Cable" which is really good quality and works well, provided you put the colours in the right way round. Using the bitt-boy white for video, yellow for audio.

I bought mine from ebay for the princely sum of £2.99 + 99p postage.

Spelunker on Famicom is hard

I like Spelunker on the Famicom. I know it gets a hard time in reviews.

The controls certainly take time to get used to.

And the gameplay has 'sudden death syndrome' as well as 'I messed that up syndrome'.

Here is an entertaining compilation of my recent deaths on Spelunker.

Should I use the Retron 5 or a Genesis controller to play Famicom games on Retron 5?

I'm not exactly sure which games work well with the Retron 5 controller.

But with Spelunker on the Famicom. The Retron 5 controller is too sensitive.

The Hyperkin Genesis controller is very good.

Seems like the older style controllers work better to me.

What case should you use with a Bitt-Boy?

I wanted to buy a case for my bitt-boy.

I looked around on line, compared measurements etc.

And then I realised, either by design or by accident. That the bitt-boy is about the same size as an old ipod.

So looking for an mp3 case which was aimed at an ipod will work.

I bought a "Case Logic Universal MP3 Player case" from ebay for £1.95 which works well.

How to buy cheap retro games and books on on ebay

Tactics covered in this video:

• target specific games
• use “sold” to see how much it normally goes for
• decide how much it is worth to you
• be prepared to wait
• create a very targeted search
  • learn how to use search terms
  • use minus ‘-’ to exclude terms
  • use quotes to search for “specific words” in order
• look for bundles
  • create a bundle search
  • look at photos
  • e.g. how I got Ninja Cop
  • (lot, bundle, collection, bulk)
    • more generic “video game”, “console game”
  • browse the collections, bulk lots category
• dates and times auctions are ending
  • look for times that people are not at their computer
• Sniping
• create a saved search to receive emails
• use saved searches to trigger looking for items
  • Auction, time ending soonest
  • Buy it now, newly listed
    • try “best offer”
  • Buy it now, lowest price including shipping
• Use Amazon and CamelCamelCamel as well
• pick up only

Spare Retron 5 Controller Setup

I bought a new Retron 5 controller from GameSeek, they were selling them off for £20.

Normally Retron 5 controllers are pretty expensive at about £35.

It arrived quickly.

Setup was fairly easy:

- on the existing controller choose Settings \ Controllers \ Manage RetroN 5 Controllers
- choose "Pair controller"
- press and hold the HOME button on the new controller
- then the controller is ready to go

You might also need to configure your game setup:

- Settings \ Controllers \ Controller to Player Mapping
- for the Systems you have been using, make sure your new controller is mapped on to the player you want to use

Do buy a multi AV cable for your retro setup

I recently bought a multi AV cable for my game setup.

I picked up one from ConsoleMad  in the UK for 7 GBP.

I wasn't sure it was going to make much of a difference but the ability to have:

- 1 set of cables plugged into the RGB socket
- 1 plug for each of my XBOX Classic, GameCube, and PS2

Is great.

I can have my XBOX and PS2 setup and ready to go at a moments notice with no cable swapping.

There are cables out there which have 1 set of cables for RGB and then a combined multi adapter which can handle 3 systems, but you have to keep unplugging that from each system. Didn't fancy that.

Buy a cable which has multiple adapters such that you can have them plugged into multiple cables at the same time.

Review Hyperkin GN6 Genesis Controller on Retron 5

I bought a Hyperkin Genesis GN6 Controller from Amazon to use with my Retron 5.

It works well.

On the Famicom I had to create a player button mapping to reverse the A + B button mapping.
On the Genesi/Megadrive it worked without having to remap any buttons or controllers.

It only cost £12 from Amazon and I though that would make it a less risky purchase than a 2nd hand one from ebay.

Glad I got it, it feels a lot better than the default Retron 5 controller.

I still need to use the Retron 5 controller to access the Home screen, but once there the GN6 can control and configure the Retron 5 settings.