Hi, first of all I hope I am not breaking any forum rules. If so I am ashamed.

Anyway, NTSC consoles are hard to come by in Norway. I found an ad for a "US console" that apparently has been modified to also accept PAL cartridges.

I am aware that PAL consoles that have been modded to play NTSC games are not eligible for speedruns as the framerate will be messed up.

Now, do any of you know whether I can speedrun SMB (with an NTSC cartridge) on an NTSC console that has been modded to also work with PAL cartridges? Will it have any effect at all on how it runs?

Also, do you think it will cooperate with a PowerPak? Thanks! :-)

Hallaaaa, skjeeeera Baggera? :)

I assume the modification that has been made is to cut the CIC lockout pin, in which case the machine will accept both PAL and NTSC carts. But, as you already mentioned, PAL carts will run significantly faster.

Is it a top loader or the standard gray box front loader? The top loader only comes with an RF connection that will not fit your Norwegian TV. If it is a front-loader just run it on the AV composite-thing and you should be fine.

The biggest hurdle is really to power the ting. The external power supply for the NES is not an AC->DC converter but rather AC->5vAC, the DC component resides inside the console itself. So you can't just use a Norwegian-socketed 5v AC/DC converter and expect that to work. The easiest way to power it is to just buy a European NES powersupply and use that. I am atrociously bad at AC-electronics, and I guess there could be some kind of issue going from 60hz to 50hz AC. I have however ran both my NTSC top loader and front loader on a European NES power supply for many many years, and to date, no smoke ;)

...modifying the top loader to include a composite connection is very simple assuming you have basic soldering skills.

Oh... and to answer your actual question; the CIC modification has no effect on speedrunning no :) Should be perfectly fine so long as the console is NTSC and the cart is NTSC.

EDIT: If you don't care for it, just re-solder the PIN back and the console is back to vanilla ;)

Tjenare, pellsson. Wow! Thank you so much for that great and very educational reply! :)

It's a front loader, and the guy says it includes a "new power supply for the Norwegian power grid". So based on what you're telling me, I'll probably go for this one and start looking for a free CRT. :D

Thanks again, much appreciated.

@Pladask it's great to see more people running this game, thanks for choosing smb1 :D