Identifying screw type

[Sarcophagist]

Hello,

When it comes to electronics, I'm a borderline newbie and I need some help on identifying a certain type of screw.

I recently bought a Nintendo Entertainment System video game console from an auction site. It's the PAL version of the original "toaster" model (in Europe, we didn't have the smaller "top-loader" model from the early 90's). Although I live in Belgium (and bought it through a Belgian auction site) this unit was probably meant for the German market. There is a German-only sticker on the back and it came with a German-only manual. The systems works fine and I already cleaned the game cartridges and the controllers it came with it (by taking everything apart, using soap and water on the plastic parts that didn't contain stickers and using 91% isopropyl and cotton swabs to clean the contacts on the cartridges).

I would also like to take apart and clean the NES (and eventually replace the impractical VCR-like spring loaded cartridge tray with a **broken link removed**). Unfortunately I cannot get the thing open. I know every Nintendo console that came after the original NES used security bits but this one is supposed to have six Phillips head screws. The unit I got contained some type of screws I struggle to identify. They are not the Japanese "Line" screw type. (Nintendo used 3.8mm and 4.5mm female Line security bits on some of their systems and cartridges. They are known as "Game bits" in the retro gaming community. I tried both bits I had and they didn't fit.) I already did quite some internet research. I even made a rookie mistake by ordering a rather large set of bits (fortunately it was quite cheap) which turned out to be useless to open the unit. The bits themselves were rather short and the openings wherein the screws reside are too narrow for a bit holder.

I made some pictures of one of the screws. I'm sorry for the bad quality. They're difficult to see with the naked eye and I had to use a flash light to be able to photograph them. I also included a larger picture for some context.



These are the best pictures I was able to make since the screws reside quite deeply (2-3cm). Any help on this subjects would be really appreciated. I would like to use the proper tools to open up this unit but I have absolutely no idea which ones I need.

Thanks in advance.

 

[BradtheRad]

It doesn't appear to be anything machined. It looks like an irregular blob of shiny black plastic with an irregular hole in the center. As though it was melted by a tool, then displaced outward a small distance, becoming an inexpensive fastener.

To remove it, use a drill bit.

 

[c_mitra]

Did you try screwdrivers that are commonly used for mobile phones? Many of the Japanese machines have the screw tightened very hard (and often there are no washers) and you may end up damaging the head itself.

 

[chuckey]

Could it be a torx screw?, its hexagon hole but with curved sides, giving each apex a pointy look. Google torx.
Frank

 

[Sarcophagist]

Thank you all for the replies. The silver coloured screws (or whatever they are) all look similar and seem to be made of metal (it's difficult to see on the pictures). Since the "screw" looks like they're made of metal and the casing definitely being made of plastic, I'm afraid to use a drill bit.

Torx security screws actually were my main suspects. The edges don't look perfectly round but a bit jagged indeed. A bit holder won't fit into the narrow openings where the screws are. So I suppose I would need a "regular" screw driver of the right type? I have no idea which size I would need. Otherwise I would already have ordered a torx screw driver. I haven't tried screwdrivers that are used for mobile phones. (I have no idea which type they are.)

It puzzles me to find those screws in a system that was built somewhere in the late 80's or early 90's and isn't supposed to come with anything but Phillips head screws. I haven't found a single piece of information about original model NES systems using anything else. I was actually quite afraid when I saw this first. ("Some lunatic must have opened it and it won't work at all.") It also could have been a Blue Monday somewhere in Japan when they built the unit and someone decided to use a different set of screws and the unit being left unopened ever since. But the system worked perfectly on first try, which really surprised me. Old cartridge based systems require cleaning of the cartridge slot (and every cartridge that's put into it) and usually won't work on first try. The NES is even more prone to reading errors because of the extra stages of potential problems due to its design (the cartridge slot not being connecting directly to the main board and its pins that are bent when the cartridge is in the system, which will eventually lead to pins getting bent out of place).

 

[ads-ee]

They actually look more like rivets to me.

 

[FlapJack]

Search for "anti tamper screw sets" and sets of tools like this one will come up. I bought one of these years ago and so far it has always had the correct driver. Many people sell this set under different names.

https://www.zoro.com/klein-tools-he...HyaTqnyFr47UixZUB1eHBRoCJJvw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

- - - Updated - - -

This is a good ad on Ebay, it shows a good picture of all of the different screw types.

"105pc. Security Screw Driver Set Tamper-Proof Fasteners Oval Torx Tee Star Cross"

 

[chuckey]

Have you looked here? :- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_screw_drives
Frank