Zhong Shan Subor Famiclone keyboards (Deluxe Package)

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Zhong Shan Subor Famiclone keyboards (Deluxe Package)

Post by Archive » June 28th, 2019, 7:12 am

posted by Trenton_net on Nov 20, 2010:

Hi Everyone,

Sorry about the lack of updates. I got these in a short while ago but I've been rather busy. Anyway, without further adue, here they are:

Zhong Shan Subor brand Famiclone keyboards - Deluxe Package ($49 - 2 Units Left)

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Each unit comes with 8 software cartridges, 1 mouse, and 2 game pads. Of the 8 cartridges, each unit comes with Subor Windows 2000 OS cassette and pre-loaded applications. Subor's custom OS can run in both GUI (Window) mode and MS-DOS command-line mode. The OS uses BASIC as it's programming language. The other cartridges range from multi-carts which contain copied, hacked, or totally Chinese original games. These units output a PAL video signal. However, if your TV is capable of synchronising with 50 Hz (many HDTV's have the ability to sync with multiple frequencies - especially if it's PC ready) the console will output in black and white. Naturally, if you have a proper PAL to NTSC converter box or a DVD Player/Recorder capable of accepting PAL input and outputting NTSC, you shouldn't have any issues.

OPTIONAL ACCESSORIES:

245 In 1 Mass Software Cartridge - No Repeat* ($39)

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245 In 1 Mass Software Cartridge - Software List (Part 1 - NOTE: Use your browsers "View Image" to see in full size)

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245 In 1 Mass Software Cartridge - Software List (Part 2)

Batman 1
Spider Man
Turtles Fighters
Ferrari
NBA Basketball
Cuba Revolution
Pocket Monster
Tiny Toon 1
Rolling Thunder
Power Blade 2
Final Fight 2
Double Dragon 3
Alien
NInja Gaiden 2
Mighty Final Fight
Home Alone 2
Golden Axe
Robocop 2
Saint
King Ring
War Mouse
Barcelona Olympics
Mortal Kombat 4

GENERAL CAUTION: All stock was purchased directly from store(s) or suppliers as new. However, we are talking China (Black/Gray market) new. That means each unit was probably assembled in part by hand and imperfections or defects on the box and/or product should be expected. In many cases this just means a slightly torn box or wrapping, but could range all the way up differing product performance (Ie. Some keys don't respond as accurately as others, etc). Unfortunately due to the nature of these items, they must be sold AS-IS.

Given the extremely large and fragile nature of game consoles, each unit has been professionally packed by UPS at $15 per unit. The actual raw shipping costs will depend based on your location.

Payment can be made by PayPal.

Thanks!

PS: Interesting trades considered! Please PM for any questions.

* The cartridge appears to be no repeat or at the very least, low in repeats. There are over 200+ games on it so naturally I couldn't try them all, but for the ones I did try which looked suspicious, they didn't repeat.
 

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Zhong Shan Subor Famiclone keyboards (Deluxe Package)

Post by Archive » June 28th, 2019, 7:12 am

posted by Trenton_net on Nov 20, 2010:

Some general Q &A I've received on the product that might be useful to others:

Q: I know many of these were reserved ahead of time. Will you be getting any more?
A: I eventually got 5 units in. As of this posting, there are only 2 left. I don't plan to restock more at this time.

Q: How big is the unit?
A: The unit is pretty big. It's a full sized keyboard. Each game pad is approximately the size of a PS2 game pad so you can judge the scale given that point of reference. The whole box is pretty large, and with all the protective packing, even larger.

Q: Can you tell me more about Subor's custom OS?
A: It was a while ago since I booted it up before packing, so please forgive me if I'm mistaken. (^_^); Subor's OS attempts to look like Windows 2000. It has a working Desktop, Start Menu, and pre-installed applications. You can use the Desktop to navigate, or access tools via the Start Menu. In addition, if your a command-line junky like myself, you can launch an MS-DOS window and access your files that way. I didn't check out all the applications it came with, but I did launch an instance of BASIC from the command-line and wrote a small application. The experience was rather nifty. But again, this was all from memory. It might be slightly different than I recal.

Q: Can you tell me about the other software it came with?
A: Again, it was a while ago, but I did try out one of the cassettes and it was a multi-cart filled with games. The one game I tried ended up being a Contra clone. I don't know if it was a hack or a total remake but it looked pretty original to me.

Q: How did you hook up your unit?
A: My HDTV can sync at various frequencies, so the unit displays fine for me except for being in black and white. It's a shame I gave away my DVD recorder. It was able to accept PAL so I was interested to see what it looked like in color.

UPDATE:

Q: Tell us more about the OS and MS-DOS prompt. Can the DOS prompt execute proper commands, or is it just a still picture like in the Windows 98 version?
A: From what I recall, the DOS prompt is fully (I guess to pirate standards) interactive. That is, once you are dropped to command-line, you are expected to know DOS syntax to operate it. In order to launch BASIC, I was required to do a listing (DIR) to find my executable and launch it by typing it's name. I didn't try other commands, but that's what I experienced when I used it.

Q: Do these keyboards work with other keyboards?
A: To be honest I have no idea. Many of the keyboards I see for sale are usually un-boxed and missing stuff (Usually from Russia, or the middle east). If I had to hazard a safe guess, I'd say maybe but there would never be a guarantee of full compatibility. Subor is a major original manufacture for Famiclone keyboards, so at least I know all their stuff is original and compatible. They actually make around 5 to 10+ different versions/SKU's of Famiclone consoles and edutainment keyboards and all of their software and hardware is interchangeable. That's why it's easier to find software or hardware for them if you get an incomplete package. But of course, you can always get a fully loaded one and save yourself the trouble. I forget who she is (I think she's Taiwanese) but this keyboard is endorsed by the girl on the box, which goes to how well Subor is known for their products. Usually if you get a smaller package, you can get extra mice, controller, and software separately from vendors.
 

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Zhong Shan Subor Famiclone keyboards (Deluxe Package)

Post by Archive » June 28th, 2019, 7:12 am

posted by Jamtex on Nov 20, 2010:

The keyboard is one of the worse keyboards in the world, especially the space bar and the return key, typing on it for even a few minutes is painful. The OS software is fun but apart from a few useless applications (there is a chinese word processor and some edutainment software which is also in Chinese) which are no use as you can't save anything, there is Famicom BASIC too but as you have so little memory you are limited to very short programs and you can't save anything. The DOS system does recognise a number of comannds including VER, DATE and TIME but most will give you an error message including COPY Image. The mouse does work well and if you want to play Minesweeper then you are in luck...

The Joypads are also horrible but they are standard 9 pin joypads which seems to be a funny standard across most famiclone type pads so you might be able to find a better one for it too.

Still it is a nice unit to have in any famiclone collection.
 

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Zhong Shan Subor Famiclone keyboards (Deluxe Package)

Post by Archive » June 28th, 2019, 7:12 am

posted by ASSEMbler on Nov 20, 2010:

I have one like that, fun machine.
 

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Zhong Shan Subor Famiclone keyboards (Deluxe Package)

Post by Archive » June 28th, 2019, 7:12 am

posted by Trenton_net on Nov 20, 2010:

@Jamtex: Ya, the keyboard quality is nothing to write home about that's for sure. Same with the joypads. But thankfully, any standard style NES famiclone pad should work just fine in replacement for the odd PS1 style pads.

As for the software, It's actually pretty neat. I was really surprised about the 251 in 1 cartridge because rather than have exclusively old games with repeats, it has old games filled to the brim and new games to round it out. For example, Secret Castle is really Milon's Secret Castle (Hudson Soft). Batman 1 really is Sunsoft Batman, Back Future really is LJN's Back to the Future, Ninja Gaiden 2 really is Tecmo's Ninja Gaiden 2, Mighty final fight really is Capcom's mighty final fight, etc. For sure, It was the best Famicom multi-cart I've ever seen to date.

What's even more odd, it seems that the manufactures responsible for the CoolBoy hand-held console made these cartridges. They simply altered the pin-out so the cartridges follow the standard Famicom pin-out. I guess compatibility is a great way drum up more sales.
 

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Zhong Shan Subor Famiclone keyboards (Deluxe Package)

Post by Archive » June 28th, 2019, 7:12 am

posted by Trenton_net on Dec 30, 2010:

UPDATE: In case anyone is thinking about saving on shipping, my location is Canada.
 

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