Freak369's Full Review: Pelican 5-Way Game System Selector
I knew it was eventual. The inventible was coming and there wasn’t much I could do to stop it. Every television in the house was overtaken by a video game system. PlayStation 1, PlayStation 2, Sega Dreamcast, Nintendo – four beasts that virtually eliminated me from ever watching another episode of Buffy, The Vampire Slayer. My only chance at being able to watch television [in peace] was to hide away in my makeshift office / laundry room / converted closet. Sure it’s a little cramped in here and there is a huge pipe that sits about four feet from my head [no sudden moves and you don’t get hurt] – but it’s all mine.
Sure there’s a television in here, but no one knows about it. I had the cable guy run another line for me when no one was home. So here I sit, face almost pressed against the screen, volume turned all the way down, wishing I could play Spyro The Dragon or Tetris: The Next Level - but this television just wasn’t meant for video games [raising eyebrow] or was it? None of the conventional cables that came with my new PSone [the cute little one] would work, so if I were to “game in peace” I would have to find some type of connector that would allow my somewhat old television to get a second wind.
Since I am somewhat of a moron when it comes to electronics [and don’t forget my ongoing curse] I wanted something simple that I wouldn’t have to connect, reconnect and disconnect when I wanted to play video games one minute and watch a show the next. I remember my old Nintendo system – risking life and limb each time I had to climb behind the television and fight with miles of wires to connect / disconnect. Simple is the key for me.
Best Buy is a store that I detest. If you try to shop wearing ‘less than casual’ clothing [sweats, baseballs cap etc] you might have a hard time getting help. That’s why I snagged the first person I saw in the video game accessory section and ran my problem past him. He showed me several adapters that would work but a majority of them were for multiple systems, when all I needed was a PSone adapter. And it absolutely, positively had to have some type of automatic switch – I did not want to have to fool around with some switch every time I played a game. [Switch + Me = Disaster]
After wasting twenty minutes walking back and forth, more than likely driving the security guard crazy, I picked up the Pelican RF Switch for $7.95 [plus tax]. I wasn’t familiar with the Pelican name so I was flying blind as I made my purchase. I must have read the package ten times while waiting in line – I wanted to make sure this was the right ‘thing’ before I got my hopes up.
The Big Switch
As I said, I am a moron when it comes to all things electronic. So when I managed to cut through the hard shell plastic container I was really hoping that it would magically hook itself up. No such luck – but even I managed to do this with no trouble [no injuries either]. Out of the box it resembles a computer mouse in size and has two cables coming off the end. One long one that connects to the PSone [AV MULTI OUT] and a shorter one that connects to the television [ANTENNA IN VHF]. There is a metal adapter on the body of the switch where you screw in your antenna or cable wire. Select channel 3 or 4 and you are pretty much set up.
Words of Warning
If you need to connect this using the SCREW TERMINAL [the two screw housing connected to your televisions antenna] you will need to buy an additional adapter in order to get the RF Switch to work. I was asked my slightly friendly salesperson how old my television was and I answered, “It was there when I moved in”. He told me that I shouldn’t need anything else beside the RF Switch but they had the piece in stock if I needed to come back and get it. For reference – the additional adapter is the 75/300 converter.
The only bad thing I have to say about this is that the plug that attaches to the television antenna is a bit loose. It hasn’t fallen off yet or interrupted gameplay, but it just slid on – no pushing or forcing – and it wiggles a little.
Warranty
This is where it gets a little confusing. On the front of the package it says – in big letters Lifetime Warranty. A very comforting thought until you read the small insert. Pelican Accessories warrants to the original consumer purchaser that the product will be free from defects in materials and / or workmanship for a period of 120 days from the date of purchase. Since this was a relatively small purchase I wasn’t all that concerned with the long term usage or the possibility of it wearing out but if I were buying something over $30.00 and there were conflicting warranty details – it might really sway me away from other Pelican products. If the situations arises, I will ask the salesperson to open the box and see what the details of the warranty are before I purchase it.
In any event, if you need to have this repaired within the 120-day period you can mail it to Pelican and they will repair it or replace it at their discretion. You have to send the product to them, postage paid, with a $4.00 money order, proof of purchase and proof of date of purchase to them. Seems like a lot of hassle when for a few dollars more you can purchase a new one.
One last item that needs to be covered is the PSone and Playstation 2 coverage. On the left side of the package it says, “For PSone & PlayStation 2 Game Consoles” and on the right side of the package it says, “Connects your PlayStation & PSone Game Console to your TV”. This really started to bug me – I wanted to make sure that this cord would work with all three consoles not just two of them. After a lot of work I tried the switch on all three units and it worked with each of them. I think they need to change the packaging for the people [me] who are almost clueless about these types of things.
Bottom Line
Well, I’ve had this for a week or so and it doesn’t really do much – which is a good thing in this case. It just sits there, does its job and doesn’t complain. One concern I had was the amount of heat this would generate. I know with a few other adapters I purchased in the past for other consoles, a few would get ridiculously hot. This thing remains cool to the touch even after a few hours of gaming or television viewing. I can’t comment on the temperature for round the clock use [television and video game off, but still plugged in] since I have both running through a power strip and I shut it off when I leave my little dwelling.
If you are looking for a way to hook up an older television to a PlayStation 1, PSone or PlayStation 2 you might want to give this a try. For the price it’s well worth it and so far [knock wood] it hasn’t given me any trouble. However, if you are concerned about voiding the warranty with PlayStation by using a product that has not been authorized by them – then I suggest that you stick with their own products or one that bears the official ‘licensed product’ seal [hologram].
You can visit the Pelican website to view all their products at:
www.pelicanacc.com
They also manufacture and distribute controllers, grips, carrying cases, memory cards and The Code Breaker [for PSone only].
Connects Xbox, PS2/PSone, GameCube, Dreamcast, Nintendo 64, Platforms: Nintendo Wii Xbox 360 PlayStation2 Xbox GameCube PlayStationMore at Amazon Marketplace
A must-have for every home entertainment system. Enjoy your games, movies, and music--without the hassle of constant plugging and unplugging of your m...More at QVC
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