Well, crap...
I realized something sort of funny last night. I tried using the genesis 1 adapter last night, but I could not get my famicom to work. I was sure I was doing everything I could, flipping the channel switch in the back as I went through the channels it is supposed to work on, on us televisions. At first I was starting to fear the worst, that the famicom might be broken, but I think I have an unusual situation on my hands.
I believe I found info online saying that the
very first famicom will not work at all on a us television. The first famicom had square, rubbery buttons instead of the circular, hard buttons that are more commonly found. The square button famicom had several bugs and issues with its motherboard and controllers, so Nintendo recalled the system. As of result, it is the rarest version of the famicom out there and is also the one I have.
Good news: I have a somewhat hard to find system, which is pretty sweet
Bad news: Due to its technical flaws I am pretty sure I am going to have to buy another famicom, unless someone knows that I actually can use the first famicom on a us television. Even then, it would probably mean there is a problem with the famicom itself.
At least it I can buy a famicom with an adapter this time!
Again, thank you for all of your advice and offers, everybody!