Modifications
This is an old rev. E1 SD2SNES cart, that I’ve bought several years ago from Krikzz.
SD2SNES did undergo some revision changes in the last couple of years. First there was Rev. F, that fixed some interference with 1CHIP units. Then there was Rev. G, that fed the DAC with +5V to improve the MSU-1 volume (and added some noise). And finally in Rev. H, the +5V change was reverted and an opamp added to fix the MSU-1 volume for good.
Continue reading SD2SNES Rev. E1 Upgrade to Rev. H
Two quick fixes for my Super SD System 3 v2.
I inverted the orientation of the C60 tantalum electrolytic capacitor:
Continue reading Super SD System 3 C60 and Audio Buzzing Fix
When I finally fixed my consolized MV1FZS last month and was able to play some games again, I noticed that it outputs mono sound only. It is now time to make some additional modifications to it.
MVS boards need both 5V and 12V voltages, and 12V is used for the audio amp only. As I’m going to add a new stereo audio circuit, there is no need for the 12V feed anymore. This consolized MVS draws the 12V from the now obsolete XL6009E1 DC-DC converter:
After having a great time with my MV2FS, I was looking for something more compact that I could use in the living room. I came across a pre-consolized MV1FZS and played the entire Neo Geo library with it.
Then it suddenly stopped working:
BACKUP RAM ERROR
ADDRESS WRITE READ
00D00000 5555 B255
2018 will be a great year for the PC Engine. Terraonion, the maker of the NEOSD cartridge, has announced the Super SD System 3 add-on.
Unfortunately I won’t be able to use it with my Duo-RX and GT, and the SuperGrafx is too bulky and ugly to take it out for gaming. I ordered a cheap CoreGrafx from Yahoo! Japan Auctions which came with a Tennokoe 2 backup memory device attached to the expansion connector.
Continue reading Tennokoe 2 RGB Output
Neo Geo games and hardware have been a part of my life for many years. As I was looking at store displays during the early 90s, I was amazed at how huge these game carts were in comparison with other consoles, such as the Nintendo GameBoy.
In the late 90s, the emulators NeoRAGE and NeoRAGEx introduced me to the world of Neo Geo and arcade emulation. At that time, MAME didn’t yet have the capacity to emulate those games properly and at a decent speed. Later on, when MAME finally became a useable Neo Geo emulator, it became quite easy to add new released games and dumps to the source code, and play them as well.
Continue reading Neo Geo MV2FS at Home
This is a GameCube that I acquired recently. It has a true HDMI output and blue controller ports.
Continue reading GameCube with GCVideo, Qoob Pro and IcedCube Case
Last year I replaced the broken GD-ROM of my Sega Dreamcast with a GDEMU. While it works great and does everything as it is supposed to do, there is a large open space where SD cards tend to get lost:
This modification adds switchless NESRGB and IGR (in-game routines / in-game reset) to a Nintendo AV Famicom.
A first look at the opened AV Famicom and the NESRGB kit. There is still a lot to be assembled. The installation guide for the AV Famicom can be found here.
The NEC PC-9821 computers output a very unusual resolution that most western monitors struggle with: 640 x 400 @ 24 kHz. I tried at least half a dozen monitors of all types and ages and none of them was able to display a picture at all (except an “out of range” message). Video scalers like the DVDO iScan VP50 Pro don’t recognize the signal either. Some sources claim that the cheap GBS-8220 converter is able to convert the signal – that is only partially true. You can see a stuttering picture that eventually becomes clear when you start the Windows 98 Desktop, but that doesn’t work in DOS.
Of course you can buy a special converter like the Micomsoft XPC-4, that will cost you 300-400€ though. There are other solutions:
Continue reading NEC PC-9821 and the Framemeister
