Nintendo Power SF Memory Cassette question...

[karsten]

can you upload games on the the Nintendo Power SF Memory Cassette using tototek's programmer? has anyone ever tried it?


thanks,
karsten

[MottZilla]

I believe this was asked before and the answer is no. You'd need a custom programmer to program the NP SF Cassette. I'm sure someone could figure out how to build one. Maybe someone in Japan already has.

[grahf]

If anyone knows any relevant info about programming the official carts, please share! I've been unable to find anything either.

[karsten]

yes i think it's an interesting topic.

[Calpis]

The Tototek hardware SHOULD be capable of it, you just need a new programming algorithm. Does anyone have a picture of the cart's insides? It would be helpful to know if the menu is on it's own ROM. It's very likely there is simple bankswitching which can be understood from the menu dumps out there. The game flash might also need to be unlocked, but I don't believe there is anything special to programming the flash (use the datasheet), and this is certain if the flash interfaces directly with the SFC bus.

[grahf]

I have some pictures of the official Nintendo Gameboy Memory Cartridge. I'll post those if anyone is interested to see. If no one else has pics of the SFC one, i'll take my cart apart and take pics of that too. For curiosities sake if anything.

[phate]

What is this Nintendo Power SF cart your all speak of? And this Gameboy memory cart is intriguing.

[Yakumo]

It's a blank SFC cartridge that you could upload games too from upload stations found in stores. I own a nice white one with Ganbare Goemon 2, Final Fight 2 and something else on it.

Yakumo

[cez]

Talking of upload stations, here are some pictures I took last year in a convenience store in Nagasaki:
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/b...e/P1010776.jpg
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/b...e/P1010778.jpg
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/b...e/P1010777.jpg

I was surprised to see a Loppi station with the Nintendo Power parts in 2008. Of course it can't be used to upload games anymore. The service (to copy games onto the carts in stores) was stopped in summer 2002 while Nintendo itself offered the service until 2007.

[grahf]

Here is the Gameboy version. You can see a huge ram chip, enough to handle a few games. As well as that Megachips IC, which appears to be running the show. Just looking at it, it appears to be doing more than bank switching. I would guess that it contains the menu as well. I didn't trace anything, but I might one day if I have some free time. Should be a rather simple job.


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[sayin999]

Were the numbers on the cart for labeling, to tell you how many slots, or to choose a game?

[Calpis]

Here is the Gameboy version. You can see a huge ram chip, enough to handle a few games. As well as that Megachips IC, which appears to be running the show. Just looking at it, it appears to be doing more than bank switching. I would guess that it contains the menu as well. I didn't trace anything, but I might one day if I have some free time. Should be a rather simple job.

Nah the Megachips is just a mapper; it's beefy on I/O since GB needs bankswitching normally and this thing probably has a MBC5 and possibly more mappers in one plus a register file for ROM and RAM each. Games might also be modified to work directly with a MBC5 if they don't already to cut chip complexity though.

The menu is almost certainly on the FlashROM, that's why there are 7 instead of 8 banks available for games. The config data and game name string will be stored also in the menu flash bank or in its share of the SRAM (16k! -- enough to hold the menu too and free the last 8M bank, oh well).

[grahf]

calpis, thanks for the insight. I'm going to look up a datasheet for that flashROM and see where the program lines lead.

sayin999: The numbered squares are for a little sticker with the game name. Most i've seen are hand written.