I just noticed I had three Gyromite 'Adapter' cartridges and I decided to make one into an adapter that has the 60 pin accepter is on the outside of a cartridge. I was just wondering though, is there really anything else they can be used for other than a game or an adapter?
67726e wrote:
I was just wondering though, is there really anything else they can be used for other than a game or an adapter?
Yeah, they are great for scratching your back: hold it diagonally and use the corner of the PCB to reach that spot you can't reach with your hands.
Sorry for the lame joke, but I really don't know what kind of responses you expect...
I was just wondering if there actually is anything else. Although a back scratcher would come in handy.... 
I really don't know. I ended up posting even though I didn't really have anything to contribute, sorry about that.
Can a FDS be used on the NES?
Can a FDS be used on the NES?
All I know is that Famicom cartridges can be plugged into and played with the adapter. I'm sure there are some exceptions to this like if they utilized some kind of hardware the NES is lacking, but other than that it should work.
From what I remember, one of my friends said something about Castlevania 3 uses some sound channels that the NES lacks but the Famicom has (I think thats what it was). I kinda want to get some Famicom games that I know use parts the NES doesn't have just to see the results.
This has the information about the difference with sound channels. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castlevania_III:_Dracula's_Curse#Development
From what I remember, one of my friends said something about Castlevania 3 uses some sound channels that the NES lacks but the Famicom has (I think thats what it was). I kinda want to get some Famicom games that I know use parts the NES doesn't have just to see the results.
This has the information about the difference with sound channels. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castlevania_III:_Dracula's_Curse#Development
Yeah, the NES doesn't allow for sound expansions on the cartridges, the Famicom does. This means that there are games that generate sound on the cart, but when playing those on the NES these extra sounds are never output.
Actually the NES has the sound I/O pins, but they are on the expansion port on the bottom. So you could wire those 2 pins up to your adapter (and add those on the 60-pin adapter as well, since it won't exist normally).
Unfortunately there is no "standard" sound mod, everyone uses a different one pretty much. Even the common documented PowerPak one for one thing only uses a sound output and doesn't use input from the NES (why??).
Unfortunately there is no "standard" sound mod, everyone uses a different one pretty much. Even the common documented PowerPak one for one thing only uses a sound output and doesn't use input from the NES (why??).
Firstly, yes, it is simple to use the FDS on the NES, except for one hitch on the original (toaster) NES: first type The NES's data port is located too deep inside the housing. There are six solutions:
You can get a HES Unidapter, which will extend the port outward or;
Insert a game Genie that does the same or;
Mask a custom extender board or;
Remove the top lid and modify the cartridge bay's metal bracket and then simply insert the adapter or;
Modify the FDS Ram Adapter (or build another one) to be straight instead of T-shaped or;
Modify the NES to have a top-loading cartridge port.
The easiest of these are obviously, the first two, however I plan to make a toaster NES with a cartridge port on the top (as a bypass) for just such purposes, so the others are certainly viable options.
Of all, the HES Unidapter is the most sexy and simple, for it was designed specifically as a cartridge port extender, is readily available, and inexpensive. I’m even considering making a NES that has a top-loading cartridge port and an FDS drive under the normal cartridge door (inside the standard toaster housing). I think both of these, custom painted of course, would be super neat-o!
Back on track, once you have access tot he 72-pin port, all you need do is plug the Nintendo converter (from a 'Gyromite' or other early-release game) into the NES, plug the RAM adapter into the converter, and finally connect the FDS to the RAM-Adapter.
If you have a new type NES (NES-101) top-loader, adding the FDS is a snap, as you can plug the converter into the top-loader's cartridge port and then connect the RAM-Adapter and FDS to it.
You can even build a custom case for the converter if you want a professional look.
Next, the ‘Gyromite’ adapter, or rather, the NES Joint Board (part No. NES-JOINT-01) can be used for its lockout chip to apply boards that have faulty NES-101 lockout chips. This means either using a NES->FC adapter in-between the cartridge and the Joint board, or socketing the ROMs onto a compatible Famicom board and using the Joint board to convert it.
You can also use the Joint board as a shortcut for games with expanded audio, as you can wire the Joint board into the NES expansion port and then only use it when you need it.
It is also possible to add additional hardware or mods to the NES via the Joint board. Use your imagination!
I’m always on the lookout for these for experimentation, so if anybody has a stash of them, I would be interested in buying some 10-20 units).
They used to turn up in cheap games all the time, but lately I’ve only found one of them in an ‘Excitebike’ games. The local used video game shoppes cage game cartridges in huge plastic shells with magnetic theft strips, so it’s hard to examine them all to search for this board. I do try however…
I hope this is useful to you both, and if you have any questions about using the FDS on an NES, or any FDS questions in general, feel free to write. I do my best to be an expert on FDS hardware and I am attempted to document it as fully as possible. My present mystery is the RAM-Adapter’s expansion port (a tray slides open to reveal it); what it does, and how it is wired is undocumented (in English) anywhere on the Internet, to the best of my awareness.
I plan to do some testing to see how it is wired and how it can be used, or for what it was meant to used that is. The same port also exists on the Twin Famicom and Wiki incorrectly states that the port on the Twin is to connect a FDS drive to the Twin unit externally. This (A) makes no sense whatsoever and (B) is electronically illogical, as the port on the back of the FDS has more pins than the port on the side of the Twin and the RAM-Adapter.
If anybody has information on this, please be sure to let me know so that I can add it to my Famicom & FDS hardware documentation. When I have more of it composed, I will post it all on the Internet, with tonnes of photos. I also plan to post a visual guide and instructions for refurbishing drives and oing A/V mods for both Japanese Famicoms and Hong Kong (PAL) Famicoms (the latter, being an actual, genuine product manufactured by Nintendo for the HK market).
I also hope to have a good guide for backing up, restoring and writing FDS disks within the next several months to put on-line! Im working on this now, alongside some other hardware projects, like my Trackball and Mice project and my NES <-> Famicom controller adapter project.
In any event, I hope that this gives you some help and answers your questions. If all else fails, you can turn it into a necklace or earring in addition to a back-scratch.
-Xious
You can get a HES Unidapter, which will extend the port outward or;
Insert a game Genie that does the same or;
Mask a custom extender board or;
Remove the top lid and modify the cartridge bay's metal bracket and then simply insert the adapter or;
Modify the FDS Ram Adapter (or build another one) to be straight instead of T-shaped or;
Modify the NES to have a top-loading cartridge port.
The easiest of these are obviously, the first two, however I plan to make a toaster NES with a cartridge port on the top (as a bypass) for just such purposes, so the others are certainly viable options.
Of all, the HES Unidapter is the most sexy and simple, for it was designed specifically as a cartridge port extender, is readily available, and inexpensive. I’m even considering making a NES that has a top-loading cartridge port and an FDS drive under the normal cartridge door (inside the standard toaster housing). I think both of these, custom painted of course, would be super neat-o!
Back on track, once you have access tot he 72-pin port, all you need do is plug the Nintendo converter (from a 'Gyromite' or other early-release game) into the NES, plug the RAM adapter into the converter, and finally connect the FDS to the RAM-Adapter.
If you have a new type NES (NES-101) top-loader, adding the FDS is a snap, as you can plug the converter into the top-loader's cartridge port and then connect the RAM-Adapter and FDS to it.
You can even build a custom case for the converter if you want a professional look.
Next, the ‘Gyromite’ adapter, or rather, the NES Joint Board (part No. NES-JOINT-01) can be used for its lockout chip to apply boards that have faulty NES-101 lockout chips. This means either using a NES->FC adapter in-between the cartridge and the Joint board, or socketing the ROMs onto a compatible Famicom board and using the Joint board to convert it.
You can also use the Joint board as a shortcut for games with expanded audio, as you can wire the Joint board into the NES expansion port and then only use it when you need it.
It is also possible to add additional hardware or mods to the NES via the Joint board. Use your imagination!
I’m always on the lookout for these for experimentation, so if anybody has a stash of them, I would be interested in buying some 10-20 units).
They used to turn up in cheap games all the time, but lately I’ve only found one of them in an ‘Excitebike’ games. The local used video game shoppes cage game cartridges in huge plastic shells with magnetic theft strips, so it’s hard to examine them all to search for this board. I do try however…
I hope this is useful to you both, and if you have any questions about using the FDS on an NES, or any FDS questions in general, feel free to write. I do my best to be an expert on FDS hardware and I am attempted to document it as fully as possible. My present mystery is the RAM-Adapter’s expansion port (a tray slides open to reveal it); what it does, and how it is wired is undocumented (in English) anywhere on the Internet, to the best of my awareness.
I plan to do some testing to see how it is wired and how it can be used, or for what it was meant to used that is. The same port also exists on the Twin Famicom and Wiki incorrectly states that the port on the Twin is to connect a FDS drive to the Twin unit externally. This (A) makes no sense whatsoever and (B) is electronically illogical, as the port on the back of the FDS has more pins than the port on the side of the Twin and the RAM-Adapter.
If anybody has information on this, please be sure to let me know so that I can add it to my Famicom & FDS hardware documentation. When I have more of it composed, I will post it all on the Internet, with tonnes of photos. I also plan to post a visual guide and instructions for refurbishing drives and oing A/V mods for both Japanese Famicoms and Hong Kong (PAL) Famicoms (the latter, being an actual, genuine product manufactured by Nintendo for the HK market).
I also hope to have a good guide for backing up, restoring and writing FDS disks within the next several months to put on-line! Im working on this now, alongside some other hardware projects, like my Trackball and Mice project and my NES <-> Famicom controller adapter project.
In any event, I hope that this gives you some help and answers your questions. If all else fails, you can turn it into a necklace or earring in addition to a back-scratch.
-Xious