Anyone here experienced with making your own NES carts ? Share

Do you mean making completely new PCBs with CPLD/FPGA implementations of mapper chips
or original carts that are rewired to work with normal EPROMs?

I've made quite a few NES and Fami repros with existing boards if that's what you mean.
If so, what exactly do you want to know?

>>4040668
>/vr/
>not totally tech illiterate
pick one, kek

>>4040697
>nesbaby using big words he saw on wikipedia
topkek

>>4040697
I don't know much. Just some basic shit about mappers and some stuff I read online.

I'd like to make my own carts without having to destroy other carts if possible. The games I have in mind use the MMC3 mapper.

>>4040697
>I've made quite a few NES and Fami repros with existing boards

What do you use and what more would be required using new boards?

>>4040702
Turn down the edge please
>>4040705
>>4040708
Sadly there aren't a whole lot of sites selling new boards and making them yourself would again require you to be able to write your own mapper clones on an FPGA/CPLD or steal them off existing carts (which would go against the purpose anyways).
The ones I know of are http://retrostage.net/index.php/product-category/nes/
which offers only a small number of mappers and sadly doesn't really have a reliable supply. You'll also have to source most parts for the PCBs yourself and solder them yourself.
Their PCBs use good old EPROMs so you'll also need a programmer.
The other one has a far bigger selection of mappers.
It's http://www.infiniteneslives.com/nessupplies.php
There's one catch though, which some might see as positive and some not. They do not produce PCBs that take EPROMs anymore but make them with flash roms pre-soldered onto the board. Therefore you will not need a programmer but you'll have to get their Kazzo cartridge programmer to flash something onto the board.
I guess it's a good thing since that way, pretty much even a retard could make a repro that way.

Here's also two things that are incredibly helpful for this kind of stuff.
http://bootgod.dyndns.org:7777/ A database of NES PCBs. It's really helpful for gathering info on what mapper and exact PCB configuration a game uses. Helps if you don't know what exact board to order from infiniteneslives for example.
http://nintendoage.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=22&threadid=63070 Famirom is an incredibly helpful tool for splitting (and padding out NES rom images if you're using bigger EPROMs than needed). I assume this isn't really necessary when using a Kazzo to flash a rom but if you're doing it the old way it's awesome.

>>4040708
I've been using the old EPROM boards of infiniteneslives or donor boards in conjunction with a GQ-4x programmer.
Anyways if all else fails you can still resent to sacrificing a copy of some incredibly shitty game.
What you can do is to just go ahead and compare the pinouts listed here https://wiki.nesdev.com/w/index.php/Mask_ROM_pinout with the pinout on the datasheet of your EPROMs and rewire it that way but there's also another helpful site that lists the needed changes for you
https://jensma.de/nesrepro/

>>4040896
Thanks.

Flash roms seem interesting but also very expensive...

>>4040668
>babys first bootleg
Yes. I designed a number of bootleg carts back in the day. NES carts were a pain in the ass because of all the mappers. But most of the common ones were cloned long ago. I think nearly everything's been cloned by now.

Labels are easy. You can get prints as good as nintendo did on a cheap color laser. Ideally you want a straight through path but it's not necessary. Then you need some way to cut it. You can do the rough bits with any decent paper cutter. Not those shitty guillotine cutters you're probably familiar with. A proper one if you have it or a rotary one. You probably want to cut the corners as well. IIRC NES carts had a 2mm radius.

Is there a website that I can buy preprogrammed EPROMs to solder to a cheap SNES doner cart?

>>4040668
lol, that fucking chick-shit eprom eraser. damn light will fail after 10 erase jobs. should have dropped money into a legit lamp.

>>4042584
What do you recommend then?

>>4042595
I have no idea because I haven't bought a new one since mine died (it's been a loooong time). Granted, that one worked fine until it didn't.

>>4040697
>FPGA implementations of mapper chips

Haha, what the literal fuck? THEY'RE LITERALLY JUST MICROCONTROLLERS

>>4042584
lol, that kid parroting. I have a similar one that's still working fine after 2 years and dozens of uses.

>>4042704
Haha, what the literal fuck? Simple ones were made entirely out of off the shelf logic and the more complex ones were ASICs. You're literally just retarded.

>>4042324
buyicnow.com sells chips at very affordable prices and do offer a service to program chips for you.
I've never had them program anything but have ordered from them multiple times.
Shipping takes some time since they're located in china but I'd definitely recommend them.
>>4042595
Hop onto ebay. There are a lot of people on there selling old erasers from back in the day and they often are a lot more reliable than those new chinese ones even with their age.
I'm using an old Spectroline eraser. Thing is built out of solid aluminum and still works after years of use.

>>4042780
>lol, that kid parroting. I have a similar one that's still working fine after 2 years and dozens of uses.

Not that guy, I used mine maybe three times in 3 years but when I needed it the 4th time the lamp was dead, and I had to buy a new one.

Even a replacement lamp costs more than buying an entire new unit.

Also even if you order a 220V one, they'll ship it with NEMA connector so I have to solder an europlug to it every time.

>>4043000
Not surprising someone who can't source a power plug adapter can't source a reasonably priced tube. kek

>>4043000
> they'll ship it with NEMA connector so I have to solder an europlug to it every time.
>solder
>plug
Did nobody ever show you how to properly wire a plug?

>>4042584
I have that same one.
It still works over 5 years later, and hundreds of erase jobs.

Sorry you had bad luck with it, but for the price, you could buy two.

My only problem with it was that is smelled TERRIBLE for like 2 years.

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>>4042584
everytime i read coomments like these and also the "LOL you shouldve gotten a $200 programmer" i cant help but think are the same guys posting PC masterace threads on v and g.

I know a guy who sells repros and he got a cheap Willem and one of those cheap ereasers and he says the work just fine.

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>>4043000
>>4042584

real question.. would pic related work if i put the lapm over the crrystal for a couple hours? its a UV light i use for curatin UV glue on phone repairs.

And an even better one... would one of those lamps used on beauty salons for plastic nails work?

>>4043254
Eh, you know for programmers you're definitely better of with a modern cheap one like the mini pro. They're actually pretty reliable.
For erasers i really don't see why you would go for one from china though and I wouldn't even say because they necessarily suck.
I don't know how it is for where you are but here I can find several old ones from quality brands on ebay for 10-30€ since nobody has a use for them anymore.
Not only do these have pretty nice build quality but you also won't have to wait for it to arrive from china.

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>>4040668
I have your pic related and already had to bypass the shit timer dial they put in it. Expect that to not last long, and check that first when it dies.

I have a GQ-4X and it works ok. I've successfully built 3 romhack carts. 2 with reused boards and cases (Wilford Brimley Battle and Tecmo Super Bowl 2015), and 1 with new board and case (Final Fantasy Restored).

Tbh, (de)soldering is the hardest part.
There are websites for matching boards.
Programming is basically drag and drop.
Photo paper, packing tape, and super glue for lables.

The only real pieces of advice I could give that feel useful are to recearch the project before you start, and don't go cheap on the chips. Or, if you do, order a couple extras. I went cheap as I could go on my first cart and went through a few dud chips.

>>4044063
>(de)soldering
Is very easy if you have the right tools. Hardly anyone does. I'm not talking about nail clippers and tweezers. lol.

>>4044328
Eh, honestly you can get dip stuff out safely even without an expensive desoldering gun and without any risk of pulling a trace.
Even with a desoldering gun, you'll have some residue in the holes from time to time and blindly pulling chips out can damage the board.
Cheapest and safest way in my opinion is first doing some prep work by getting out most of the solder with a manual solder pump.
Next you'll want take an IC puller to the the chip and then evenly apply hot air to the non-component side of the PCB where the chip is on top.
You'll don't even have to pull, you'll notice that after 3-5 seconds the chip will just slide out like butter.
I guess a desoldering gun + a small amount of hot air would be the overall best...

>>4044709
doing any board repair or anything remotely similar without a hot air station just seems like a mistake, it really makes life a hell of a lot easier

>>4044709
You weren't here for the vectrex repair thread where the lad ripped up so many traces with his solder sucker that he gave up on it, were you? Not so much a problem with younger boards but if you do fuck it up fixing that tiny shit. I think that's the kind of thing youglings say wew lad about.

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>>4044774
Mate, i think you don't understand that the deciding factor is the hot air.
The solder pump is just to get most of the solder out so you don't have to apply hot air for too long.
The hot air will pretty much melt all the solder still residing in the holes and you can simply slide the chip out without a problem.
And even then, if you have the patience and don't use autistic force you can even get a dip package desoldered with just a cheap solder sucker.
I definitely wouldn't advise doing so for your sanity's sake though.
>>4044713
How so?
It's all a matter of how you apply it and for SMD stuff hot air is pretty much always the smarter way of handling things.

>>4044713
Ah fuck I misread your post, ignore what I replied to your post.

>>4044328
>tl;dr
I didn't say it was difficult. I said it was the hardest part.

>>4044784
But I do understand. Solder suckers a notorious for sucking traces off the board. If you use one and haven't seen this you're young and inexperienced.