Lets Talk Usb Accessories!

[Matthias_H]

and work from there...

On this page, they do not only explain how to detect whether a cart is LoRom or HiRom, but also that the ROM has a reserved range where information about memory size and chip configuration is stored. So it should be possible to read out just as many data as needed.

- but as reading 256k without sending it out takes 15s -- 16MiB = 16 minutes.

As I said, Atmel offers the AT90USB series (including the dev kit AT90USBKey which comes with plenty of free i/o lines), which should allow for considerably higher data rates than your standard serial port.

I used to have a documentation file about the SMC or SWC rom file format on the screen, but now I can't find it anymore.

 

[VRAndy]

I'm absolutely thinking about getting a GPS for use with some sort of open source mapping software.

I still think you could mod a built-in one. Some GPS modules are REALLY small. I don't know if I'll be brave enough to mod my Pandora, though.

 

[elwing]

I'm absolutely thinking about getting a GPS for use with some sort of open source mapping software.

even better, use it with something like net stumbler and a wardriving software...

 

[VRAndy]

I'm absolutely thinking about getting a GPS for use with some sort of open source mapping software.

even better, use it with something like net stumbler and a wardriving software...

I may also do that. But GPS first. I don't want to get lost while war driving.

 

[jormajoo]

I'm absolutely thinking about getting a GPS for use with some sort of open source mapping software.

I still think you could mod a built-in one. Some GPS modules are REALLY small. I don't know if I'll be brave enough to mod my Pandora, though.

Almost all new mobile phones have GPS and bluetooth, so I'm not going to buy anything separate to plug into usb-port. The idea of modding a GPS module into Pandora is quite nice though. I believe there is some empty space near the speakers.

 

[Matthias_H]

, which should allow for considerably higher data rates than your standard serial port.

Well, here's a first success: I got the dev kit this morning, and after a few hours of fiddling with soft- and hardware, I have now a USB device that appears to the operating system as read-only Mass Storage, hallucinating a FAT16 file system with the skeleton of a SNES ROM file. Now, all that remains to do is to hook up a real cartridge and to pipe the ROM data through the USB.... Does anyone happen to have a cartridge of your least favorite game which you would donate for this noble cause?

 

[may88]

I'm absolutely thinking about getting a GPS for use with some sort of open source mapping software.

I still think you could mod a built-in one. Some GPS modules are REALLY small. I don't know if I'll be brave enough to mod my Pandora, though.

Long wait for the 2nd batch if you get it wrong.

I voted GPS. I'd want it more for walking. I wonder what the Pandora total solution would be. Hardware and software.
Found this which is a list of thing that someone may be able to understand.

 

[younghifi]

There's tons of free Linux GPS software around, that's for sure. So anybody picks what suits them best with their GPS accessory

 

[Nation.A.List]

But very little 'TomTom' like software with route planning and turn by turn instructions.

 

[SNESFAN]

i actually voted "A simtray for bothering people with prankcalls " as ackward as it might seem, my buddy uses his clamshell verizon phone as like a netbook and talks to people on his BT headset, how this would actually all work out??? no clue, but would be neat plus the possibility of wwan.... dude... no brainer oh and +1 for gps also

 

[Matthias_H]

Regardless of the general public's indifference with respect to this issue, I hereby announce (to the best of my knowledge) the first-ever USB reader for Super Nintendo/Famicom cartridges! Instead of downloading pirated r0mz from Russian w4rez/pr0n sites, you can now show the world how cool you are by plugging real game cartridges into your laptop/smartphone/Pandora Both hardware and software need a lot more work, but the most important game of all (SMW) is already playable straight from the cartridge...

Parts: about US$ 20 from Digi-Key. (actually, I got a development kit which was a bit more expensive but also has a lot of useless crap on it)

 

[Prometheus]

Allow me to be the first to offer my congratulations - that is *really* cool, and I am duly impressed.

 

[gruso]

is already playable straight from the cartridge...

Parts: about US$ 20 from Digi-Key. (actually, I got a development kit which was a bit more expensive but also has a lot of useless crap on it)
Awesome! This deserves a thread of its own, maybe in Off Topic. Or make use of the new GP32X blog feature.

 

[jlepley]

Freaking awesome.

Can we expect other devices for N64 and Game Boy games?

 

[gp2.eXe]

That sounds very interesting! Congrats on it.

...

...?

QUOTE

Is this emoticon having a seizure, or I am having a seizure?

 

[Matthias_H]

Freaking awesome.

Can we expect other devices for N64 and Game Boy games?

In theory, this should require no more than soldering additional connectors to the little processor who's doing the USB and data handling, and writing a few more lines of code. So, in principle it is possible and to some extent even likely that I (or someone) will extend this towards other systems or even come up with an all-in-one solution covering everything from Atari 2600 to DS

Just to put it more clearly: this is not an emulator! You still need extra software to execute whatever the USB thingie reads out of your cartridge...


Anyway, I shall now call it a day and see if I can make a few photos over the weekend...

Stay tuned!
(and don't forget to donate crappy game carts for further development and testing )

M

 

[God Ginrai]

is already playable straight from the cartridge...

Parts: about US$ 20 from Digi-Key. (actually, I got a development kit which was a bit more expensive but also has a lot of useless crap on it)


You should think about building them and selling them, like DaveC did with his Dpad mod for the GP2X back in the day. You could even put them in those little project cases you can get from Radioshack, so that they don't have a lot of exposed wires and circuits. If you made N64 and Sega Genesis ones, I would definitely buy.

+1.

-God Ginrai

 

[Matthias_H]

This might as well be an ordinary thumb drive, but it's not

The hardware is simply an AT90USBKey evaluation board by Atmel....

.... hooked to a card edge connector with a whole bunch of wires.

The firmware is built upon the USB Mass Storage example application provided by Atmel, adding the ROM I/O as well as a "virtual" FAT16 (and don't forget the LONG filename taken straight from the cart's name field )

 

[lulzfish]

What I need is a USB accessory that will find my missing GBA games.
Then I can plug them into the cart reader, and...

 

[Shaun199three]

I will probaly stick to downloading roms cause the first console I ever had was N64 but this looks really cool anyway.