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Re: Perfect FDS 2C33 audio when not using actual FDS disks?

Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2015 11:14 am
by leonk
Hey, are any of you guys members of "Japanese Retro Video Game Discount Market" group on Facebook? I just noticed the following post an hour ago:

"just a quick warning to anyone using an fds stick flashcard on their famicom, don't upgrade the firmware, the latest pc software (20/dec/2015) included the latest firmware update but if you have one of the older versions i'm afraid it can kill your card (see photo) the update is so large including its new menu system that it fills the whole card (the blue bar at the bottom) and there isn't a way to roll it back so you'll need to pay for an upgrade ($10 + shipping) to get it working again."

followed by:

"in case you didn't know this new firmware is also incompatible with the disc dumping software (used to dump your discs to the card / pc) but a new version is being worked on. and you'll still need an additional ram copier (like the venus) to run / copy your blue discs (with hacked or patched files on that load as one big disc from several sides)."

I wasn't aware there were different FDSStick versions.

Re: Perfect FDS 2C33 audio when not using actual FDS disks?

Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2015 12:02 pm
by loopy
leonk wrote:Hey, are any of you guys members of "Japanese Retro Video Game Discount Market" group on Facebook? I just noticed the following post an hour ago:

"just a quick warning to anyone using an fds stick flashcard on their famicom, don't upgrade the firmware, the latest pc software (20/dec/2015) included the latest firmware update but if you have one of the older versions i'm afraid it can kill your card (see photo) the update is so large including its new menu system that it fills the whole card (the blue bar at the bottom) and there isn't a way to roll it back so you'll need to pay for an upgrade ($10 + shipping) to get it working again."
Err, no. The firmware isn't "so large that it fills the whole card". It isn't stored on the main flash, and it's compatible with all boards. The only difference between different FDSStick boards is the size of flash, newer ones hold more games.

It looks like a bug in the software, maybe not initializing the flash fully during the update. I'll look into it. Also, the console app should only be used on the old firmware, I should probably just take it down for now. Maybe they are using that, and that's what's causing problems.

If you clear the flash (use the console app, run "fds.exe -e all"), that will probably fix the problem.
leonk wrote: followed by:

"in case you didn't know this new firmware is also incompatible with the disc dumping software (used to dump your discs to the card / pc) but a new version is being worked on. and you'll still need an additional ram copier (like the venus) to run / copy your blue discs (with hacked or patched files on that load as one big disc from several sides)."

I wasn't aware there were different FDSStick versions.
Games made for those Bung copiers are larger than the standard .FDS format can hold. They're not supported YET but I'm working on it.

I'll check out that facebook group and try to answer questions.

Re: Perfect FDS 2C33 audio when not using actual FDS disks?

Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2015 6:28 pm
by Tomy
Thanks for loopy quick respond and support. Mike fixed his problem with "fds.exe -e all" command.

Re: Perfect FDS 2C33 audio when not using actual FDS disks?

Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2015 5:24 pm
by stevep31
I tried to update the flash, but it failed. Is there a way to reupdate the flash. I am unable to use the FDSStick on the RAM adapter. I can still write to disks, but most of the time it fails to fully write the image to disk.

Re: Perfect FDS 2C33 audio when not using actual FDS disks?

Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2015 11:51 pm
by Tomy
Hi stevep31,

You can use old software to downgrade fdsstick's firmware.
When you run old software, it will ask you upgrade.
Then just click ok, it will downgrade fdsstick's firmware to older version.
After that, you can upgrade again by using newer software.
Hope that help.

-Tomy

Re: Perfect FDS 2C33 audio when not using actual FDS disks?

Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2015 1:18 pm
by stevep31
Thanks! I was able to downgrade then upgrade to the latest firmware

Re: Perfect FDS 2C33 audio when not using actual FDS disks?

Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2016 6:37 pm
by loopy
I fixed a bug that was causing games to be written out incorrectly, it's available to download now. This was probably the source of your problem.

A bad update is highly unlikely since the firmware is verified before & after. The process of downgrading and upgrading probably "fixed" your issue by clearing the flash contents.

Re: Perfect FDS 2C33 audio when not using actual FDS disks?

Posted: Sun Jan 03, 2016 4:17 am
by kazmat
Hi

I haev a question

Now I have 2pcs 4M FDSStick.

Can I upgrade to 128M version simply replacing flashrom ?

Re: Perfect FDS 2C33 audio when not using actual FDS disks?

Posted: Sun Jan 03, 2016 4:38 am
by loopy
Yes, you can upgrade by replacing the flash and using the newest software.
Micron or Winbond flash should work (like W25Q128FVSIG). It's larger than the 4M chips I used, but it can fit by bending the pins under the chip.

Re: Perfect FDS 2C33 audio when not using actual FDS disks?

Posted: Sun Jan 03, 2016 5:12 am
by kazmat
Thank you loopy !!

I will try.

Re: Perfect FDS 2C33 audio when not using actual FDS disks?

Posted: Thu Jan 28, 2016 3:58 am
by spacemonkey
loopy wrote:Yes, you can upgrade by replacing the flash and using the newest software.
Micron or Winbond flash should work (like W25Q128FVSIG). It's larger than the 4M chips I used, but it can fit by bending the pins under the chip.
Has anyone tried this? I also have a 4M FDSStick I'd like to upgrade.

Re: Perfect FDS 2C33 audio when not using actual FDS disks?

Posted: Thu Jan 28, 2016 5:46 am
by kazmat
I upgraded 4M->128M successfully using winbond 25Q128FVSG.

Thanks loopy.

Re: Perfect FDS 2C33 audio when not using actual FDS disks?

Posted: Thu Jan 28, 2016 2:52 pm
by evilsim
:P I am waiting for a new pair of flush-cuts to arrive before I attempt this. Kazmat, can you tell me the process you undertook to swap it over, I have not had to swap out such a small chip before - I really don't want to wreck it. I do a lot of soldering work and pcb modifications etc but just a bit cautious on this one.
kazmat wrote:I upgraded 4M->128M successfully using winbond 25Q128FVSG.

Thanks loopy.

Re: Perfect FDS 2C33 audio when not using actual FDS disks?

Posted: Fri Jan 29, 2016 1:33 am
by spacemonkey
kazmat wrote:I upgraded 4M->128M successfully using winbond 25Q128FVSG.

Thanks loopy.
Awesome!, gonna order the part.

Re: Perfect FDS 2C33 audio when not using actual FDS disks?

Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2016 1:52 pm
by loopy
Another software update. PC emulation mode is added - games can be loaded directly from a PC. Handy for trying out games without having to disconnect and reflash. It's also convenient for NES development. With FDSStick software running in the background, just recompile and hit reset on the NES to reload your game.