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

Discuss hardware-related topics, such as development cartridges, CopyNES, PowerPak, EPROMs, or whatever.

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

Post by ccovell »

OK, I added pullups to all the outputs noted in deadbody's post ( viewtopic.php?f=9&t=13520&start=45#p165112 ) and now both devices appear to work great in my Twin Famicom.

... maybe next I'll add a piezo buzzer to the data line to get some sound out of the thing. ;-D
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loopy
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Re: Perfect FDS 2C33 audio when not using actual FDS disks?

Post by loopy »

I finally got around to adding support for Game Doctor (a.k.a. "famicom copier") disk format. So, have fun with that... all 3 of you ;)
Also, the flash code has gone through a major rewrite and sped up significantly (about 10X faster than before) so it's worth updating just for that.

Download from the usual place.
Tomy
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Re: Perfect FDS 2C33 audio when not using actual FDS disks?

Post by Tomy »

loopy wrote:I finally got around to adding support for Game Doctor (a.k.a. "famicom copier") disk format. So, have fun with that... all 3 of you ;)
loopy, big thanks to you. I'm sure *NOT* only 3 people interest in it. I'm in holiday now. I want to try out 10x flash operation speed. :)
stevep31
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Re: Perfect FDS 2C33 audio when not using actual FDS disks?

Post by stevep31 »

Looking forward to trying the Game Doctor stuff on it. Great work!
KittyFae
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Re: Perfect FDS 2C33 audio when not using actual FDS disks?

Post by KittyFae »

Is there a way to fully reset the device/firmware? When I was using the windows program to read a bunch of disks, the Windows USB unplugged notification sound triggered. Now every time I try to do something other than read disks through the program the red LED just stays lit and the Famicom just stays on "Now Loading..." I can still read disks fine, and if I plug the Famicom and FDS normally, without the FDSStick everything still works as it should.
Tomy
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Re: Perfect FDS 2C33 audio when not using actual FDS disks?

Post by Tomy »

Hi KittyFae,

Are you using latest version of the software ? If yes, you can downgrade your fdsstick with this version.
http://3dscapture.com/fdsstick/FDSStick_20160220.exe

After downgraded your fdsstick, you can upgrade again with latest software.
It should fix your problem if upgrade failed before.
KittyFae
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Re: Perfect FDS 2C33 audio when not using actual FDS disks?

Post by KittyFae »

Tomy:
I tried that and it didn't work, not sure if it was the whole firmware being updated/re-written or just a part of it. I've also gone to the one just older than the one you posted then back up to the most recent to no avail.

I've read this thread and saw there was some debugging things in a previous (CLI) version and a way to clear the contents of the flash. Is there anything similar to these options in the GUI version?
KittyFae
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Re: Perfect FDS 2C33 audio when not using actual FDS disks?

Post by KittyFae »

Looks like it is my FDSStick that is messed up, the ground and write gate are shorted together on the stick itself with nothing else connected. Sent a PM to Loopy about it. Thanks for the help, Tomy. :D
Hubz
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Re: Perfect FDS 2C33 audio when not using actual FDS disks?

Post by Hubz »

Hey Loopy,

Do you still have the old firmware available somewhere? I recently updated my stick and am running into issues dumping a few disks. But they work fine in the FDS drive itself. I had the old console version that could do RAW/BIN dumps. That seems to be missing from the new version unless I'm missing something.

Thanks for your help!

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

Post by loopy »

I've updated the software to read+write raw dumps (change the file type when choosing a file).

I made a minor board change a while ago that makes disk reading more reliable on certain drives. If you have an older board, you can do it yourself (if you have the right tools). It's an improvement over the resistor fix/hack mentioned here. (If you can already read other disks ok, this probably isn't necessary.)

Bridge pins 11 and 12 on the mcu:
Image
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MottZilla
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Re: Perfect FDS 2C33 audio when not using actual FDS disks?

Post by MottZilla »

loopy wrote:I finally got around to adding support for Game Doctor (a.k.a. "famicom copier") disk format. So, have fun with that... all 3 of you ;)
Also, the flash code has gone through a major rewrite and sped up significantly (about 10X faster than before) so it's worth updating just for that.

Download from the usual place.
What exactly is the Game Doctor format and where do you even find information or example dumps of it? I've been curious to see any examples but never could find any. I know of the devices like the TGD6, "Game Converter", etc. I've heard most support NROM, CNROM, UNROM, and some support hacked MMC1 or MMC3 games. I think I read somewhere that one actually can run unhacked MMC3 games.

Can anyone point out any information on the subject?
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loopy
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Re: Perfect FDS 2C33 audio when not using actual FDS disks?

Post by loopy »

Yeah. It's an enigma to me too. What tools use these files? How were the dumps made? I guess it would be more aptly named MGD1 format. I was given some sample files, I deduced the format on my own. It's similar to .FDS. Only a 3-byte header. 2 extra CRC bytes with file blocks. No fixed file size. One file for each disk side, named *.A, *.B, *.C, etc. I would post a dropbox link with roms but I don't think that's kosher here.

Figuring out how Game Doctor (& friends) works would be an interesting subject deserving its own thread, there's very little information about it. I think Tomy knows more.

---
Incidentally, this thread should have been split a long time ago.
I didn't announce it here yet, fdsstick price was dropped and flash size increased a few weeks ago.
tepples
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Re: Perfect FDS 2C33 audio when not using actual FDS disks?

Post by tepples »

I thought the rule put in place after a previous discussion about my flawed moderation habits was not to split any topic in which rainwarrior had posted.
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loopy
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Re: Perfect FDS 2C33 audio when not using actual FDS disks?

Post by loopy »

I ... I'm not touching this one. Even thinking about it is exhausting.

You be you, man. Go you.
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MottZilla
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Re: Perfect FDS 2C33 audio when not using actual FDS disks?

Post by MottZilla »

loopy wrote: Figuring out how Game Doctor (& friends) works would be an interesting subject deserving its own thread, there's very little information about it. I think Tomy knows more.
I'm certainly curious about the Game Doctor and friends since there were several different units with somewhat different capabilities that aren't entirely clear. No emulator support or technical documents seemed to pop up. No disk image dumps easily found.

But I guess the devices aren't very common and certainly not outside Asia. I just am curious since it's the start of what went on to bring us the SNES copier era. Those things seemed to be everywhere.
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