SNES PowerPak

Discussion of hardware and software development for Super NES and Super Famicom. See the SNESdev wiki for more information.

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whicker
Posts: 228
Joined: Sun Dec 13, 2009 11:37 am
Location: Wisconsin

Post by whicker »

Link83 wrote:
whicker wrote:
Banshaku wrote:It may be a little bit off-topic but related to the snes powerpak. I may have missed the reason in all the messages that was posted but want to know: what make it so hard to make the powerpak work on many snes revisions compared to the game doctor that seemed to work on any machine? I'm just curious.
Improper 3.3V to 5V CMOS logic level translation.
Lack of testing.
One-man design.
A focus on minimum component count versus a robust circuit.
Chinese CF Card chicanery.
Everyone's old decaying hardware.
I thought the problem was due to different SNES revisions using different brands/models of static RAM chips, causing timing issues? :?

Also, i'm curious to know if the issues mentioned above have been completely resolved now?
this is a reminder to myself to be more literal...

Some people got their PowerPak working after bunnyboy posted updated firmware for them to put onto it.
Some people got their PowerPak working by using a different CF card.
Some people got their PowerPak working by using a different SNES.
Some people still can't get it working no matter how hard they try.

As of the latest firmware, the SNES PowerPak should be working even with SNES jr / SNES mini's.
Great Hierophant
Posts: 780
Joined: Tue Nov 23, 2004 9:35 pm

Post by Great Hierophant »

Did anyone ever get Pilotwings working on their PowerPAK? All other DSP1 games I tried (all those released outside Japan) seem to work fine with the PowerPAK with DSP1 upgrade.
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whicker
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Joined: Sun Dec 13, 2009 11:37 am
Location: Wisconsin

Post by whicker »

Great Hierophant wrote:Did anyone ever get Pilotwings working on their PowerPAK? All other DSP1 games I tried (all those released outside Japan) seem to work fine with the PowerPAK with DSP1 upgrade.
I'm wondering if figure 2-21-2 on page 2-21-3 of the you-know-what book wasn't taken into account.

There's a note stating that for mode 20 mapping when the program rom size is less than 8 megabits (probably meaning 4 megabits and under), the DSP is located at address $8000-$FFFF of banks $30-$3F


And I can see why that is... it's cheaper to use a 74139 than a MAD.
artakserkso
Posts: 34
Joined: Sun Nov 01, 2009 4:29 pm
Location: Samobor, Croatia

Post by artakserkso »

Hmm... Pilotwings worked just fine on my PowerPak (both with old and new mappers).
lifeixie
Posts: 11
Joined: Sat Sep 12, 2009 1:44 am

Post by lifeixie »

Strange question!
The same CF card,
The same SFC,
Work yesterday, but today doesn't work
hyarion
Posts: 163
Joined: Tue May 05, 2009 6:12 pm
Contact:

Post by hyarion »

lifeixie wrote:Strange question!
The same CF card,
The same SFC,
Work yesterday, but today doesn't work
does the snes work with another cartridge?
does the CF-card work if you put it in your computer?
lifeixie
Posts: 11
Joined: Sat Sep 12, 2009 1:44 am

Post by lifeixie »

hyarion wrote:
lifeixie wrote:Strange question!
The same CF card,
The same SFC,
Work yesterday, but today doesn't work
does the snes work with another cartridge?
does the CF-card work if you put it in your computer?
does the snes work with another cartridge?
NO,Also the SNES(PAL AUS),Also the CF card
A few days ago can run

does the CF-card work if you put it in your computer?
PC--Access to the PC
Work well (CF card),
Cf card no fault
Image[/img][/url]
lifeixie
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Joined: Sat Sep 12, 2009 1:44 am

Post by lifeixie »

Image
danntor
Posts: 44
Joined: Sun Dec 27, 2009 2:38 am
Location: Western Australia

Post by danntor »

Have not gone mine to work either. I will see if my new Kingston 4GB CF card will do the trick. I tried turning DMA on and off and reformatting my card and tried it on 2 consoles. I can try another one but I will have to go toa mates place. The weird thing is my DSE 1GB CF card(rebranded A-DATA) worked fine on my PowerPak (NES) when I reformatted it as FAT32.
danntor
Posts: 44
Joined: Sun Dec 27, 2009 2:38 am
Location: Western Australia

Post by danntor »

danntor wrote:Have not gone mine to work either. I will see if my new Kingston 4GB CF card will do the trick. I tried turning DMA on and off and reformatting my card and tried it on 2 consoles. I can try another one but I will have to go toa mates place. The weird thing is my DSE 1GB CF card(rebranded A-DATA) worked fine on my PowerPak (NES) when I reformatted it as FAT32.
The Kingston fixed it by the way. Only tested the one game but it loaded and I could play it(U.N Squadron).
orwannon
Posts: 40
Joined: Fri Feb 20, 2009 10:07 am

Post by orwannon »

bunnyboy posted a mapper update on the nintendoage forums today. SRM auto loading is now supported. :)
Heinz2001
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Joined: Mon Apr 26, 2010 2:05 am

Post by Heinz2001 »

Ah great news :-).
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Bregalad
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Location: Divonne-les-bains, France

Post by Bregalad »

Yeah, geat news ! I hated to have to load it manually.
Useless, lumbering half-wits don't scare us.
lifeixie
Posts: 11
Joined: Sat Sep 12, 2009 1:44 am

Post by lifeixie »

The compatibility of host need to be updated
Great Hierophant
Posts: 780
Joined: Tue Nov 23, 2004 9:35 pm

Post by Great Hierophant »

I got Pilotwings to work in my SNES by using a different CF card. The usual card is a SanDisk Ultra II 2.0GB. I tried it with a SanDisk 256MB and it worked perfect!
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