NES Maker (for VTxx machines)

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

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lxx33
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Dec 28, 2020 12:19 am

Re: NES Maker (for VTxx machines)

Post by lxx33 »

timschuerewegen wrote: Tue Jun 30, 2020 2:54 pm
jacaba wrote: Mon Jun 29, 2020 1:22 amCould you tell me what that programmer is and what else I would need for the programm the memory?
I used this programmer (with a 5V -> 3.3V modification)
programmer1.jpg

this test clip
programmer2.jpg

and the "CH341A Programmer v1.4" software to dump/program the SPI flash chip.
@Timschuerewegen
Was it only pin 24 to connect to the onboard regulator, or also pin 9 like on the following modification tutorial. Just received the programmer :)
Can't wait to begin, but don't want to blow up anything.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ln3VIZKKaE
ytm
Posts: 4
Joined: Sat Feb 27, 2021 2:28 pm

Re: NES Maker (for VTxx machines)

Post by ytm »

Hi guys! I appreciate very much the work that @timschuerewegen did here.

I wonder if anyone had any luck with reflashing ROM in a Lexibook JL3000. On the board it says "WM390-v1.2 2018/04/23".

Here is the original ROM dump and some pictures: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... sp=sharing

The layout is similar to other boards that appeared in this thread - one big blob and two small chips. The larger one is a 16M flash, but it's quite strange because I couldn't reliably read the top 8M portion - as if it was damaged.

I even desoldered it and soldered to an adapter board, but it didn't really help. When I took a new blank chip and flashed it with lower 8M of data the menu and at least the first couple of games worked.

I tried to create new ROMs with NESmaker. I thought that HKB502 will work because from this thread I saw that it is almost identical. There was menu music but only white screen.
The closest I got to a running system was with SY888B. Here the screen was displayed only in top right quarter and mirrored in X axis (image in the shared folder with ROM).
With Arcade Retro v1 and v2 I got only LCD backlight and music. I heard beeps from the menu and I could run a game, but nothing changed on the display.
NewRisingSun
Posts: 1510
Joined: Thu May 19, 2005 11:30 am

Re: NES Maker (for VTxx machines)

Post by NewRisingSun »

Does game #87 (Pulveration) work? It accesses the second 8 MiB of ROM. If it does, then the ROM is okay and you only have a readout issue. If it does not, then the second half of ROM is really damaged.
ytm
Posts: 4
Joined: Sat Feb 27, 2021 2:28 pm

Re: NES Maker (for VTxx machines)

Post by ytm »

NewRisingSun wrote: Sun Feb 28, 2021 3:43 am Does game #87 (Pulveration) work? It accesses the second 8 MiB of ROM. If it does, then the ROM is okay and you only have a readout issue. If it does not, then the second half of ROM is really damaged.
Number #87 (and the following ones) works. There is real data in the upper 8MB and vast majority had stable values. I did several dumps and coded a comparator in Python where each dump "voted" on the value in a given offset. Only few bytes could not be resolved this way and I'm not sure if this space is used.

But.. how do you know that? Can I add a .nes header to this dump and trace the startup code an emulator? This is probably a newbie question, but I come from C64 land, so although I know 6502 assembly, the NES ecosystem is a new thing for me.
NewRisingSun
Posts: 1510
Joined: Thu May 19, 2005 11:30 am

Re: NES Maker (for VTxx machines)

Post by NewRisingSun »

I added a NES 2.0 header (Mapper 427, Console Type VT369) to your dump and ran it successfully in NintendulatorNRS. But only the menu and the games from the first 8 MiB half work. I can tell which half is being accessed from looking at the values written to register $4100.
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ytm
Posts: 4
Joined: Sat Feb 27, 2021 2:28 pm

Re: NES Maker (for VTxx machines)

Post by ytm »

NewRisingSun wrote: Sun Feb 28, 2021 10:44 am I added a NES 2.0 header (Mapper 427, Console Type VT369) to your dump and ran it successfully in NintendulatorNRS. But only the menu and the games from the first 8 MiB half work. I can tell which half is being accessed from looking at the values written to register $4100.
Thank you for this info! For posteriority I updated my shared folder linked above with a ROM in NES format. After changing PRG size to 16384 also games past number #87 run in NintendulatorNRS.
NewRisingSun
Posts: 1510
Joined: Thu May 19, 2005 11:30 am

Re: NES Maker (for VTxx machines)

Post by NewRisingSun »

They do indeed. Either I accidently corrupted the ROM before, or you have since uploaded a redump.
philenotfound
Posts: 11
Joined: Sun Oct 16, 2016 1:03 pm

Re: NES Maker (for VTxx machines)

Post by philenotfound »

Links seem to be broken, does anyone still have the software?
BadBert
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Nov 22, 2020 4:21 pm

Re: NES Maker (for VTxx machines)

Post by BadBert »

i think i do, but i'll have to dig up my image from my previous PC....
I have to get back in this, i bought 2 new arcade machines because i think i broke the first one hahaha

Think the memory chip is dead.... i'll try to replace it at some point, but for now i'll open a new one up ....
ytm
Posts: 4
Joined: Sat Feb 27, 2021 2:28 pm

Re: NES Maker (for VTxx machines)

Post by ytm »

Hi

Here is the last one I had archived - v1.8.1. Too bad there is no source code, so no one can pick up this work.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/17zpooT ... sp=sharing
philenotfound
Posts: 11
Joined: Sun Oct 16, 2016 1:03 pm

Re: NES Maker (for VTxx machines)

Post by philenotfound »

Thank you!
schlika
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Nov 11, 2022 8:47 am

Re: NES Maker (for VTxx machines)

Post by schlika »

Hi All !

I am probably late at the party but I finally got one of those, the "Arcade Cabinet". I dumped its rom here.

Adding the header copied from the "My Arcade Retro Machine v2" NESmaker generated rom get the dump working in NintendulatorNRS, but no console available in NESMaker do provide a working rom in the "Arcade Cabinet". The PCB is labeled DRLH-369B-36P and is already referenced in this thread but doesn't seem to have gotten supported.

Best results I get are :

My Arcade Retro Machine v2 : Mostly Works, sound OK but garbled screen
Lexibook Cyber Arcade : backlight ok, sound ok, no screen
Red5 Retro Mini Arcade : backlight ok, sound ok, no screen

Any idea of a way to patch some rom to get something working ?

Thanks a lot.
nitro2k01
Posts: 252
Joined: Sat Aug 28, 2010 9:01 am

Re: NES Maker (for VTxx machines)

Post by nitro2k01 »

Hi. I found two different devices both called CT-885 in my local supermarket. One marked 200-in-1 and the other 240-in-1, but they were pretty different inside. One had a SPI flash and the other a parallel flash.

Photos of both devices: https://www.flickr.com/photos/gameboyge ... 0304496683

I'm working on reverse engineering the SPI one and have made a breakout board for the flash so I can easily reflash it and experiment quickly. My device is similar to kludge's device posted earlier. But mine is missing the second ROM chip. Did anyone dump the full contents of this ROM, and/or figure out what chip it might be? The fact that it has two of the pins isolated with silkscreen narrows down the possibilities, since most common memory chips have some important pin there (like clock or data) which you absolutely need to read it out. Really the only candidate I can imagine right now based on the pinout is a 24C02 or similar chip.
team_disposable
Posts: 129
Joined: Sat Oct 15, 2016 8:52 am

Re: NES Maker (for VTxx machines)

Post by team_disposable »

Ignore this, I was looking for the software and had somehow missed the Google drives link above.

Thanks!
ElHave
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Mar 27, 2024 4:40 am

Re: NES Maker (for VTxx machines)

Post by ElHave »

Hello! I know this thread is old, But im wanting to adventure on this, so i bought a super cheap machine, gifted with colacao in spain what looks like is based on same machines here, also i found this post through a similar arcade machine hacking video. I want to share some screenshots of inside and you can tell me if is really worth to try something, if thats the case, i going to buy the tools mentioned in other coments (USB CH341A EEPROM BIOS Flasher), but i want to stay sure i get all i need to start trying to hack this machine, i never made a flash like this but i want to learn and i want to hack this machine if is possible, and for sure the experience can help me learning to flash other devices, so im greatefull of any help can have here. And the last thing, you know better than me what i need, but looking for eeprom bios flasher i readed the guy has with 3.3v modifier, but i want to evade solder if is possible, because i dont have experience on it, so looking this can be able to use? https://es.aliexpress.com/item/1005006440681067.html this says have a 3.3/5.0v power output, what i think saves to make the mod to 3.3v


PD: The unreadable chip says: M36L0T705 0T3ZAQ W0 99B6A VS MYS 99 933 (i discovered through google searching the logo in the chip is the ST Microelectronics logo)
128Mbit (Multiple Bank / Multi-Level / Burst) Flash Memory 32Mbit (2M x16) PSRAM (Apparently)

i found this datasheet where is listed the chip (Last in the list M36L0T7050T3ZAQ) https://elcodis.com/parts/6260804/M36L0T7050.html and has a manual of it, obviously with my knowledge i dont understand nothing but i think can be usefull to know what machine is this.

PD2: The nesmaker link is dead, the v1.8.1 link is not working so i have here a found alternative link if someone is looking between.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/17zpooT ... JI9ws/view
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