Question about CopyNES

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

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Guest

Post by Guest »

Okay, So I'm wondering something. Do you have to cut out chips from a cart, then replace them with new chips to write to them? Yeah, I know you're thinking, "oh yeah, this guy is so dumb" but well, with no documentation for begginers, it's kind of hard to ya know, learn all this stuff. Ya have to learn it some time, it's not just like if you're a programmer, ya just automaticly know this stuff. So could someone just tell me about that?
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Memblers
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Post by Memblers »

Anonymous wrote:Okay, So I'm wondering something. Do you have to cut out chips from a cart, then replace them with new chips to write to them?
Yes. The old chips will be useless, they aren't programmable at all (MaskROMs, they're manufactured with their program).
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Post by Guest »

Ohh, so that's why you by the willem programmer and EPROMS and Flashroms, and all that expensive shit. No, I'm not complaining that it's expensive, if that's what you're thinking. By the way, for a soldering tool, to you guys reccomend that one really easy soldering tool on that commercial? what is it called like cold heat or something like that. I think that's a grand invention. would it be suitable for soldering chips back on and stuff? Any of you guys here use it? and what about for desoldering?
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Memblers
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Post by Memblers »

Heheh, yeah it does get expensive.

For a soldering tool, the cheap & effective way is to get a 30W iron like the ones they sell at Radio Shack for ~$10. They take 5 mins to heat up, and the tip will melt down after a while (I used a metal file to get mine back in shape), but it's fine for light use. I'm wanting to get a Hakko 936 as soon as I can afford it though.

That ColdHeat thing looks like an interesting technology, seems like it would be dangerous for chips though. I guess it melts solder by using a high current rather than plain old heat. If accidentally shorting a couple pins would fry the chip, that'd be no good at all.

For desoldering, I guess those little pumps that were mentioned earlier in this thread would work well. You can't use desoldering braid on through-hole stuff.
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teaguecl
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Post by teaguecl »

I have no personal experience with it, but I've been told the ColdHeat tool is very cool, but not good for small circuits like this. The tip is just too big, and the element gets VERY hot.
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Post by Guest »

Okay, so what exactly is that iron thing? like does it come with the solder? or do you have to buy that seperately? and when I get a new giftcard, I need to buy that certain bit that you can open carts with. What size is that? and where can I get one? I've never really used anything with solder, so that's why I may seem so dumb about that subject. And (sorry about all these questions) if I'm going to sometime get a copyNES when they're available, should I just open up one of my SMB1/Duck Hunt carts, and replace those chips?
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Post by Roth »

About the bit you need to open the carts, it's called a Gamebit. The size for NES games is 3.8mm. The other size is 4.5 mm which is mainly for Sega products, but I believe can open others as well (maybe even the N64?). You can generally get them both pretty cheap together. If you're gonna get one, you might as well get the other :) Just search eBay with the word 'gamebit,' and you'll find what you need.

As for your other questions, I'm not quite that advanced myself, so I'll let the big dogs help you out. ;)
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teaguecl
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Post by teaguecl »

Anonymous wrote:Okay, so what exactly is that iron thing? like does it come with the solder? or do you have to buy that seperately? and when I get a new giftcard, I need to buy that certain bit that you can open carts with. What size is that? and where can I get one? I've never really used anything with solder, so that's why I may seem so dumb about that subject. And (sorry about all these questions) if I'm going to sometime get a copyNES when they're available, should I just open up one of my SMB1/Duck Hunt carts, and replace those chips?
What you are asking are general electronics and soldering questions. Nothing wrong with that, we try to be newbie friendly here, but it's not strictly NES related. What you really want to do is to study some circuits first. A semester of college is where most people pick that up, but it's not hard to get on your own. As far as soldering goes I can't think of a better place to pick it up than NASA!
http://radiojove.gsfc.nasa.gov/elab/soldering.htm
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Post by Guest »

Oh, that seems easy. how much are soldering Irons? I hope they're not too expensive. Oh my god, a whelder is like 4000 dollars, for a good one at least. But yeah, do they sell those at radio shack? Because if they do, I think I'll have to get one. I live near a radio shack, but I think I heard that that particular radio shack sucks. And should I use a 30W, or 25W like they say on that video in that link. I think before I start doing that with NES hardware, I should probably try removing some chips on basic electronics, and resoldering them back on, just to get good with soldering stuff. For some horrible reason, it looks like it's kind of fun to solder things, haha, that is so lame. Well, any way, how much do you think it would cost, which one should I get, and can I get it at radio shack?
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Post by kyuusaku »

15-20W for delicate soldering, 30-45W for desoldering. Don't get a RadioShack iron, I've been through 5 of them in 5 years, they have the absolute worst heating mechanisms and fattest tips which you'll loose anyway after a good 10 hours.
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Post by blargg »

Somewhere I read about using a heat gun for desoldering chips, since you generally can't get all the solder out of the holes. There are even heat guns made especially for desoldering, but are more expensive. As I understand it, using one involves heating all the solder points of the chip then carefully pulling the chip out of the bottom of the board. It's definitely something to research well and wear safety goggles while doing.
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teaguecl
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Post by teaguecl »

And just in case you missed the warning on the solder you bought, it is extremely toxic! Most solder has lead in it. Lead is particularly nasty because your body cannot expunge it. So every time you are exposed to lead, it accumulates in your body, and there is no way to get it out. This cummulative lead buildup is very bad for you. You can buy lead-free solder, but it's harder to work with. Do not solder anywhere near food, or on your kitchen counter. Work in a well ventilated area and do not breathe the fumes. Wash your hands thouroughly when you are done. People die from lead poisoning due to long term exposure to solder, and even in the short term it can make you very sick.
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Post by Guest »

Oh, is it that much harder to solder with no lead solder? I hope not, because I really don't want to be exposed to toxic meth fumes, haha. And where should I get a soldering Iron if I don't get one from radio shack?
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Post by Guest »

Okay, for EEPROMs, should what kind should I get? Should I get 28C256 for CHR and PRG? And does it need to be the exact size of memory? or can it be like 256K, and you are writing 248K to it? I'm sorry, i seem dumb about this...
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Post by kyuusaku »

Technically lead is not in the smoke, since lead doesn't come close to entering it's gaseous state at soldering temperatures. Generally the smoke is simply a byproduct of the flux if you're using a rosin core solder. It's still smart to use some sort of fume absorber since flux's fumes are potentially carcinogenic.

For desoldering I use a vacuum pencil and wicks because I'm poor. If I had the extra money I'd surely go for a hot air/vacuum rework station.
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