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DIY Flash Card


GadgetUK

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This is one of the things i've been meaning to post topics on amongst a long list of things... Despite it not really being a flash card in the technical sense it does allow someone to create a DIY card that they can use to a) learn about EPROMs and programming, and b) be able to flash their own programs in order develop and test etc. The nicer solution is obviously to buy one of Lynxmans cards if you can afford it but if I am honest I wanted to play around with an EPROM programmer and learn some stuff in the process.

 

And again, apologies to those more technical on here, this isn't rocket science stuff but it might help someone in future should they want to go down the avenue I took.

 

The Pasiu 256Kb PCB (shown below) is fairly common as a lot of hobbyists seem to have used this for repro cards often seen on EBAY. You can tell its the right PCB just by the white text on the board that says:-

 

'256Kb ATARI LYNX'

'GAME CARTRIDGE'

'PCB - pasiu/ssg'

 

Obviously there's nothing particularly special about this particular PCB, other than it supports 256Kb chips - you could make your own, or possibly use another similar PCB from a different origin - eg. Some of the 32 pin DIP / DIL telegames carts would work, or any other repro / homebrew cart that has the right chip size.

 

If you are lucky enough to own one that's already socketed (like mine was), you can simply insert a 32 pin DIP (or is it DIL, I always get mixed up.. I think they are one and the same) socket into the existing socket (this acts as a spacer so the lever on the ZIF socket isnt a problem in the Lynx 2), and then stick a 32 pin ZIF socket (the green one pictured) into the other socket, and from there all you need is an EPROM programmer.

 

EPROM programmers are cheap on EBAY - I am currently using a Genius G540, which cost me around £30. Typical prices for 256Kb 27C020 chips these days are around £1 per piece. A 32 pin socket will post around £1, and a ZIF socket around £5. A cheap repro game off EBAY (eg. Lynx Invades Japan) will cost around £18 but you would likely need to remove the chip and install a socket to start with. In order to program you need to select the correct chip type and manufacturer in the programming software, load the image (.lyx, .bin etc) - if you only have .lnx file you need to remove the first 64 bytes first.

 

EDIT: You would also need a UV eraser in order to blank any EPROMS you buy or any you want to re-program - which again are common on EBAY for around £12.

 

 

 

zif.jpg

eproms.jpg

 

EDIT: You can see another Pasiu PCB picture in bottom right there which I bought of EBAY last week - it wasnt socketed though and is a newer (better) revision. The first revision which I used for my ZIF socket has wires on one side instead of double sided PCP like the bottom one. Incidentally I got my first Pasiu PCB with Raiden (one with the black background on the label).

 

Edit: btw, for anyone that doesnt know what the ZIF socket is, its a Zero Insertion Force socket, where you can just drop the chip in, and then push the lever down to secure the chip. Makes it really easy to swap ROMs.

Edited by GadgetUK
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I dont use this type of prototyping, cause its to much to do if you would test some variations of the code - erasing - flashing, four components you need to handle(erase,burn,cartrisge, chip).

 

the flashcard from lynxman only needs some seconds, including erasing and writing.

 

If you want to try a demo, i think this cheap way is OK, if you really want effective coding, you need another tool.

 

 

Regards Matthias

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Yeah, totally agreed. Depends how you develop. I've been tending to only put prototype code onto EPROM after every 2 or 3 hours of work, but that is a consequence of this approach - when I develop on iPhone I run the code on the actual iPhone every 2 minutes lol. Using my current Lynx dev approach I end up with 2 or 3 chips to re-blank at the end of the week, which only takes 15 minutes anyway so its not a big deal for me atm but could annoy some people. When i've got another 95 euros spare I will be buying one of Lynxmans flash carts, I just had too much of a desire to play around with PCBs and EPROMS, and not enough cash =) Lynx collecting soon becomes expensive...

 

EDIT: Also, this is great for quickly running different images, or just running homebrew images you already have on EPROM - hence my little box there. I can just play homebrew and some PD protos easily that way without having to flash anything. It's a bit quirky sure, having to handle chips with pins, but hey most of us are classed as geeks anyway and you cant get more geeky than sticking actual chips into a board to play a game =) aside from having a bunch of address and data wires and sparking your own binary =) For me it negates the need to keep flashing anything in order to play PD stuff, demos and stuff produced on here.

Edited by GadgetUK
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