The FinalGROM 99

[x24b]

I'm thinking about 3 buttons. The normal 2 separate reset buttons,... and 1 to rule them ALL!

[+chue]

 

Well, you cannot connect them together, one is GND, the other is -5V. But you can use a DPST button to switch both contacts at the same time.

 

I kept them apart so that you could reset the TI, but keep the program, if you wanted to retry/restart the current program. The TI reset is only needed for programs that don't support FCTN-=.

 

Thank you. Good thing I asked before I did it!

[c0d3m4st4]

I am interested in those buttons. Are the dimensions the same as a standard TI shell?

 

Darryl

 

Mostly... but not sure about thickness right now as i modified it manually inside to be able to fit the connector next to the SD card socket, so mine will fit but they may be too loose if you turn the case upside down, or may be pressing the push button all the time. They are just button caps sitting on the push button itself.

[ralphb]

Note that the micro push button I used is also available with longer buttons, I think up to 11 mm. You could desolder the short buttons and put in the long ones. These might be long enough to protrude from the cart shell, but I haven't tried that.

[+remowilliams]

First draft of case/buttons for the FinalGROM, came out fairly well all things considered. Also the FlashROM now has an actual button for its case instead of the toothpick bit

 

I used the Windows 10 3D builder to edit acadiel's 3D model.

 

 

 

[+arcadeshopper]

First draft of case/buttons for the FinalGROM, came out fairly well all things considered. Also the FlashROM now has an actual button for its case instead of the toothpick bit

 

I used the Windows 10 3D builder to edit acadiel's 3D model.

 

 

 

Share the project?

 

Sent from my LG-H830 using Tapatalk

[eightbit]

FinalGROM99 Arrived today! Thank you Ralph. I was amazed at the fast that it was shipped from Germany on the 21st and arrived in NJ, USA in four days. Incredible!

[Tempest]

I got mine yesterday. This weekend I need to load it up with games. Have all the FinalGROM compatible games been posted in one convenient zip file or are they still spread out throughout that one thread?

[RickyDean]

I got mine yesterday. This weekend I need to load it up with games. Have all the FinalGROM compatible games been posted in one convenient zip file or are they still spread out throughout that one thread?

Try http://atariage.com/...m-99/?p=3803976

[Tempest]

Try http://atariage.com/...m-99/?p=3803976

Ok that is the most current one then? Great.

[x24b]

July 15 email confirms purchase from Ralph Benzinger of FinalGROM 99, stating 2 week delivery.

July 25 FinalGROM arrives!

The PCB looks great, shipping bubble wrap protected the board, the cardboard box sturdy enough.

 

Thank you Ralph. Great experience all around.

 

Now I need to give it a test drive!

 

PS

The cartridge FinalGROM 99 label looks perfect!

[+arcadeshopper]

I uploaded a zip to whtech that Ralph has created with pretty much everything. It's under cartridges/finalgrom99. Ftp.whtech.com

 

Sent from my LG-H830 using Tapatalk

[Asmusr]

JS99er v 5.10 now has support for FG99 compatible paged RAM/ROM carts. I have tried it on the Ralph's test image only.

[+retroclouds]

Received both my FG's today and took them for a test-drive.

I am so impressed with the quality of the hardware AND the software. Very well done!

 

Thank you Ralph for your hard work on this.

[Tempest]

Finally got to try it out tonight and it works great for the most part, but I'm running into a few problems:

 

1. I have to hit reset once for FinalGROM99 to show up in the menu (not a big deal, but I'm curious as to why this might be)

 

2. Some of the games aren't showing up in the menu. I downloaded the ROM zip that was linked to but games like Tutankham, Video Vegas, Warzone, etc. aren't showing up but many of the others do. I have 9 pages of games, but I should have more than that. Is there a directory structure that needs to be followed or something?

 

3. There are some multi-lingual entries like the ones for Hunt the Wumpus. I assume those can't be removed because that's how the original rom is?

 

4. The first three entries in the menu are PC crap like trash, filesystem, and other hidden file garbage. Is there a way get rid of that?

[InfiniteTape]

 

4. The first three entries in the menu are PC crap like trash, filesystem, and other hidden file garbage. Is there a way get rid of that?

 

PeBo discusses that problem in this post: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/267952-my-finalgrom99-venture/?p=3813426

[ralphb]

Finally got to try it out tonight and it works great for the most part, but I'm running into a few problems:

 

1. I have to hit reset once for FinalGROM99 to show up in the menu (not a big deal, but I'm curious as to why this might be)

 

2. Some of the games aren't showing up in the menu. I downloaded the ROM zip that was linked to but games like Tutankham, Video Vegas, Warzone, etc. aren't showing up but many of the others do. I have 9 pages of games, but I should have more than that. Is there a directory structure that needs to be followed or something?

 

3. There are some multi-lingual entries like the ones for Hunt the Wumpus. I assume those can't be removed because that's how the original rom is?

 

4. The first three entries in the menu are PC crap like trash, filesystem, and other hidden file garbage. Is there a way get rid of that?

 

1. Yes, you're the second person to report this. The first person resolved this by using a faster SD card. I can send you a test update that delays initialization a little. If that helps, I can roll it out for others.

 

2. You cannot have more than 9 pages in the menu. If you have more entries, split them up into two different folders. This is, among other things, a space limitation of the single bank menu that the FlashROM already had.

 

3. If you're talking about the ZIP, Hunt the Wumpus is the only game where I kept the multi-lingual menu. Mostly, because it's one of my favorite games. If you have other images with nonsense entries such as "ENGLISH" or "DUTCH" or "GAME", you can use a hex editor to prune the menu. That's what I did.

 

4. PeBo already answered that. I think you can also say "show hidden files" somewhere in Windows, which might help to delete this.

[Tempest]

 

1. Yes, you're the second person to report this. The first person resolved this by using a faster SD card. I can send you a test update that delays initialization a little. If that helps, I can roll it out for others.

 

Yes please do. Like I said, it's not a huge deal but it is an annoyance.

 

 

2. You cannot have more than 9 pages in the menu. If you have more entries, split them up into two different folders. This is, among other things, a space limitation of the single bank menu that the FlashROM already had.

 

Ah, that would explain it! I dumped everything into one folder. I was wondering why they were split to begin with.

 

 

3. If you're talking about the ZIP, Hunt the Wumpus is the only game where I kept the multi-lingual menu. Mostly, because it's one of my favorite games. If you have other images with nonsense entries such as "ENGLISH" or "DUTCH" or "GAME", you can use a hex editor to prune the menu. That's what I did.

 

Yes I think Hunt the Wumpus was the only one I saw like this. Can you explain how I can edit the titles? I assume that the cart has some sort of database of file names that it uses to look up the real name to display.

[Sinphaltimus]

 

Yes please do. Like I said, it's not a huge deal but it is an annoyance.

 

 

 

Ah, that would explain it! I dumped everything into one folder. I was wondering why they were split to begin with.

 

 

 

Yes I think Hunt the Wumpus was the only one I saw like this. Can you explain how I can edit the titles? I assume that the cart has some sort of database of file names that it uses to look up the real name to display.

 

 

I for one would love to see a tutorial topic specific to Hex editing, all the ins-outs and gotchas. I've hexedited files in the past but not specific to the TI or bin files so a topic all of its own would be fantastic given the release of the FG99 and the current needs of the community to want to do this.

[ralphb]

Alright, I happen to have a diagram of the menu structure here:

 

 

The first byte of a cartridge is always >AA, followed by version (ignored), program count (here ignored), and reserved (usually ignored, but FG99 uses this for RAM/GRAM mode). At >6006, the menu chain starts (green). The first green number points to the first menu entry, the first menu entry to the second, and so on, until the chain hits >0000.

 

Now right behind the chain is the start address of each menu entry (purple). For a ROM cart, this must be between >6000 and >7FFE. For simple hexediting, the start address should be left alone.

 

After the start address, you have the menu title (blue), which is preceded by a length byte (uncolored). This is what you must edit if you want to change a name for the FinalGROM 99. Most of the time, you're limited by the length byte, as you cannot grow beyond this without overwriting other important data.

 

In this dump, you can read 5 entries on the right ASCII pane, but when you count the menu entries (e.g., the purple boxes), you only see 3 entries. Thus, two are hidden, and probably non-functional.

 

If you want to eliminate all but one entries, you change the very first green word at >6006 to point to the green box of the entry you want. Then, for that entry, change that green word to >0000. You now skipped previous entries, and cut the chain at your entry, resulting in just your entry.

 

You can merge two entries into one single entry if you want to create a longer entry name. But I prefer to keep it as much original as I can. I always suspect that some program might use or check its menu entries as a sort of space saving method or copy protection.

 

EDIT: typo

Edited July 27, 2017 by ralphb

[Sinphaltimus]

Still get lost in that post - don't really understand it all but I did download a hex editor and started poking around the Hunt the wumpus bin. I guess I don't get the pointers yet, like how to bypass the other language options - i eally don't mind them there or have a need to change that in particular. Just trying to wrap my head around this stuff.

[Tempest]

I understand the gist of it, I just wish there was an easy to use tool for this.

[+Lee Stewart]

One line is missing from @ralphb's hex screen shot, making navigating the hex easier, and that is the last byte of the address of each column. You will notice there are 16 bytes/line and that the addresses down the left side all end in ‘0’. The addresses down the left side are the addresses of the first byte of each line. The line across the top that was omitted reads, “0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 a b c d e f”. The address of each cell is the sum of the left “row” address and the top “column” address.

 

...lee

[Omega-TI]

I like where this is going! Anyone willing to step up to the plate and do a "Sector Editor For Dummies" PDF?

[Sinphaltimus]

I like where this is going! Anyone willing to step up to the plate and do a "Sector Editor For Dummies" PDF?

 

Yeah, that woudl be fantastic. With step by step examples as you go along. Editing existing menu items, removing unwanted ones, staying within the proper confines of memory space. etc...