vb_master

Eckhard, I've used both versions. I figured out that 78ctrl38 required the -c1 switch from reading the usage. It seems that hole three is connected to the other side of the board, I've added a small amount of solder to the hole and tinned the upper side of the pad better to ensure connection. Using the command line "78ctrl38.exe -c1 splat.bin" still does not work with my RAM cartridge, yet it does work with the internal RAM when specifying -w1800.

Just replaced the cap and attempted to transfer Splatform to the RAM cart using both versions of 7800ctrl. I've used both the original pin 3 and pin 2 placements on the back of the cart board. The transfer times out every time.

Eckhard, I've successfully uploaded Splatform to the internal RAM by using the following command: "7800ctrl -w1800 -tSEND splat.bin" using the -f switch does not work at all. Took Mitch's suggestion and used the identical command line with my RAM cart (bar the -w switch), did not work at all.

Tried uploading a 4k game, Color Bar Generator, times out every time. Command line used: "7800ctrl -w2000 -tSEND cbg.bin" Perhaps this is where the virtualization is going to completely fail?

Setting these didn't make a difference, binaries cannot be uploaded to the cart still. I might as well give up, I'm at a loss what is wrong with it.

I didn't notice that. Wait... the jumper pads make a difference? What are they supposed to be set at?

Brand new from Jameco.

Just checked the voltage going to the chip, it was 4.94V so that seems fine. Could it possibly just be a bad SRAM chip?

I've checked them over several times now, they are fine. I am using a Hitachi HM628128LP-85 SRAM chip. Are there supposed to be any other resistors or capacitors on the board other than C3 (0.1uF)?

I am using the instructions for the 48K RAM cart from "devkit2.zip" the board's P/N is C100339

Just to avoid creating another thread, I got my SRAM and 74LS02 and Hat Trick cartridge today. I followed the directions in the document, however, 7800ctrl reacts as if there is no cartridge in the slot when I have my devcart in. Could the problem be that I am using a NTSC Hat Trick game? I double checked all my connections and they seem fine. Also, I wrote a really simple program to automatically fix bad ROMs by a process of elimination. It work very well.

Using the -a option of that 7800ctrl does help quite a bit. I was able to rebuild a working dump of Juno First by making five dumps of the cart, comparing two of the files, and then working out the correct bytes to replace the incorrect bytes with from the other three dumps (which took about 2 hours). It ended up with a working dump, just for a proof of concept that in theory this can all be accomplished with virtualization and PCI parallel cards.

It has a Moschip MCS9805 From manufacturer website: The MCS9805 is a printer port controller with PCI bus interface. MCS9805 fully supports the existing Centronics printer interface as well as PS/2, EPP, and ECP modes. The MCS9805 is ideally suited for PC applications, such as high speed parallel ports. The MCS9805 is available in a 128-pin QFP package. It is fabricated using an advanced submicron CMOS process to achieve low drain power and high-speed requirements.

Where can the newest version of 7800ctrl be downloaded? Your site only has v0.2.

Both motherboards are made by Gigabyte, and both have the same pinout outlined in their respective motherboard manuals. Therefore, it will work properly. Couldn't a MAX232A be used to convert TTL to RS232?

I found someone on eBay selling brackets for the GA-MA790FXT-UD5P, which uses the same part number parallel bracket.

They provided a pinout Also, I found a supplier that has one with parallel as well as a serial port, which my motherboard has a header for as well. http://www.directron.com/cbl-combo.html

According to Gigabyte, my GA-EP45-UD3P has a parallel port header on the motherboard, but no parallel bracket was provided. Apparently it's product number is 12CF1-1LP001-01R. I have no idea where I would find it though, unless I would have to buy it directly from Gigabyte.

The version of 7800ctrl included with this is newer than the one posted on Eckhard's page. Using command line option -a creates more accurate dumps of Synthcart. I'm amazed that a few milliseconds difference can throw something so much off. I'm considering rewriting 7800ctrl from Eckhard's source by using the API provided by SST DLPortIO instead of inportb/outportb as well as the 16 bit in instruction. That API is used quite successfully in the Xbox 360 JTAG reflashing software. That would be much more elegant than having to reboot my machine into DOS every time I wanted to play or dump a game.

Just grounded all of them. I tried dumping Joust again three times and it dumped correctly all three attempts! Juno First was yet again different each dump. I don't see why a PCI parallel card would cause so many issues with this, there is plenty of bandwidth available to a PCI slot for this application. Should I try shortening the length of the cable or switching to a shielded cable?

Pin 8 of the DB-9F was connected to pin 25 of the DB-25M. From looking at parallel port pinout, I see there are an additional seven ground points. Should these be bridged with pin 25? The cable is about 1.5m and is unshielded (scavenged from an Atari 7800 controller).

Just used a continuity tester on the cable, all the wires are connected properly with no shorts.

Yesterday I finally got all the parts needed to finish my DevOS cart dumper. After booting up my Windows 98 SE VMWare machine and configuring the VM properly so that my PCI parallel (host LPT2) card was detected as LPT1 in the VM. I ran 7800ctrl.exe with the -tTEST argument to guess the bankswitching type used for a game, let's say Joust (26F8). I dumped the cart a few times, restarting the 7800 each time to assure the reliability of the system. All these dumps of the same game differed with each other and a real known good dump of the game from Good2600 v3.14! None of my dumps worked on Harmony or Stella, whist the real cartridge would work fine. I also tried dumping my Synthcart, it also ended up differing from the AtariAge ROM by only 8 bytes or so. It ran on Harmony (just not Stella). So I decided to try a different game, BMX Airmaster (26F6). Comparing the dump for BMX Airmaster against the Good2600 version resulted in a 100% match. Dumbfounded, I dumped it again to see if it was some kind of anomaly and that second dump was good too. Next, I dumped a larger game that came to mind: Juno First (26F4 I think). First dump would show the title screen in Stella with glitched music and graphics. I made several more dumps, all of the rest not working at all (several k of data in variations from the original semi-working dump) Last, I dumped a 7800 game, Robotron 2084. This dump, after extra bytes were trimmed from the beginning of the ROM at AtariAge, compared exactly. It's bugging me and I cannot figure out what exactly is wrong, it certainly can't be my PCI parallel card, VM of Windows 98, cartridges, or 7800 console (all the real carts work fine). Any ideas on what is causing this? All help would be greatly appreciated!

I didn't know it had two boards in it, thanks for that clarification. I took your suggestion of gently prying the board into place and it worked well. The cart works better now and it's possible to insert into my systems without pre-forcing the spring-loaded door open. In other words, the main board is aligned well now; the SD/MiniB daughterboard being that much off was worrying me the most! Thanks for your help, I don't need a replacement now .

Sorry for the double post, got my DIP socket and 74LS04 today, put them together and found the video scrolling as described in some other posts. I moved the video input and the +5v over to the RF pins and it works absolutely perfectly. I had one of the third gen models with the expansion totally missing and the hole in the case gone, so that might explain it? Also in the pic you can see the plugged in RF section I made out of spare 7800 textured plastic. Thanks everyone in the thread - got my 7800 modded just the way I want. Just waiting on the SRAM and 74LS02 from Jameco and a Hat Trick cart to make into a flashcart.