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The FinalGROM 99


ralphb

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1 hour ago, AtariNostalgia said:

Hi all. I'd like to buy a Grom cartridge but I'm very confused as to which is the final version and where to buy a pre assembled on from.

Can I download games (for example) and have them run from it directly instead of inserting my solid states one by one?

 

did you read the FAQ?  if not.. I'll summorize..  you can get the finalgrom99 at arcadeshopper.com..

the flashrom99 was discontinued when the finalgrom99 was released. 

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3 minutes ago, arcadeshopper said:

did you read the FAQ?  if not.. I'll summorize..  you can get the finalgrom99 at arcadeshopper.com..

the flashrom99 was discontinued when the finalgrom99 was released. 

I hadn't read it because I saw a youtube video about the uber99 and 1 before it. By the time I got here I realized that there were a plethora of different versions, but I should have read the FAQ.

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  • 4 months later...

Question for anyone who has anyone made one of these themselves?  I had a pcb from a few years time back that I had started to build out but got sidetracked on other projects (plus I already own a flashrom99 anyway).  I thought I would revisit building this board, and I had all the parts except the Cypress SRAM (CY62158ELL-45ZSXI) which is apparently hard to find and seems outrageously expensive for what it is.  Anyone know if theres an alternative sram that would work?

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A little slower, 55ns vs 45ns and wider voltage supply range. Other than that it is also in the 44-pin TSOP II package.

$6.92 AS6C8008-55ZIN https://www.mouser.com/datasheet/2/12/AS6C8008-1288432.pdf

 

I haven't checked compatibility any closer than that.

Doug

Edited by helocast
Found possible variant
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Basically any SRAM IC from this page should work:

https://www.digikey.com/products/en/integrated-circuits-ics/memory/774?k=sram&k=&pkeyword=sram&sv=0&pv276=127091&pv276=130284&pv276=202821&pv276=171276&sf=1&FV=-8|774%2C69|409393%2C142|227886%2C961|407300%2C1291|220518%2C1291|220519%2C1989|0%2C2043|383917&quantity=&ColumnSort=0&page=1&pageSize=25

 

Note that some parts are listed multiple times in different minimum quantities, and some are not in stock.

 

EDIT:  To be safe, download the datasheet before you buy and check that the pins match the original (attached).

cy62158ev30ll.pdf

Edited by ralphb
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On 8/17/2019 at 8:50 PM, kl99 said:

Nice that you keep improving the FinalGrom. Really!

 

I am wondering if you want to return to try getting the FinalGrom working for the 99/4Q, v2.2, 99/8?

and the TI-99/4  ? 

(the TI-99/4 keyboard only accepts Uppercase, but once in the menu cannot select any option, was just trying it out for fun to see if Bounce 'N Pounce game would work).

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1 hour ago, globeron said:

and the TI-99/4  ? 

(the TI-99/4 keyboard only accepts Uppercase, but once in the menu cannot select any option, was just trying it out for fun to see if Bounce 'N Pounce game would work).

IIRC the TI 99/4 uses an entirely different menu system, as shown by early carts like Video Chess.  That cart basically draws its own menu (similar to what we see on the 4A), so the entry analyzer of the FG99 gets confused.  (I patched the image for the FinalGROM99.zip.)

 

On the other hand, I assume that later cartridges (Parsec) also work on the 4?  Anyway, it's hard to work on something I don't own, so if you want to make a donation, I'll see what I can do! ?

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1 hour ago, OLD CS1 said:

+1.  I understand Ralph was trying to figure out the issue, but I have not kept up with whether that has been sussed out or not.

I understand the v2.2 qi TI's can still boot sidecar games like miner 2049er, so make a sidecar version of the finalgrom99, with a passthrough for memory Tipi etc to connect to.

 

Edited by jrhodes
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7 hours ago, jrhodes said:

I understand the v2.2 qi TI's can still boot sidecar games like miner 2049er, so make a sidecar version of the finalgrom99, with a passthrough for memory Tipi etc to connect to.

The cartridge port address space does not appear at the expansion port.

 

Ah, I see... a FG for side-port carts, not a FG to bypass QI problems at the cart port.

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4 hours ago, ralphb said:

On the other hand, I assume that later cartridges (Parsec) also work on the 4?  Anyway, it's hard to work on something I don't own, so if you want to make a donation, I'll see what I can do! ?

Back when I had a 99/4 and a sizable cart collection, the only carts I had that wouldn’t show up on the 99/4’s menu were the ROM only Atarisoft carts.  Parsec would show up but didn’t work because of the bitmap mode it requires that the 99/4 doesn’t have.  Selecting Parsec from the menu simply cleared the screen and then returned to the color bar screen.  

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16 hours ago, jrhodes said:

I understand the v2.2 qi TI's can still boot sidecar games like miner 2049er, so make a sidecar version of the finalgrom99, with a passthrough for memory Tipi etc to connect to.

 

QI and v2.2 are actually two different things: You can have QI with version 1.x and v2.2 without QI.

 

The FinalGROM works with v2.2, as its menu is GROM.  But the QI architecture did change something that prevents the FG99 from functioning.  A quick look with a logic analyzer didn't reveal any differences, though.

 

I must admit that this project is rather low priority, although I do have a QI machine.  When I have more free time (i.e., next year), I can pick up the analysis of this case again.

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16 hours ago, jrhodes said:

I understand the v2.2 qi TI's can still boot sidecar games like miner 2049er, so make a sidecar version of the finalgrom99, with a passthrough for memory Tipi etc to connect to.

 

Yes, see

I haven't tried the sidecar on a QI console yet, though.  I should really do this!

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15 hours ago, Casey said:

Back when I had a 99/4 and a sizable cart collection, the only carts I had that wouldn’t show up on the 99/4’s menu were the ROM only Atarisoft carts.  Parsec would show up but didn’t work because of the bitmap mode it requires that the 99/4 doesn’t have.  Selecting Parsec from the menu simply cleared the screen and then returned to the color bar screen.  

OK, then Parsec was actually a bad example.  I meant regular GROM and/or ROM carts made for the 4A.  We now know they work on 4s as well, which kind of invalidates my theory (but Video Chess is weird).  Guess I have to buy one after all.

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13 hours ago, ralphb said:

QI and v2.2 are actually two different things: You can have QI with version 1.x and v2.2 without QI.

 

The FinalGROM works with v2.2, as its menu is GROM.  But the QI architecture did change something that prevents the FG99 from functioning.

I must admit that this project is rather low priority, although I do have a QI machine.  When I have more free time (i.e., next year), I can pick up the analysis of this case again.

Considering I only run/own V1 QI, I'm still wondering what to do with my FG purchased early in 2018? Can we get credit/trade-in against a future SDD99 sale if that will finally support the QI?

 

Doug

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2 hours ago, helocast said:

Considering I only run/own V1 QI, I'm still wondering what to do with my FG purchased early in 2018? Can we get credit/trade-in against a future SDD99 sale if that will finally support the QI?

 

Doug

I have been considering getting a second one.  You wanna make a deal?

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3 hours ago, helocast said:

Considering I only run/own V1 QI, I'm still wondering what to do with my FG purchased early in 2018? Can we get credit/trade-in against a future SDD99 sale if that will finally support the QI?

 

Doug

Have you tried loading the SD card with multiple files or only a single file? The FinalGROM 99 handles these tasks somewhat differently.:idea:

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10 hours ago, helocast said:

Considering I only run/own V1 QI, I'm still wondering what to do with my FG purchased early in 2018? Can we get credit/trade-in against a future SDD99 sale if that will finally support the QI?

Yes, we can do that, or sell your FG99 to OLD CS1.  Or if you want, you can return it to me now for a refund.

Edited by ralphb
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6 hours ago, HOME AUTOMATION said:

Have you tried loading the SD card with multiple files or only a single file? The FinalGROM 99 handles these tasks somewhat differently.:idea:

No, that's not it.  QI consoles just do not work for the FinalGROM.  Nobody knows why.

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