UnoCart-2600 : a DIY SD multi-cart for the 2600

[+MacRorie]

That's not correct. The firmware only defines the display of the menu. So the jumper can only change that.

 

A PAL Encore or UnoCart can play NTSC games and vice versa. But for NTSC games displayed in correct colors you need a NTSC console, and for PAL games you a need a PAL console. The flash carts make zero difference here.

 

 

Fair enough.

[HDTV1080P]

https://www.thebrewingacademy.com/

 

Your understanding is incorrect. The 2600-UNO supports .3E files up to 256k in size. There is no limit to the size of the SD card that you can use on the UNO. Although, 1G is probably more than sufficient for most collections.

 

The Harmony Encore is a very excellent product. I do not see the need to force comparisons between two excellent products which have very different price points.

 

Again, feel free to ask questions before posting incorrect statements,

 

1. Yes, updates can be done via the SD card. That is the beauty of it: You do not need any additional hardware or software to update the 2600-UNO.

2. You are correct that, unlike the Harmony Encore, the 2600-UNO cartridge does NOT require a firmware upgrade to play PAL or NTSC ROMs, all you do is change a jumper located via a very easily accessed hole in the cartridge shell.

3. No need to disassemble it at all. It is quite easy to change. In fact, it will even run PAL ROMs on an NTSC monitor (albeit in black and white).

 

 

You should enjoy using your Harmony cartridge. I have one as well. Again, why the need to cast aspersions? The UNO-2600 will run just about anything you throw at it, can be updated via the SD card and it just as robust as possible for a multi-cart. It is also $40 (plus shipping), so enjoy both.

As for the Ultimate Cartridge, that is not for the 2600. It never has been. It is for the Atari 800/XL/XE series of computers on have been produced by a number of people. I have been producing it for the creator since 2015. If you have an Atari 8-bit computer, I highly recommend one.

Thanks for the updated information on the official website link. I was getting my information from a UnoCart EBAY dealer that said the following https://www.ebay.com/itm/Atari-2600-SD-Card-MultiCart-works-on-2600-7800-plays-most-ROMs/283206485702?hash=item41f06c06c6:m:mAllds0JyCjztYua7dw-uWA:rk:1:pf:0

 

"The UnoCart -2600 is an Atari cartridge emulator. It supports cartridges with up to 64k of ROM and 32k of RAM."

 

However you gave me the correct information at 256k in size. However that is half the rom storage space of the Harmony Encore at 512k.

 

The EBAY dealer also said

"The jumper on the back of the board allows you to select whether the cartridge uses NTSC or PAL/PAL60 for the built-in menu. You can remove the jumper completely if you are using a NTSC TV."

 

That sounds like one needs to take the cartridge apart on the back of the board. However looking at their updated pictures it looks like the jumper is external and can be accessed on the top of the cartridge shell.

 

The Harmony Encore firmware is upgradable by SD and USB port. Plus it offers 512k rom bank switching which is twice the storage capacity of the UniCart 2600. However the UnoCart does have the advantage of using a external jumper to change from PAL to NTSC and not needing to change the firmware. Its also a little bit cheaper in price.

 

I plan on continuing to use my Harmony Encore because of the 512KB of rom capability, USB port, and I heard its currently 100% or 99.9% compatible with all games. However its awesome to see competition in the market that can lead to improvements in products and price.

 

 

Edited December 10, 2018 by HDTV1080P

[+MacRorie]

Thanks for the updated information on the official website link. I was getting my information from a UnoCart EBAY dealer that said the following https://www.ebay.com/itm/Atari-2600-SD-Card-MultiCart-works-on-2600-7800-plays-most-ROMs/283206485702?hash=item41f06c06c6:m:mAllds0JyCjztYua7dw-uWA:rk:1:pf:0

 

"The UnoCart -2600 is an Atari cartridge emulator. It supports cartridges with up to 64k of ROM and 32k of RAM."

 

However you gave me the correct information at 256k in size. However that is half the storage space of the Harmony Encore at 512k.

That eBay dealer and I are, umm, the same person. I have updated the auction to reflect the new manual text. Thanks for letting me know.

 

 

The EBAY dealer also said

"The jumper on the back of the board allows you to select whether the cartridge uses NTSC or PAL/PAL60 for the built-in menu. You can remove the jumper completely if you are using a NTSC TV."

 

That sounds like one needs to take the cartridge apart on the back of the board. However looking at their updated pictures it looks like the jumper is external and can be accessed on the top of the cartridge shell.

Indeed, no need to take it apart.

 

The Harmony Encore firmware is upgradable by SD and USB port. Plus it offers 512k rom bank switching which is twice the storage capacity of the UniCart 2600. However the UnoCart does have the advantage of using a external jumper to change from PAL to NTSC and not needing to change the firmware. Its also a little bit cheaper in price.

Okay. The UNO-2600 cart also has 512k/1024k of flash RAM that can be programmed by developers. So, I am sure this could be developed, but again, two very good products.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

The largest current homebrew is 64k, so even 256k are way above what you need. But the Unocart has an even more powerful CPU, which might improve ARM based game development in the future.

[HDTV1080P]

That eBay dealer and I are, umm, the same person. I have updated the auction to reflect the new manual text. Thanks for letting me know.

 

 

 

Indeed, no need to take it apart.

 

 

Okay. The UNO-2600 cart also has 512k/1024k of flash RAM that can be programmed by developers. So, I am sure this could be developed, but again, two very good products.

The Harmony Encore has a 1MB EEPROM that can be utilized for paging out game data for up to a 512KB game image. So it looks like the Harmony Encore and UnoCart-2600 have the same flash ram capacity.

 

Is there any plans to offer a firmware update to the UnoCart 2600 so that 32GB to 2TB SDXC cards can natively be supported using the exFAT file system?

Edited December 10, 2018 by HDTV1080P

[HDTV1080P]

The largest current homebrew is 64k, so even 256k are way above what you need. But the Unocart has an even more powerful CPU, which might improve ARM based game development in the future.

You mention that the UnoCart 2600 has a more powerful CPU. If that is true then what CPU is being used in the UnoCart 2600 that makes it better then the Harmony Encore CPU?

[+MacRorie]

The Harmony Encore has a 1MB EEPROM that can be utilized for paging out game data for up to a 512KB game image. So it looks like the Harmony Encore and UnoCart-2600 have the same flash ram capacity.

 

Is there any plans to offer a firmware update to the UnoCart 2600 so that 32GB to 2TB SDXC cards can natively be supported using the exFAT file system?

Not that I am aware of. But until 2600 ROMs take up more space, I don't really see the need. I have been known to be wrong, however. Also, FAT32 is fairly robust and stable. But, YMMV.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

You mention that the UnoCart 2600 has a more powerful CPU. If that is true then what CPU is being used in the UnoCart 2600 that makes it better then the Harmony Encore CPU?

The CPUs are different, so you cannot compare directly, but IIRC Encore runs at 60 or 70MHz and Unocart at 160MHz.

 

But if that ever really makes a difference, is completely unknown. And in a few years, there will be another flash cart with maybe 250 or more MHz. So why bother now?

[HDTV1080P]

It is also the quality of the firmware and software that makes a difference. If one product has better hardware but poorly written software with bugs, then the slower cartridge would be better. I would need to purchase both to compare the software.

 

So it sounds like the UnoCart 2600 might coexist with the Harmony Encore unless one goes out of production. I am looking for quality first and price second when selecting a multi-cart.

[+-^CrossBow^-]

Is there any plans to offer a firmware update to the UnoCart 2600 so that 32GB to 2TB SDXC cards can natively be supported using the exFAT file system?

 

Have you tried to use a different formatter for larger SD cards? I use one I think called SD formatter and it allows me to format higher capacity cards like a 64gb for example in Fat32 structure. Very possible you could do the same with larger capacity cards and have them work on things like the UNO etc. This is what I'm using with my RHEA on my Saturn. It normally can't support anything larger than like 16gb. But that is because the Windows OS by default doesn't let you format to FAT16 above that size. Other software can and is worth trying out.

[Andromeda Stardust]

The largest current homebrew is 64k, so even 256k are way above what you need. But the Unocart has an even more powerful CPU, which might improve ARM based game development in the future.

Well then there's the Bad Apple Demo (512kbytes), which HArmony Encore is technically capable of running if only Batari would update the firmware to support it. I imagine it would take a while to flash though.

 

 

 

Is there any plans to offer a firmware update to the UnoCart 2600 so that 32GB to 2TB SDXC cards can natively be supported using the exFAT file system?

You can "force format" a FAT32 partition to XDHC cards (using Linux, Mac, Windows command line, or third party format utilities), up to a 2Tb absolute partition limit. File sizes are still limited to 4Gbytes or less however.

 

Let's not get carried away now. I doubt we will see "Megabyte and up" sized Atari 2600 games (much less Gigabyte sized) any time soon.

[HDTV1080P]

Well then there's the Bad Apple Demo (512kbytes), which HArmony Encore is technically capable of running if only Batari would update the firmware to support it. I imagine it would take a while to flash though.

 

 

You can "force format" a FAT32 partition to XDHC cards (using Linux, Mac, Windows command line, or third party format utilities), up to a 2Tb absolute partition limit. File sizes are still limited to 4Gbytes or less however.

 

Let's not get carried away now. I doubt we will see "Megabyte and up" sized Atari 2600 games (much less Gigabyte sized) any time soon.

SD cards 16MB to 2GB that use FAT are out of production, however SDHC cards that use FAT32 between 2GB to 32GB are in production for now. There is a possibility that in the years to come SDXC cards between 32GB to 2TB might be the only option in retail stores. SDXC cards are native exFAT and some do not work correctly when trying to format them as FAT32. In the ideal world all SD cartridges on the market should support exFAT so that SDXC cards can be used in the native file format.

[HDTV1080P]

Doing some more comparisons, the Harmony Encore has a USB port, USB support chip, a separate 512k ram chip, and a 1MB eeprom chip. Because of the extra hardware, the prices are higher on the Harmony Encore. In addition, the UNOCART for the 2600 does not support DPC+ or CDF bank switching schemes.

 

To make the Harmony Encore cheaper in price then those extra chips would need to be removed. But then the product would no longer be a Harmony Encore product since it would have less features.

[+MacRorie]

Doing some more comparisons, the Harmony Encore has a USB port, USB support chip, a separate 512k ram chip, and a 1MB eeprom chip. Because of the extra hardware, the prices are higher on the Harmony Encore. In addition, the UNOCART for the 2600 does not support DPC+ or CDF bank switching schemes.

 

To make the Harmony Encore cheaper in price then those extra chips would need to be removed. But then the product would no longer be a Harmony Encore product since it would have less features.

 

 

DPC+: The UnoCart-2600 should be able to emulate every cartridge released during the commercial life of the 2600. Newer homebrew titles should also be compatible with the UnoCart-2600, unless they use the DPC+ co-processor features specific to the Harmony/Melody cartridge. Note that the DPC support on the cartridge is not complete but it is sufficient to play Pitfall II. Further development is , of course, always on going.

 

As for the other things, okay. Not sure what the point is, though. The Harmony Encore is a nice product. The UNO is a nice product. It doesn't need a USB port. How about we just leave it at that?

[Andromeda Stardust]

SD cards 16MB to 2GB that use FAT are out of production, however SDHC cards that use FAT32 between 2GB to 32GB are in production for now. There is a possibility that in the years to come SDXC cards between 32GB to 2TB might be the only option in retail stores. SDXC cards are native exFAT and some do not work correctly when trying to format them as FAT32. In the ideal world all SD cartridges on the market should support exFAT so that SDXC cards can be used in the native file format.

2Gb cards have been discontinued? I did not know that. A lot of "legacy" devices still require them. I used 2Gb card in my Harmony simply because they were cheap and every Atari ROM ever made would fit 50 times over.

[Shawn]

Doing some more comparisons, the Harmony Encore has a USB port, USB support chip, a separate 512k ram chip, and a 1MB eeprom chip. Because of the extra hardware, the prices are higher on the Harmony Encore. In addition, the UNOCART for the 2600 does not support DPC+ or CDF bank switching schemes.

 

To make the Harmony Encore cheaper in price then those extra chips would need to be removed. But then the product would no longer be a Harmony Encore product since it would have less features.

 

If you wanna sing the praise of the Harmony by all means do so but don't come in hear and post wall after wall of text talking down about the UNO in the UNO cart thread. The same would be said for doing so visa versa as well. One post like that would have been in poor taste, nevermind doing so over and over like you have here puking up the same negative message. Go waffer this nonsense somewhere else as it's not doing you any favors here.

[ZackAttack]

In addition, the UNOCART for the 2600 does not support DPC+ or CDF bank switching schemes.

 

The UnoCart has support for ACE which is another scheme that allows game code to be offloaded to the ARM core. DPC+ and CDF are currently capped at 32kb rom and 8kb ram. ACE supports 448kb of rom and 192kb ram. On the flip side there are many quality homebrews which have already been released for DPC+ and CDF as well as some excellent documentation for developers. ACE is still largely undocumented and there is currently only a single game in development for it.

 

I'd recommend getting both carts if you can afford it.

[Lynxpro]

You mention that the UnoCart 2600 has a more powerful CPU. If that is true then what CPU is being used in the UnoCart 2600 that makes it better then the Harmony Encore CPU?

 

 

So much lightsabre-size measuring over SD Cartridge solutions for the 2600 all-the-while nobody has yet conquered the need for a universal SD Cartridge solution for the 7800...

[+MacRorie]

 

 

So much lightsabre-size measuring over SD Cartridge solutions for the 2600 all-the-while nobody has yet conquered the need for a universal SD Cartridge solution for the 7800...

 

 

 

Quite. I am looking into it. It is a bit above my pay grade right now, but I have assembled a very (very) small team. I think it is the next SD holy grail.

[+sramirez2008]

Quite. I am looking into it. It is a bit above my pay grade right now, but I have assembled a very (very) small team. I think it is the next SD holy grail.

If you build it, we will buy it!

[Lynxpro]

 

 

 

Quite. I am looking into it. It is a bit above my pay grade right now, but I have assembled a very (very) small team. I think it is the next SD holy grail.

 

It's the last Atari frontier considering the Jaguar SD Cart is almost finished. Well, maybe an ST SD Cartridge but people often throw shade on such an endeavor due to the limitations of its cartridge slot...

[+-^CrossBow^-]

SD cards 16MB to 2GB that use FAT are out of production, however SDHC cards that use FAT32 between 2GB to 32GB are in production for now. There is a possibility that in the years to come SDXC cards between 32GB to 2TB might be the only option in retail stores. SDXC cards are native exFAT and some do not work correctly when trying to format them as FAT32. In the ideal world all SD cartridges on the market should support exFAT so that SDXC cards can be used in the native file format.

 

 

Well, I just know that I've been able to use SDXC cards using SD Formatter I believe it is called for sometime now to force them into a Fat32 structure and at least with my Saturn RHEA (That only supports up to 16gb officially) it works just fine and I've seen videos and spoke with people who have gotten 128gb cards to work in that thing by formatting the cards to Fat32.

 

Now I pretty much tend to only use Sandisk SD cards. No real reason as to why other than they are usually the cheapest brand that I've never had issues with when purchasing an SD card. So I guess it is very much YMMV. Still it can't hurt to try and I might just need to see if I can test that with my UNO and Harmony.

 

That is another solution by the way...save up and get both flash carts. If you can only have one for now, then I would say the UNO will serve 90+ % of most enthusiasts needs and so I would start there and then look at getting the Harmony encore later. I don't have an encore and only have the original 2010 release of the Harmony but I've never felt with either cart that I can't do what I want or needed with them.

 

[MrBeefy]

You all are smarter than me. So right now Uno cannot play games that require a Melody board?

[+MacRorie]

You all are smarter than me. So right now Uno cannot play games that require a Melody board?

 

 

That depends on the game. The Melody is ~half a Harmony cart. So, if the game requires a feature that is specific to DPC+, then, no, not right now. Doesn't mean it couldn't happen. Throw me a game, I will tell you if it works.

[MrBeefy]

Draconian

Space Rocks

Anguna

Dungeon II

Panky the Panda

Zippy

Mappy