Turbo Laser Lynx Posted May 5, 2019 Share Posted May 5, 2019 I've managed to build another 10 Where did you find all the cart connectors? Even broken Lynxes are expensive as strawberries in the wintertime now a days. You are doing a lot to encourage new content to the Lynx. This may be an amazing Lynx year. Yeah, thanks for being such a bright new star keeping the Lynx community going! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Igor Posted May 6, 2019 Author Share Posted May 6, 2019 I'm keeping that to myself because the supplier told me as more are sold the price will increase due to limited stock. I'm starting to think about an alternative connector now so I can reduce costs. The connector itself makes up a large portion of the component cost. Thanks for the great feedback, always good to know what I'm doing is appreciated. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Igor Posted May 7, 2019 Author Share Posted May 7, 2019 Sent another 4 out today, should be able to send one more tomorrow if all the shells get printed on time (I'm flying interstate for work again). The grey shells have been the hardest to clean up so far, but overall I think they look pretty good. I test each one to make sure it fits and works with Karri's cart PCBs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenious Posted May 11, 2019 Share Posted May 11, 2019 I'm keeping that to myself because the supplier told me as more are sold the price will increase due to limited stock. I'm starting to think about an alternative connector now so I can reduce costs. The connector itself makes up a large portion of the component cost. Thanks for the great feedback, always good to know what I'm doing is appreciated. Hehe, I think I know where, I see their price for the connector is up atleast 60% since last time I looked. And this is also why I got the programmer now, even though I don't really need it yet, I learned the hard way to get stuff when they are available, everything retro tends to be limited and waiting too long many times ends up with you not getting it at all, or at a premium on ebay. I always appreciate people making stuff for our retrogear. Especially hardware! Not only because I know the work behind it, but also because the average retro-user go gaga over software, where the development costs are basically nil (apart from time), but complains about every dime when it comes to hardware. So while I may be complaining about cost of software... I make a point in never complaining about hardware costs, because I know that the people making hardware makes more or less no money at all. Which also is a big reason hardware is often only available for a short while, you get tired of making them when all you hear is how expensive it is. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Igor Posted May 12, 2019 Author Share Posted May 12, 2019 Hah yes indeed. Making these programmer boards is not a walk in the park. It's a tedious process soldering so much. I've been trying something new with the 3D printed shells to speed things up, but it doesn't work. I tried printing more than 1 at a time so I could run the printer overnight. Unfortunately this results in about 50% of the shells being printed with burrs, which when cut off look terrible. These are more or less wasted shells now and I'll be going back to printing one at a time. I'll keep these shells for my own use I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thefred Posted May 13, 2019 Share Posted May 13, 2019 Recieved my programer today. So far it is working good. one thing is that in the instructions it says writecart but the file is programcart and the santex is different. and i dont see romutil. maybe i did something wrong? Also my version of alpine games and bonus cart do not fit into the slot. only two i ran into with issues not fitting yet. Thanks a lot for the great job. Looking forward to getting the crcs compaired on all the games i have. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Igor Posted May 13, 2019 Author Share Posted May 13, 2019 Let me check my git repository and get back to you, it's possible I committed the files but didn't push them. Ah, I'm using Lynx model 1 parts, which could be why the alpine games doesn't fit. I've not tried reading carts like Alpine Games yet by the way, so the software may not quite support it. Glad it's working fine otherwise :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+karri Posted May 14, 2019 Share Posted May 14, 2019 Alpine Games has 2 rom chips Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Igor Posted May 14, 2019 Author Share Posted May 14, 2019 Does that need the AUDIN mode to read? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+karri Posted May 14, 2019 Share Posted May 14, 2019 Basically my 2M utilities deal with up to 4 chip carts. Using both strobes and AUDIN. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Igor Posted May 14, 2019 Author Share Posted May 14, 2019 Cool, I'll need to port these into readcart as a new command line argument I think. I've just tried my bonus cart from alpine games and it doesn't fit the connector, doh. Nothing much that I can do about this one, sadly. I wouldn't recommend cutting the connector either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Igor Posted May 14, 2019 Author Share Posted May 14, 2019 one thing is that in the instructions it says writecart but the file is programcart and the santex is different. and i dont see romutil. maybe i did something wrong? This was my bad, the instructions in the OP were pointing to the 'master' branch for the code, which doesn't have all my updates. I've been using a different branch, you can get the latest from here - https://bitbucket.org/atarilynx/lynx/src/programmer-enhancements/ Try the turbo mode for reading a cartridge, it is much, much faster than the original readcard reading mode. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+karri Posted May 14, 2019 Share Posted May 14, 2019 It is ok to merge the branch with the trunk to avoid confusions. I can always check out an older version if I feel like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Igor Posted May 14, 2019 Author Share Posted May 14, 2019 I've updated the links, that should be fine. I don't want to merge it until I'm happy with all the features. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thefred Posted May 14, 2019 Share Posted May 14, 2019 This was my bad, the instructions in the OP were pointing to the 'master' branch for the code, which doesn't have all my updates. I've been using a different branch, you can get the latest from here - https://bitbucket.org/atarilynx/lynx/src/programmer-enhancements/ Try the turbo mode for reading a cartridge, it is much, much faster than the original readcard reading mode. Turbo takes about 10 seconds compared to not using it 90 seconds. I dumped about 15 games so far. Just have to figure out the md5 so i can check out if i have any different releases. Blank carts seem to work good as well. I only tried 3 times so far. How do you attach the carts to the shells? For testing i just used tape and it works. Do you glue them? if so what type of glue do you use and where? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thefred Posted May 14, 2019 Share Posted May 14, 2019 I've updated the links, that should be fine. I don't want to merge it until I'm happy with all the features. I used the instructions on your atarigamer.com site. i used the git clone way to download it. Maybe the link there was wrong? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+karri Posted May 14, 2019 Share Posted May 14, 2019 Turbo takes about 10 seconds compared to not using it 90 seconds. I dumped about 15 games so far. Just have to figure out the md5 so i can check out if i have any different releases. Blank carts seem to work good as well. I only tried 3 times so far. How do you attach the carts to the shells? For testing i just used tape and it works. Do you glue them? if so what type of glue do you use and where? I have used contact glue. The sticky stuff that you usually apply to both surfaces, let it dry, then press it together. I only apply it on the pcb and just press the cart together. I don't want the glue to get on the pins as I have no clue if it conducts electricity or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenious Posted May 14, 2019 Share Posted May 14, 2019 Cool, I'll need to port these into readcart as a new command line argument I think. I've just tried my bonus cart from alpine games and it doesn't fit the connector, doh. Nothing much that I can do about this one, sadly. I wouldn't recommend cutting the connector either. I didn't know alpinegames didn't fit in Lynx I. I have a dump of it, but it won't work with saint's sd-cart, which is a bit inconvenient since it is one of my favourite games and I've gotten used to not having to carry around, and swap, a bunch of gamecards... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Igor Posted May 14, 2019 Author Share Posted May 14, 2019 I used the instructions on your atarigamer.com site. i used the git clone way to download it. Maybe the link there was wrong? I've just tried with the same command as on the website and it seems to work for me... git clone -b programmer-enhancements https://ikromin@bitbucket.org/atarilynx/lynx.git You can try git checkout programmer-enhacements I didn't know alpinegames didn't fit in Lynx I. I have a dump of it, but it won't work with saint's sd-cart, which is a bit inconvenient since it is one of my favourite games and I've gotten used to not having to carry around, and swap, a bunch of gamecards... Not sure about the actual Alpine Games cart, I don't have that one, only have the Bonus Cart from Alpine Games. I've had a few other carts that simply do not fit into the Lynx 1 either, their PCBs are just too thick. To hold the cart and PCB together I've used the game art sticker so far, it does a decent enough job, as Karri said some contact glue should do the trick too. I'd probably use a small dab of 5 minute epoxy myself though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thefred Posted May 14, 2019 Share Posted May 14, 2019 I dumped most of my games so far. I'll double check and see if i can get it figured out. Do I have to delete the files before I try the git again? I did originally do it a while back and redid it yesterday. My Alpine games and the bonus cart are the same type you have, 20015 release I believe they are. I also had other games as well too thick to fit in the slot. I found an alpine games image in the mame pack, but it doesnt work when written onto the blank cart. I forget if you have that one listed as one that saves on your site because it does have a save option. The one in the mame pack was 512k, might be a bad dump duno. It is called contact glue? How does it come? is it a tube like krazy glue? or a bottle like Elmers glue? I think I had some in a spray can for fabric. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+karri Posted May 14, 2019 Share Posted May 14, 2019 Alpine Games was still being sold for not so long ago. Circulating dumps like these in mame pack is bad news unless the dump was put there by the developers. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fadest Posted May 14, 2019 Share Posted May 14, 2019 It is still on sale at Luchs Soft shop. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thefred Posted May 14, 2019 Share Posted May 14, 2019 Alpine Games was still being sold for not so long ago. Circulating dumps like these in mame pack is bad news unless the dump was put there by the developers. I don't know who put it there, just saying it didn't work. I agree with you. Unauthorized copy's cause developers to loose out on the money they deserve and also not to want to make more games, I have seen that many times. My copy I bought directly from duranik on their last run of the game in 2015. I bought Alpine Games and the bonus cart. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thefred Posted May 14, 2019 Share Posted May 14, 2019 I've just tried with the same command as on the website and it seems to work for me... git clone -b programmer-enhancements https://ikromin@bitbucket.org/atarilynx/lynx.git You can try git checkout programmer-enhacements Not sure about the actual Alpine Games cart, I don't have that one, only have the Bonus Cart from Alpine Games. I've had a few other carts that simply do not fit into the Lynx 1 either, their PCBs are just too thick. To hold the cart and PCB together I've used the game art sticker so far, it does a decent enough job, as Karri said some contact glue should do the trick too. I'd probably use a small dab of 5 minute epoxy myself though. I got it working. I originaly downloaded them when you first posted. I had to rename the lynx dir for it to redownload the newest. i didnt know it wouldnt overwrite the old files. I have been using the romutil to compare my dupes. I had a few that didnt match, then i redumped them and then they did match. maybe dirty contacts or something caused a bad dump. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Igor Posted May 15, 2019 Author Share Posted May 15, 2019 Great news! It's a good idea to dump the same ROM several times to make sure you get consistent results, preferably after plugging the in/out between dumps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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