Translating FFIV with J2E ROM Patch problem

Started by Arkanix38, November 24, 2015, 06:19:25 pm

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Arkanix38

November 24, 2015, 06:19:25 pm Last Edit: November 24, 2015, 07:20:17 pm by Arkanix38
Hi,

I programmed my 29F033c and popped it in the cart and got a black screen. I then realised that the translated patch is 12Mbit and the original cart only supports an 8Mbit ROM. Is there a way to address A20 using the 74LS139 on the board, or will I have to use the FF2(US) Rom on the board instead?

Post Merge: November 24, 2015, 07:20:17 pm

I tied A20 to Pin 3 of the 74LS139 on the board and I can hear the opening screen music but am getting no graphics on screen and the controller is unresponsive

HVC-Man

I tried and couldn't figure out how to shoehorn a larger ROM onto a smaller SNES board. It is clearly possible somehow though, feel free to dig up some pinouts or trace out a larger SNES board (like one with a 36 pin ROM socket).

Arkanix38

November 24, 2015, 10:25:38 pm #2 Last Edit: November 24, 2015, 10:34:18 pm by Arkanix38
according to THIS 16Mbit should be supported. I've read about and Super Mario World peeps seem to think that pin 3 of the 74LS139 decoder is A20 and others seem to think that pin 2 is A20 in LoROM boards. I've tried to tie A20 to both (one at a time) and still seem to be getting a black nonresponsive screen with music.

I am currently pulling A21,22 high (as VCC is in the vicinity) and have altered the ROM to suit. I pulled it into XVI32 and copied the last 4 Mbit to expand the rom to 16Mbit then doubled the ROM up in Command Prompt using
copy /b file1.bin+file1.bin file2.bin

Post Merge: November 24, 2015, 10:34:18 pm

I derped, A20 goes to pin 14 of the 74LS139. Still not working

xIceMan

Sent you a PM to your question.

Here's how to rewire a 74LS139 to make it compatible with up to 32MB LoROM games:
                                   __  __
 SNES #49 |01\/16| +5V
 SNES #40 |02  15| Pin 04
 SNES #40 |03  14| A20
        Pin 15 |04  13| A21
     NC |05  12| NC
     NC |06  11| NC
   ROM /OE |07  10| NC
  GND |08  09| RAM /CE
              ------


Don't forget, when using 29F033 to connect the adapter pins A20,A21 to the decoder as well. Pin 36 is to be connected to VCC from the adapter and R2 and R3 are to be closed.

Arkanix38




Now i have all of my FF carts translated!

SNES #46 is routed to Pin 2 of the 74LS139 for future reference.

Unfortunately SNES #40 isn't routed to the board so I had to solder the very edge of the pin (not as much give as the NES and Famicom!)

Having an issue with the ROM though, as it seems to freeze during the first dialog box in the beginning. Should have checked on an emulator first :/

xIceMan

Glad you got it "working"
Ya, SNES #40 isnt connected on those boards and you have to connect it on the connector's edge. :(

Arkanix38

I give up for the night, swapped the ROM and now im back to a black screen :/

EDIT: it appears that the pre-patched ROM download doesn't like hardware, and the IPS available at ROMHacking freezes at the first dialogue box. Anyone have a source for a good version of the J2E Rom Patch?

xIceMan

ROM works fine. Check your soldering on the 29F033.
For the latest patch: http://www.romhacking.net/translations/352/
Works fine for me. o_O

Sent you a PM.

Arkanix38

That's the one I used. Patched with snesROMUtil. Maybe could have been a dodgy FF IV Rom? I'll have to give it a go tomorrow its getting late  :-[

xIceMan


Arkanix38

Haven't had the time to try it yet, will get onto it this weekend. Also have to fix my Chrono Trigger cart. It crashed while i was playing yesterday (was about 4 hours into it) and the next time i loaded my game up it refuses to load indoor spaces. I've even deleted all my saves and shorted the battery and it still wont load interior spaces.

xIceMan

Aww, that sucks. Since you're also using TSOP ICs I suggest checking each pin with magnifying glasses just in case there's a short or something. I've had many games working but suddenly crashing cause of adress lines being connected togehter or the R2/R3 jumpers weren't set for games with SRAM. Good luck!

EDIT: Just saw you're not using Adapter Board Type III. This is what I use and it's pretty good!

Arkanix38

November 26, 2015, 02:40:27 pm #12 Last Edit: November 28, 2015, 12:59:16 am by Arkanix38
I use the Type III (v2) which is exactly the same but without the unnecessary J3 and with the corner already shaved off so you dont have to remove the plastic post in the cart. Its from buyicnow.com like the Type III but it means i don't have to remove the post.

Post Merge: November 27, 2015, 11:23:58 pm

Got it working.

Both the ROM i was using and the ROM xIceMan helped me find work.

YOU MUST wire A21 (pin 2) AND A22 (pin 35) to GND. A21 CANNOT go to pin 13 on the 74LS139 or the game will not boot.

Post Merge: November 28, 2015, 12:59:16 am

For future reference.

Using an original FFIV cart with a 32 pin ROM chip:

Desolder 74LS139 and lift ALL pins EXCEPT 1,8,9,16 (Four Corners)

Solder the 74LS139 back in the socket and connect the pins as below.


                                     __  __
       LEAVE |01\/16| LEAVE
Cart Pin 40 |02  15| 74LS Pin 04
Cart Pin 40 |03  14| ROM Pin 1
       74LS Pin 15 |04  13| NC
      NC |05  12| NC
      NC |06  11| NC
ROM Pin 33 |07  10| NC
       LEAVE |08  09| LEAVE
               ------


Cart Pin 40 isn't routed to the board so you must CAREFULLY solder to the top of the pin on the edge connector. Wick excess solder as you must ensure the solder will not interfere with the Cartridge Slot.

Now for the ROM

ROM Pin 1 (A20) -> 74LS139 Pin 15 AND Cart Pin 46**
ROM Pin 2 (A21) -> GND (ROM Pin 18)
ROM Pin 35 (A22) -> GND (ROM Pin 18)
ROM Pin 36 (VCC) -> ROM Pin 34 (VCC)

**NOTE: Cart Pin 46 is routed to PIN 2 of the 74LS139. As you have lifted this pin you can solder a wire to the vacant pinhole in the 74LS139 socket.

This should allow you to use an unmodified Patched ROM. You should not need to expand the ROM or double it up. Simply flash the ROM to your 29F032 or 29F033 and solder it down to your Type III board. (BE SURE TO CHECK YOUR ROM WORKS IN zSNES)

You will need to cut away or shave the corner of the adapter board as it will interfere with the board alignment tabs in the cart case.

Thanks to xIceMan for the help with the 74LS139! I hope this helps someone in the future.

Ark

wlfwood

Thanks Arkanix38!

Your post was very helpful to me. I'm interested to know how you figured out how to connect it up this way.

Do you have any sources that explain how the 74ls139, the rom, and snes work together to map the desired memory size?

I seen something like this for the MAD-1 already, but not the 139.

~Thanks Again~

Arkanix38

This was the effort of a few people on FamicomWorld though private message who are considerably more knowledgeable than I in SNES cart decoding, namely xIceMan (seriously xIceMan is awesome). As this was not as straightforward as the MAD-1 Decoder rewiring I thought posting thorough instructions would be beneficial.

Experimentation helped, as did playing with the MAD-R in my Seiken Densetsu 2 cart. Hooked my oscilloscope up to pin 4 (used for single chip HIROM /CE on the MAD-1) and turns out it wouldn't work how I wanted it to because it was RESET (Inverted /RESET line) and not /CE. Some research in NESDEV backed that up as someone has posted the full logic tables of the MAD revisions.

Glad it helped!