hi,
i would like to ask any members skilled in Eagle or other PCB design software for assistance.
for some project consoles i am adding extra cart slots,
72 pin nes cart slots to Famicom and the other way around.
i have done this successfully by straight wiring on protoboard,
but it is a lot of work,
and gets very confusing as more and more wire occupies the workingspace.
what i really need is a pcb with DIP holes for the 2 cartridge slots, with copper traces connecting the slots in such a way that both connectors will have cartlabels facing the same way when a cart is inserted.
the wiring isn't difficult, but it is eating up too much time,
and i am too digitally impaired to do this pcb design myself.
i can offer cash or games/hardware for a drawing i can send to a factory for production.
pm me if you are up for the job and let me know what you want for it.
I can help you. :)
Are you using 2.5mm (same as NES cart) or 2.54mm pitch for NES slot? I see you wired in on prototype board so probably 2.54mm or you bend the pins.
hi krzy,
yes, nes and fc 2.45mm pitch matches protoboard/dip standard perfectly.
if you could help out with this that would be awesome.
I hope you tested yours nes connector, because If you plug NES cart into standard 2.54mm edge connector then pins will not match and short circuit surrounding pins.
(https://obrazki.elektroda.pl/4064253800_1506191280_thumb.jpg) (https://obrazki.elektroda.pl/4064253800_1506191280.jpg)
yes, i also used 2.45mm pitch connectors for famicom and NES cart slots in earlier projects, works fine.
i've read somewhere that apparently NES connectors have a different pitch than the 2.45mm standard,
but i have had them side by side with a game genie connector,
and they look identical in pitch and size,
and work perfectly.
so i am not sure if NES is in reality just 2.45mm pitch,
or close enough to work,
but i never had issues with it.
(https://obrazki.elektroda.pl/7072913400_1506194336_thumb.jpg) (https://obrazki.elektroda.pl/7072913400_1506194336.png)
Change extension from docx to zip.
Dude! you're a sorcerer!
:star:
pm sent. ;D
(https://obrazki.elektroda.pl/8303824800_1506204394_thumb.jpg) (https://obrazki.elektroda.pl/8303824800_1506204394.png)
i just had a look at the card edge connectors i used sofar,
and it turns out i got lucky.
i bought a batch of 10 about 2 years ago from ebay or ali, not sure.
misplaced those and bought another batch, no idea where.
opened one of the batches to use for tinkering.
and apparently, they both have different piches.
one batch is pretty much the exact same spacing as the Galoob connector, maybe microscopically wider, but exact enough to work without issues, i think it is the same as those used in some recent Nes to FC adapters.
the other type of connector i have is noticably wider,
but totally looks like it would work without too much problems.
the pins are quite narrow, and don't missalign enough to short any other pins.
i have not used this slightly wider type yet, and i'm not sure if the discrepancies of these 3 edge connectors are due to slightly different specs between manufacturers, or if there are that many ofscure spacing standards in these edge connectors.
so, for now i'll use the ones that match the Game Genie connector while they last.
-EDIT-
just tried a cartridge converter with the 72 pin edge inserted into the 2.54mm spaced card edge connector and it does work,
sort of.
the outer most pins are a bit off-set, but DO connect to the proper pins.
i tested every finger and pin connection for continuity and shorts with neighboring pins.
inserted the converter randomly a bunch of times, and measured again;
no shorts.
i did manage to cause a short intentionally when really forcing the card edge into the connector as far at it would go on either side to offset the pins as much as possible.
only one short was possible to cause this way.
if the excess space in the two sides of the connector were a fraction more narrow this would be impossible to short out.
official NES carts may differ slightly in dimensions compared to this cart adapter and unofficial carts,
but this looks like it might actually work,
2.54mm pitch edge connectors can be used with NES carts when in a pinch for a cheap and dirty fix.
Quote from: krzy on September 23, 2017, 11:28:58 am
I hope you tested yours nes connector, because If you plug NES cart into standard 2.54mm edge connector then pins will not match and short circuit surrounding pins.
(https://obrazki.elektroda.pl/4064253800_1506191280_thumb.jpg) (https://obrazki.elektroda.pl/4064253800_1506191280.jpg)
You can cut off the connector in half and make slight gap between two parts to cancel the pitch error (midle EXP pins in nes cartridge are probably never used)
yep, that would work quite well i imagine.
luckily i still have some of those perfectly 2.5mm pitched connectors left, so no need to cut connectors yet.
pcb's are ordered and in production process,
if they come out half decent they are going to save me sooo much time.
no more hours of soldering wire by wire, one pin at a time,
just straight 1:1 ribbon soldering to add cart slots from now on.
pics of first install will follow for those interested.
thanks again Krzy, full credit to you for the drawing.
:star:
pcb's arrived yesterday, quality as expected is great.
these are going to make life a lot easier when adding cart slots to consoles, and i think i will try to make a plug-in cartridge adapter for consoles that i want to keep unmodded.
i currently have 10 of these, and if anyone wants one for advanced testing i can send some for free to anyone willing to pay for shipping.
i don't own any flashcarts or games with exp. audio, so i am quite curious about how it will perform with these.
Hi...i am a new user here. In my case what i observed is the outer most pins are a bit off-set. Then i tested every finger and pin connection for continuity and shorts with neighboring pins and inserted the converter randomly a bunch of times, and measured again.
turnkey pcb (https://www.7pcb.com/)
I know I'm 4+ years too late to this but PM sent!
Apologies for the necro yet again.
I'm able to rename the docx to ZIP file and see the contents, but I cannot open the corresponding .brd and sch files in KICAD (6.0). I know these files are from 2016...but what version of KICAD do I use to open them?
Thank you!
(I'm still learning, but have used other design tools for lower-level ASIC/FPGA development in the past)
Does anyone know where OP might have gotten those perfectly pitched 2.5mm connectors?
I'm also trying to confirm Expansion audio changes and MMC5 support in the schematic that @Krzy provided. Can anyone confirm if this steps I've written are correct?
1.) Separate pin 45 and 46 on the Fami side
2.) Connect a 10k resistor from Fami pin 46 to NES pin 54 (bridge NES 54 and 51 for ever drive and because toploaders don't have 54)
3.) Connect a 10k resistor from Fami pin 45 to the leg of the resistor on pin 46, on the Fami side.
(Edit: updated step#2, NES pin 51 also needs to be bridged to NES pin 54 for the adapter to work on top loaders too)
For MMC5 support:
1.) Separate pin 48 and 49 on the Fami side.
2.) Connect pin 48 on the Fami side to pin 57 on the NES side.
3.) Connect pin 49 on the Fami side to pin 58 on the NES side.
I think this is correct, but can anyone confirm? Also, lastly, what's the best way to verify pin for pin that this is correct? I know it was created by Krzy, who is a genius, but I'm trying to learn and I'm making a lot of progress.
In eagle 9.1.3 the files are working. Connectors are available on ali. Here are the cheapest I could find for nes (tested):
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32791704809.html
About expansion audio, 2 x 10k resistors are used.
fami46----|---------10k--------NES54 (i'm also using nes51 because the missing pin in top loader)
10k
fami45----|
What you said for mmc5 is correct.
Quote from: gorgyrip on April 03, 2022, 12:57:39 pmIn eagle 9.1.3 the files are working. Connectors are available on ali. Here are the cheapest I could find for nes (tested):
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32791704809.html
About expansion audio, 2 x 10k resistors are used.
fami46----|---------10k--------NES54 (i'm also using nes51 because the missing pin in top loader)
10k
fami45----|
What you said for mmc5 is correct.
Thank you so much for your reply @gorgyrip! Do you mean to say that NES54 and 51 are bridged, so:
fami46----|---------10k--------NES54---NES51
10k
fami45----|
I'll see if I can make these changes to OPs files...
Yes. I bridge them because i made some nes repros with expansion audio on pin 54 because the top loader is missing pin 51. I believe nes everdrive is using pin 51 and pin pin 54 seems NC ( i don't have an everdrive).
Updated my post. Thank you so much.
OK so I add the resistors to the schematic. (I'm using fusion 360)
(https://i.imgur.com/UQcKZML.png)
The resistors get put in a very strange spot ...off-board. I'm not sure how to fix this. See GREEN arrow:
(https://i.imgur.com/FYZiGmU.png)
At this point I get frustrated with Fusion360 and everyone tells me to switch to KICAD, so in Fusion360, I export the SCH and BRD files as Eagle files (not 'Eagle 9.x', just 'Eagle files') and import into KICAD 6.0. The Schematic imports just fine and is pictured in the imgur link above, but the BRD file doesn't work.
Still determined, in KICAD6.0, I "update PCB from (newly imported) Schematic" and I get these errors, which seem to mean that it can't find the cart connectors (or the resistors I added):
Error: Cannot add FAMI0 (footprint 'NES_GAR_Stabilizer:FAMICOM_CART_SLOT_THT' not found).
Error: Cannot add NES0 (footprint 'NES_GAR_Stabilizer:NES_CART_SLOT_THT' not found).
Error: Cannot add R1 (footprint 'NES_GAR_Stabilizer:R01005' not found).
Error: Cannot add R2 (footprint 'NES_GAR_Stabilizer:R01005' not found).
I know, I need to take a course or watch more tutorials in this. :(
Wait ...now I'm second-guessing myself entirely ...Is there any need to add the two 10k resistors for expansion audio at all?
If this is connecting to a Famicom/AV Famicom, the 60-pin connector is simply a pass-through. ...But are there any special considerations needed for the 72-pin connector -> 60-pin conversation that takes place?
Yes I think so, Famicom and NES doesn't work the same way for expansion audio. There is only one expansion audio pin on the NES used for both input and output. The Famicom uses two pins, one for input and one for output.
Ok, so what I posted above is correct. Thank you @P.
Now I'll go back to fiddling with KICAD to get this working.