As many FDS owners know, there is an unused expansion port on the RAM adapter. The French NES used a special RGB scart connector output. Why does that matter you ask? Well I'm 99% sure they use the same connector.
French NES: http://retro-gamer.co.uk/image/cache/data/consoles/nes-console-101123-3-1600x1600.jpg
I don't think putting the scart cable in the port would do anything, but still pretty cool! ;D
I don't think that really means anything useful...
You mean AV-connector? Does the French NES really have RGB?
The french nes can only output composite.
Does anyone know what that port was intended for originally? Or was it actually used?
Quote from: famiac on July 19, 2015, 01:20:33 pm
I don't think that really means anything useful...
Yeah, I know, but I just thought it would interesting to post.
Quote from: Pikkon on July 20, 2015, 01:52:49 am
The french nes can only output composite.
The French NES doesn't use the normal RF modulator that NTSC and PAL consoles used. Since France uses SECAM, they made a converter where the modulator should go that converts the signal to RGB. So, its composite converted to RGB.
Quote from: chowder on July 20, 2015, 02:23:01 am
Does anyone know what that port was intended for originally? Or was it actually used?
I don't know of anything official uses, but there are unlicensed adapters that allow you to write disks and dump them to a PC.
Could you give an example of one of those unlicensed adapters that uses the port?
Quote from: chowder on July 20, 2015, 02:23:01 am
Does anyone know what that port was intended for originally? Or was it actually used?
Probably just an expansion port without any specific plans.
Quote from: P on July 20, 2015, 06:58:33 am
Could you give an example of one of those unlicensed adapters that uses the port?
Adapter: http://www.tototek.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=98
You need to get a whole bunch of other stuff and mod the disk system before you use it though. There's tutorials on famicomdisksystem.com (http://famicomdisksystem.com) if you really want to use them.
Oh the FDSloader. It doesn't go into the expansion port though, it goes into the cable end of the RAM Adapter.
Someone should probe the expansion port to see what comes out of it. I know someone here has to have electronic lab equipment.
Quote from: P on July 20, 2015, 03:29:09 pm
Oh the FDSloader. It doesn't go into the expansion port though, it goes into the cable end of the RAM Adapter.
Whoops, I should of looked closer at it. Looks like nothing uses the port.
Quote from: HokusaiXL on July 21, 2015, 10:18:45 am
Someone should probe the expansion port to see what comes out of it. I know someone here has to have electronic lab equipment.
I would love to try the French scart cable in it, but I can't seem to find one in the US. Oh well, it probably won't work anyway since the ram adapter is a cartridge and shouldn't have video out from the 60pin connector or itself.
Quote from: HokusaiXL on July 21, 2015, 10:18:45 am
Someone should probe the expansion port to see what comes out of it. I know someone here has to have electronic lab equipment.
All I know about it is thatvone of the pins is a filtered but unmixed FDS audio output.
Quote from: HokusaiXL on July 21, 2015, 10:18:45 am
All I know about it is thatvone of the pins is a filtered but unmixed FDS audio output.
I'm pretty sure you mean the NES expansion port.
Quote from: FamiForever on July 24, 2015, 12:11:35 pm
I'm pretty sure you mean the NES expansion port.
Nope. This pin is a fully mixed (I was mistaken) Famicom audio+RP2C33 output
Quote from: ImATrackMan on July 24, 2015, 06:45:11 pm
Nope. This pin is a fully mixed (I was mistaken) Famicom audio+RP2C33 output
Oh, well I'm going to have to try that!
Post Merge: July 27, 2015, 02:48:55 pm
Well, I tried it and of course it worked. Still there's no real reason to use it. At least on mine it buzzes just as much as the Famicom. Oh well. :(
Quote from: HokusaiXL on July 21, 2015, 10:18:45 am
Someone should probe the expansion port to see what comes out of it. I know someone here has to have electronic lab equipment.
Nothing will come out until you try to drive pins by writing something to registers. Which registers i should write and what to see changes on this port?
3 months later... Anybody got anything?
Quote from: FamiForever on November 09, 2015, 07:27:20 pm
3 months later... Anybody got anything?
...
...
... :diskkun:
There's an expansion port on the RAM Adapter? ??? Hold on a sec,
Whoa! You're right--I never noticed that there. :-[
It seems writing to $4026 bits 0-6 is used for writing data to the expansion port output, and reading $4033 bits 0-6 is for reading the port. Bit 7 on both registers are for battery control setting (0/1=OFF/ON) and reading battery status (0/1=NG/OK voltage) respective.
We need a pinout of the port though...
I would imagine it would be used as a connector for connecting peripherals to the FDS, but seeing as nothing has been made for it, i can understand the lack of support. Would you have to write your own protocols for data transfer or control? Where's ground? This is an interesting port and there isn't much documentation on it. :(
Yeah depending on what you want to do with it.
I googled a bit and there's a PasoFami thing for it that allows writing and reading disks from/to a computer, so there should be a pinout out there somewhere...
So I guess it's just a port that that was never used, much like other Nintendo consoles. I just thought it was interesting that Nintendo reused the proprietary port from this expansion port and used in in the French NES.
Quote from: FamiForever on November 25, 2015, 09:14:52 pm
So I guess it's just a port that that was never used, much like other Nintendo consoles. I just thought it was interesting that Nintendo reused the proprietary port from this expansion port and used in in the French NES.
i believe you're talking not about port. But about a connector/socket itself.
Could you attach another floppy drive through this port? (not necessarily a FDS drive.)
Quote from: P on November 11, 2015, 01:00:02 am
Yeah depending on what you want to do with it.
I googled a bit and there's a PasoFami thing for it that allows writing and reading disks from/to a computer, so there should be a pinout out there somewhere...
Some sort of PClink?
Quote from: famifan on November 27, 2015, 08:59:55 am
i believe you're talking not about port. But about a connector/socket itself.
Yeah that's why I started the whole thread. I guess word choice really does matter! Oh well it's still an interesting discussion.