Ness
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It seems interesting but isn't it illegal to reverse engineer? If so, you could NOT kickstart it but I admit that I dreamt about someone reverse engineer the midines to flood the market with it...Aaaah a midines for less than 50 bucks big_smile
I thought about something else... Some NES cartridges have another sound chip on them that delivers way better sound, I don't know how it works but I do know about It (yes I do, sir smile ). The cartridges are from sunsoft ( gremlins 2, batman, return of the joker). Could we tamper with an old nes cartridge, replace some chips on it to benefit from the sunsoft chip of a 8dollars batman nes game?
I've got some tools but not the intel to do such a work...
Could we make a better midines/chip maestro cartridge?
I think that the schematics for the chip maestro are on jarek website, the source code too, so maybe we could just improve what we have got laying around? I think jarek is ok with modifying the chip maestro, he delivers the good and some schematics and he answers to mails. I think he meant good by doing this chip maestro, it is just that it is faaaaaaaaaaar from useful to a live action set...

If needed, i could send my chip maestro to jazzmaraz to reprogram it, i could even send a gremlins 2 game...

Still, nobody answered my previous questions :

NES+chip maestro controlled by mpc500 WITHOUT a PC, is it possible?
Do you think I was wrong to believe in the chip maestro?
Is it possible to reprogram the chip maestro to make it look more like a good product?
Where is Jarek Lupinski when we need documentation and a fuc**ing manual?
Could someone help me out and tell me what I need to start chip tuning without a pc/with the chip maestro?
Does somene know how to use the chip maestro effectively?

See ya

Boddah
Offline
Austin, TX

I'm pretty bummed to hear all of this about the Chip Maestro. I was planning on getting one, hoping it would be as good as the MidiNES, but it looks like that isn't the case.

If there's enough interest in reverse engineering, I could take pics of the inside of my MidiNES, take notes of all the components, and do my best to draw up a schematic. With the whole Wayfar scam history, and the fact that the site is STILL taking orders even tho there's people who have waited years after paying and received absolutely nothing, it's reasonable IMO to reverse engineer it. The people who sent that asshole money and never received anything in return deserve to have another option that is more affordable. So if anyone wants to get that going, hit me up and I'll be happy to help with what I can.

TSC
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Milwaukee, WI

Why reverse the MIDINES? Leave his shit alone.

Write a new program for use with n8/pp and come up with an Arduino solution.

Ness
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TSC wrote:

Why reverse the MIDINES? Leave his shit alone.

Write a new program for use with n8/pp and come up with an Arduino solution.


I totally agree, it is faisable but... if we get our hands on midines schematics then it will make the work a lot simpler for whoever does the job...

Jazzmarazz
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Michigan

Lol @ Arduino. Arduino is a development tool and has so much bloat that you pay for without ever using. All you need from an arduino is the Atmega and crystal. the Atmega happens to be cheaper than the on-board FTDI! (granted the model)

Who is Chris Kann?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/65995087@N00/3662650806/

Jazzmarazz
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Michigan

I could do it from that, but we would still be missing the ROM and PIC program. I would hate to reproduce it from that since i prefer to probe my traces while reproducing, but I just found out that the 62256 is still being made!

Ness
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I've got a programmer (GQ4x), some nes chips, some nes cartridges, I can burn a rom onto a chip and solder it back on the nes cartridge but I can't program for sh**, I don't think I could help... But If you need a game cartridge and some chip...

TSC
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Milwaukee, WI
Jazzmarazz wrote:

Lol @ Arduino. Arduino is a development tool and has so much bloat that you pay for without ever using. All you need from an arduino is the Atmega and crystal. the Atmega happens to be cheaper than the on-board FTDI! (granted the model)

Who is Chris Kann?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/65995087@N00/3662650806/

Yeah. $8 for a fucking pro-mini knock-off on ebay is hilarious isn't it?

Elitist techno-hipster.

TSC
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Milwaukee, WI

I forgot the smiley. wink

Jazzmarazz
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Michigan

Did some digging and the Sunsoft 5b is what is found in Gimmick!. Gremlins 2, Tokyuji Dodge Danpei and Batman have been said to contain either a 5a, 5b or fme7, but very rarely can you actually find the 5b. The 5b of course has the capability to produce extra sounds whereas the others do not. The above mentioned games besides Gimmick! do not use the extra audio at all.

I cannot imagine designing anything around the Sunsoft 5b since you'll pay an arm and a leg just to find one...

DSC
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Instead of hacking it together, you need some real firepower features in the program itself, not just an interface.  Neil Baldwin imho is the best qualified.  He would be able to recognize how best to implement software features, such as custom upgradable samples and super tight arps and sequencers.  Once the 'foundation of features' was laid out then you could nail the interface down, (maybe even CV/Gate too big_smile .  Without the right program I think you are putting the cart before the horse.
IF WE ARE REALLY SERIOUS, then we need to build some funds to get Neil interested.  With a super usable program and solid interface than you would have the ultimate NES solution.

Boddah
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Austin, TX

^This sounds like the best option, but also the most expensive. Reverse engineering the MidiNES would be cheap, but having something with an improved interface would be much better.
How much money are we talking about to get this Neil Baldwin guy on board? Maybe we could get a kickstarter page going for it?

kitsch
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matt's mind

if ti comes to it, i wouldn't mind administering some way to raise funds for him if he doesn't wish to do this directly (i only offer because i think my track record is good enough people should maybe not find this alarming i'd offer to collect money, and be honest about it)

indiegogo may be better
or a paypal 'donate' button

if i can help, i'd be happy to do this.

DSC
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I think Kitsch has the right idea.  I sent an email to Neil about this thread.  Hopefully he posts.  I could donate $500 right now and more later on as well as fabrication services too.  I'm already involved with the NEW Super 8 project.  Link here:
http://www.ninstrument.com/?p=1422
It would be great to have a NEW cart for the new Super 8 too.

neilbaldwin
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WOW MAN!

Interesting thread! smile

The problem with any of these ventures, and from an observer's point-of-view, why so many (NES ones) seem to have failed is that the time and money required to do a proper job renders in not viable when you consider how many hardware units you're likely to shift.

I guess a Kickstarter-style campaign might be the way forward to get a proper gauge of how many people would be committed to buying but I have no experience with Kickstarter and would be slightly concerned that, given I have barely time to breathe at the moment, that I'd end up committing to something that would put pressure on me and would end up being a time drain.

Don't stop thinking though at this point. It's an interesting idea and with people like Chris (MCTRL etc.) possibly interested, I know he can deliver on his hardware ideas.

DSC
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Thanks Neil for posting.  I know this would be impossible to ballpark as far as time drain goes, but take PR8 for instance.  How much time did that take to create the initial build from concept to latest revision?

I understand your time is extremely valuable, so I would want to make sure you were comfortable both in time and funds and would not expect you to work for free, but if it is too much time, than we will need to face that fact as being the insurmountable obstacle.  If it took Jarek two years to finish Chip Maestro, I have to admit, I'm a little worried that it would be just as you called it.  'time drain'.