cheapshot
Offline
Tokyo, Japan

Good day all!

I am looking to purchase an additional cart for my LSDJ needs. and I noticed that there are two 'main' carts being offered.

Bleep Bloop and EMS

I currently have a bleep bloop cart and it works flawlessly. I have never used an EMS cart, but at that price I am very interested in purchasing one. Can anyone tell me what the main differences are between the two and if it is in my best interest to wait for a bleep bloop cart to become available again or just go of the EMS.

thanks in advance

/cheapshot

tacticalbread
Offline
))<>((

Never used a BleepBloop cart (although I do have one coming in the mail), but I've never had any problems with my 64MB USB EMS cart.

SAMWAVE
Offline
United Kingdom

Bleepbloop carts I have never had a problem with EMS on the otherhand had problem with my Vista pc with uploading ROM's onto it.

pixls
Offline
Philly, PA, USA

I have a bleep bloop, works fine, never had any real issues.
If you have a mac the EMS won't be any good though, they're read only from the gbcflsh program on macs. This has kept me away from them, which is a shame considering price/availability

Koatl
Offline
Riverside, CA

http://nonelectronics.com/infinitycart.php

Beware
Offline

The EMS are great if you use Windows.  Multirom support is worth a few minor quibbles, if you ask me.

the mist toggles
Offline
NorthTtrrrway

never had problems with the EMS ones (easy multirom loads), nor with the smartboy carts (via the usb reader)...
...BBs on the other hand work just fine, cost much more and are, morally, a second choice

TmTgr
Offline
Melbourne, Australia

EMS is almost half the price but still quite reliable from what I hear.

cheapshot
Offline
Tokyo, Japan
pixls wrote:

I have a bleep bloop, works fine, never had any real issues.
If you have a mac the EMS won't be any good though, they're read only from the gbcflsh program on macs. This has kept me away from them, which is a shame considering price/availability

Whoa... that thing is not available though, right?

I'm happy with the bleep bloop (however, am aware of the moral issues upon purchasing one). I do use a mac though, and have no intention of boot camping it, so I might be better off with the bleep bloop.

One further question for clarification: I have a blue BB card and there is a blue LED inside which I am not a big fan of (see picture). Are the other cartridges (red and black) the same?

Last edited by cheapshot (Apr 25, 2010 1:26 pm)

SAMWAVE
Offline
United Kingdom

Mine was red and came with a yellow LED, you canalso change the LED to any colour you want (long as you have the right LED and soldering skills).

pixls
Offline
Philly, PA, USA

if you're on a mac and worried about price/morality, you might wanna consider a smartboy cart. I don't have one (yet) but they're cheaper than a bleep bloop. though i don't know if they have that fancy nonvolatile ram

nitro2k01
Offline
Sweeeeeeden

Here's the "official" list of pros and cons. BleepBloop and Smartboy are based on the same design and have a lot in common.

Edit: Updated with pictures.

Bleep Bloop USB

+++++

  • Based on open source design, and is using standard FTDI drivers and an open protocol, which means that drivers and software are avaible on "all" platforms. (Windows 32/64, Linux and OSX.)

  • Gameboy can write to the flash memory, so LittleFM is possible. (Shameless plug.)

  • Battery holder for easy battery replacement.

  • USB on cartridge - smaller size.

-----

  • Based on open source design without permission - you might need sleeping pills to sleep well at night.

  • Some old batches used to manufacturing problems, although they should be fixed in all newer batches.

  • Is actually just 16Mb despite the advertised size.

  • A bit overpriced for what it is.

  • USB on cartridge - cannot backup savs from other flashcarts, GBcamera or games.

  • Does not support multiple games/programs.

Bleep Bloop "Infinity"

+++++

  • (Presumably still) Based on open source design, and is using standard FTDI drivers and an open protocol, which means that drivers and software are avaible on "all" platforms. (Windows 32/64, Linux and OSX.)

  • (Presumably) Gameboy can still write to the flash memory, so LittleFM is possible. (Shameless plug.)

  • FRAM means no need for battery.

  • USB on cartridge - smaller size. Does not support multiple games/programs.

-----

  • (Presumably still) Based on open source design without permission - chamomile tea can be a natural remedy for guilt-induced insomnia.

  • Is (presumably still) just 16Mb despite the advertised size.

  • Very overpriced for what it is.

  • USB on cartridge - cannot backup savs from other flashcarts, GBcamera or games.

  • Mark my words: If Infinity actually ever gets released, it will likely have stability problems and randomly corrupt data because the cartridge is using a microcontroller instead of programmable logic for RAM accesses.

  • Does not support multiple games/programs.

Smartboy Cartridge

+++++

  • Based on open source design, and is using standard FTDI drivers and an open protocol, which means that drivers and software are avaible on "all" platforms. (Windows 32/64, Linux and OSX.)

  • Gameboy can write to the flash memory, so LittleFM is possible. (Shameless plug.)

  • Is actually 32Mb.

  • Battery holder for easy battery replacement.

  • Separate USB writer - can backup savs from other flashcarts, GBcamera or games.

-----

  • Based on open source design without permission - at the very least try to keep your bedroom cool, well ventilated, silent and dark to improve the chance of sleeping well at night.

  • Separate USB writer - another item to keep track of.

  • Does not support multiple games/programs.

  • Bad availability because a batch was stuck in customs.

EMS 64M

+++++

  • An original, proprietary design - sleep well at night knowing you're not a scumbag, but a highly moral individual.

  • USB on cartridge - smaller size.

  • Supports multiple games.

  • Battery holder for easy battery replacement.

-----

  • An original, proprietary design - you need to rely on EMS to release drivers and software for various OS's. Today, only Windows 32/64 is supported. (However, the cartridge is using an FTDI chip so if the protocol was reverse engineered, open source software could be developed.) (Strike that. Not based on FTDI an chip. Nevertheless, open source saves the day!)

  • Is actually two separate banks of 32Mb of Flash - Games larger than 32Mb (if any) will not fit. Might be true for Pokemon Crystal.

  • All games/programs need to share the same 128 kB of RAM memory for their saved data.

  • Gameboy cannot write to flash memory, so no LittleFM.

  • USB on cartridge - cannot backup savs from other flashcarts, GBcamera or games.

Last edited by nitro2k01 (Aug 27, 2011 8:55 pm)

Star Fighter Dreams
Offline
San Antonio, Texas

Hope I'm not hijacking here but I have a Bleep Bloop Non-USB cart back when they were first being made. I love it and never had any problems but I'm still worried that I might lose .sav's. My question is if it's possible to back-up my .sav's on it with the smart boy transferer since they look the same?

kitsch
Offline
matt's mind

yeah, it is.

10k
Offline
nɐ˙ɯoɔ˙ʎǝupʎs

Nitro comes through with the answers for a change!

cheapshot
Offline
Tokyo, Japan

Thanks for the awesome info!