Nope, these are OPL3. Though OPL2 opcodes work with opl3 chips, AFAIK. I never understood why having an OPL2 was preferable.
785 Jul 29, 2010 9:54 pm
Re: FS: OPL3 sound cards, misc old PC RAM boards (5 replies, posted in Trading Post)
786 Jul 29, 2010 8:41 pm
Topic: FS: OPL3 sound cards, misc old PC RAM boards (5 replies, posted in Trading Post)
So, I was digging through piles of old computer junk in my basement today, and discovered some gems that people might like.
I have two OPL3 ISA sound cards. One is an Aztech Sound Galaxy NX Pro 16, the other is a MediaVision Prosonic Jazz 16. Both are supposed to be Sound Blaster compatible. Unfortunately I don't have drivers for them. Both are in good cosmetic condition and have been stored carefully in ESD bags and worked roughly 10 years ago when I pulled them. I'm gonna say $5 each, and if you can hunt down drivers then I'll test them for you.
I also have piles and piles of miscellaneous old PC RAM in various standards. If you need some RAM for your OPL3 rig/old computer/whatever just let me know and I'll see if I have what you need. Really, I have PILES of this stuff. Like, several large bags of RAM.
I got lots of other ISA parts, old AT parts, keyboards, floppy drives and ribbon cables, and even some SCSI stuff. If you need stuff for your OPL3 setup, contact me.
787 Jul 29, 2010 6:26 pm
Re: Blargg Bootstrap USB Cartridge: Famicom prototype & beta 1 built! (374 replies, posted in Nintendo Consoles)
I guess we are in the same time zone! Cool. I have been thinking of taking one (and only one) preorder right now in order to get the ball rolling, since I have no money. If any of you readers want to invest in this project (since I'm broke) and would like to ensure you get cartridge number 1, please send me a PM and we can talk.
As for the prototype, I have some of the parts I need now, but I need some more. I'll be pillaging my bonepile and "shelf of technology" looking for flash chips. 
788 Jul 29, 2010 4:59 pm
Re: Blargg Bootstrap USB Cartridge: Famicom prototype & beta 1 built! (374 replies, posted in Nintendo Consoles)
Well, here's the way things are: the designs are pretty much made, Blargg has got a couple conceptual bootloaders done already, and I'll be getting parts for our prototype hopefully in a week. If it works as planned I could be taking orders by mid August.
EDIT: The primary slowdowns are twofold- I have no capitol right now (so what little money will be spend with prototypes will be coming from my pocket) and Blargg seems to be in a different time zone than me. For both of us this is a free-time project, it's just that i'm unemployed and have lots of free-time and I'm pretty sure Blargg has alot less than me.
789 Jul 29, 2010 2:42 pm
Re: Blargg Bootstrap USB Cartridge: Famicom prototype & beta 1 built! (374 replies, posted in Nintendo Consoles)
low-gain wrote:
if the NES software could accept a pulse signal via a song playback mode that basically ran it's song playback speed based on an incoming clock signal via the controller port it could very easily be done.
My advice... make it a simple analog clock 1/4note per beat type. or simply.. midi clock.
which then allows you to use any number of clock conversion devices already out there in production.
Sounds fine, but again, it's all up to the imagination and skills of he who chooses to code the interface. In fact, I think it'd be easier to actually build a special-purpose interface for MIDI type syncing, since the cable being used for this project will have a MAX232 on it, and there has certainly got to be an easier way than using a PC as the sync device.
But, one project at a time! At least for me. For the curious about how this stuff works on a technical level, may I suggest ingesting as much technical documentation as you can handle from this location:
Documents of interest for MIDI cable builders would include the NES general reference section, the NES hardware section, and especially a document called "NES hardware development guide."
790 Jul 29, 2010 2:26 pm
Re: Blargg Bootstrap USB Cartridge: Famicom prototype & beta 1 built! (374 replies, posted in Nintendo Consoles)
nickmaynard wrote:
blargg wrote:The idea is for the code to go into the 128K/256K/perhaps larger Flash chip, and leave the battery RAM open for the code to use. The older design before these Flash chips was to use battery RAM (that's how all my current carts work).
And the PC-to-NES cable is as simple as it comes. It's basically just a USB-to-serial cable connected to the controller port, with the NES doing a software-based UART running at 5.7 KB/sec. And yes, the NES can send data back to the PC. One interesting program I've made using this link is an NSF player that runs on the PC, but sends the sound chip writes to the NES for more authentic sound (and even suppots DMC samples).
does this mean you could use a computer to sync an NES and LSDJ via an arduinoboy?
Short answer: yes.
Long answer: pretty much just yes. Someone has to code the interface for it, of course, but yes.
791 Jul 29, 2010 12:23 am
Re: Blargg Bootstrap USB Cartridge: Famicom prototype & beta 1 built! (374 replies, posted in Nintendo Consoles)
On a whim, I put "bootstrapping" into Google and wound up reading about Baron Munchausen, a real man who had the misfortune of having ridiculous stories written about him. One of which included him escaping from a swamp by lifting himself out by his own bootstraps. Given that, I think it might be fitting to call the finished product (unless Blargg objects) the "Munchausen Cartridge," in homage to this great ancestor of bootstrapping.
Behold, Dore's classic depiction of the patron saint of firmware and BIOSes everywhere:
792 Jul 28, 2010 11:10 pm
Re: Blargg Bootstrap USB Cartridge: Famicom prototype & beta 1 built! (374 replies, posted in Nintendo Consoles)
Don't jump the gun node, but don't worry. I'm willing to do a fairly substantial number of these and preorder time will come soon enough. Pending payment on a couple of other commission jobs I'm doing I will be able to buy components to test this new design. I just paid this month's bills, and I have $2.97 left. Woohoo!!!
EDIT: I also found a quarter on the sidewalk. Woohooo!!! ...good thing I'm living with my parents still. 
793 Jul 28, 2010 8:22 pm
Re: Blargg Bootstrap USB Cartridge: Famicom prototype & beta 1 built! (374 replies, posted in Nintendo Consoles)
Looking over parts cost for these, should not be bad at all. Now to get some capitol for building prototypes.
794 Jul 28, 2010 7:56 pm
Re: Blargg Bootstrap USB Cartridge: Famicom prototype & beta 1 built! (374 replies, posted in Nintendo Consoles)
Well, I suppose it should. I have never done work with modding Famicom cartridges (other than modding a Famicom Wars cartridge into a NES cartridge case) but it doesn't mean it can't be done. I'll check my sources and see what comes up for hardware matches. As for controller port pinouts and such, it might be possible that way too, but perhaps only on AV Famicom. I really am not certain though.
795 Jul 28, 2010 7:10 pm
Re: Blargg Bootstrap USB Cartridge: Famicom prototype & beta 1 built! (374 replies, posted in Nintendo Consoles)
neilbaldwin wrote:
Oh, and whoever writes the PC-side code to handle the communication - don't forget some of us don't use Windows PCs.
No problem! It's just simple serial code though, so not a problem. As for letting you have the 8kb RAM to yourself, that's fine because the bootloader is in Flash, so the SRAM is yours.
796 Jul 28, 2010 7:08 pm
Re: Blargg Bootstrap USB Cartridge: Famicom prototype & beta 1 built! (374 replies, posted in Nintendo Consoles)
OK, this will probably help to explain what this device is like:
It's using the NES itself as the cartridge programmer, with no modifications needed to the NES in order to be able to do so. That's why it's so cool and so cheap.
797 Jul 28, 2010 6:53 pm
Re: Blargg Bootstrap USB Cartridge: Famicom prototype & beta 1 built! (374 replies, posted in Nintendo Consoles)
herr_prof wrote:
This sounds really cool.. maybe it could be made cheaper by having an external usb writer and making the carts "Dumber"? One writer and multiple cheaper carts for easy live usage..
That's what this is. The cart has no processor onboard, so it's completely dumb. All we would be doing is swapping the PRG mask from an SNROM board with Flash, building a USB to controller port cable, and letting the bootloader code do the work. Reprogramming will require having the running NES next to your PC to upload code to the NES. It's as cheap as it gets.
798 Jul 28, 2010 5:57 pm
Re: Blargg Bootstrap USB Cartridge: Famicom prototype & beta 1 built! (374 replies, posted in Nintendo Consoles)
Kris k wrote:
I would definitely be interested in this if it could be used to run NO CARRIER's software - I don't know what mappers, if any, those make use of. Is there a way to tell by looking at the ASM?
Most of his software is NROM, so yes. You can tell by looking at the ASM code, which contains an iNES header that identifies it as NROM. Google the iNES header format to find out more.
799 Jul 28, 2010 5:54 pm
Re: Blargg Bootstrap USB Cartridge: Famicom prototype & beta 1 built! (374 replies, posted in Nintendo Consoles)
low-gain wrote:
$40 ? you aren't asking enough.
It's a community service, which also kinda helps to keep my interest payments at bay while I look for work. The "profit" from these will almost certainly amount to less than minimum wage for the hours I'll put in making them. Just like all my projects. I offered Blargg a cut, and he didn't seem interested.
800 Jul 28, 2010 5:49 pm
Re: Blargg Bootstrap USB Cartridge: Famicom prototype & beta 1 built! (374 replies, posted in Nintendo Consoles)
NTRQ is MMC1, but there may be issues getting it to run on this particular cartridge because of the fairly small RAM bank space. The PRG Flash should be available for storing code, though whether bank access for this will be the same as MMC1 remains to be seen. The bootloader code is very very small, so unless the MMC1 ROM in question requires literally the entire 32kb (EDIT: excuse me, 128kb) space it should not be an issue.
As for backing up RAM data, I'm not actually sure. I assume it could work, since the cable is basically just a TTL level RS232 to USB type device, but obviously code would have to be written to support it, either in NTRQ or some kind of cartridge-native code. I think it could work, but I'd have to ask Blargg and/or Neil if they could code it. I'm just the guy with the soldering iron!
Also, one other thing to note which maybe is hard to get from the description: this cartridge will not be able to run every single NES ROM out there, as the PowerPak is trying to do. It will run NROM programs, some modified MMC1 roms, and other custom code. Those MMC1 ROMs that it will be able to run will almost certainly require some kind of modification, unless I am mistaken.