1,617 Reply by nitro2k01

(8 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)

Check the connection for the SIN pin, as indicated below. It's needed for transferring data, but not for simple sync. This line is used for feeding data to the Gameboy. When unconnected, the Gameboy just receives all bits as high. This is fine for sync, whereLSDj just needs to know a transfer took place, but not for MIDI/keyboard modes where you need the actual data.

As far as I can tell from your description, everything else is working fine. Edit 2: Or not... But your problem is in the connection of the link cable, at least.

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1,618 Reply by nitro2k01

(4 replies, posted in Bugs and Requests)

All media is moved to a new server. Old links used to start with hxxp://chipmusic.org/media/. Now Links start with hxxp://media.chipmusic.org/. (http replaced with hxxp so the URLs won't be auto-linked.) So any old links pointing to the old location are broken now, but the item page will still work. Wait a sec and I'll make the old links redirect to the new location. Or, eh, do nothing and wait until trash80 fixes it.

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1,619 Reply by nitro2k01

(12 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)

Page 1 & 2 = Flash ROM. This is where you have LSDj or other software.

SRAM = Your songs. This memory is 128 kB big and is shared between the two pages.

For example, if you put two different versions of LSDj on the two pages, you will still see the same songs in both. My advice is to put the same version of LSDj to both pages. That way it will always boot fine.

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1,620 Reply by nitro2k01

(16 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)

ui: I'm sorry but I don't think your advice will do much.

- Blow it, same with the cart. Sometimes is just that, so try it, also clean the Cart if possible.
This is good for much, but a dirty cartridge shouldn't give a connection error.

- Try to use the USB power in the back of the computer connections. Dont use the front connections. (hope you understand this)
I don't think this should matter unless the front connections are completely unconnected. On some computers the front USB ports are USB 1.0 and slower when used with USB sticks and such. However, transferrer is using USB only for power.

- Check the program, you need the right one, as kitsch said. I tried in various Windows versions and i can tell is no that.
He already said ini the second post which software he's using, and it's the correct one. (Assuming his hardware is actually Transferer 2 and not Transferer 1.)

- This maybe will sounds "stupid". But have you ever tried to copy/load the program from DESKTOP or C:\ root?
Hmmm... This can create problems with the file listing on some versions of the software because there are hidden files in the root which will make the file list appear empty, but this isn't the problem here.

- Try the different windows compatibility in case you haven't.
On Windows XP, this should make no difference, as the Transferer 2 software is XP compatible.

My bet is on the wrong kind of LPT cable, or maybe maybe that the unit was fried from a bad power adapter.

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1,621 Reply by nitro2k01

(16 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)

Have you ever gotten any other message than "connection problems" while not having a cartidge inserted? (Should tell you that no cartridge is inserted in really broken English.)

Did you buy them new or used?

Transferer 2 is using a different power connector. Connecting almost anything other than the USB cable that comes with the unit will instantly fry it.
The USB cable is 5V center positive (if I recall correctly.) Transferer 1 requires 9V (or higher) center negative, again if I recall correctly. This will (probably) fry the unit on the first try, so if you bought them used, maybe they are simply broken.

What the position of the power switch? The middle position is for GB while the other position are for GBA and power off. Even though it shouldn't report connection problems if the switch is in GBA mode, it's worth checking.

What kind of LPT cable are you using? There are two different kinds, Laplink and 1 to 1. They look the same on the outside (DB25 male to male) but differ in their connections. Laplink cables have their wires connected in a way that is beneficial for file transfer between two computers. But they are not compatible with any transferer. On a 1 to 1 cable, each pin will go to the same pin on the other side

If you have a multimeter, you can check which type of cable you have. Put your meter into diode/continuity mode and probe pin 1/pin 1 then pin 2/pin 2 and so on for a couple of pins. Make sure you don't touch the shielding, as that may five you false positive readings. If that doesn't work, the cable is a Laplink cable (or severly broken) and will not work. If you didn't get the cables from EMS, chances are they are Laplink cables.

What's the LPT port configured as in BIOS? I've never been able to consistently figure out which mode is the right one to use, but you should at least check that it's enabled in BIOS and that the base address is matching the setting in the program. You can also check the base address in the Windows device manager.

As for UserPort and GiveIO: No need for these things. The 2000/XP version of all transferer software come with their own driver that handles the low level access. It will probably even interfere with the Transferer software's own driver.
UserPort/GiveIO are for using legacy software (Win 95/98) on 2000/XP. You should never (and can't) install these drivers on 95/98. Also, if you legitimately need to install a driver to enable direct LPT port access, use UserPort, not GiveIO. But again, that's beside the point. Also, start the UserPort application and make sure the driver is not running. Same thing with GiveIO. Just to be sure.

As for your cartridges: The one that says PC linker will not work with your Transferer. However, I might be interested in this cartridge for research purposes... The one that says 16M flash may or may not work, depending on which kind it is. Could you take a picture of it?

Sorry for the information overload. Hopefully some of it will make sense. If something is unclear, well ask... smile

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1,622 Reply by nitro2k01

(12 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)

An0va: I'd like to do an experiment with your unit. I will prepare a special ROM for you that will test a fix for this. If you don't hear from me in a wekk or two, please PM/e-mail me and poke me about it. smile

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1,623 Reply by nitro2k01

(13 replies, posted in General Discussion)

The stranger part of that FAQ item is that the domain is registered to someone in Germany...

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1,624 Topic by nitro2k01

(18 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)

I'd better make an announcement here as well. If you ever run into problems with a song that loads forever or is corrupt, or if all your songs are gone one day, contact me. It's not impossible that I can actually fix the problem and recover the song full, or at least to a useful state. Remember this announcement until you need it.

Contact me at [email protected] or with a PM.

To try to recover a song, I need a sav file from your cartridge. If you back up the data at several points, don't overwrite any old files, as an old file may contain data that was later corrupted.

Don't simply send me a "lsdsng" format file as that may not give me all the data I need. Don't play around with the file in LSDManager without saving a copy, as that may also overwrite useful data.

And of course, prevent the disaster before it happens by backing up often and store your backups in a safe place. smile

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1,625 Reply by nitro2k01

(56 replies, posted in General Discussion)

http://blog.gg8.se/wordpress/

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1,626 Reply by nitro2k01

(17 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)

Oh, yeah! The "source" of the noise, so to speak, is the CPU, but as far as I understand, it "happens" in the headphone amplifier, depending on how much other parts of the whole circuit can attenuate it. So prosound should still make a huge difference. Also, not all noise components are the same. The power supply itself will also still output a certain amount of noise, even without the help of the CPU.

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1,627 Reply by nitro2k01

(17 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)

It appears to be a bit on the noisy side, yes, but you can always expect noise from the headphone jack of the DMG. From what I understand the most of this noise comes from the headphone amplifier and there are two distinct noise source.
1) "Transistor noise". This is the noise inherent to all semiconductors in different degrees. This is white noise. Not much you can do in the way removing it.
2) Power supply fluctuations/interference. This is just my understanding of it which is hopefully correct. For various reasons, the internal power supply line can fluctuate slightly. This carries over into the headphone signal. When the power supply ducks slightly, so does the signal, and you end up with interference.
This happens because the DC/DC power converter can't always keep up the pace with the changes in load by the CPU.

It gets worse if the batteries are almost dry. (Get new ones, or recharge if they are rechargeable)

It gets worse if certain capacitors are dried out. The cause for this problem is usually dodgy components. Game Gear was notorious for this for example. This is not a known problem for Gameboys, but might still have happened for example if the unit has been stored in in a moisture.

It gets worse when power save mode is on in LSDj as that turns the CPU on and off all the time. In newer versions of LSDj, the power save mode is hardcoded to auto. That's what pixls is describing.

But this noise is always there to some degree in the headphone jack. In my experience, prosounding always gives a nice and clean sound, so I would recommend you to actually do that.

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1,628 Reply by nitro2k01

(18 replies, posted in General Discussion)

Bit Shifter wrote:
Frostbyte wrote:

Thank god we have  enough electricity to flush the toilet and brush our teeth. That was close.

?

Maybe he's living in a remote house with a backup battery and his own water pump?

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1,629 Reply by nitro2k01

(37 replies, posted in Other Hardware)

No, it's just a momentary switch. What I said about the switch going off when pressed all the way in, was a theory of how your switch might have failed in such a way that the unit turns off when you release the button.

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1,630 Reply by nitro2k01

(37 replies, posted in Other Hardware)

First off, that switch is not a real on/off switch. It's a momentary switch which causes the power regulator circuit to turn on when pressed, and off when pressed again. In other words, it doesn't latch, it just closes momentarily. To my understanding, what causes the regulator circuit to react is a positive edge, i.e. off -> on transition.

The only thing I can think of is that you have somehow pressed the button too far in a lot of times. My theory is that when you press your switch all the way in, the switch first makes, then breaks again when you press it all the way in. Then when you release the switch, it makes and breaks once more on the way out, causing the unit to go off when you release the button. Check if it works better if you try to press the button as quickly as you can or if you only press it halfway in.

Also, you should place the screws correctly, as they have different pitch. The silver screw should be to the left of the power button. This is the "ground screw". It might be so that the board flexes back and forth, if you placed a black screw there, assuming the screw doesn't even grip onto the screw mount. But those two things are really all I can think of. And apart from the screw placement, neither thing should have anything to do with the mod.

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1,631 Reply by nitro2k01

(37 replies, posted in Other Hardware)

I'm just trying to look for any anomalies, really. It sounds like a very strange error. Are you sure that nothing is shorted? Are all the connectors fully inserted? What you're describing might be a problem with the power regulator chip, but even then I have a hard time seeing how you could have damaged it.

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1,632 Reply by nitro2k01

(37 replies, posted in Other Hardware)

TraceKaiser: Can you snap some photos of the insides?

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