Nes ROM to Nes Cart.. HELP! (Page 1 of 2)

Breaking the rom up into PRG and CHR is simple enough, all you need is a hex editor and knowledge of the correct places to cut it, which can be obtained from the iNES header. Alternatively, you can use the programs which are available on that very site you linked to, and run them on your Mac using the Dosbox emulator.

As for doing things from NoCarrier, those are quite simple. You have to split it into CHR and PRG files, duplicate them to fill the chip you are using, and install the EPROMs directly into an NROM-256 cartridge. It's fairly simple, but I can see how alot of this is overwhelming for people. I can write a simple tutorial for people at some point.

As for NTRQ, this is considerably more complex. You'll have to hunt down the correct donor cartridge first, which should contain an SKROM board inside. One cheap and cruddy game which has this is Al Unser Turbo Racing. Then you need to rewire the cartridge to accept  27c0x0 EPROMs. Instructions for doing this can be found here: http://nesdev.parodius.com/NES%20EPROM% … rsions.txt

Just follow the directions posted there for the SLROM, and you shouldn't have too much difficulty rewiring the cartridge.

Lastly, I am fairly sure this will involve absolutely no knowledge of C, since I can handle this and I don't know any C at all, only various dialects of BASIC and Pascal. Actually, you won't need to even know how to program a computer, although I like to say that with anything computer related it's nice to have done some coding as it familiarises you with the concepts.

EDIT: Feel free to complain if I'm too vague, I haven't tried to explain this to beginners before. Also, it would be helpful to know what your current level of skill is with electronics, since both of these projects are relatively advanced I suppose. If you haven't done much soldering with .1" pitch through hole components then I would say you'll need to brush up on your soldering. If you haven't done much desoldering I would also advise you to practice that as well, since you'll need that a good deal to prep the donor boards. Also, if you know someone who has an EPROM programmer you can save yourself alot of money by borrowing his, especially if you don't intend to be reprograming these alot. Lastly, with EPROMs, you'll also need a UV eraser device if you plan on reprogramming them, since just plugging them back into the programmer won't do anything without erasing them first.

Last edited by arfink (Apr 27, 2010 11:41 am)

OK, I wish people would just stop it with the whole PowerPak thing. No offence, but they cost $150! That is pretty steep for most people, I would say. There are good reasons to make these things, including but not limited to having a special custom cartridge, having a dedicated cartridge, getting into the whole DIY thing, and a lower price. Saying otherwise is like saying that the only reasonable way to do a prosound mod is to buy the kit from Nonfinite. I'm sure the pre-made option it great and all, but DIY is where it's at.

No, thank you very much. Atavistic and proud! Also, lets see the Powerpak do accurate sound reproduction for Famicom hardware, lets see 100% mapper support. Lets see nanosecond accurate IRQ timings. Sure it's "good enough" for those who just want to drop the dough right up front and never have to "deal with" having something hand built. For me, it's not just about function. It's about how you get there. It's the reason why I continue to even bother with the chipmusic scene instead of going all fakebit. I know, Low-Gain is going to disagree with me, and this is hot ideological water, but the DIY aesthetic is incredibly important to me. I also know it's important to other people who don't have my level of skill for building things, which is why I'm offering to make them for people who are interested.

ahh, i didn't mean that *you* couldn't design your own version of something like the powerpak, i was just saying that for the average person it's not quite the same as making your own carts/repros/hacks and that it doesn't really compare to someone buying a pre-modded GB vs. doing it yourself. i totally see what you're saying about DIY, but for most uses the powerpak is a great option and i don't really understand your contempt for it.

dig it.

Going back to my original post, I think this looks like it would be too time consuming and expensive for me right now, but thanks Arfink for your excellent explanation.

For the interim I would love to get my hands on a PAL NTRQ cart, I’m not sure if I understand this correctly. But Looking at PowerPak Lite, if someone has a CopyNES system can they flash the ROM onto it for me. Or do you need to have a CopyNES to run a PowerPak Lite?

Basically, I’m just look for a way to get NTRQ on my PAL system cheaply and need help!

or go here.

http://mutecitydmgs.blogspot.com/

"The cartridges will be 40 dollars each including shipping worldwide! Cartridges are in an NTSC format!
If you would like a PAL copy email me at [email protected] and we can work some thing out."

The fact I can load all kinds of games and play nsfs jukebox style made powerpak a no brainer. Once you can patch ntrq iqwth your own samples it will rock even more!

Are the mute city carts socketed? For easy update?