Interest check! New high quality Famicom mini PCBs with sockets for ppu and cpu

[jpx72]

Actually the ntsc+pal idea is freaking awesome!!

[krzy]

I've aleard done all of that 3 years ago (PAL+NTSC, 72+60 pin, 9+15+NES connectors), but the cost of making that is really not worth effort. If you want PAL+NTSC switchable console, just find famiclone which has a solder jumper.

I remember when I made this PCB, it was winter (my workshop is on the attic, upper part of house, without heating). I spend ~80 minutes on drilling, it was -20*C and I went ill.

[P]

Except for the PAL CPU and PPU, I don't think 72 pin cartridge connector and crystals are that expensive though?
It definitely increases the work load though (especially soldering an extra cartridge connector). NTSC<>PAL switching on an accurate clone is something I'd also like to see one day.

One way to reproduce the CPU and PPU would be to use programmable logic. That way they could be changed to any version that is implemented (old, new, NTSC, PAL, Arcade/Titler RGB PPU etc) on the fly.

There are lots of test program ROMs here although they are probably mostly made for emulators. I might also be able to whip something together as well, if anything specific is needed.

[aarkay14]

Hi guys!

I am nearly 90% done! Just a few tests here and there.. And we will have a high quality refurb soon!
-Rama

[P]

Excited!!

[aarkay14]

Ok just to post I have made the the hvc-cpu-05 version...

[Retrospectives]

Ok just to post I have made the the hvc-cpu-05 version...

Sounds great! Any improvement from original PCB? Or you made a replica? ^^ Is of course great news for FC-Community of enthusiast and I support anyone willing to keep the FC going strong!!!

[aarkay14]

Ok just to post I have made the the hvc-cpu-05 version...

Sounds great! Any improvement from original PCB? Or you made a replica? ^^ Is of course great news for FC-Community of enthusiast and I support anyone willing to keep the FC going strong!!!

Thank you for the support.. I made an exact replica.. I am now working on using newer parts..  will show my progress soon and ask the community for opinions...

-Rama

[Great Hierophant]

It is great to learn from the prior boards, but ultimately what most people would want is a board that can output jailbar-free composite video, something that the HVC-CPU-05 does not offer.  Additionally I would expect full compatibility with Famicom expansion port peripherals and the Controller II microphone.

[P]

Yeah HVC-CPU-05 may be a good start as it should contain all the functionality we associate with the Famicom, including microphone and 15-pin expansion port, but there are a great number of things that can be improved to create the ultimate Famirepro.

[aarkay14]

Yeah HVC-CPU-05 may be a good start as it should contain all the functionality we associate with the Famicom, including microphone and 15-pin expansion port, but there are a great number of things that can be improved to create the ultimate Famirepro.

I agree ! 


Post Merge: June 29, 2018, 11:09:52 pm

It is great to learn from the prior boards, but ultimately what most people would want is a board that can output jailbar-free composite video, something that the HVC-CPU-05 does not offer.  Additionally I would expect full compatibility with Famicom expansion port peripherals and the Controller II microphone.

Umm.. I was thinking that instead of relying on the inbuilt Video Output we should use the video output from an NESRGB mod! that is much much cleaner and awesome! But I will surely look into it!

[P]

NESRGB isn't perfect and has compatibility problems. Besides many people don't want RGB on Famicom.

[Retrospectives]

NESRGB isn't perfect and has compatibility problems. Besides many people don't want RGB on Famicom.

Indeed. Personally I'd like to see a low-level replica with just the most basic additional features just to hold down costs and to being able to fit it inside a FC shell without any major modifications. The point is to make it as "clean" as possible, but at the same time be able to provide something that the original did not, which is why RGB and those type of solutions tend to rush the prices, not to speak about the actual PCB layout, trying to fit it into a FC which already is more than cramped as it already is.

With that said, is a matter of preferences. Already there exist so many different "HD Solutions" that it for me personally has come to a point whereas people seems to think that HD-Quality is "pure" and "how it is supposed to look like", but that cannot be further away from truth. In fact, the way it was supposed to look was to play it on a normal CRT TV. Not PVM Monitor. Not Projector. Not HDMI. Not RGB. But a pure simple and easygoing CRT consumer availavle Television.

Of course people have their preferences, but for people want HD/RGB or other alternatives, there already exist those alternatives. But to make a low-level replica to a cost friendly price is indeed attractive to people who like to play on "original" hardware so to speak.

Just my thoughts.

[aarkay14]

NESRGB isn't perfect and has compatibility problems. Besides many people don't want RGB on Famicom.

Oh Thats news to me! Can you tell me about the compatibility issues?


OK! I was able to work on this over the weekend and fit the board in a 8x10 cm board as below:



Now this is NOT the final product or the final routing but I see that this size makes the lines way too dense! I might be able to reduce space used by using newer smaller parts and also avoid the Jailbar thing but I don't have much idea about them so I would like to ask the community for help. I am ready to hand out this schematics to a person who knows the in and out of the Famicom and can use this schematic to provide me back the perfect working Jailbar free Famicom schematics in Eagle CAD. As I spent some effort on this hence it is fair that I do not give out my work for free of cost and I will charge 60USD for the schematics. So it means the other person and I will be kinda the owners of the final schematics and the board diagram. He can simplify or proof read the schematics as well.. I don't want to do it alone since we have so many great minds in the community!

Please let me know your opinions on this and kindly PM me those who are interested.

-Rama

[krzy]

Really? Why so many vias - looks like it come from autorouter. You also risk chance that something might go wrong in the factory.

Here is proper way of placing the component to minimize vias and complexity - if you move CPU/PPU and RAMS closer to the connector, you should fit in 10x10.
To minimize jailbars, put video amplify circuit as close as possible to PPU leg 11 and route its output to the RCA connector as far as possible from other signals (be advised that it also applies to the second layer)