Venus Mini Doctor Copier?

[YoshiFan501]

I was browsing ebay the other day and I found something called the Venus Mini Doctor, it was just a pcb and was only 20 bucks so I ordered one. I've always been interested in copiers, but never have heard of this one, and it looks like it can't do much (the seller linked me to a github with disk images), I was curious on it. It seems there is barely any information on this, outside of that ebay listing, one on tototek, and like 2 youtube videos, also linked in the ebay and tototek listing. Has anyone heard of this or has any more information on it?

Ebay link
tototek link

https://youtu.be/fLiVUsNyX6E
https://youtu.be/JGEfEx7vwd0
https://youtu.be/M2_yl9gmRa4

[P]

Impossible to say since the description is so bereaved of critical information. It sort of sounds like a RAM cartridge that can take NROM and CNROM games programmed via the FDS (a real FDS disk or the FDSStick/Key). Sort of like the IS ICE but without all the debugging tools. Not sure how that would be useful though.

I don't care for that practice of sanding off the etching on the chip.

[YoshiFan501]

Yeah I didn't really care for that either. What I have learned is that on that website there's a fds image that allows you to play normal game doctor images on it too. But yeah it can't do much.

[radiochan]

I bought one of these, since I already had a Famicom and a FDS RAM adapter and it was very inexpensive compared to an Everdrive. Some info:

If it's the webzone I was linked to, these will only accept Venus Mini Doctor images from there. No, "regular" Game Doctor images won't work on it. I've tried it and gotten a corrupted screen.

This will only register one side. You can't use multisides (not like there are any multiside VMD games).

FDS Stick will let you flash the images to it. I have one that's full of VMD and regular FDS images.

The VMDs being sold don't have a case, but you can 3D print one, or get one printed. It will function as a "pass through" for regular FDS images or games. I am aware that NewRisingSun coded a VMD specific loader but I haven't found a need for it, unless that loader lets you run single sided regular Game Doctor images (I don't know about this, as I'm running all of it off a FDS stick)

In case anyone cares these aren't specially hacked images, besides hacked to be able to run from a VMD. If you connect a Zapper or Famicom Ray Gun through the EXP port it will still work as intended - I've tested this myself with Duck Hunt and Wild Gunman. If you're  using an external Famicom controller via the EXP port the Western games, as guaranteed, they're almost all Western developed games with no Famicom equivalent, sometimes won't acknowledge the EXP port as they have only been hacked to run off disk, not hacked to acknowledge an EXP controller as Player 1.

I don't know about any Family Trainer games hacked for the device. I presume those will still work as intended.

The webzone linked by the seller has a lot of stuff that might be interesting for the Famicom hacker enthusiast, especially since one of the images is a disk version of Family BASIC. I don't know if you can modify it to save and run typein programs as that's for the Game Doctor and *not* the VMD.

Some may be interested in this due to the fact that the current stock of VMDs being sold is far less expensive than an Everdrive or a flash cartridge in general. I am not aware of any way to run the hacked disk images in an emulator. This may be regrettable as I believe some of them to be Hong Kong originals that aren't on cart, but may have been hacked in the past to be able to run as carts in an emulator hacked as FFE games.