Something that annoys you

[fcgamer]

I have no idea how the other people feel about the parking. I guess they just deal with it, probably never having experienced anything else in their lives.

I spoke with the owner of the shop about the situation.

I don't smoke, so I don't particularly enjoy cigarettes butts on the ground. Moreso, though, I just don't want the area where I'm living looking like a dump. It's odd that there's room for parking at the shop, and also this guy never throws cigs at his restaurant. He doesn't want his area looking like a dump either, obviously

[Jedi Master Baiter]

I'm still curious how the situation is with your scooter parking, fcgamer. I hope it's not going on 2 years later!

As for something that annoys me: I don't understand why, well after several years into the 21st century, products still use faulty rubber buttons like the FC/NES Start/Select that wear out.

[UglyJoe]

The switches in my mouse are going bad, so it keeps on double-clicking when I single-click, or lets off of the mouse button when I try to click and drag

I bought replacement switches for it for like $10 and I'm gonna try to fix it myself.  Shaky hands and a soldering iron -- good times ahead!

[Jedi Master Baiter]

Sounds worse than my right mouse button and left arrow key sometimes not registering.

While I was working on my game, I'd press left and the player wouldn't move, so I thought the issue was my code. Nope. Keyboard button is all worn out. I already cleaned it. The down key is also wearing out.

[P]

Reminds me that my SNES mouse buttons doesn't work. I searched the internet for a solution a decade ago or so, but I wasn't able to find a solution back then. Technical information about these things are much more common on the internet nowadays however so maybe I could fix it some day.

I do have the SFC mouse as well though so I'm not mouse-less at least.

[Famicom.In.My.Blood]

When I forget to order my daily premium restaurant on time the evening, so too late to order, and I must order cheap food as burger who delivered later the evening

[UglyJoe]

The switches in my mouse are going bad, so it keeps on double-clicking when I single-click, or lets off of the mouse button when I try to click and drag

I bought replacement switches for it for like $10 and I'm gonna try to fix it myself.  Shaky hands and a soldering iron -- good times ahead!

Update: It works! My mouse works again!

Another annoying thing, though, was that I bought a flux pen to help me clean up some annoying solder that didn't want to come off cleanly, but the stupid $16 pen was dried up and useless.  I should have just bought flux gel that comes in a tiny toxic jar.

[Jedi Master Baiter]

Somehow I ended up ordering a Super EverDrive X5 instead of a Mega EverDrive X5.

I think what happened was I was deciding between the different Mega EverDrives and when I finally committed to one, I had to go back to the products pages and select the different one, and because nothing is in particular order here, when I finally stumbled upon EverDrive X5, I thought that was it and ordered it without realizing it was the wrong one.

Somehow I overlooked the pictures. I know that both had red/normal cart variants. If I could make this mistake, they should really change their naming conventions or better organize their catalog.

For what it's worth, I already have a Super EverDrive: https://krikzz.com/our-products/legacy/super-everdrive-v2.html Which one's better?

I already received a tracking number, but nothing shows up in the system, so I'm hoping it hasn't physically been sent out yet.

If it has, does anyone want an EverDrive? $60?

By the way, I didn't know Krikzz was located in the Ukraine. I'll be fine.

Before anyone says anything, I checked the order confirmation and my browsing history and both indicate that I ordered the wrong thing. It was my fault, not them.

[P]

Maybe you could ask them to refund it and trade for the Mega Drive one if you pay the shipping?

The X5 doesn't seem to really improve much. If your old V2 has the DSP-module (to play some games like Pilotwings and Super Mario Kart) and/or USB-module (not sure how to use) it's possibly better than the X5 which seems to be missing both. The X5 supports a bit larger ROMs and maybe larger save files, but not by much and I don't think there are any games that large anyway except for some hacks. Some hacks are so large that they require the SD2SNES though, which supports even larger ROMs.

I don't need a Super Everdrive since I have the SD2SNES which seems superior in every way (except the price).

[Jedi Master Baiter]

The SD2SNES is what I was eventually planning to replace the Super EverDrive v2 with. My main concern is the power draw. I read on Nintendo Life that certain flash drives can shorten the life of the console. Not sure how true this is. The comments section is solely focused on the ethics of using ROMs.

Anyway, I've yet to receive a reply, which is understandable given the situation. I'd gladly accept switching out the SNES EverDrive with a Genesis one, seeing as they're the same price and probably similar in weight (I don't think I'd be able to add an item to the parcel which probably has already been paid for).

Edit: I checked the tracking again, and it looks like it has been processed already.

To add to the things that annoy me... I checked eBay to see what's there and I only see the Mega EverDrive X3 and X7.

[P]

It is true although it doesn't have to do with power draw (which is indeed higher on flashcarts compared to normal game cartridges). The concern is that basically all modern flashcarts and many modern bootleg cartridges are using 3.3 V parts while basically all classic consoles are expecting 5 V signals in the cartridge port. For example an SD-card is a 3.3 V device so the SD-module is a 3.3 V part, and several modern PROM and RAM chips are 3.3 V too (many old 5 V parts are getting more expensive and harder to find). The cartridge must use voltage translation circuitry on ALL lines between the console and the cartridge to avoid damaging both the console and the cartridge. Many modern bootleggers and some flashcart makers are simply too cheap to do this correctly, and produces potentially dangerous cartridges.
Note that the Nintendo 64 and GBA in GBA mode are both 3.3 V consoles and don't need any translation (unless the cartridge uses 5 V logic of course). Newer consoles than those are also typically using 3.3 V. GBA in GBC mode is 5 V however.

I think all the modern Everdrives translates the voltage correctly now, but there are a few older Everdrives (but not all of them) that didn't. Some modern bootlegs were much worse than the Everdrives though. I've even seen a few very cheap bootlegs that doesn't even have any voltage regulation for the power source of its own 3.3 V parts which means it will most likely break after some use.
Pretty much all 8-bit Game Boy flashcarts I've seen except the GB Everdrives are also unsafe, including the super-cheap Hong Kong flashcart usually called "GB EMS USB 64M Smart Card". Avoid!

I'm not sure about Super Everdrive V2, but all the Famicom and Game Boy Everdrives should be safe to use, including the older ones. The SD2SNES is said to be a prime-example on how to properly design a flashcart so it's also safe.

[Jedi Master Baiter]

Oh, then maybe I should just sell my Super v2 then and keep the X5? At least until I get the SD2SNES.

How do all the Mega EverDrives fare? Do you know?

[P]

Older Mega Everdrives are bad and was part of that scandal some years ago when the whole voltage translation problem was bought up to the public, but the two latest ones are supposedly safe (the X5 and the Pro). The X7 is older than the X5 and is apparently considered only semi-safe since it's missing some of the voltage translation parts, so it's probably better to get the Pro which can do everything the X7 can anyway. The Pro can also apparently emulate the Mega CD so that it can run CD-images and also work like a Mega CD RAM cartridge (for both a real Mega CD and the emulated one).

[Jedi Master Baiter]

The X7 is older than the X5?

I was under the assumption that the more advanced ones with savestates and suspend-game menus drew more energy and were potentially unsafe. Which is why I didn't want the X7. Funny how I could be wrong and right.

Also, lucky me. Look what showed up. I don't like the Stoned Age Gamer shell, but snoozers be losers, not choosers... or something.

Edit: My Super EverDrive has DSP-1, and there aren't really any games that I want to play that use it (besides Suzuka 8 Hours). I could probably get more if I sell this one.

[P]

Yup, at least according to Great Hierophant (who is a member here on the forum):

However, there is a reason why you should wish to consider the X5 over the X7.  The X7 was developed before the X5.  The Genesis is a console that operates on 5v logic, but the Mega EverDrives use modern chips which operate with 3.3v logic levels.  When chips of different logic levels are interacting with each other, there should be level translator chips in the signal path to translate the logic levels accordingly.  If this is not done, then the higher voltages from the 5v parts and the lower voltages from the 3.3v parts will cause their counterparts to run out of specification.

When the v1 was designed, Krikzz mitigated the issue by using current limiting resistors on all the address and data lines.  The theory behind current limiting resistors is that instead of the clamping diodes inside the 3.3v chips dissipating the excess voltage from the 5v source as heat, the current limiting resistors do the job externally to the chips.  Heat is the enemy of silicon-based integrated chips.  If those diodes break down, then they could cause a short circuit and a voltage spike that could take the flash cart and even perhaps the console itself to the scrap heap.

Current limiting resistors limit the most obvious harmful effect, but the ICs are still being over/under volted whenever 1s are being output.  The X7 has 2 logic level translation chips, and these chips can handle 16 a piece.  Between the address and data lines, the cartridges have access to 40 signals alone, nevermind the additional signals used for other cartridge functions read enable, write enable and chip enable.  8 of the data lines and some other signals are still being serviced only by current limiting resistors.  When Krikzz designed the X5 and X3 at a later time, he added a third logic level shifter allowing for 48 signals, which is sufficient to handle all the signals the Mega EverDrive needs.

To summarize: the X7 does not fully protect the hardware (console and cartridge) from potentially taking damage as only 40 of 48 lines are protected. The X5 and X3 protects all 48 lines.

The Pro wasn't released yet when Great Hierophant wrote this review, but the Pro should also protect all 48 lines as I understood it.