how do you make a pirate cart?

[linkzpikachu]

how do you make a pirate cart and what materials do you need to make one as a begenner?

[133MHz]

We've had this question several times in the past. I smell a thread merging, even though I can't smell because of a cold

Short answer: You don't. If you need to ask then you're not ready for it.

Long Answer: You can create your own game cartridges but you're going to need to spend some serious cash on equipment like Flash/EEPROM programmers, EPROM erasers, blank or rewritable memory chips, a soldering station, etc if you don't own them already; and on top of that you need more than decent electronics skills (digital logic, schematic reading, prototyping, circuit building, soldering) with some 6502 assembly programming thrown into the mix if you want to successfully create your own multi game cartridge. As for cloning existing pirate cartridges, forget about it. They use proprietary custom logic that can't be replicated in a homebrew setting. The closest would be taking a common mapper like Nintendo's MMC3 and implementing your own multi-game switching scheme. Last but not least, you need donor games with the necessary mapper chips for the games you want.

I don't want to sound like an asshole, but it ain't easy nor cheap.

[michaelthegreat]

The best way is to make it an eye patch.

[nensondubois]

I have the skills necessary to make a cart but I'm asking about 500 to make one. I can also extract individual games from a pirate.

[ericj]

I just had 4 pirate famicom carts made from games I selected and they cost me about $10 each.

$500 for one--are you expecting someone to pay for all your equipment to make it, too?

[nensondubois]

Yes, custom pirates don't come cheap.

[nintendodork]

Yeah, but regular businesses don't make it's customers pay for their equipment.

[FamicomFreak]

I am cracking up at the 500 post, I rather pay 200 dollars for a trip to South America and buy them for a dollar each. That's what I did last year anyways

[linkzpikachu]

I am cracking up at the 500 post, I rather pay 200 dollars for a trip to South America and buy them for a dollar each. That's what I did last year anyways

same now that i saw that

[nintendodork]

Yeah, or if you wanna spend that much on a game, go for a Holy Grail or something.

[michaelthegreat]

Well if anyone's thinking about paying $500 for a pirate repro--let me just tell you that I'll do it for $400....   

[133MHz]

But... will yours include the eye patch for $400 or is it added separately for an extra $100?

[michaelthegreat]

Oh, that certainly included the premiere eye patch, the one-of-a-kind pirate hat case, and there will be a button to press on the cart for one of 5 pirate phrases: "Shiver me Famicom", "Arrr, thar be the energy tank", "Batten down the disk system", "Blow the cart down", and "Ahoy, Avast ye famicom booty".

[Jedi Master Baiter]

That eyepatch gives me an idea - you know how some pirate carts have no labels?  We could scan the official label, but put an eyepatch over it to indicate it's a pirate cart (for those who are less in-the-know).

I don't know...

[linkzpikachu]

That eyepatch gives me an idea - you know how some pirate carts have no labels?  We could scan the official label, but put an eyepatch over it to indicate it's a pirate cart (for those who are less in-the-know).

I don't know...

that is actually a really good idea