fkgiggles Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 So I've recently acquired this prototype cart for a Famicom game called Little Ninja Hattori-kun. To my knowledge, there wasn't any standardization for test cartridges for the Famicom, so companies would typically fabricate whatever hardware they needed at the time. My question here is twofold: does anyone have any idea what the switch on the board actually does? Information on games with these switches seems very scarce, but I did come across a thread here that said that they might be used to delete data of the cartridge, but if that's the case, then why leave the eproms exposed? Also to my knowledge the game is identical to the full release, however on the off-chance it isn't, I'd still like to dump it, so if anyone could perhaps point me in the right direction for that, I would super appreciate it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supergun Posted April 29, 2016 Share Posted April 29, 2016 The switch is most likely for the H & V selecting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supergun Posted April 29, 2016 Share Posted April 29, 2016 (edited) It's appears to be a very recycled cart. Perhaps they put a game on it, test it, play it, use it, etc. then they place it in a UV light fixture box, it erases the EPROMs data, then they have a special edge connector reader device that can reprogram the EPROMs with the next revision or next game without having to open the cart and unplug the EPROMs, etc. Hence the Windows make that easy and possible, and the switch is to toggle if needed depending on the type of game programmed at the moment in the cart. Edited April 29, 2016 by Supergun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Ksarul Posted April 29, 2016 Share Posted April 29, 2016 Or, following your logic a little bit further, Supergun, it may be that the switch allows the programmer to select between the EPROMs during the reprogramming run. That way, the burner only sees one chip of a type it knows at the end of the programmer adapter. . .instead of two very different chips simultaneously. Note that one chip is a 2764 and the other is a 27256, so they would need to be programmed separately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Posted April 30, 2016 Share Posted April 30, 2016 The switch could be to select the high address line on the chip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRedEye Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 (edited) This likely isn't an actual prototype, this is a contemporary flash cart people would use to pirate games. You see them listed on ebay all the time as "prototype?". http://www.ebay.com/itm/Super-Mario-Bros-1-Famicom-FC-Prototype-Cartridge-and-FDS-to-NES-adapter-/272234026275?hash=item3f62699523:g:BtUAAOSwu1VW8F-s http://www.ebay.com/itm/Adventure-Island-Prototype-Rare-Famicom-Fc-Nes-Japan-100-Authentic-/272163261786?hash=item3f5e31cd5a:g:2UUAAOSwZG9WlEhq http://www.ebay.com/itm/The-Gooney-2-Prototype-Rare-Famicom-Fc-Nes-Japan-100-Authentic-/272163261888?hash=item3f5e31cdc0:g:OTkAAOSwKtlWlEvU Edited May 20, 2016 by TheRedEye Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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