Tokone GAC-89 / Game Combo 88 (ゲームコンボ 88)

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OmDRetro
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Joined: Sat Mar 25, 2023 7:54 pm

Tokone GAC-89 / Game Combo 88 (ゲームコンボ 88)

Post by OmDRetro »

Found this bad boy in a surplus shop. Costs about $18 since it's second hand.
  • Console: Game Combo 88 (ゲームコンボ 88)
  • Model No.: GAC-89
  • Sold by: Tokone Co., Ltd. (販売元:株式会社トコネ)
  • Feature(s):
    • 2 x 9-pin(DB9/RS-232) SNES controller slot (Famiclone compatible controllers)
    • 10V Adapter barrel. Barrel input size is 5.5 mm x 2.5 mm. Center pin is negative polarity. About 600 mA consumption.

Original Distributor / Manufacturer: DongGuan Fei Hao ShiYe Co. LTD.
Basically a Yobo FC Twin "designed" for the Japanese market.

Here are some pictures of the console:
Image
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Internal shots:
Image
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Since I found out that the region switch is practically missing, I had to add one myself.


Image
SS12F23G4 SPDT switch


Controller Overview
Image
Size and plug comparison with a famiclone controller(HB-JOY)
Image
Image
Last edited by OmDRetro on Sat May 06, 2023 3:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Individualised
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Re: Tokone GAC-89 / Game Combo 88 (ゲームコンボ 88)

Post by Individualised »

The TCT chips are common clones of the SNES CPU, PPU and APU.
I believe TCT-975 is the APU, TCT-976 is the PPU and TCT-978 is the CPU.
Last edited by Individualised on Mon Apr 24, 2023 2:55 am, edited 1 time in total.
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forple
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Re: Tokone GAC-89 / Game Combo 88 (ゲームコンボ 88)

Post by forple »

With the above in mind, I'd be willing to wager the Famicom's side of things is a silly globtop on the reverse edge of that small 60-pin PCB.
OmDRetro
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Re: Tokone GAC-89 / Game Combo 88 (ゲームコンボ 88)

Post by OmDRetro »

forple wrote: Thu Apr 13, 2023 5:15 pm With the above in mind, I'd be willing to wager the Famicom's side of things is a silly globtop on the reverse edge of that small 60-pin PCB.
Sadly it is a NOAC blob. :(

The unfortunate feature of this 8-bit NOAC is the sound is distorted unlike the SNES counterpart. It's color palette is nice though and like most NOAC's this one can't work with the Everdrive N8.
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Individualised
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Re: Tokone GAC-89 / Game Combo 88 (ゲームコンボ 88)

Post by Individualised »

OmDRetro wrote: Mon Apr 24, 2023 2:42 am
forple wrote: Thu Apr 13, 2023 5:15 pm With the above in mind, I'd be willing to wager the Famicom's side of things is a silly globtop on the reverse edge of that small 60-pin PCB.
Sadly it is a noac blob. :(

The unfortunate feature of this 8-bit noac is the sound is distorted unlike the SNES counterpart. It's color palette is nice though.
Do the pulse channels manage to be nearly inaudible in games such as Super Mario Bros? Does the triangle channel not sound like a triangle at all? On a possibly related note, does it have any issue running any game that uses a remotely advanced mapper? (I.e. SMB3)
OmDRetro
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Re: Tokone GAC-89 / Game Combo 88 (ゲームコンボ 88)

Post by OmDRetro »

Individualised wrote: Mon Apr 24, 2023 2:44 am
OmDRetro wrote: Mon Apr 24, 2023 2:42 am
forple wrote: Thu Apr 13, 2023 5:15 pm With the above in mind, I'd be willing to wager the Famicom's side of things is a silly globtop on the reverse edge of that small 60-pin PCB.
Sadly it is a noac blob. :(

The unfortunate feature of this 8-bit noac is the sound is distorted unlike the SNES counterpart. It's color palette is nice though.
Do the pulse channels manage to be nearly inaudible in games such as Super Mario Bros? Does the triangle channel not sound like a triangle at all? On a possibly related note, does it have any issue running any game that uses a remotely advanced mapper? (I.e. SMB3)
The bass / triangle wave is barely audible with some games. I tried listening to P.O.W. & Batman's stage 1 track and it easily gets overwhelmed by either the two square wave channels(amplified to distortion) or the Delta PCM channel(if the game relies heavily on it). I don't have SMB3(not even a repro, sadly).
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Individualised
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Re: Tokone GAC-89 / Game Combo 88 (ゲームコンボ 88)

Post by Individualised »

OmDRetro wrote: Mon Apr 24, 2023 4:11 am
Individualised wrote: Mon Apr 24, 2023 2:44 am
OmDRetro wrote: Mon Apr 24, 2023 2:42 am

Sadly it is a noac blob. :(

The unfortunate feature of this 8-bit noac is the sound is distorted unlike the SNES counterpart. It's color palette is nice though.
Do the pulse channels manage to be nearly inaudible in games such as Super Mario Bros? Does the triangle channel not sound like a triangle at all? On a possibly related note, does it have any issue running any game that uses a remotely advanced mapper? (I.e. SMB3)
The bass / triangle wave is barely audible with some games. I tried listening to P.O.W. & Batman's stage 1 track and it easily gets overwhelmed by either the two square wave channels(amplified to distortion) or the Delta PCM channel(if the game relies heavily on it). I don't have SMB3(not even a repro, sadly).
Strange, that's the opposite of what usually happens.
OmDRetro
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Re: Tokone GAC-89 / Game Combo 88 (ゲームコンボ 88)

Post by OmDRetro »

Interesting discovery with this device. Suprisingly, that added switch does absolutely nothing(it's a worthless switch). I instead repurposed it by linking the middle pin of the SPDT switch to pin 49 on the famicom board. If pin 49 links straight to GND, the internal games are DISABLED which should allow complex mappers to run on it. Sadly, even with that mod, the console still shares the same incompatibility with its western counterpart( Yobo FC Twin ).
  • SPDT switch mod
    Image
HOWEVER, those incompatible games do work flawlessly on the Krzysiocart (flashcart) if I set the jumper(switch) to J (Link pin 49 to GND).

Here are some pics to further document this discovery
  • Battletoads Cartridge doesn't work even with switch set to J:
    Image

    Battletoads via Krzysiocart with switch set to J:
    Image

    Castlevania III (MMC3 patched):
    Image
lidnariq
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Re: Tokone GAC-89 / Game Combo 88 (ゲームコンボ 88)

Post by lidnariq »

OmDRetro wrote: Thu Jun 08, 2023 5:47 am SPDT switch mod
Tokone-GAC89-Complex Mapper Mod-suspicious.jpg
Tokone-GAC89-Complex Mapper Mod-suspicious.jpg (21.32 KiB) Viewed 1226 times
This trace connecting these two pins together on the cartridge connector is suspicious, but I don't think it's sufficient to explain the problems you're having.
OmDRetro
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Re: Tokone GAC-89 / Game Combo 88 (ゲームコンボ 88)

Post by OmDRetro »

Something unexpected happened with this clone where I was able to get this Famicom-on-a-chip (FOAC) / Nintendo-on-a-chip (NOAC) to work with an Everdrive N8. All you need is a 60P-to-72P converter inserted into a 72P-to-60P converter. Insert that device into your FC/SFC Combo Console and it should work (without expansion audio).

The stacked converter looks like this:
N8_Into_60to72_Into_72to60_Converter
N8_Into_60to72_Into_72to60_Converter
Plugged into console:
N8PluggedIntoConverterToComboConsole
N8PluggedIntoConverterToComboConsole
Also, the cartridge does not work if plugged directly without modification. Since I modified the console to work with complex mappers via switch, I only had to flip it and the Everdrive N8 works on it without the converter. Maybe someone with extensive knowledge can expound on why that works.

If you have this console and want to play with expansion audio, you must link pin 46 to one of the stereo pins found on the famicom board. If looking from the top side where the controller connector is facing you, the two audio pins on the famicom board(Middle PCB) is found on the top left side behind the cartridge connector. Specifically, the 3rd or 4th pin from the left.

Here's proof (Everdrive N8 test on modified Tokone GAC-89 ゲームコンボ 88)
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