Mapper Decap Project

Discuss hardware-related topics, such as development cartridges, CopyNES, PowerPak, EPROMs, or whatever.

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org
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Mapper Decap Project

Post by org »

Hi,

If you have unneeded mapper boards or chips, you can send them to me for decap and analysis.

As part of the Breaks project, we plan to get the schematics of all the most popular mappers.

You can send them by mail. Find me on the Discord server or PM me here.

Also we accept burned and broken APUs/PPUs of different revisions.

All of the mapper stuff will be here:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... sp=sharing

Goals:

To somehow reduce the chaos of the subject area, I decided to divide all the mappers into the following categories:
- Nintendo's MMC series, all versions/revisions if possible.
- Konami VRC, all versions if possible
- ASICs by Namco
- µPD7756 :)
- Pirate Clones of MMC
- Other pirated game mappers like JY ASIC

If possible, different RAM/ROM/74-xxx logic chips will also be explored, just for fun.

NES clones and different PPU/APU versions I mentioned will be used in other projects, but if you have some you don't need, send them over anyway))

Stats:

Shipment

- mmc5 is of interest. i have at least 4-5 cartridges that we can sacrifice / and i think i have some broken arcade/rgb ppu's (Shipment)
- Some damaged AX5202P chips (Shipment)

Package 1

"There are 20 or so packs. Some may be working, some may be broken, and some crap multicards may not be undumped." (Arrived, Catalogued).

1. SUPER MARIO AND SONIC 2 (mapper 091)
2. 6-in-1
3. Waixing English Word teaching program
4. BD x2
5. Chinese (Waixing?) games x2
6. Kunio game. clone MMC1 ASIC
7. Mapper 052 ASIC
8. HP1015
9. MO52? (Handed by Spiderman?)
10. Subor V3.0
11. Mapper 176 (SC03 24 in 1)
12. 1 Blob
13. 4 Blob
14. JY-101
15. JY-115 - Breaks done already
16. Winbond. Note: "two cartridges with single PRG PROM and no CHR chip. If you can dump the PRG PROM it can be great, these are not dumped and it is unknown if it is even NES program inside."
17. YS2309
18. I included Plug and Play NES console with NES-on-Chip CPU. Probably even VT02 system. It is round PCB with cut cable (not pictured)
Attachments
Package1_list.png
Last edited by org on Tue Feb 01, 2022 4:21 am, edited 8 times in total.
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Quietust
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Re: Mapper Decap Project

Post by Quietust »

Of note, an MMC3C was decapped and traced about a year ago, though it turned out to be a CMOS gate array with a nigh-incomprehensible tangle of interconnects - with that in mind, different mapper revisions are probably just as important as different CPU/PPU revisions.
Quietust, QMT Productions
P.S. If you don't get this note, let me know and I'll write you another.
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org
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Re: Mapper Decap Project

Post by org »

That's not a problem, we have a utility to recognize wires using simple neural networks :)
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Ben Boldt
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Re: Mapper Decap Project

Post by Ben Boldt »

MMC5A please-please-please, does anyone have one that is not in use??
TeleViper
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Re: Mapper Decap Project

Post by TeleViper »

This could be extremely intruiging.

I for one would like to see an AX5202P clone chip decapped and compared to an original MMC3.
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krzysiobal
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Re: Mapper Decap Project

Post by krzysiobal »

I'd sent you MMC5a, but unfortunatelly I have just one piece that is working. If I knew any way of determining if a game has MMC5 or MMC5A inside, I'd buy and sent you such cartridge.
But probably what interests us is the scanline detector, which works the same in MMC5 and MMC5A, so decapping regular MMC5 is also important.

Other things that I can send you:
* A PCB with broken JY Company ASIC: viewtopic.php?p=240030#p240030
this chip is working, but some of its PRG-A and CHR-A lines do not work. I don't know if its because of broken bond wires or some electrostatic that killed him, but for the decap & analysis purpose probably it does not have any difference (what would interests us is the meaning of funky bit in IRQ). One day I got a few PCBs with Jy Company Asics from one of the users and all of them have the PRG & CHR blobs working, just the mapper blob was faulty, looks like it was manufactured poorly

* BF9093 from codemasters:
https://wiki.nesdev.org/w/index.php?tit ... 09x_pinout
This chip is fairly easy, but I am curious about the pin 16 which is some kind of input (it has internal clamp diodes) and is tied to GND in all PCBs, but I don't see any way if affects the work of chip.
Or maybe this chip is just a PAL enclosed in different package pinout and this pin is just one of its inputs that is unused or maybe some pin used to program the chip?

*HT-2880 audio chip
Found in Cassel Zapper. I am curious what is the use of TEST1/TEST2/TEST3 pins, no datasheet mentions them. Is it used to read-back the audio samples?
https://wiki.nesdev.org/w/index.php?tit ... 880_pinout
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Ben Boldt
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Re: Mapper Decap Project

Post by Ben Boldt »

Is the mailing address in USA? I maybe can part with 1x MMC5A but it cause me great pain and anguish. Maybe we can do MMC5 (non-A) first so we know it is possible? Then if it goes OK, then my MMC5A can be for comparison? I would feel better that way. Since no game ever required MMC5A, all new features of MMC5A never got used. So I am very very interested to see a comparison to show what new things might be hidden in there.

I also have 1x RAMBO-1; it came from Klax. If there is a lot of interest in it (anyone in addition with NewRisingSun), I can consider it too. I have some personal interest in MMC6, what all those extra pins are for. It keeps me up at night wondering. I have only 1 of those but I can part with it too. RAMBO-1 and MMC6 are basically variations of MMC3 as far as we know. (RAMBO-1 contains a built-in CIC rabbit chip too I think.)

Let me know; I can be convinced to send some stuff.
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never-obsolete
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Re: Mapper Decap Project

Post by never-obsolete »

I have a few Castlevania 3 carts, but that appears to be a plain MMC5.
. That's just like, your opinion, man .
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Ben Boldt
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Re: Mapper Decap Project

Post by Ben Boldt »

Oh god, don’t destroy a castlevania 3. I am glad you don’t have the right one, just keep those safe.

I am digging through my junk and I found 2 carts with the MMC5 removed. These must have been the MMC5 and MMC5A that I put onto breakout boards. I also found a L’Empeurer that I modified with 4 PLCC32 sockets out the back (1MB PRG + 1MB CHR), and I found it has an MMC5 non-A inside. I know I gave away 1 similar socketed cart made from Just Breed to infidelity for his MMC5 software projects, maybe that was one of my A’s?? I don’t know, I have to keep looking. I know for a fact that I had at least 2 of those.


Edit:
I just ordered some more MMC5 carts, hopefully I will find another MMC5A. Krzysiobal, yours has burned CL3/SL3 pins correct? Maybe I can send a new MMC5A to you and then your burned one can be for decap? Let me know if you are interested in that.
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org
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Re: Mapper Decap Project

Post by org »

I am in Russia.

Send me everything you don't need, and then we'll figure out the priorities.

As parcels start to arrive, I will update the first post with statistics of availability of different mappers, so you understand what you do not need to send.

Usually one chip is enough for analysis.

Burned chips are also suitable (not a problem for analysis).

Also if you can separate the chip from the board this is even better to reduce the shipping cost (you can send them by regular mail).
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Ben Boldt
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Re: Mapper Decap Project

Post by Ben Boldt »

I have the ability to remove SMT and thru-hole chips from the PCB cleanly with proper tools. Anyone in USA interested might save cost sending to me first and then I can send 1 package with everything at once.
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org
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Re: Mapper Decap Project

Post by org »

There is no need to take special care of the chips, they will be destroyed anyway. So the legs can be bitten off with ordinary wire cutters :)
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Memblers
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Re: Mapper Decap Project

Post by Memblers »

I could send multiple AX5202P, if that's wanted. If I can find my MTPO cart, I could donate an MMC2. I've had the cart for decades, at some point it quit working (despite any contact cleaning). What seems weird is that I know of two other people who have dead Punchout carts. Could be a coincidence, but cart failures seem to be very rare (excluding obvious visible corrosion etc.), yet it apparently happened to the same game in those cases.
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Ben Boldt
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Re: Mapper Decap Project

Post by Ben Boldt »

org wrote: Sat Dec 18, 2021 12:22 am There is no need to take special care of the chips, they will be destroyed anyway. So the legs can be bitten off with ordinary wire cutters :)
Good point, I didn't think of it like that. Maybe that's actually better so we don't have any chance to over-cook it with heat??
FrankWDoom
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Re: Mapper Decap Project

Post by FrankWDoom »

Memblers wrote: Sat Dec 18, 2021 1:40 am I could send multiple AX5202P, if that's wanted. If I can find my MTPO cart, I could donate an MMC2. I've had the cart for decades, at some point it quit working (despite any contact cleaning). What seems weird is that I know of two other people who have dead Punchout carts. Could be a coincidence, but cart failures seem to be very rare (excluding obvious visible corrosion etc.), yet it apparently happened to the same game in those cases.
i think i have a couple non-working punchouts (tyson or otherwise, don't recall offhand). have you determined if the roms are ok or not?
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