Region mod cartridge lockout chip

TCJJ · Post by **TCJJ** » Tue Apr 17, 2012 12:24 am

I've seen this covered before here, but I wanted to get some more specific details.

Let me explain my situation. I got a dirt-cheap and very good condition copy of Dragon Quest V for Super Famicom. I put it in my PAL Super Nintendo, and it obviously didn't work (I knew that, but I was under the impression that it gave a message to say so, like the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive. I guess not).

However, then I had the (very stupid) idea of disabling the lockout chip inside the cartridge, as opposed to the SNES (my hands aren't the steadiest, and I'm not confident enough to lift up those tiny pins, so the switchless mod I wanted will also have to wait until I can get someone to do it for me). I decided to cut pin 4. That was the same on the SNES lockout chip and even the NES one.

Of course, it didn't work. I kind of knew that, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to try. Until I broke the leg off of the CIC. Then I broke another leg after I managed to desolder the chip. So yeah, it's kind of useless.

Then I thought of, like in the topic I linked to above, replacing the broken NTSC-J CIC with a PAL one. I found a game that I didn't like and took the CIC out. I haven't perfectly removed all the solder from the Dragon Quest cartridge yet though, so I haven't tried soldering the new chip in place. I don't know if it is worth trying.

Basically, will this allow the game to work again? Even if I have to mod my SNES as well, if this gets the game going, it'd be great. Also, does anyone know if Dragon Quest V would REQUIRE the SNES to also be modded?

Oh, and as a side-note, I managed to damage some of the solder points and even one or two of the traces, so soldering the new CIC is going to be a real pain, especially for me...

SkinnyV · Post by **SkinnyV** » Tue Apr 17, 2012 3:31 am

Replacing the IC with a PAL CIC would work but you can just replace it with a 12f629 PIC chip and program it with SuperCIC. This would make it universal and would boot in any SNES region. DQ V is not one of those game that would require the SNES to also be modded in order to work like Mario RPG.

TCJJ · Post by **TCJJ** » Tue Apr 17, 2012 3:51 am

Thanks for the reply. That's very helpful information.

Yeah, I could do that, but unfortunately, I don't have a PIC programmer. I don't do enough modding to warrant buying one. The only time I've needed one so far was for my switchless Saturn mod, and I got someone to do that for me instead. But I'll most likely get a switchless mod programmed into a PIC for my SNES at some stage. I don't even know anyone around here that cares about retro games, so I don't really intend on taking my games or consoles anywhere for now.

Hias · Post by **Hias** » Tue Apr 17, 2012 4:43 am

It will work (either PAL or SuperCIC), but it won't if the game has some kind of copy protection that checks the region of the CIC on the cartridge. (Clock Tower does this for example - then you will get the message you expected to see

)

SkinnyV · Post by **SkinnyV** » Tue Apr 17, 2012 12:18 pm

If it mean saving a cart I can send you a pre-programmed one no problem.

TCJJ · Post by **TCJJ** » Tue Apr 17, 2012 3:03 pm

Thanks very much for the offer, but I don't think anyone will miss a copy of Barkley's Shut up and Jam. Although, if you could send me a pre-programmed PIC for my switchless SNES mod, now THAT would be really helpful. I think mmmonkey's code looks sufficient.

Is there any chance that you or someone else knows how I could convert that lovely donor game into an adapter to plug my Game Doctor SF6 into my SNES? It didn't come with an adapter. I assume I could just cut up the board, solder some contacts onto vero/strip board, wire it all together, then hack up the game's case and put it back in there, but my electronics skills are..... well, pretty average, so I like to know what I'm doing first.

SkinnyV · Post by **SkinnyV** » Tue Apr 17, 2012 5:44 pm

The switchless SNES mod (Super CIC Lock mode) use a different PIC chip than the one needed to replace a CIC inside a cart (SuperCIC key mode). I only have an abundance of 12f629. As far as I know, the switchless SNES mod that you are referring to require a 16F630.

Also, I'm getting confused, you were saying you had this Dragon Quest V cart with damaged CIC chip. When did it turn into a Barkley's Shut up and Jam?

TCJJ · Post by **TCJJ** » Tue Apr 17, 2012 8:22 pm

That sounds like the right chip. I didn't realise they were different.

My donor cart for the new PAL CIC chip is Barkley's Shut up and Jam. Dragon Quest V is the damaged one. I believe you meant that it'd save me ripping a cart apart to get a CIC chip, but since I don't care about that game (Barkley's), it's fine. I probably should have ripped Space Ace to bits though, but I'm saving that for a... special occasion.

SkinnyV · Post by **SkinnyV** » Tue Apr 17, 2012 11:24 pm

Why destroy more cart when you could just fix it?

TCJJ · Post by **TCJJ** » Tue Apr 17, 2012 11:42 pm

You mean why pull apart Barkley's Shut Up and Jam to fix DQV as opposed to putting a SuperCIC in it instead? Well, it's quicker that way. I don't like the Barkley game, and it's barely worth anything on the second-hand market, so I was happy to pull it apart.

TCJJ · Post by **TCJJ** » Fri Apr 20, 2012 12:05 am

Let me know if bumping isn't allowed (I can't see anything that says it isn't), but I have a bit of an update to post.

I tried soldering the new CIC to the DQV board. I think I burnt my finger just from the heat of my soldering iron. For some reason, every soldering iron I buy is crap. I'll have to get a temperature-controlled one with a proper station once I can afford it. Ow, my finger.

Anyway, enough with the complaining. Basically, I failed. I got the chip in place, but it seems I damaged the tracks (a few completely broken) and the CIC's solder points too much. I tried to work out what pins needed to be soldered and to where, but even after trying that, it didn't work. So, maybe someone knows how exactly to wire up a CIC for Dragon Quest V? That is, where I'd wire each pin to that isn't the solder points or anywhere in that immediate area. I'd rather not have to remove the CIC chip if I don't have to, but I can if necessary.

Oh, and if anyone is willing to do it for me, please let me know. I don't really have much spare money at the moment, but I could at least cover shipping costs (although shipping it outside of New Zealand is kind of a pain, and the usual guy I would ask to do it that lives elsewhere in New Zealand hasn't been around for a few months, as far as I can tell [he's a YouTube member, not a NesDev member, in case anyone wants to know], but I'll do so if necessary).

I may as well get a SuperCIC installed into Barkley's Shut Up and Jam, too, so then it'd at least work again. Not that I care about that game all that much. It's worth US$5 on eBay and kind of sucks. Talking about prices, does anyone know the average worth of DQV? I got mine for about US$1 (it was NZ$2.50), but I'm sure it's worth a LOT more than that. I really want to play the game, anyway.

SkinnyV, I suppose you'd want something in return for the SuperCIC, am I correct? It would do to fix one of the cartridges up, I guess. I just wish my soldering skills were better. And that my soldering iron didn't completely suck. I damaged the Barkley's game as well, although not as bad as DQV. They're both still completely salvageable, even without a new PCB, though. I'm just not good enough to do it myself, as far as I can tell.

SkinnyV · Post by **SkinnyV** » Fri Apr 20, 2012 11:24 am

If that make you stop destroying SNES cart I can send you one for free

The only thing is I'm not sure how much it would cost to ship to New Zealand but if it's like 2$ I don't mind.

TCJJ · Post by **TCJJ** » Fri Apr 20, 2012 3:49 pm

Sure thing. I'll PM you my address and cover the shipping costs if necessary. It would be nice if I could fix up Dragon Quest V, but I hear that my Game Doctor will allow me to bypass the lockout chip for now so that I can dump it and patch it with an English translation, so it's less of a big deal than it was.

pichichi010 · Post by **pichichi010** » Mon Apr 23, 2012 12:21 pm

WEll. I accidentally burned a PAL rom of terranigma into a reproduction cart, when I tried on the snes said,

Sorry this game is not made for the your console or something like that.

I used a NTSC pcb for this repro, then how is he able to replace the lockout chip and make it work if the rom is from different versions?

Post by **tepples** » Mon Apr 23, 2012 12:26 pm

The key chip in the cart has to match the lock chip in the console, and the program has to match the PPU in the console. If the key chip does not match, the PPU won't come out of reset. If the program does not match, you get this error message. Are you willing to install a 50/60 switch? Does a 50/60 switch even work on a North American console?