Do you think this has a NES on chip?

second.exodous · Post by **second.exodous** » Mon Mar 21, 2005 11:17 pm

I found thisas many probably have on lik-sang and thought maybe it has a NES on chip like the one Ben found in another gizmo. Anyone think so? You need to buy an 60 to 72 pin adapter (or find an NES cart that has one like in the project I linked above), but it would make a smaller NES portable.

I still think I'll build a NES portable myself for the adventure and because I would rather have a 5 inch LCD to play on rather than the small SP.

I'm also not sure how long these will be sold, but maybe they would be a good source for a NES on chip so anyone could make a smaller NES protable.

Thanx,
Stan

Post by **gannon** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 6:04 am

I think the flash back just uses the gba to emulate the famicom. That'd explain the low frame rate and general crappiness of it.

SgtBowhack · Post by **SgtBowhack** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 6:51 am

No, I do believe it is an NOAC with some sort of GBA ROM that handles control input, using Gametech's TV tuner.
I haven't opened it to verify this, but I am pretty sure.

TheTooth · Post by **TheTooth** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 6:49 pm

Try http://powerplayerusa.com they have the noac I've got, plus others!

second.exodous · Post by **second.exodous** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 10:32 am

Wow, all of these have a NES on chip? Do you think nintendo is going to shut them down?

Thanx,
Stan

Post by **Sparkfist** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 10:44 am

The only way Nintedo can shut down an NOAC dealer is if they have copyrightten games on them or they're in the N64 style controller (patient design). Its been 20 years, Nintedo cant hold the rights to the NES hardware anymore.

vb_master · Post by **vb_master** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 10:48 am

So, that means that Atari can't hold patents on the Atari 2600 (they threw everting out in a dumpster anyways, including an 2600 prototype on a wooden board, with sweet joysticks).

SgtBowhack · Post by **SgtBowhack** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 5:34 pm

Right. You can legally make your own Atari clone chipset now, without licensing from Atari. I'm kinda surprised it hasn't been done, since two of the chips were off-the-shelf parts. It seems like that's something someone could do in VHDL and make a killing on, since actual Atari parts are so expensive.

Post by **Sparkfist** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 6:18 pm

Well Ben, gannon, Jackfrost22 and I believe someone else are working on a custom PCB that will take the 3 chips and make a board thats maybe half the size of the 4x4 most of us use now.

JackFrost22 · Post by **JackFrost22** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 6:22 pm

Yeah thats in my pile of half done projects

vb_master · Post by **vb_master** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 7:36 pm

Actually, RetroConsole almost is done with an Atari 2600.

TheTooth · Post by **TheTooth** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 9:07 pm

I heard mention kevin horton was doing something similar, a nes that takes the roms on SD cards. I heard he was going to move onto the atari 2600 after the nes.

Jeff · Post by **Jeff** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 9:09 pm

Time machine is software emulation. There.

Post by **Sparkfist** » Thu Mar 24, 2005 10:38 am

TheTooth wrote:I heard mention kevin horton was doing something similar, a nes that takes the roms on SD cards. I heard he was going to move onto the atari 2600 after the nes.

He has make a custom built Atari that he put in a Nomad case. However he used a perf board not an accual PSB, it also had a mess of wiring. But essentially its what (I think) most of us are looking at next.
If you read Ben's blog he doesnt like the idea of an AOAC, so using a custom PCB or if he can get some of the 1 chip Atari Jr. he'd make a smaller one.

SgtBowhack · Post by **SgtBowhack** » Thu Mar 24, 2005 4:41 pm

The AOAC idea is sound. I know some people are against it cuz it's "not authentic" but what do you need to do to the poor machine to make it from being "not authentic"? Cutting the board down? Replacing the board? It seems if you're gonna go as far as replacing the board, replacing the chips with equivalents is not too far off. I mean, you're replacing the board with an equivalent, right?
The problem with the NOAC is incompatibility issues. And admittedly, they exist but they are incredibly small. Most of the other issues are poor sound (which is an implementation issue and not a matter of it being on a single chip or not). If we have the VHDL code, we can implement the bugs that the Atari had as they are found. It's easy to upgrade!

It'd simplify board design, and remove the need to harm more innocent Atari VCS units. Plus it'd be much cheaper and smaller. It's win-win!
... except, it'd take work.
Edit: Or, as you said, we could find some Janices

Best Electronics sells Jr. boards for $40 a pop, which isn't too bad.
And apparently there is gonna be a new AOAC design coming out according to talks. Coming this summer to a Wal-Mart near you