Can one make a SCSI CD-ROM work with a PCE/TG16 via expansion bus?

[sonicboom]

Hi, I'm new here. Got my TG16 xmas '89 and the CDROM the following xmas...then a DUO. Then sold them all in 2006

Anyway, picked up a TG16 locally and been wanting to pick up a CD system as well but.....prices and re-caps have kept me away from that I'm I'm happy enough with ME for CDs for now.

My main point/question, and I hope it is in the right place to post, is can I use any old readily available SCSI or ATA CD-ROM drive and somehow get it to be recognized by the PCE/TG16 via the 69 pin expansion bus? Seems that it can be done as NEC did it I even have an NEC IDE DVD-RW drive to use.

Basically I figure, the original CD-ROM is a 1x SCSI unit right? So what's to stop anyone from figuring out the pins on the CD-ROM drive dock connector and making it work?

I'm no computer engineer but seems that you could easily pull power, the data bus, the IRQ and whatever else you need to make it work.

This would make it a non-issue if you can't find a CD-ROM system at a good price or if yours fails as it will in time.

I'm sure this has been thought of and discussed before but as I said, I'm new here.

Thanks and I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Boom!

[SignOfZeta]

Nope. You still need a lot more hardware. (See: IFU)

[SignOfZeta]

Btw, I hate to be the bearer of of bad news (a bad news bear, if you will) but if being able to play CDROM2 software is your goal then you aren’t any closer to it than someone who doesn’t have a TG-16 because all the CDROM2 options for the TG-16 are more complicated and breakage prone and expensive than Duos are. The TG-16 is a dead end, frankly.

THERE IS VALUE IN LEARNING THE HARD WAY! I believe this totally. The “right” way to get into NEC systems in 2017 is to not do it at all but if you do do it then to save a lot of time and money what you should do is buy a recently serviced Duo system from a reputable repair guy. This will cost several hundred but it all ships at once and works.

Building it out of less common hardware that more often arrives broken and requires a mod will in the end cost MORE and probably take LONGER but it is still fun and it lets you go piece by piece.

Both ways are cool, just know the difference.

[turboswimbz]

Yeah Zeta is right.  Your theory would be true if you didn't need some sort of interface unit.  I/e the IFU (briefcase/supercdrom/TG-CD dock)  the turbo or straight PCE doesn't have all the pieces required to be hooked directly to the CD drive.  not that you couldn't build these or find these...but  IMO anyway, for the trouble and effort you'd have been better off finding a DUO.     

[sonicboom]

Thanks guys, I figured as much but worth asking. I'm not going to spend the money to do this "right" as you say.

I thought it *might* be possible given all the other connections. Also, the SCSI expansion HuCard that was never released makes me think there could be some work around. The IFU probably just acts as a SCSI card/interface is my thinking.

Agreed that a PCE Duo would be the ideal but even that is more than I want to spend. Maybe my friend in Japan can help source something more affordable.

Ah, well so Magic Engine it is then.

Boom!

[Necromancer]

The IFU is not just a SCSI interface.  It also has the ADPCM hardware, game save goodies, system card ram, whatever hardware mixes the redbook and adpcm with chip tunes from the system, etc.

It's possible to make a SCSI drive work in place of the normal drive in the IFU, but it'd have to physically fit (or run an extension cable out, I guess) and be modified to run the altered SCSI instructions (like can be done with the 35D pc drive).

[sonicboom]

Awesome, yes that was the thought; to use an "off the shelf" available drive and make a cable from the dock to the drive. Simplistic, perhaps ignorant desires I guess and I'm not technical enough to know how to make it work.

In the end you'd still need the dock/IFU so I guess what's the point really since the caps that wear out are mostly in the dock/IFU anyway.

You're talking me down from the ledge and I appreciate it

Boom!

[SignOfZeta]

I’d imagine there is at least one custom OOP chip in the IFU so building an alternative would require a donor IFU and those basically never break anyway...

[mickcris]

dont think this would work.  There was a computer version of this drive that looked almost identical to the tg16 cd rom drive but was white.  it does not work though in the dock to run games on the console, but supposedly music cds will play. model number of drive is CDR-35D

https://thumbs.worthpoint.com/zoom/images1/1/1115/08/lot-parts-repair-nec-turbografx-cd_1_9c8250d6800be427abcbc1c2da75661c.jpg

https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fpce_repair%2Fstatus%2F901824797339815937&edit-text=&act=url

[sonicboom]

oooooh nice find there. A white whale for sure. Too bad it didn't work. I guess Hackintosh was my thought process/inspiration. Wishful thinking on my part.

Still kicking myself for selling all my stuff 10 years ago. I guess I'll be hitting up Pawn shops and Estate sales....

I hope someone is enjoying my DUO....

Boom!