Author Topic: TurboGraf-16 and PC-Engine Physical Homebrew Releases  (Read 954 times)

db-electronics

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TurboGraf-16 and PC-Engine Physical Homebrew Releases
« on: October 25, 2014, 09:54:23 AM »
Hi Guys,

Aside from the db Grafx Booster TTP which I got working today, I also made much progress on this project:

http://www.db-elec.com/home/lab-posts/dbcardturbografx-16homebrewflashcart4mbitprototypetestedandworking

dbCards will allow homebrew to have a physical release at a very affordable price. More to come as more develop and troubleshooting takes place!
http://www.db-elec.com
What does db stand for? Well that's an excellent question...

Lochlan

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Re: TurboGraf-16 and PC-Engine Physical Homebrew Releases
« Reply #1 on: October 25, 2014, 10:05:45 AM »
That's great news!  Any idea how much these will cost (ballpark)?  I'm assuming you'll be doing volume discounts as well?

And I might be getting ahead of myself, but will you have some sort of casing solution as well so that devs wouldn't have to release games on bare pcbs?
I'm not sorry about this, as I'm not sorry about ANY attack by the goverrats.

db-electronics

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Re: TurboGraf-16 and PC-Engine Physical Homebrew Releases
« Reply #2 on: October 25, 2014, 04:11:14 PM »
There is a simple casing solution in the works. As for pricing, it's dependant on ROM size; I'll most likely have hard support for 1Mbit, 2Mbit, 4Mbit and 8Mbit. ROMs smaller than 1Mbit will simply underutilize the 1Mbit chip - though I'll just say that Flash memory is pretty damn cheap so the price will be very good.
http://www.db-elec.com
What does db stand for? Well that's an excellent question...

cabbage

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Re: TurboGraf-16 and PC-Engine Physical Homebrew Releases
« Reply #3 on: October 25, 2014, 05:00:39 PM »
Excellent! Great work! :)

esteban

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TurboGraf-16 and PC-Engine Physical Homebrew Releases
« Reply #4 on: October 25, 2014, 06:03:32 PM »
Awesome.

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touko

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Re: TurboGraf-16 and PC-Engine Physical Homebrew Releases
« Reply #5 on: October 26, 2014, 09:36:21 PM »
Absolutely great  :clap:

I think also an UMDK card like for PCE/SGX should be awesome too .
« Last Edit: October 26, 2014, 09:38:49 PM by touko »

db-electronics

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Re: TurboGraf-16 and PC-Engine Physical Homebrew Releases
« Reply #6 on: November 03, 2014, 03:20:59 AM »
Project update: all ROM sizes now loading correctly on dbCards!

http://www.db-elec.com/home/lab-posts/dbcardturbografx-16homebrewflashcartprototypefullyworking

Now that the electronics portion is working, I will focus on making the next rev more consumer friendly - i.e. look and feel more like a real HuCard. More to come!
http://www.db-elec.com
What does db stand for? Well that's an excellent question...

technozombie

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Re: TurboGraf-16 and PC-Engine Physical Homebrew Releases
« Reply #7 on: December 03, 2014, 11:45:28 AM »
How close to original do you think the final product will look? Will people make repros using these and try to pass them off as legit?

db-electronics

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Re: TurboGraf-16 and PC-Engine Physical Homebrew Releases
« Reply #8 on: December 03, 2014, 01:10:05 PM »
How close to original do you think the final product will look? Will people make repros using these and try to pass them off as legit?


I just received my prototype plastic which will serve as the PCB Holder for dbCards. While the shape will be identical, it will be impossible to pass off my products as legit copies. I know I can't prevent people from making repros, but the true intent here is to allow new games to be made by small devs. Here's a picture of my plastic prototype compared to a real HuCard:



Some major differences are:
[ul][li]Plastic type, colour and texture are different[/li][li]dbCards include two mounting posts to align PCB[/li][li]Area available for game sticker is smaller than most HuCards[/li][li]My PCBs aren't in yet to demonstrate, but they will be green as opposed to black on originals[/li][li]On original HuCards, there is a plastic lip near the connectors, on my dbCards, the PCB will extend all the way to the edge.[/li][li]etc...[/li][/ul]
btw, PCBs have shipped, I expect to receive them in the coming 2 weeks!
http://www.db-elec.com
What does db stand for? Well that's an excellent question...

HailingTheThings

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Re: TurboGraf-16 and PC-Engine Physical Homebrew Releases
« Reply #9 on: December 03, 2014, 03:29:16 PM »
^^ Effing sick! ^^

Thank you very much for doing that thing you do.

esteban

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Re: TurboGraf-16 and PC-Engine Physical Homebrew Releases
« Reply #10 on: December 03, 2014, 04:03:04 PM »
L'awesome.
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aurbina

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Re: TurboGraf-16 and PC-Engine Physical Homebrew Releases
« Reply #11 on: December 03, 2014, 04:48:24 PM »
This will be awesome, thanks for your work.

roflmao

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Re: TurboGraf-16 and PC-Engine Physical Homebrew Releases
« Reply #12 on: December 03, 2014, 05:42:33 PM »
Woot!

db-electronics

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Re: TurboGraf-16 and PC-Engine Physical Homebrew Releases
« Reply #13 on: December 17, 2014, 02:30:57 PM »
Major update! PCBs are in and tested, looking good! Video and full story in link below!

http://www.db-elec.com/home/lab-posts/dbcardfunctionalprototypewith3dprintedplasticholder

Now the next major obstacle is to mold the plastic holder for quantity production.
http://www.db-elec.com
What does db stand for? Well that's an excellent question...

Dicer

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Re: TurboGraf-16 and PC-Engine Physical Homebrew Releases
« Reply #14 on: December 17, 2014, 03:22:17 PM »
Major update! PCBs are in and tested, looking good! Video and full story in link below!

http://www.db-elec.com/home/lab-posts/dbcardfunctionalprototypewith3dprintedplasticholder

Now the next major obstacle is to mold the plastic holder for quantity production.


Watched the video, that's really all kinds of neat...

Nice Work...