The Dangers of using 3.3V Flash Carts in Retro Consoles

[Joe Redifer]

Rene of dbelectronics has posted an article on his site about possible dangers of using flash carts with your system. Some are fine, others are not. Worst are multicarts.

His article is here: https://db-electronics.ca/2017/07/05/the-dangers-of-3-3v-flash-in-retro-consoles/


The 2nd version of the Turbo Everdrive is fine. The original isn't. Of course I have the original. Looks like I'll have to rebuying newer revisions ofsome carts and I hope Krikzz updates some of the others which have no good revisions, like Mega Everdrive X7, Master Everdrive etc etc. Apparently the Darksoft Neo Geo SD thingy is good. Not sure about the NeoSD.

[Necromancer]

I can't say I understand much of the (lengthy) article, but I'm pretty sure my TED is a 2.x.  I should be safe, I guess.

I don't use it much, but what about the neoflash ones?

... I’m also French which means I’m an a$$hole as well!

[esteban]

UPDATE: Crap, I'm pretty sure I have TED 1.2. Goddammit.

The TED 2.0 has fancy text and I don't remember fancy text.

What are the chances that Gameofyou or NEOFLASH (as  Necro mentioned already) are kosher?

[jtucci31]

Well shit, I have my V1 ED going strong. I'll have to read this article more when I get home.

Even worse is that I can't sell this one knowing I'll be giving someone else potential problems. Bummer.

[esteban]

Well shit, I have my V1 ED going strong. I'll have to read this article more when I get home.

Even worse is that I can't sell this one knowing I'll be giving someone else potential problems. Bummer.

I think we can sell them as "collector's item only—not for use"

I'm going to wait 10-15 years...

[MrBroadway]

"Sell everything and get a flash cart," they said. "It'll be fun," they said.

[jtucci31]

Maybe I can do a special group buy for the first group I did where we all got the V1 

[Black Tiger]

TED v2+ have compatibility issues with mods (and seemingly various stock models) and different levels of success playing various sound files.

If this guy knows what he's talking about (people have reported problems with his own products), then what's important to know is what exactly could be damaged and what would the repair involve.

Old hardware needs service whether you use it or not. The trade off for what these flash carts provide is still worth it. Especially for consoles which are still relatively cheap to buy.

[esteban]

TED v2+ have compatibility issues with mods (and seemingly various stock models) and different levels of success playing various sound files.

If this guy knows what he's talking about (people have reported problems with his own products), then what's important to know is what exactly could be damaged and what would the repair involve.

Old hardware needs service whether you use it or not. The trade off for what these flash carts provide is still worth it. Especially for consoles which are still relatively cheap to buy.

I will trade you TED v2+ for my V1.2 (?) V1.3(?)

(I'm out with the kids)

SRSLY.

[Jibbajaba]

I saw this when it was posted on Reddit.  Maybe I didn't read carefully enough, but how many documented cases of these products causing problems have their been?  I understand that some EDs may be bad in theory, but have there *actually* been any problems?

[esteban]

I saw this when it was posted on Reddit.  Maybe I didn't read carefully enough, but how many documented cases of these products causing problems have their been?  I understand that some EDs may be bad in theory, but have there *actually* been any problems?

I'll trade your TED 2 for my TED 1.3.

Thank you.

[Black Tiger]

I kept my TED 1 after buying a TED 2 because you need both to play everything and on everything.

[crazydean]

Old hardware needs service whether you use it or not. The trade off for what these flash carts provide is still worth it. Especially for consoles which are still relatively cheap to buy.

This was my thoughts on the matter. While a modded PCE Duo is $300, a Genesis goes for less than $50. I don't play it all that much and if it goes in 5 years, I'll get another one. I figure we'll all be using virtual screens that are implanted into our brains by then anyway.

[SignOfZeta]

As the flash cards started to multiply and cover the earth we would hear stories about how certain systems (maybe US Turbo?) couldn't seem to provide the current the flash card needed. This never sounded good...Thanks to this guy taking the time to go over many boards we now know it's because people who make flash cards in general apparently think it's OK to ignore the spec sheets of the componants they are reselling. If this were a "real" consumer product that would be a bunch of problems. Considering the numbers of these things moving nowadays I'd say it's irresponsible for the makers of flash cards to do this and not tell the customer about it.

I agree, it's a valid point, the world could lose 100,000 SNES systems to shitty flash card designs and it wouldn't really matter. Some of these flash cards are more expensive than the system they run in. I would worry about a Neo or something though. Duos...probably not a great idea, Turbografx 16...hm...I think we found a use for the giant POS TG-16, sacrifice it to the flash cards!

[Black Tiger]

I'm not worried about the NeoSD because of the extreme knowledge they have of the hardware and dedication to perfection. The price would be justified even if it wasn't the highest quality flash cart. The Neo Geo multi-carts are well known to be problematic.

It's true that some flash carts cost more than the hardware, but that's pretty much meaningless. None cost more than the libraries they support.