PCE Flash Cards

[nat]

Parallel ports were invented in 1784 and are virtually obsolete in today's world. Like I indicated earlier, I'm genuinely surprised to hear that computers manufactured today still have them.

[spenoza]

Not very many still have them, but some. There are some devices of older design that continue to be manufactured without engineering update, or devices which were made like tanks and just won't die that continue to need them. For example, dot matrix and tractor feed printers. These may still be used for label printing in libraries, for receipts, or for certain types of reporting. Also, some ID card printers, being expensive, are expected to only be replaced on pain of death. For many businesses, then, especially small businesses, parallel ports are still indispensable.

[Paisa49]

I've recently obtained a flash cart, and I was hoping to get some advice on something that I observed regarding its functionality with my TG-16. Specifically, I noticed that my TG-16 doesn't recognize my flash cart as easily as it does any of my Turbo Chips. Sometimes it'll take me turning the TG-16 on and off a few times to get the Flash Cart to load up. When it doesn't load up, I just get a purple screen. Has anyone else experienced this?

I've looked at the end (the part that goes into my console) of my Flash Cart to ensure that it's not dirty. Is there anything that I can do to make the Flash Cart more compatible with my TG-16 so I don't have to turn my console on and off so many times?

[Necromancer]

I had to get pretty aggressive in cleaning the contacts on mine; they never looked dirty or corroded, but it wouldn't work at all without a thorough (and slightly abrasive) scrubbing of the contacts.  Beyond this initial problem, mine has worked flawlessly and hasn't exhibited the problem you describe.

[Paisa49]

I had to get pretty aggressive in cleaning the contacts on mine; they never looked dirty or corroded, but it wouldn't work at all without a thorough (and slightly abrasive) scrubbing of the contacts.  Beyond this initial problem, mine has worked flawlessly and hasn't exhibited the problem you describe.

Other than utilizing a non-abrasive, non-latex eraser, what would you recommend for cleaning the chip contacts that won't damage the contacts? What did you specifically use and do to get yours to work better?

[Necromancer]

I used some 000# steel wool, but any fine sandpaper would work just as well.  Neither is abrasive enough to quickly remove a lot of material, so a few light passes won't do any real damage (though you have to be careful not to sand any other part of the card).  You could even try one of those Mr. Clean Magic Erasers.  If you're not familiar with 'em, they're a block of melamine foam and are slightly abrasive - slight enough to be safely used on walls, counters, appliances, etc.

[Paisa49]

I used some 000# steel wool, but any fine sandpaper would work just as well.  Neither is abrasive enough to quickly remove a lot of material, so a few light passes won't do any real damage (though you have to be careful not to sand any other part of the card).  You could even try one of those Mr. Clean Magic Erasers.  If you're not familiar with 'em, they're a block of melamine foam and are slightly abrasive - slight enough to be safely used on walls, counters, appliances, etc.

I'll be the first to admit I'm not very "technology-inclined," but I'm a little hesitant to use steel wool or sand paper to clean the contacts. If the problem persists, I may have to go that route.

Has anyone else gone a different route to get their flash cart to work better with the respective console? Most of the folks that post on this board seem so knowledgable that I'd like to hear some other flash cart cleaning alternatives.

[nat]

Interestingly enough I have problems using the flash cart on my stock TG-16 as well. Mine always boots to the blue menu screen, but locks up when you try to play the games. No amount of cleaning has remedied this (although it didn't look dirty to begin with, but I thought I'd exhaust all options).

It works flawlessly on my Duo though. Go figure. Both are unmodified American consoles.

Hmm, I should try it on my SuperGrafx sometime and see what happens.

[Paisa49]

Interestingly enough I have problems using the flash cart on my stock TG-16 as well. Mine always boots to the blue menu screen, but locks up when you try to play the games.

I've had that happen on certain games. It seems to be an issue with bad roms. I'll try cleaning with isopropyl alcohol first, and if that doesn't work, then it'll probably have to be some sand paper action.

[Bonknuts]

Interestingly enough I have problems using the flash cart on my stock TG-16 as well. Mine always boots to the blue menu screen, but locks up when you try to play the games. No amount of cleaning has remedied this (although it didn't look dirty to begin with, but I thought I'd exhaust all options).

It works flawlessly on my Duo though. Go figure. Both are unmodified American consoles.

Hmm, I should try it on my SuperGrafx sometime and see what happens.

 It might be a power issue (internal or the AC adapter) with you're TG16, Nat. There was recent talk about this for another project where a person was driving some other logic/IC/LEDs via the hucard port. The flash card more than likely requires more power than a normal hucard rom, so you're not seeing the problem with them.

[Necromancer]

I'll be the first to admit I'm not very "technology-inclined," but I'm a little hesitant to use steel wool or sand paper to clean the contacts.

I don't blame you for being hesitant, as it almost always pays to err on the side of caution.  On that note, #000 steel wool and super fine sand papers (800 or 1000 grit) would do more polishing than sanding.  Much like a chemical cleaner that dissolves a very thin layer, your goal is to remove just a tiny bit of material.  In any case, please keep us updated.

[Paisa49]

Well, I tried using an 800 grit sand paper to clean the contacts, and that didn't work either. I've tested the flash cart on my Turbo Express as well, and the Express does the same thing as my TG-16. I'm thinking that the American systems just don't react well to these flash carts.  I wish the American systems weren't so problematic, even the American Duo has technical issues. The funny thing is that the flash cart worked perfectly the first time I placed roms on it, and only after subsequent switching of roms, did my tg-16 not feel like loading up the flash cart. Now, it won't even load up the blue flash cart menu screen at all. Has anyone had this similar experience as me, and if so, have you come up with any solutions?

[Paisa49]

Sorry, but I'm hoping a cheap bump up will get a discussion going, in case anyone else out there is having similar problems with their flash cart as me. I hope someone out there can provide some suggestions. 

[MissaFX]

Sorry, but I'm hoping a cheap bump up will get a discussion going, in case anyone else out there is having similar problems with their flash cart as me. I hope someone out there can provide some suggestions. 

If I try to load a non-japanese game on my CGII, it will make a slight flash/distortion in the screen of the load menu but will not progress any further.  Every Japanese game though I have tried works (though Space Invaders crashes in the advanced mode sometimes ).  If I format the flash card for TG-16 instead of PC-E, I get a white screen, but no blue screen will ever load.

I do not have an americal Turbos to test the flash card on.  But I assume with an american system, an american game, and TG-16 formatting of the card that american games will load.  Assume might be a big word here though.

[nat]

Sorry, but I'm hoping a cheap bump up will get a discussion going, in case anyone else out there is having similar problems with their flash cart as me. I hope someone out there can provide some suggestions. 

If I try to load a non-japanese game on my CGII, it will make a slight flash/distortion in the screen of the load menu but will not progress any further. 

This is because American ROMs have region lockout code. They can tell you are running them on a JP console and won't load.

This isn't related to the issue Paisa is having.