Memory pak relocation

Discussion in 'N64' started by kevin12331, May 29, 2017.

  1. kevin12331

    kevin12331 Member

    Hey all,

    I was told the memory pack pin out is like so:

    [​IMG]

    so I started wiring mine to match this like so:

    [​IMG]

    I just want to make sure I'm doing this the right way.

    Can someone who has relocated their mem pak before confirm this pinout?

    Thanks
     
  2. Shank

    Shank Formerly Known As Dyxlesci

    Do not take advice from @Fiskers1208. He means well, but doesn't know what he is talking about, and often posts misleading information.

    Like fiskers, I have never worked on the N64 personally. From what I have heard, the memory expansion on an N64 is a very sensitive, and relocating it is very hard to get right. Most of the pro users have moved on to bitbuilt, and no longer browse modretro, so you may have better luck asking there.
     
  3. laingsoft

    laingsoft Formerly SteamDNT


    We get that you like bitbuilt, but he didn't go to bitbuilt. He went to modretro.

    Fiskers posted decent advice, and you were an asshole, why exactly? Judge a post based on the content of the post, not because you have some imaginary beef with the author.

    And Kevin, That pinout is right. But like fiskers said, use a multimeter and check for shorts. If you are having trouble soldering onto the board, I found that you could use a razor blade in between the pins on the board to stop bridges from forming. Use a good hoof-style tip and make sure that the iron isn't too hot.
     
  4. Prog

    Prog Not a Meme™ Staff Member

    I see that you already did the relocation, so this advice may not be useful for this specific project.

    One of the most common mods in N64 portablizing was to take a rev 1-5 board (may have only been up to 4, as I may be confusing this info with the RGB mod which also became impractical either at rev 4 or 5), as these have dual 2MB RAM chips. In their place, modders would put dual 4MB RAM chips, effectively creating an internal Expansion Pak. This may have been more practical to do when portablizers had closets full of broken N64 boards, with functional RAM chips to be reclaimed, and when OEM Paks and late-revision N64s were dirt cheap. Following the swap, one would do a Jumper Pak relocation which is necessary to terminate the RAM circuit and is significantly easier to do than an expansion relocation. These realizations can easily be done towards the center of the board which leaves trimming room.

    Because you've already completed your relocation, I'd say that if it ain't broke, don't fix it. However, you may run into problems from the added latency of the copper wires, depending upon the length, variance, and diameter/surface area of the wires, and the tolerance of the board itself. Generally earlier ones are more tolerant, and every modification will further reduce the tolerance a little bit.

    So, make those wires as short as you can get them for your needs, but keep them all the same length, and quadruple check that all your connections are good, and that there is not a single bridge. Say a prayer to the deity of your choice (atheists should still do this), clutch a rabbits foot, say something in Latin, and fire her up. If it works, I'd still suggest a stress test: a couple hours of DK, MM, or Perfect Dark. If all goes well, Congladuration! If not, let us know. I can contact @βeta and/or @Bibin, both of whom are experts in this sort of thing, if you have any further questions or issues.

    Also, to my knowledge, I'm not aware of any veterans familiar with this process on BitBuilt beyond SS.
     
  5. laingsoft

    laingsoft Formerly SteamDNT

    The length of the bus shouldn't make a whole lot of difference, as long as the wire that you are using is low resistance.

    Even if you do replace the 2mb chips with 4mb chips, you still need an end terminator of the bus, so you basically still need to do the relocation if you are doing it for the height savings.
     
  6. Prog

    Prog Not a Meme™ Staff Member

    It's really easy to terminate the memory bus without adding the volume of one of the Paks though.
     
  7. ttsgeb

    ttsgeb Breaker of Everything Staff Member

    [citation needed]
    Terminating the RAM on the N64 has, historically, given modders nothing but problems. Heck, it's the whole reason that the N64p for Ben's show has taken so long. The stuff is finicky as flax, and that's why the preferred method for relocating the jumper pack has become to just desolder the connector and put the whole Dang thing right back on, but rotated 90 degrees.
     
  8. Prog

    Prog Not a Meme™ Staff Member

    From what Julian told me, it's just resistors and a reconnection of the clock.