64drive on rcp wired n64

[gman]

I think I read somewhere that you cant use a 64drive on an rcp wired n64. Is this true? does anyone know why this happens? It doesnt make sense to me why this would happen. Are there any components that are being bypassed or something?

about rcp wiring: How reliable is this? I think I heard that is can just randomly stop working? I'd like to know cause I'm planning on trying this out this weekend when my new n64 console comes in the mail depending on what revision it is (anything but rev 5 cause that's what im looking for). What's the maximum length the wires should be? 2-3 inches okay? thanks

 

[hailrazer]

RCP wiring is probably not so much unreliable as it is just prone to errors. Usually a short somewhere or a wire looking like it has a good connection but it has a cold solder joint.

I think only one person has tried to use a 64Drive with Rcp wiring and it didn't work. So it could have been as simple as a wiring problem. But a simple way to find out is to cut off the cart slot first, rcp wire and try it. That way you have only done one thing to the board so it would be easier to troubleshoot.

 

[gman]

RCP wiring is probably not so much unreliable as it is just prone to errors. Usually a short somewhere or a wire looking like it has a good connection but it has a cold solder joint.

I think only one person has tried to use a 64Drive with Rcp wiring and it didn't work. So it could have been as simple as a wiring problem. But a simple way to find out is to cut off the cart slot first, rcp wire and try it. That way you have only done one thing to the board so it would be easier to troubleshoot.

ill keep that in mind. it would probably be best to just not trim it at all first and rcp wire it so i can still test it normally.

 

[Prog]

Why would you RCP with board folding? Just curious, it's a difference of less then a centimeter, right?

 

[gman]

Why would you RCP with board folding? Just curious, it's a difference of less then a centimeter, right?

For fun mostly and to test my soldering skills. and I have a theory that I could trim up to the rcp pins if I rcp wire it and reconnect all the traces from the rcp to the cpu.

 

[ttsgeb]

Ashen and SS have both tried it, and SS tried with two carts on a known working board.
IIRC, Ashen had very limited success, SS had none.
We've spoken with Marshal about it, he says the tolerances are much lower with the 64Drive. My theory is that we should cut the wires to the length of the traces they replace.

 

[gman]

Ashen and SS have both tried it, and SS tried with two carts on a known working board.
IIRC, Ashen had very limited success, SS had none.
We've spoken with Marshal about it, he says the tolerances are much lower with the 64Drive. My theory is that we should cut the wires to the length of the traces they replace.

Not a bad idea. Anyone ever test out an everdrive64 on an rcp wired n64?

 

[gman]

What is the proper thing to do and use when the pins get bridged? I'm thinking about picking up a desoldering braid from radioshack. Would that do the trick?

 

[hailrazer]

Yes when rcp wiring desolder braid is a MUST !

 

[gman]

Thats what I figured. I've managed to get by when wiring to chips by playing around with the solder on the soldering iron and wiping it off but sometimes this can be a challenge.

 

[marshallh]

When rewiring the cart slot you MUST provide enough ground return paths. All the 20+ signals for the cart slot must have a return ground path. That is why there are multiple redundant grounds on the original connector. I would personally add a grounding wire every 5 actual signals.

Its a good idea to have multiple 3.3 wires also, probably just two or three at each end of the slot will be enough.

Keep the wires as short as possible, and keep them within 1cm the same length as each other.

The 64drive is using a bit more current than a vanilla cartridge, and the slew rate on the signals is faster, so it will expose any poor wiring you may have.

 

[ShockSlayer]

When I tried this, I'm fairly certain it was how uneven all the wires were in length, which is just natural in RCP wiring. The majority of the pins are on the RCP, but here's a handful that go to the PIF and two that go to the CPU, and I think that's where the problem was. All the wires in total may have been too long anyways.

It would probably be easier to keep uniform wire length if instead of longer wires to the PIF and CPU, you just wire shorter ones to the cut traces near where the cart slot was.

Just my thoughts though; I'm of the opinion you can't beat board bending.

SS