Post by dlevere on Aug 4, 2011 17:02:36 GMT -4
Public Service Announcement: N64 GS "Pro" with fake LPT port
By Parasyte
Unfortunately, Datel decided to save some money in the later GameShark Pro hardware revisions by disabling the LPT port. It's not possible to tell which Sharks have a dummy port without opening it for inspection. But there are some clues. You might have a disabled LPT port if:
* The GS does not have an LED when turning it on
* The plastic case is matte black, opposed to a sparkly glitter plastic.
This is sad, these abominations are making it difficult to buy a GS Pro with a real parallel port. The version numbers don't even help, either. They claim to be running firmware version 3.3, but if you flash them with the 3.3 upgrade ROM, it kills them dead (probably because the real 3.3 contains code that reads the parallel port, and it hangs because the flip flops are missing).
There are at least two different hardware revisions [that are known] with a disabled parallel port: REF1329 and REF1451. The LPT port on these models is for *decoration only*.
* REF1329 has solder pads for the missing components (three ICs: a D-type flip-flop and hex inverter for LPT data, and an LED driver for the numeric display ... and the display is also missing, along with resisters for it). It may be possible to solder a 74HC374 flip-flop and 74HC04 inverter onto the pads and get the LPT port working on this model (with an upgrade to the real 3.3 firmware with the "piggy back flashing" method).
* REF1451 has a totally different ASIC, meaning the logic for driving the parallel port is probably missing completely, and all of the LPT pins are NOT CONNECTED to anything, anyway. If you have this POS, you're SOL.
I would be interested in getting some flash ROM dumps from one of these (*before* piggy-back upgrading it, please! I already screwed mine up this way) to see what's different about the ROM.
Here are some photos (click to see full resolution 7 mega pixel images) of both REF1329 boards. It's easy to see what's missing, but the only parts required for the the LPT operation are:
* 74HC374 flip-flop
* 74HC04 hex inverter
And of course, those are the two ICs closest to the "REF1329" label. Other components (resistors ~221 Ω?, capacitor ~103 nF?, and 74HC164 shift register) are only necessary for the [missing] 7 segment display.
REF1329 Full:
REF1329 Crippled:
By Parasyte
Unfortunately, Datel decided to save some money in the later GameShark Pro hardware revisions by disabling the LPT port. It's not possible to tell which Sharks have a dummy port without opening it for inspection. But there are some clues. You might have a disabled LPT port if:
* The GS does not have an LED when turning it on
* The plastic case is matte black, opposed to a sparkly glitter plastic.
This is sad, these abominations are making it difficult to buy a GS Pro with a real parallel port. The version numbers don't even help, either. They claim to be running firmware version 3.3, but if you flash them with the 3.3 upgrade ROM, it kills them dead (probably because the real 3.3 contains code that reads the parallel port, and it hangs because the flip flops are missing).
There are at least two different hardware revisions [that are known] with a disabled parallel port: REF1329 and REF1451. The LPT port on these models is for *decoration only*.
* REF1329 has solder pads for the missing components (three ICs: a D-type flip-flop and hex inverter for LPT data, and an LED driver for the numeric display ... and the display is also missing, along with resisters for it). It may be possible to solder a 74HC374 flip-flop and 74HC04 inverter onto the pads and get the LPT port working on this model (with an upgrade to the real 3.3 firmware with the "piggy back flashing" method).
* REF1451 has a totally different ASIC, meaning the logic for driving the parallel port is probably missing completely, and all of the LPT pins are NOT CONNECTED to anything, anyway. If you have this POS, you're SOL.
I would be interested in getting some flash ROM dumps from one of these (*before* piggy-back upgrading it, please! I already screwed mine up this way) to see what's different about the ROM.
Here are some photos (click to see full resolution 7 mega pixel images) of both REF1329 boards. It's easy to see what's missing, but the only parts required for the the LPT operation are:
* 74HC374 flip-flop
* 74HC04 hex inverter
And of course, those are the two ICs closest to the "REF1329" label. Other components (resistors ~221 Ω?, capacitor ~103 nF?, and 74HC164 shift register) are only necessary for the [missing] 7 segment display.
REF1329 Full:
REF1329 Crippled:
