USB dev cart project

[cafe-alpha]

> Is this forum still active?
Yes.

 

[antime]

I updated the cartridge firmware to take advantage of DMA when transferring data to the Saturn. When uploading to workram-L, the speed increased from about 320KB/s to 430KB/s, and when uploading to workram-H the speed increased from about 370KB/s to 590KB/s. I also added a "run" command to the ftx tool, which calls the specified address without having to upload anything.

The code is available on GitHub.

 

[vbt]

I updated the cartridge firmware to take advantage of DMA when transferring data to the Saturn. When uploading to workram-L, the speed increased from about 320KB/s to 430KB/s, and when uploading to workram-H the speed increased from about 370KB/s to 590KB/s. I also added a "run" command to the ftx tool, which calls the specified address without having to upload anything.

The code is available on GitHub.

great  job antime ! 😎

 

[cafe-alpha]

I updated the cartridge firmware to take advantage of DMA when transferring data to the Saturn. When uploading to workram-L, the speed increased from about 320KB/s to 430KB/s, and when uploading to workram-H the speed increased from about 370KB/s to 590KB/s. I also added a "run" command to the ftx tool, which calls the specified address without having to upload anything.

The code is available on GitHub.

An update nearly 3 years after initial release oO Thank you antime !

USB dev cart is now something like 25 times faster than Action Replay !

 

[antime]

I was bored... In practice the difference isn't really noticeable, since the uploaded files are so small.

 

[cafe-alpha]

I was bored... In practice the difference isn't really noticeable, since the uploaded files are so small.

Yes, it's something like filling both hram and lram takes something like 5 seconds instead of 6 seconds ... but 😀

Edit : I prepared your new firmware for my USB dev cart 🙂 I plan to use it next week or so.

 

[cafe-alpha]

Oops, I forgot to reply to this thread :

[11:24:26:458]21>Transfer Time = 1060 msec(s) (737060 bytes).
[11:24:26:462]21>Average transmission speed = 695.339623 KB/s

(420 KB/s with non-DMA transfer code)

Speed difference isn't really noticeable, but good job anyway :]

 

[mrkotfw]

What is the licensing on the ftx tool?

 

[antime]

2-clause BSD (the license text is the first thing in the source file).

 

[mrkotfw]

Ow, how embarrassing.

I have that habit of looking for the LICENSE file and not looking at the source files.

Thanks.

 

[mrkotfw]

Using FT D2XX library, would there be any reason as to why reading intermittently blocks despite setting the RX timeout to a low value?

I set the USB in/out payloads to the same values as in antime's tool.

Any guesses?

 

[vbt]

just dumb question, what's the way to get game saves with the usb dev cart ? i did that with old tool and my isa card and maybe it was possible with the usb data link.

 

[cafe-alpha]

From command line :
USB Data Link : SatLink.exe usb_data_link.ini -bs test.bin
USB dev cart : SatLink.exe usb_dev_cart.ini -bs test.bin

From GUI :
Select which device to open (USB Data Link or USB dev cart) in tool bar -> "Open" menu, then click "Receive Backup Memory" in tool bar -> "Receive" menu.

 

[vbt]

From command line :
USB Data Link : SatLink.exe usb_data_link.ini -bs test.bin
USB dev cart : SatLink.exe usb_dev_cart.ini -bs test.bin

From GUI :
Select which device to open (USB Data Link or USB dev cart) in tool bar -> "Open" menu, then click "Receive Backup Memory" in tool bar -> "Receive" menu.

nice but is there something better ? i mean you choose the game save you want to get 🙂

 

[cafe-alpha]

nice but is there something better ? i mean you choose the game save you want to get 🙂

Something like in yabause's save manager ? No, sorry.
The only way to do this is to use both SatLink and ss-save-parser tools ...

I can add such feature to SatLink, but I would like to know how many people are interested in such feature before coding it.

 

[zone66x]

Hi all,

Just posting that I've been working on a case for cafe-alpha's USB dev cart. This was specifically made for version 3.2 of the USB Dev Cart but it also works for revision 2f and probably other revisions. Here's some pictures:

I will be posting on thingiverse at some point.

Enjoys. ^_^

 

[cafe-alpha]

Some people may wonder why the case has such weird "square" shape : it's because the PCB for my "USB & Gamer's Cartridge" is larger than other cartridges : 100mm x 100mm, vs 100mm x 77mm usually.

I plan to re-design the PCB for "USB & Gamer's Cartridge" so that it can fit in Action Replay case. Priority for this re-design job is relatively low, but this will be done someday 🙂

 

[SegaSaturnShrine]

Hi all,

Just posting that I've been working on a case for cafe-alpha's USB dev cart. This was specifically made for version 3.2 of the USB Dev Cart but it also works for revision 2f and probably other revisions. Here's some pictures:

I will be posting on thingiverse at some point.

Enjoys. ^_^

While your doing all this 3d printing, do you think you could do me a huge favor and 3d print me a 3d printer so I can join in on the fun? XD. If only it worked that way hahaha, keep up the awesome work though!

 

[zone66x]

While your doing all this 3d printing, do you think you could do me a huge favor and 3d print me a 3d printer so I can join in on the fun? XD. If only it worked that way hahaha, keep up the awesome work though!

Actually....

https://3dprintingindustry.com/news/build-3d-printer-another-3d-printer-91576/

Still can't print motors and other parts but it's getting there 😀

 

[SegaSaturnShrine]

hahahaha that's awesome!