Unlicensed cartridge makers used several methods to defeat the lockout chips found in the NES front loading console. Tengen cloned the lockout chip, but companies like AVE, Color Dreams and Codemasters used charge pumps to send (usually) negative voltages to crash the lockout chip so it would not continually reset the console. Depending on the revision of the front loader, these charge pumps would succeed or fail. I believe there were revisions 04 to 11 released to the general public and revision 11 has resistors on the two lines (35 and 70) to prevent the negative voltages from having an effect on the lockout chip.
However, Nintendo eliminated the lockout chip in the top loader and it never was included in the 60-pin Famicoms or any clones, 60-pin or 72-pin. In these consoles, the charge pump circuitry is still connected to the positive voltages and ground planes, the software still toggles the circuitry, but the spikes have nowhere to go, except for the top loader. I am not sure what the lockout chip pins connect to, if anything, on the top loader. kevtris stated that the Camerica circuit, which has an A/B switch, will cause issues on a top loader if flipped to the A position :
Would any of the other circuits (which cannot be turned off like Camerica's) have this problem?
Is this problem a non-issue in a 60-pin console, where pins 35 & 70 are not connected?
Is the continued use of these circuits likely to damage the lockout chip over time?
However, Nintendo eliminated the lockout chip in the top loader and it never was included in the 60-pin Famicoms or any clones, 60-pin or 72-pin. In these consoles, the charge pump circuitry is still connected to the positive voltages and ground planes, the software still toggles the circuitry, but the spikes have nowhere to go, except for the top loader. I am not sure what the lockout chip pins connect to, if anything, on the top loader. kevtris stated that the Camerica circuit, which has an A/B switch, will cause issues on a top loader if flipped to the A position :
Quote:
The infamous switch on the back of the cart simply connects the negative supply to the cart edge. Toploaders will NOT be happy if it is turned on! This will cause the circuit to draw tons of current, which will most likely fry it if the console is left on too long. On my console, it causes the screen to go black with grey wavy lines, and the audio produces a loud buzz.
Would any of the other circuits (which cannot be turned off like Camerica's) have this problem?
Is this problem a non-issue in a 60-pin console, where pins 35 & 70 are not connected?
Is the continued use of these circuits likely to damage the lockout chip over time?