After starting on an NROM devcart, giving up, and waiting three months, I finally got a hacked Mario board to play Ice Climber!
I know this isn't anything new, but it's the first NES hardware project I actually got working. Oddly, the two EPROM sockets are each connected to the main board differently. The PRG EPROM is socketed on a small circuit board with a whole bunch of individual wires reaching to the main board.
After finishing the PRG socket, I realized that there was an easier method and hacked the CHR socket directly onto the main board (with four of the pins bent under/cut off).
On the downside, the solder-coated sockets feel really fragile when pulling EPROMS. It doesn't look like much, but this taught me a few things, namely that hardware hacking is harder than it looks, and that it is possible to hum the Legend of Zelda title theme for three hours without going insane (much). Anyway, I'll be building another one of these with a pair of ZIF sockets and a mirroring switch starting tomorrow. And, if anyone needs an A+ example of terrible soldering, I've got one.
I know this isn't anything new, but it's the first NES hardware project I actually got working. Oddly, the two EPROM sockets are each connected to the main board differently. The PRG EPROM is socketed on a small circuit board with a whole bunch of individual wires reaching to the main board.
After finishing the PRG socket, I realized that there was an easier method and hacked the CHR socket directly onto the main board (with four of the pins bent under/cut off).
On the downside, the solder-coated sockets feel really fragile when pulling EPROMS. It doesn't look like much, but this taught me a few things, namely that hardware hacking is harder than it looks, and that it is possible to hum the Legend of Zelda title theme for three hours without going insane (much). Anyway, I'll be building another one of these with a pair of ZIF sockets and a mirroring switch starting tomorrow. And, if anyone needs an A+ example of terrible soldering, I've got one.