#38208 - Lynx - Thu Mar 24, 2005 12:23 am
I've started shipping orders at http://www.dspassme.com for PCI Completes. Assembled and kits always ship same day or next day (depending on time ordered).
#38215 - arog - Thu Mar 24, 2005 1:50 am
Sweet, I can't wait to run demos, etc. on real hardware!!!
- Aaron Rogers
http://www.aaronrogers.com/nintendods/
#38286 - Wriggler - Fri Mar 25, 2005 12:21 pm
Just ordered mine! :D Can't wait! *giggles with excitement*
Ben
#38294 - dagamer34 - Fri Mar 25, 2005 2:40 pm
Is there any way to pay by money order?
_________________
Little kids and Playstation 2's don't mix. :(
#38296 - tepples - Fri Mar 25, 2005 3:16 pm
| dspassme.com wrote: |
| Get one before they are gone |
Is this one of those devices that sells for a short run at $20 and then shoots up to several times that amount on eBay, like the Dreamcast broadband adapter or the GameCube version of PSO?
_________________
-- Where is he?
-- Who?
-- You know, the human.
-- I think he moved to Tilwick.
#38298 - Riven.art - Fri Mar 25, 2005 3:34 pm
Does the pass me work with the play yan, I'm sorry if it's been asked but I couldn't see anything but GBA and play yan questions.
#38299 - Godster - Fri Mar 25, 2005 3:49 pm
Will those from http://www.dspassme.com come with the paper backing already applied to prevent shortages? Also does anyone have an pics of the passme with the cart connector attched?
#38305 - sgeos - Fri Mar 25, 2005 5:53 pm
I'm assuming you don't need the metroid demo to get this to work?
-Brendan
#38307 - Vince - Fri Mar 25, 2005 7:11 pm
You do need as DS cart. All passthrough require one to work.
However, if the ones Lynx is shipping include Darkfader's latest passthrough (I think they do), any DS cart will be fine. You don't have to be forced to use the Metroid demo.
Sorry for the rant if you know all that.
Vince
_________________
Reclaim control of your F2A/F2AU with if2a !!
#38308 - sgeos - Fri Mar 25, 2005 7:14 pm
I'm considering picking up a DS and the dictionary software Nintendo is advertising over here, but I'm not going to bother until I know I can dev for the system. AFAIK the Metroid demo isn't packaged with the DSs in Japan.
-Brendan
#38322 - garlic - Sat Mar 26, 2005 1:05 am
You can use any original game now, not just Metroid, like said.
#38354 - Wriggler - Sat Mar 26, 2005 4:01 pm
Do we need some kind of tutorial written up on how to work these beasts? In other words, I assume both our DS programs and our GBA flash carts need to be set up in a specific way to run with the passthrough. Any chance somebody in the know could outline the details for those of us in the dark?
Ben
#38398 - sgeos - Sun Mar 27, 2005 2:25 am
I'm assuming you flash the cart, insert flash cart, insert passme and then insert ds card into passme.
-Brendan
#38404 - tepples - Sun Mar 27, 2005 3:15 am
I'm thinking that Wriggler was asking for 1. a crt0 and linker script for PassMe builds and 2. instructions to write ROMs to each brand of flash cart, without any sort of menu or GBA-header fixing.
_________________
-- Where is he?
-- Who?
-- You know, the human.
-- I think he moved to Tilwick.
#38432 - Lynx - Sun Mar 27, 2005 8:27 pm
PassMe's shipping from dspassme.com do have a sticker back, and do contain the latest CPLD code from DarkFader (they would be useless without it, as the /boot/main.cpp file has changed to work with it).
The current code also bypasses bootloaders on the GBA as the EZF-Advance III doesn't appear to have a way to turn it off..
So, as long as you are using the current template setup from Joat (including the new /boot/main.cpp), you just write your program, build it, and write it to the GBA Flash cart. Pop your DS game into PassMe, insert it into your DS and go. I will probably add more info to the tutorial on dspassme.com about using PassMe so that these questions don't keep coming up.
As for them selling for X times more on ebay, I hope not. If my 100, Natrium42's 50 and Kraln's 300 (or however many) isn't enough, I will build some more. Let's just see how demand is in a week or so..
#38471 - dagamer34 - Mon Mar 28, 2005 5:58 am
Like I asked before, is there someway to pay by money order?
_________________
Little kids and Playstation 2's don't mix. :(
#38480 - Lynx - Mon Mar 28, 2005 10:28 am
dspassme.com uses PayPal for payment processing. If they accept Money Orders then yes, otherwise check with natrium42.com and kraln.com
#38580 - Kola - Tue Mar 29, 2005 8:27 am
Sweet, ordered mine yesterday from ya, Lynx.
_________________
k o l a
#38581 - phantomdjp - Tue Mar 29, 2005 8:36 am
Just a question to be sure. You said :
| Quote: |
| The current code also bypasses bootloaders on the GBA as the EZF-Advance III doesn't appear to have a way to turn it off.. |
So I just need to send a .bin into the 256Mb part of the EZ3 and it will work without looking at the menu ?
I was thinking to change the 32Mb loader by the DS rom I want to use, but if it bypass the loader it is really better. (This is a double 'PassMe' :p )
#38609 - Lynx - Tue Mar 29, 2005 4:20 pm
I believe so. But, you don't want to send the .bin files.. those are for emulators. You want to send the .ds.gba files.
#38613 - phantomdjp - Tue Mar 29, 2005 4:35 pm
Nice !
Is there a difference between Lynx, Natrium42 and Kraln 's Pass Me ?
(I ve already send money to Natrium42, but just in case...)
#38621 - zazery - Tue Mar 29, 2005 6:34 pm
I believe all of them have a different PCB layout, but they all do the same thing so it's really just the visual appeal that is different.
#38623 - natrium42 - Tue Mar 29, 2005 6:46 pm
My PCB is gold-plated and has a trimmed down GB connector :)
Only ~10 PassMes left for preordering...
_________________
www.natrium42.com
#38627 - Lynx - Tue Mar 29, 2005 7:19 pm
Well, there is one difference between ours (Natrium42 and mine) and Kralns. Kralns is single sided (to save on cost, I'm guessing). Now, for the standard person, this shouldn't be an issue. But, if you want to update or change the code on the CPLD, his program points are throughout the board. So you can't use a 6 pin header to program the CPLD like you can on Natrium42s and mine.
#38634 - PhoenixRising - Tue Mar 29, 2005 8:12 pm
| phantomdjp wrote: |
Nice !
Is there a difference between Lynx, Natrium42 and Kraln 's Pass Me ?
(I ve already send money to Natrium42, but just in case...) |
The biggest difference is that Lynx is actually shipping units.
Natrium42 is still pre-ordering units, but has not yet begun shipping as far as I understand. Depending on the look of the cut-down GBA connector, it may look nicer, but I haven't seen a picture of what the assembled board will look like.
Kraln hasn't updated his website for almost two weeks, and has no word when he'll actually start taking orders and begin shipping.
#38637 - Code-X - Tue Mar 29, 2005 8:35 pm
I believe kraln is going to broadcast the making of his PassMe's via webcam. Not sure if it's a buy one and watch it get made or if any one can watch.
#38642 - darkfader - Tue Mar 29, 2005 8:49 pm
Let's have a race on who sells the most PassMe's within a month or so, and place bets :)
Personally, I'd go for the one with rotated chip since it looks so l33t :P
#38696 - Wriggler - Wed Mar 30, 2005 3:00 pm
Just got mine! Arrived in the UK very quickly, and it looks so purdy. Haven't tested it yet... will let you guys know how it goes...
Thanks Lynx!!!
Ben
#38710 - DekuTree64 - Wed Mar 30, 2005 7:25 pm
Got mine yesterday too, and it does indeed look cooler than the photos.
Oh, the things I'll make it do. Total freedom at last (as soon as I can get my own variation on the crt0/link scripts to run).
I think I'll start with a dual CPU voxel engine.
Thank you Lynx (and Natrium42)!
_________________
___________
The best optimization is to do nothing at all.
Therefore a fully optimized program doesn't exist.
-Deku
#38729 - Wriggler - Thu Mar 31, 2005 12:04 am
Mine is tested, works great! I'm using a Magic Flash USB flash cart, which is a piece of crap. Took ages to get it working, and the process is still a bit hit and miss. If anybody is using the same flash cart and having troubles, give me a PM.
Anyhew, thanks Lynx! Now to get some of my own demos working...
Ben
#38887 - MrNoonan - Fri Apr 01, 2005 5:28 pm
@Natrium42
Is "end of next week" still the estimated shipping date for your PassMes?
/me can't wait :)
#38915 - zazery - Sat Apr 02, 2005 12:18 am
If your in Canada then it might take a bit longer depending on when you ordered it. I had mine sent last thursday and it's still not here due to Easter.
#38916 - Ethos - Sat Apr 02, 2005 12:20 am
:) Eagerly awaiting my PassMe, shoulda ordered earlier, but oh well! Can do some good dev before HW tests then!
#38936 - natrium42 - Sat Apr 02, 2005 4:50 am
| MrNoonan wrote: |
@Natrium42
Is "end of next week" still the estimated shipping date for your PassMes?
/me can't wait :) |
Hey, I got the PCBs and the CPLDs today. Still waiting for the connectors to arrive. Check my weblog for some pictures.
PassMes will be shipped next week.
_________________
www.natrium42.com
#38956 - sgeos - Sat Apr 02, 2005 12:24 pm
I'm assuming that the current generation of passmes don't have an on-off switch. It would be cool to be able to turn off the passme without have to physically remove the cart.
-Brendan
#38959 - caitsith2 - Sat Apr 02, 2005 2:42 pm
| sgeos wrote: |
I'm assuming that the current generation of passmes don't have an on-off switch. It would be cool to be able to turn off the passme without have to physically remove the cart.
-Brendan |
Especially handy for those who might decide to permanently mount the game cart onto the passme, even more so, if that cart is not the metroid demo.
#38967 - sgeos - Sat Apr 02, 2005 5:15 pm
My plan is to buy a passme, DS and the Japanese/Chinese/English dictionary software all in one fell swoop. That will kill two birds with one stone as I'd like to do DS dev, and an electronic dictionary is super useful. (Written IME is awesome for kanji; too bad it's not Japanese/English/Korean). With an on off switch I'd never need to remove anything other than the flash cart.
-Brendan
#38978 - iainprice - Sat Apr 02, 2005 8:05 pm
Japanese/Chinese/English dictionary?
What software is that? I'm just writting myself one for the DS at the moment....
#38985 - iainprice - Sat Apr 02, 2005 9:46 pm
I'm just waiting for my passme from Lynx... I am currently programming and making .bin files (changing the .gba.ds to .bin in the makefile) when I use the passme do I have to have the files as .gba.ds on the flash card, or .bin?
#38987 - DekuTree64 - Sat Apr 02, 2005 9:56 pm
| iainprice wrote: |
| when I use the passme do I have to have the files as .gba.ds on the flash card, or .bin? |
Makes no difference. The point of adding the .gba or .bin extension to the end is so the GBA flash card writer will see the file immediately, without having to go change the file type drop-down to *.* first.
My EZF client has an even more irritating habit though. It insists on turning 'multi-ROM' on every time I turn the GBA on, so I have to go turn it back off for each test.
_________________
___________
The best optimization is to do nothing at all.
Therefore a fully optimized program doesn't exist.
-Deku
#38996 - Cleon I - Sun Apr 03, 2005 12:30 am
iainprice:
Nintendo is releasing a series of educational software for the DS, one of which is a multilingual dictionary that can use the touchscreen for character input:
http://touch-ds.jp/news/new_lineup/nl_2.html
It looks pretty impressive, and if I can get my hands on a copy before next semester it'll almost certainly convince me to take a Japanese course.
Edit: whoops, didn't notice the new topic addressing this question
#39103 - MrNoonan - Mon Apr 04, 2005 4:21 pm
| natrium42 wrote: |
PassMes will be shipped next week. |
Great news. Thanks!
#39126 - josath - Mon Apr 04, 2005 9:55 pm
got mine(complete assembled) 4 days after recieving the email saying lynx shipped. didn't work at first, after some testing, notices 2 of the pci pins weren't making contact (even though it looked like they were, multimeter said no), after bending those two back, it now works! Now i just need to wait for my replacement gba flash cart to arrive, and i'll be in buisness
#39132 - zazery - Mon Apr 04, 2005 11:47 pm
I just got mine today from Lynx and not all the pins were touching so I just fixed that and it worked. It's really neat to see homebrew demos running on the DS.
#39157 - sandymac - Tue Apr 05, 2005 7:00 am
My passme bypasses the NDS's menu screen when you have the DS in Manual Mode? Is this supposed to happen? The Passthrough page on the NDSTech wiki implies it wouldn't do that.
_________________
"He who dares not offend cannot be honest." -- Thomas Paine
#39162 - iainprice - Tue Apr 05, 2005 11:08 am
Just got my passme this morning. Put one of the working roms onto my FA2 and the GBA nintendo logo appears but then nothing. I've heard lots of talk about certain flash cards not working... where can I find a list incase its my FA2 that is not OK.
#39168 - Lynx - Tue Apr 05, 2005 2:42 pm
| Quote: |
My passme bypasses the NDS's menu screen when you have the DS in Manual Mode? Is this supposed to happen? The Passthrough page on the NDSTech wiki implies it wouldn't do that.
|
Yes, the new code on the CPLD from DarkFader does that. The NDSTech wiki also says only 6 people have built a passthrough.. So, it's a little out of date (already).
| Quote: |
| and the GBA nintendo logo appears but then nothing |
This is because the DS Cart isn't being recognized. If you bought a complete, check the PCI Pins contact with the cart. Even without a GBA Flash cart inserted, you should get the DS splash screen, and then two white screens.
Check here for more troubleshooting:
http://www.dspassme.com/docs/html/pm_06_troubleshooting.html
#39197 - iainprice - Tue Apr 05, 2005 9:45 pm
When the pins are adjusted I get the white screens after the DS bootup, just as the trouble-shooting guides says. Unfortunately I cannot get any demos working. I have fully blanked my FA2 and then just put on one bin at a time but still nothing. Does anyone else out there use a FA2 128M?
#39241 - Lynx - Wed Apr 06, 2005 2:09 pm
Are you using a .bin or a .ds.gba? If .bin, they are for emulators only. Try using the .ds.gba available here:
http://www.dspassme.com/demos/tile02.ds.gba
#39242 - iainprice - Wed Apr 06, 2005 2:15 pm
Ahh yes it works now. Are the bin files compiled differently or are they just renamed? In other words do I just compile something and name it bin for the emu and ds.gba for the passme?
#39251 - zazery - Wed Apr 06, 2005 3:55 pm
The arm9.bin file is just the arm9 code. Emualtors can only run arm9 code at this time. However the DS needs some code that will copy the arm7 and arm9 code to a specific place in memory in the DS. The files that are named x.ds.gba are compiled with the boot code so it will be able to run on the actual hardware, using PassMe. It takes the arm7 and arm7 binaries and places them in the correct memory location for the PassMe to be able to read them.
#39252 - iainprice - Wed Apr 06, 2005 3:58 pm
Everything is clear now... I can now make and test code on emu and hardware.... couple of weeks and I'll have some nice demos. Thanks for all your help everyone.
#39258 - Lynx - Wed Apr 06, 2005 4:58 pm
| zazery wrote: |
| However the DS needs some code that will copy the arm7 and arm9 code to a specific place in memory in the DS. |
Actually, the ds.gba is the ARM7.bin and ARM9.bin wrapped in a bootloader.
Arm7 is what interfaces with the touchscreen, etc. Emulators have the arm7.bin "Hardcoded" into the emu right now.
For more info, see this: PhoenixRising's Tutorial
#39337 - ChronoDK - Thu Apr 07, 2005 5:58 pm
I know the PassMe can't be used to run commercial roms - but why is that? And is there something I can't code then?
#39338 - dagamer34 - Thu Apr 07, 2005 6:05 pm
Size restrictions. Roms are limited to the 4MB that is available to the DS since the "bootloader" copies the contents of the rom into RAM.
I am wondering though, is it possible to append data to the end of the .ds.gba file and access that information straight from the cart after it has been loaded? This would allow homebrew demos to exceed the 4MB limit, while still keeping the PassMe from being a pirates' dream.
_________________
Little kids and Playstation 2's don't mix. :(
#39339 - DekuTree64 - Thu Apr 07, 2005 6:19 pm
| dagamer34 wrote: |
| I am wondering though, is it possible to append data to the end of the .ds.gba file and access that information straight from the cart after it has been loaded? |
I've been meaning to try that myself, but haven't had time to play around with DS code at home. I think it will work, provided that your ARM9/ARM7 binaries know where the data starts.
Maybe make a special .section in the bootloader ROM for the data files, that starts at a specific address, with a table of addresses of each of the files. Would require some linker script fiddling, but it's mostly just copy/paste.
_________________
___________
The best optimization is to do nothing at all.
Therefore a fully optimized program doesn't exist.
-Deku
#39341 - tepples - Thu Apr 07, 2005 7:11 pm
| DekuTree64 wrote: |
| Maybe make a special .section in the bootloader ROM for the data files, that starts at a specific address, with a table of addresses of each of the files. |
It's been done. GBFS would probably be trivial to port to the Nintendo DS.
_________________
-- Where is he?
-- Who?
-- You know, the human.
-- I think he moved to Tilwick.