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[OldManBaka]

So, in the course of my midlife crisis--which has manifested as attempting to reclaim the SNES collection I lost in a fire some 25 years ago--I acquired a Super Wild Card DX. It doesn't totally work, unfortunately. (But hey, it was cheap!)

It can dump cartridge SRAM and ROM to floppy disk and the data checks out (i.e. the ROM dump CRC matches what's in the database for that cart, and the save data is intact) and it can successfully write SRAM back to cartridges...

However, its DRAM self-test fails, showing 0M (Instead of the 32Mb it has installed) and any attempts to run ROMs from disk/memory or even the built-in game, crashes to a black screen. It also won't boot without a cartridge in the slot, which tells me something is wrong with its knockoff CIC as well. It had a leaking battery which I removed and cleaned up (But haven't replaced yet) and I couldn't find any further damage, but clearly something is borked.

Based on that information, where should I be concentrating my efforts? I don't know enough about the device's innards. Like, I don't even know which chip is the CIC to check the connections to it. 😓

Thanks in advance for any guidance! 🙏

[mrforever]

https://www.nightfallcrew.com/01/06/2015/super-wildcard-dx-32mb-diagnosisrepair/

[Mystic_Merlin]

If you need to put a cartridge to boot it may be because your console region doesn't match the CIC in the SWCDX or the jumpers near the CIC are not configured properly.

The battery is not needed to operate.

Although pics of the damaged area/mem board would help, I would concentrate my efforts on the memory board slot and the nearby components to the battery. Those battery leaks are insidious and often propagate to different zones around it, mostly slots, ics, connectors and especially vias

[OldManBaka]

[OldManBaka]

[Keyell]

Now let's take this one step at a time.


-CIC is suspected to not work.

For this, I would recommend either removing it from a doner cartridge or considering using a SuperCIC. However, I don't know if the superCIC will work with the custom glue logic inside a copier. So this is truly no-mans land. It works on real hardware but copier-land....is copier-land.

http://www.dbwbp.com/index.php/10-electronic-projects/24-snes-cart-region-free-modification-replacing-cic-lockout-chip-with-supercic

I can program the 12F629 that is meant for cartridges (in this case the copier) if you think you need it for a very low fee. Basically shipping. It is no problem.

I think my TL866 can program a GAL16V8D but I've never tried.

[OldManBaka]

[Mystic_Merlin]

I wouldn't recommend putting a super CIC just now, first because these haven't been thoroughly tested with these machines, second because it's easier to troubleshoot with a regular CIC. You can get one from a donor SNES cart if needed.

The battery is only needed to keep the content of the SRAM when the copier is off. A quick off/on shouldn't wipe out its content but yes, you should be able to put a cap instead.

Your priority should be to fix these RAM issues. You're saying you were able to load small games without any glitch? Maybe one ram IC is bad then, that can happen too.
uCON64 is the tool you're looking for for any conversion.

[OldManBaka]

[Mystic_Merlin]

[OldManBaka]

[OldManBaka]

Got sidetracked with holiday nonsense, so I haven't gotten much further with diagnostics and repairs...

But I tried a multi-disk game... A 16mbit game, it loaded, ran... I messed around in the options menu for a bit, but when I went to start the game, it locked up. And now the SWC is back to not running any ROMs... 😑 I reseated everything, cleaned all the connections, no change. And then I realized my dumb ass didn't even do a self-test to see what the DRAM test said when the unit was working. UGH. 👉🤪💨

Well, whatever...

I'm going to start with some basic stuff; try a donor CIC (given that--as part of this lunacy--I also bought a CiB Japanese Super Scope, yet my old SS6 cart is one of the ones I still have for some reason...it's going under the iron as a donor!) to try and restore its ability to boot without a cartridge... And I'm also going to replace all the electrolytic caps with some fresh brand name ones, as well as replacing the previously removed battery with a cap. I'll see where that gets me and report back. 🤞

Merry Christmas all, I'm off to enjoy some holiday dinner with a side of Christmas movies! (Starting with Die Hard, of course. 😏)

[OldManBaka]

So, funny story... Despite tooling up to perform in-depth diagnostics on this thing and even tracking down some replacement DRAM chips in case the memory was bad, it turned out to be something ridiculously simple. There was an imperceptible break in the trace from pin 11 of the PEEL at U9 (By the DRAM daughterboard header) between the pin and the first via on the trace...it was actually right by a wonkily-soldered leg on D2. Almost makes me think somebody damaged the trace somehow while replacing some of the components. Anyway, I ran a bodge wire, memory tests good; 32M. It seems to be working now. The CIC thing is still an issue, but that was a far smaller concern than "Magicom no do magic!" 😏 Besides, I should have everything I need to work that out.

Shame I can't even upgrade the DRAM with this extra memory I have now, at least not based on the footprints on the DRAM daughterboard. 🤔 Are there designs out there for 48 or 96M DRAM boards? I could maybe have a batch spun up before Shenzhen closes down for Moon-month. I know that having more than 32Mbit is totally unnecessary...and requires updated firmware and new PEELs...but that can be fun too! 😁

[OldManBaka]

I got some better quality IC sockets and I ordered a proper Hakko desoldering gun--It's my birthday month, I've decided to spoil myself a bit! 😏--which'll arrive Tuesday, so I'll see about getting the CIC out of a donor cart as well as replacing the crappy sockets on the board and doing a less 'expedient' job of my bodge wire.

I also found a black FDD bezel in my storage room while I was searching for my old SNES mouse, so I'mma see if it fits the FDD on the SWC DX to make the unit match. Fun! 😁

(I'll also post some before pics, since I almost have my workbench cleared off now!)

[ChickenNugget]

Any chance you could make a schematic of the DX dram board?
I've made one for the pre-dx models
I assume it's the one with two 4Mx4 dram chips (and couple 74xxx logic chips)?