Genesis AT&T Edge16 Modem

Ive not tried with the Exodus emulator but im also not sure if the SVP chip that virtua racing is coded to use will work with the Exodus emulator. I havnt tried just yet to look at virtua racing. Im hoping it does have code in there, but not entirely sure... As for GameTek and PFmagic, im pretty sure those are the only two games from those companies that support the modem.

I havnt had a chance to look at any titles from sega or US Gold just yet. I Think if anything the US Gold titles will probably be soccer related, but not sure.

Also the promo material showing a boxing game and the cart in the edge 16 is a motorcycle racing game (unknown which one). Not even sure if those are real games or just mockup for marketing purposes.

 

I had also noticed phone cards in the images of the Edge 16. Likely to be a payment method. I noticed one of Ballz 3D depicting one of the characters, along with a Virtua Racing phone card.

 

Pretty nice find. If it's like the netlink on Saturn everything is done through software as far as interface so without any game inserted probably aren't going to see anything only in game option. Is there anyway to look at board and figure out power supply? I know you don't want open it but someone with know how might be able to give it a look.

 

So from what i understand, these were like compact flash? 128Kb Sized or so i think (ill have to double check on a few things to be honest) but it gave developers the ability to expand the system ram a bit so the game could have more than the genesis 64kb ram, and then also it would allow you to add characters to games or save data on the card. Ill have to dig up the specs on where i read this. Its basically for game expansion and ram expansion though. Otherwise it appears its a general purpose 4800 baud modem that you just direct dialed your opponent and played against them.

 

Im going to open it here when i get a chance. Work is going to be a bit consuming this week, but i will post pictures of the guts when i get a chance. Hopefully someone here can help identify what is needed power supply wise. I'm no electrical engineer or expert on electronics, but i know my way around a multi-meter and how to handle electronics and solder.

 

Can't wait to see the inside. Thanks for sharing btw.

 

No problem, i feel like it should be shared with the community. I'll try to get some pictures up sometime around Thursday probably. Hopefully a few can point out what type of power supply I might need to test this thing.

 

Cool, probably there is a way to enable these modem strings using a par or game genie code.

 

You know how Zombie was left unfinished in the original Ballz 3D? I bet Zombie would have only been made usable in Ballz 3D using the Edge 16 expansion card for the game!

 

Very possible. i dont know much about the game other than casually playing it a little bit here and there back in the day myself. Never beat it or anything or got very far into it.

Found this interesting though

https://books.google.com/books?id=L...=0ahUKEwizlt7D4uLPAhUHr1QKHVjAD384ChDoAQgbMAA

Appears that based on the article, the modem was unveiled in JAN 94 at CES. If any of the companies that were said to have working titles on the EDGE16 did come through, then this expands the "window" of what games might be supported. Im guessing anywhere after JAN '94 TO december 94 or jan 95 might be a good window to look at for compatible games by those companies. I also found that in summer '93 it was announced and by winter 94 was playable.

I wish i could find where i saw the specs on the card slots for the modem.

 

Probably here;

 

ah, looks like there are more game companies listed as developers!! Tengen, looks like another i missed here. Curious what that game is in the bottom right. appears to be the same game shown on the TVs in the article as well.

Thanks for posting this!

 

Sweet stuff! So that's how the cards work. Picture yourself during the mid-1990s going down to your local video game shop, and buying the card for Zombie to be used in Ballz 3D via Edge 16 modem.

 

Sheesh, could you people stop crapping up the rare forum with stuff that's not rare? I mean, there's another one in existence... show us something really rare!

Heh, nice to actually have a thread truly deserving of the section for once

Look at the regulator. Quite likely to be a 7805, so it'll take anything from 7 to 25 volts up to 1.5 amps. So 9 volts 1 amp is probably going to be fine. And, obviously, check polarity

 

I took it apart last night but havn't had time to take pictures as it was late. Doesn't appear there is a regulator inside, but im no expert. Saw a few Mosfet chips and a few large capacitors and large looking resistor near what looks to be the power jack and quite a few additions after the pcb was produced (wiring and custom fixes it looks like). Its definitely not the standard power jack you see on something like the genesis itself (dc barrel type jack). Looks more like a larger version of a headphones jack to me honestly. It does have a daughterboard however that sits over the front between the two ovals you see on the top lid of the modem. left one is nothing, right one is a speaker that utilizes solid core wire (wtf?). I'm guessing this daughterboard controls the firmware for the game cards and such as it appears from a quick glance the traces run to most of those connectors.

Ill get some pictures Thursday during the day once im free from work and a few other things and circle the mosfets near the power jack and list the part numbers as well that are written on them.

 

We'll be looking forward to those, dude!

 

So here are a few pics. I can take more if need be. I've circled some mosfet chips resistor along with what appears to be the power jack. The speakers is utilizing solid core wire and i interleaved it with the fins near the mosfet chip to keep it from flopping around when handling the board temporarily.

The mosfet on the left near the fins has the following printed on it:

39DN
LM294OCT
-5.0 P+

The other mosfet near the large resistor that is standing straight up reads the following:

42AY
LM340T5
7805 P+

Let me know what you guys think! Appears there are many after-thought fixes to the board here it looks like. All the capacitors appear to be in good shape and dont really show signs of leaking or and dont smell terrible. I suppose this is about as good as it gets without pulling them to see if they're leaking.

I'll let the pictures do most of the talking here...

 

When I saw your Edge 16, Lunchbox, I thought that it didn't have any card readers. Looks like I thought wrong.

 

Yeah it definately has them. The first few pictures dont really show the card slots well.

I traced back the circuit with a multi-meter and now i'm working on wiring up a 9V 1amp power supply with 3.5mm plug. The tip of the connector is negative while the band just below it is positive. The mosfets appear to be 9v tolerant. Should work out.

 

Success!

I used a 9v 1amp adaptor as mentioned in the above post and it now boots the game that is plugged into the genesis as it should.

So far when using the mega-everdrive on top and loading the ballz and brutal paws of fury roms work but the modem menus do not show automatically. Im thinking im missing something else here...

if i use the following raw codes in kega fusion with ballz:

01413C:0005
014140:296C


it makes the edge modem menu option appear on the title screen and you can just press start. At this point it takes a second and then pops up a message asking for the edge system card. My guess is one of the slots on the modem had a card obviously that had some "OS" or bios calls for the edge modem or something maybe.

Looks like unless i have this i might be dead in the water?

Anyone happen to know what kind of cards these are seen in the below picture?
Looks like all the contacts are to the left side of the front of the card that gets inserted into the modem.