Sonic 3 battery

An interesting replacement for this thread which would be good for this section would be a more comprehensive guide to reviving games that no longer save. How to open the cartridge, testing to know if it's the battery or a chip at fault, a list of possible drop-in replacements, etc.

 

Have you guys thought of playing around with the FERAM with a neodymium magnet ?

As bonus for the people who don't have a clue what a FeRAM chip is, here's another thread (on another forum but contains pictures of the cartridge internals) from TmEE:

http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthread.php?p=217950

 

HOw hard is it to obtain and replace the chip? Just soldering i presume

 

i have emailed ramtron and waiting to see if they can help with replacements

 

Any update? would love to get sonic 3 working

Where can i get a neodymium magnet?

 

If you're in the UK, Maplin have a set of 2 for £9

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=97326#features

 

Thanks bob! will have to crack out sonic 3!

 

here my reply from ramtron
The FM1208 is an old part. The closest part we have available today is the FM1608 (datasheet attached). The details of the FM1608 are at http://www.ramtron.com/products/nonvolatile-memory/parallel-product.aspx?id=50.

There may be some FM1208s available with our distributor in Germany. Are you looking for any stock?

Duncan Bennett
FAE Manager, Europe
Tel: +44 1189 272677
Mob/Cell: +44 7866 458234
www.ramtron.com

 

I think the FM1808 is the part TmEE used as a replacement in his Sonic 3 cart (Its a bit difficult to read the chips number in the picture) TmEE linked to this great topic on the previous page:-
http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10037
Looks like it just needs slight rewiring to match the original chips pinout.

Also note that TmEE says he did not change the FeRAM chip because the original FM1208 had failed, but because the original chip was not fast enough for use with an overclocked Mega Drive. I guess this is why he used an FM1808 and not an FM1608 as suggested by Ramtron, because apart from the size difference there is also a large difference in access times between the two chips (Although either one would probably be a suitable replacement with a little rewiring)

Lastly:-

From Ramtron's F-RAM FAQ near the bottom of this page:-
http://www.ramtron.com/products/nonvolatile-memory/parallel.aspx

So theres probably no point in trying to use a magnet to wipe the chip/saves.

 

this was the email i had i wil try it one day see what happens i dont over clock mega drives what about knuckles chaotix i just got it to to day has a ramtron chip the fm1208 i would like to repalce it for that game i never owned this game before
so i was happy to day