USB Data Link

This device will allow you to connect your Saturn's Action Replay + or Game Shark to your PC via USB.

USB Data Link Home Page

 

nice idea. may buy one of these myself in the next month.

Yakumo

 

Saw it on youtube some time ago (maybe on January), is interesting for collectors with huge amount of games.

 

Me too...already ordered one..i'm gonna start homebrew saturn coding..

Hello Orochi.Kyo... also from Spain??

Juegas a la Saturn? De donde eres?

Saludos!

 

I'd probably go with Charles MacDonald's over this one, his is strictly logic with a FTDI USB module, no glue microcontroller (stupid and slloooww). Charles is also the guy who documented the COMM link in the first place so his control software surely has more techy features and is open for you to play with too. No spiffy enclosure however.

 

i'm lost...

are there more Saturn USB data link devices??

Diferent options?

 

Yep: http://cgfm2.emuviews.com/elec/comms.php (and this one you can build yourself.)

 

too hard for me, i'm a noob in electronics/soldering. can't even do properly most common saturn modifications

 

Soy de Toledo, y claro que juego a la Saturn, mas de 160 juegos en mi coleccion personal y se que usuario eres por los foros de sega saturno :nod:, Raizing tambien me conoce bastante. Yo suelo postear en beta-zero.

Sorry for use spanish in your forum guys! ong:

 

That's been around for a while... I never really needed one but I've heard they work well.

 

Yeah, there have been a few people playing with USB transfer to a Saturn for several years now - I believe there was one that didn't need the Action Replay, too. It's an interesting idea - must beat getting a comms card and an old ISA motherboard!

I think you'll find that the point of this is for development, not piracy. If collectors have many games, then they should play them off the CD. It's a lot faster!

 

Of course I noticed that retro.

 

I have one. I got one for free from Rockin'-B's competition.

In case anyone uses Linux, I wrote some software for it.

 

Since USB is a serial data transfer, there must be some kind of conversion to parallel data, to interface to the ARP cart. Whether it is by a microcontroller or some other method is not of much importance. Using the microcontroller provides a lot of flexibility and options, and also helps keep the price low. I have recently completed the final hardware version of the DataLink (these have a red LED), and I have been able to double the download speed without adding any additional cost.

You can purchase a kit version of the DataLink, if you want. This is documented on the website (by clicking on the BUILD-IT button). Also, there is a protocol specification available on the website for people who want to write their own PC software (like Piratero did). These are only optional, though. I have found that most people want to buy the completed (and tested) device, which they can immediately plug in and begin using.

When making the DataLink, I had the following priorities:
1) Ease of use
2) Reliable (with error-checking)
3) Lowest possible cost
I feel that these goals have been achieved.

Charles made his USB device about a year after I began selling the DataLink. We have had a few friendly emails back and forth discussing the USB devices. He is a nice guy. Charles' USB device is only available by using his plans and building it yourself. It is also more expensive than the DataLink. I think it is a bit faster than the DataLink, though. I'm not sure if you have to write your own software for his device.

I hope that clears up any confusion. I will be making another batch of DataLinks soon if anyone's interested. They can be purchased at http://www.GamingEnterprisesInc.com

 

I purchased one of these a few years back, and it worked nicely for Saturn homebrew.

I'm not aware of any built-in piracy features.

 

Just to let everyone know, I have recently completed a Bluetooth version of the DataLink. The advantage is that you do not need usb cables connecting to a PC, and your PC can be a bit further away from the Saturn. If anyone's interested, I have updated my webpage with some additional info.
http://www.gamingenterprisesinc.com/DataLink/

 

I always wondered if using this one can use the tools that were available at the time to hack and debug cheats like we could long ago or is it only for save transfers and homebrew?

 

15+ years old tools from Datel/etc where designed for parallel port only, and since USB dev cart uses a completely different way of exchanging data, theses tools won't work.

 

Well I'm sure they can be rewritten or adapted and I figured there was/is no support for the cheat making and debugging because there was no software for it. If something software wise were available for this device I'd pick one up and quite a few other cheat code makers I know will as well.

 

For sure, theses tools can be rewritten ... if somebody has enough time, knowledge, HP to code them.
Is there a lot of people here wanting for such a tool ?