WTB: Super Magic Drive / Smart Bros / PSY-Q

Looking for hardware.....

Super Magic Drive 24Mbit for MD (Front Far East) - offer: GOT IT!
Super Magic Drive 32Mbit for MD (Front Far East) - offer: 300 USD
Magic Drive Plus 24Mbit for MD (China Coach Ltd) - offer: 200 USD
Magic Drive Plus 32Mbit for MD (China Coach Ltd) - offer: 250 USD
Smart Bros 32Mbit for MD/SFC (China Coach Ltd) - offer: 300 USD
Smart Bros 64Mbit for MD/SFC (China Coach Ltd) - offer: 350 USD
PSY-Q SCSI devcart for MD (Psygnosis 1994) - offer: 300 USD

Feel free to contact me by PM.

ConsoleFun

 

I don't believe the SMD ever had a 24m or 32m version. I own a 24m MD+, but I don't believe they ever made a larger one than that.

 

24M SMD do exist; so do 32M SMD+.

 

I've had a 24mbit SMD and SMD+ so those exist anyway... Heres a screen of the menu showing the mem:

http://www.nyn.dds.nl/SMD/SMDmenu.jpg
http://www.nyn.dds.nl/SMD/SMDplus_menu.jpg

 

Wow, I didn't know the SMDs went up that high. A 32m MD+ would be nice, my 24m has been running like a champ since the 16bit heyday.

 

Apparently 32m SMDs do exist, I just picked up a boxed unit w/floppy in a Genesis lot from a guy who thought it was a game saver device

 

I don't think so, in the last 6 years of collecting these things, I have never come across a 32M SMD, only SMD+ (which are made by CCL, not FFE.) Normal SMD don't have enough MUX to address that much DRAM; the 24M model has extra MUX on the DRAM daughter-board and slight PCB reworking; 32M DRAM boards don't have the MUX, they need the main logic to take care of it. Normal SMD do not, a 32M board will only be recognized as a 16M board since the most significant bit isn't addressed. I'm not saying it's not possible to have a 32M SMD, if they do exist they must be rare aftermarket pieces because it would take immense dedication for someone other than FFE to hack on 32M support. It would definately require more PCB reworking and probably additional logic or EPLD reprogramming (which is impossible for someone other than FFE)

 

Calpis, excellent info!!! That gave me something to think about I have updated my first post. Did you learn this from you own experience? Do you know if there are any sources on this kind of info now? I miss cherryroms

CF

n-y-n: Thanks for sharing your screenshots!
maks: Thanks for helping out. Do you need your 24Mbit now that you have a 32Mbit?? ;-)

 

Calpis, I'll let you know once I receive it. The picture he had kind of sucked, but it's definitely the old FFE SMD and he said the box said 32m. I've never seen a 32m one either. I rarely come across SMDs or MD+s, this is the first decently priced one that I've seen since I got my MD+ over 10 years ago. I'll be sure to follow up when I receive it.

CF--I'll probably still keep both

 

It's all empirical knowledge The only place to ever learn about copiers is themselves since most of their functionality can be guessed, derived or reverse engineered from the parts or software. Unfortunately I don't think there was ever a comprehensive place to gather information since most of the old information was biased and most people don't have access to many units.

If it does turn out to be 32M, please verify with Sonic 3 & Knuckles. If it works, please post a couple of PCB pics

 

Kyuusaku would be able to help with specifics on copiers ;-)

 

OK today I actually looked at a 24M SMD, and I was completely wrong about the MUX thing. The 24M board uses a different DRAM package and seems to need extra decoding, the extra chips are just 2:4 decoders. This is probably necessary because of the odd 24M size, it manually selects the DRAM. Looking through an assortment of FFE and CCL RAM boards, the early 16M boards are the ones that need extra MUX. Later revisions of 16M models can take the normal Magicom/Pro Fighter MUXless boards.

 

Here's two pics of it. The box just came, I've had less than 10 hours of sleep the previous 3 nights so I'm not going to fully test it.





Sorry for the blur, if anyone's interested I can take a better shot of the memory board.

The SMD even came w/original bag and instructions!

 

Very interesting! It uses the same board as the 24M model. Please post a shot of the bottom of the main PCB. Most likely the only difference is a EPLD upgrade which is unfortunate. I'll try to get 32M working on one of my junk SMDs.

 

Calpis, the bottom of the main PCB doesn't have anything on it except one jumper wire.

 

Alright, its no different than a 24M model it seems! That makes 3 incompatible models of SMD All one needs is the final EPLD (and 4.1-A BIOS) and you're set for all DRAM board revisions. I can program the EPLD but I do not have the fusemap or better yet source logic though so I cannot preform the 24M upgrade. The only way to get the fusemap would be to decap the chip and try to read out the bits with a electron microscope and reassemble it.

 

I'll try to plug the thing in tomorrow and let you guys know what the BIOS version is. I've gotta replace the battery as well. That white piece of paper in there was in there when I opened it, there is a similar piece under the battery as well.

 

Calpis, Maks, Kyuusaku, thanx for excellent posts!

So there seem to be three versions of FFE's SMD?

The early SMD800s:
- support 8Mbit boards
- support 16Mbit boards with MUX
- I got a board with a 74LS157 chip (2:1 MUX) - this is one of these?

The middle SMD800s:
- support normal Magicom/Pro Fighter boards with up to 16Mbit RAM

The late SMD800s:
- support the previous boards, as well as 24 and 32Mbit boards which use 2:4 decoders for chip selection

And it is possible to upgrade any model to the latest one by replacing the EPLD and BIOS with the latest versions?

CF

 

Exactly with the models, but 24M requires minor reworking, a track or two cut and a jumper. You can upgrade any model to 4.1-A BIOS but you cannot upgrade the EPLD because it cannot be read/copied with a programmer. Unfortunately since the unit has a EPLD instead of discrete PLD, they cannot be cracked/logically cloned either.

 

Do the different BIOS revs provide anything other than support for memory >16mbit? I still haven't tested this SMD, but hope to get around to it today.