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Hardware Eevitronics' EeviCart Pico - new DSpico board with built-in SD NAND

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Eevitronics (Jamie) has released a custom variant of the DSpico called the "EeviCart." Just like the Acekard R.P.G. with internal NAND storage, this flashcart has an "SD card on a chip," known as an "SD NAND," manufactured by MK. Comes in various capacities from 512 MBit (256 MB) to 8 GBit (1 GB) and in different shell colors. In order to transfer the kernel and/or games to the card, you will need GodMode9i installed on your DS(i) or 3DS system running custom firmware; a card reader is being worked on which can connect to your computer via USB, and is coming very soon. The aim of this variant of the DSpico is to allow homebrew developers to release their games in physical form—so much better than having a microSD card stuck out like a sore thumb. I think this is a very good idea. If you are interested, the price for this cartridge is $24.00 (USD) for 512MBit up to $29.00 (USD) for 8GBit.

https://www.eevitronics.jp/products/eevicart-pico

Images where credit is due.

CartBlack.jpg


PCBFront.jpg
PCBRear.jpg


Original description from the official website:​

The EeviCart Pico is an Eevitronics-designed variant of the original DSPico, based on the excellent open-source work by the LNH Team. This version is intended for homebrew developers, hardware tinkerers, and researchers who want DSPico functionality in a clean, retail-style cartridge PCB.

EeviCart Pico ships with custom Eevitronics-branded firmware and an Eevitronics splash screen preinstalled.

Key Features​

  • Fork of the original DSPico project (LNH Team)
  • Retail-style PCB layout designed by Eevitronics
  • Based on Raspberry Pi Pico (RP2040)
  • Compatible with DSPico firmware and launcher
  • Preloaded with Eevitronics splash screen
  • Designed for homebrew development and experimentation

Installing Your Own Homebrew​

This board ships ready-to-boot with the Eevitronics splash screen.

To install your own homebrew software, you will need one of the following:

  • A Nintendo DSi running GM9i
  • The EeviCart Reader (coming soon)
No consumer-friendly flashing interface is provided on this product.

Firmware Updates & Power Warning​

  • The board can be updated via the rear connection points (see diagram).
  • ⚠️ IMPORTANT: This board is 3.3V ONLY.
  • DO NOT connect 5V USB power directly to the cartridge.
  • Connecting 5V will permanently damage the board.

Compatibility Notes​

  • Simplified hardware design compared to the original DSPico
  • Fully compatible with DSPico firmware and launcher
  • Intended for development, testing, and research use
  • Not guaranteed to behave identically to original Nintendo cartridges

For Homebrew Developers​

EeviCart Pico is designed with the homebrew community in mind. Eevitronics plans to launch a developer-focused platform allowing creators to publish and distribute their own homebrew titles.

If you are a developer interested in small-batch or mass production of your own homebrew cartridge, please feel free to get in touch.

Support Policy​

  • No technical support is provided for flashing methods
  • No support for firmware modification or loading homebrew
  • This product is intended for experienced users only
 
Last edited by SylverReZ,
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This NAND looks very space-saving.
Perhaps a slot can be reserved on the PCB for installing additional hardware in the future.
 
Last edited by k66,
I actually really dig this. My only concern is that some enterprising scammer is going to use this design to make some fake "new" bootleg games. And flood them onto the market. You could make some convincing fake carts with this. Set the DS loader to the icon and info as the original game. Nothing you can do about DSi/3DS because it'll need WRFU but whatever. Then have some loader on the cart that boots directly into a game with pico-loader without a menu. You could make some fairly convincing fakes with this. Especially if they replaced the silkscreening on the PCB that's visible even with the shell on with the Nintendo equivalent. Oh, and a decent game label of course.
 
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I like it, but it feels like I should wait / something better might be coming in the future, as it's all still new.
I'd only want it for real roms, and this product is only truly meant for homebrew, not sure how well it will support pokemon games etc.
 
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cearp said:
I like it, but it feels like I should wait / something better might be coming in the future, as it's all still new.
I'd only want it for real roms, and this product is only truly meant for homebrew, not sure how well it will support pokemon games etc.
Click to expand...
Not just for homebrew, it can be still used as a regular DSpico cart for retail games, but I see what you mean. It is a new product after all, so I don't recommend anyone rush buying it expecting it to be better all around; it's the same as a regular DSpico which you can get for half the price, but the storage is compact and there's no microSD slot. It still requires a modified system to use it (for now).

tech3475 said:
Not against the concept, but $24 seems expensive when you see flash carts on aliexpress for a fraction of that, unless bulk purchasing really brings the cost down.
Click to expand...
I am not against the concept either, don't get me wrong. With inflation and tarriffs, you also have to consider import taxes and shipping. With what I bought it for, we're looking at $40.83 USD in total for both card + shipping, which is still expensive. I agree, that, the DSpico cartridges on AliExpress are cheaper, and are easy to upgrade.
 
Last edited by SylverReZ,
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About time we got a commercial version of the DSPico for those without the time and resources to build one by themselves.
It looks promising, but it still doesn't beat the good ol' R4 yet. When a clone with an SD card emerges, I might just consider getting one for myself.
 
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SylverReZ said:
True, but what do you expect from a cart like this?
Click to expand...
Not only "expect", but also "need" - this isn't meant for swapping contents out all of the time, it's meant for flashing a rom to it, right?
I don't think there's any roms that wouldn't fit (not sure, but confident guess), at least on the largest capacity they have, so no issues there.
Post automatically merged:

OM3GAZX said:
About time we got a commercial version of the DSPico for those without the time and resources to build one by themselves.
It looks promising, but it still doesn't beat the good ol' R4 yet. When a clone with an SD card emerges, I might just consider getting one for myself.
Click to expand...
They're already being sold on aliexpress. Or do you mean something else?
 
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cearp said:
This isn't meant for swapping contents out all of the time, it's meant for flashing a rom to it, right?
Click to expand...
You mean transferring something, right? And, that is, correct. Much like copying DS games to a flashcart via a microSD card, you do the same thing with the SD NAND, like an SD card. With how I see it works, is to, rename the ROM so that the DSpico launches the "boot file" as your ROM instead of Pico-Launcher.

Homebrew is small in size, so it wouldn't be a concern to fit the game you want on those.
 
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SylverReZ said:
You mean transferring something, right? And, that is, correct. Much like copying DS games to a flashcart via a microSD card, you do the same thing with the SD NAND, like an SD card. With how I see it works, is to, rename the ROM so that the DSpico launches the "boot file" as your ROM instead of Pico-Launcher.

Homebrew is small in size, so it wouldn't be a concern to fit the game you want on those.
Click to expand...
I didn't realize this was actually a flashcart that supported a working menu etc, I really just thought it was an opensource "cart" for repros based on the dspico hardware.
Maybe they're the same thing and I'm getting confused lol.
If using the regular dspico we can have a rom "autoboot", bypassing the menu, acting like a repro game, that's cool too.
 
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cearp said:
I didn't realize this was actually a flashcart that supported a working menu etc, I really just thought it was an opensource "cart" for repros based on the dspico hardware.
Maybe they're the same thing and I'm getting confused lol.
If using the regular dspico we can have a rom "autoboot", bypassing the menu, acting like a repro game, that's cool too.
Click to expand...
They are the same thing; it is based on the DSpico. You can flash the DSpico firmware onto the RP2040 chip, and it'll act the same as what you see on the market today. Of course, this flashcart doesn't come with DSpico firmware for legal reasons, so you will have to flash it yourself using the test points on the back.

Like any other flashcart, when you have the DSpico firmware flashed, it searches for a boot file to launch the kernel (in this case, the DSpico looks for "_picoboot.nds"). If you want to auto-boot the Pico-Launcher from the SD NAND to have a front-end menu, you can; and if you want a homebrew title to boot, there's that also, too. Correct me if I'm wrong.

The EeviCart, however, comes with its own firmware with a custom splash screen, but I'm not sure what the differences are over the DSpico firmware. The description doesn't state its firmware functionality; such as the boot process or if it's got a menu built in. If I ever get the chance to e-mail them or receive the product, then I'll do a follow-up. Like I stated previously, this is a new product, so I'll give this one a chance.
 
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SylverReZ said:
Homebrew is small in size, so it wouldn't be a concern to fit the game you want on those.
Click to expand...
That really depends on the use case.
A small homebrew like everlasting TH? No problem.
DSCraft? The base game and a few maps fit. But large maps have a size of 128MB: you could use a maximum of about 7 large maps with a 1GB card (which is probably sufficient but a limitation nonetheless).
A homebrew "movie cartridge"? 1GB is way too small

It's also sad that they look like the firmware is not flashable. Self-made DSi/3DS support and stuff like NTRBoot would be welcome additions
 
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SylverReZ said:
I'm not sure what the differences are over the DSpico firmware. The description doesn't state its firmware functionality; such as the boot process or if it's got a menu built in. If I ever get the chance to e-mail them or receive the product, then I'll do a follow-up. Like I stated previously, this is a new product, so I'll give this one a chance.
Click to expand...

When I asked them about it, they gave me this response which does clear things up:
The EeviCart Pico firmware is nearly identical to the DSPico firmware, the only change has been to customise the name. It does have the WRFUXXED exploit pre-installed so it can boot on unmodified DSi/3DS systems, but you will still need to copy your own ROM onto the cartridge.
Click to expand...
 
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1GB max, really? How much does a 32GB eMMC chip cost? Even the most bottom of the barrel smartphones that cost less than 100 bucks (and manage to include a SoC, GPS, RAM, wifi+bluetooth, gyro/accelerometer sensors, 2 cameras, screen, battery...) have 32 GB. I can't imagine 1 GB chips are even that much cheaper, because it's not like they're being mass produced anymore, and even fake SD cards/flash drives/SSDs have at least 8 GB and often more like 32-64GB.

This is exclusively useful for making repros/bootlegs and even for that it's too expensive.
 
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cearp said:
Not only "expect", but also "need" - this isn't meant for swapping contents out all of the time, it's meant for flashing a rom to it, right?
I don't think there's any roms that wouldn't fit (not sure, but confident guess), at least on the largest capacity they have, so no issues there.
Post automatically merged:


They're already being sold on aliexpress. Or do you mean something else?
Click to expand...
Pokemon games are already a no-go, they're 512MB ROMs and won't fit in the 256MB of space, even trimmed. So essentially useless for like 90% of DS owners. I'd rather see a DS clone of the DSPico with an SD slot and USB C port. But the SD slot on the side, not the top. I don't need to accidentally spring-fling that bitch out in front of me somewhere. :unsure:
 
The Real Jdbye said:
1GB max, really? How much does a 32GB eMMC chip cost? Even the most bottom of the barrel smartphones that cost less than 100 bucks have 32 GB. I can't imagine 1 GB chips are even that much cheaper, because it's not like they're being mass produced anymore, and even fake SD cards/flash drives/SSDs have at least 8 GB and often more like 32-64GB.

This is exclusively useful for making repros/bootlegs and even for that it's too expensive.
Click to expand...
Yes, it's not that cheap or even upgradable at that for the NAND chip. More useful for making repros but not something worth getting as a long term replacement flashcart. And speaking of how much it costs to get those SD NAND chips, the MKDV4GCL (4GBit) costs as little as $4.71, the RP2040 is $0.95. And what about the PCBs? Well it depends on the fabricator you order it from. My point, is that, you can make one for much cheaper for less than what is advertised. The low-cost might be because of the higher capacities, such as 32GB and 64GB on LCSC for the SD NAND, are more expensive than the low capacities, but still, there are better options out there.
 
Last edited by SylverReZ,
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cearp said:
Not only "expect", but also "need" - this isn't meant for swapping contents out all of the time, it's meant for flashing a rom to it, right?
I don't think there's any roms that wouldn't fit (not sure, but confident guess), at least on the largest capacity they have, so no issues there.
Post automatically merged:


They're already being sold on aliexpress. Or do you mean something else?
Click to expand...
It has a kernel. That means that you are theoretically able to use it like any flashcart and select games from a list, but for what purpose you would need that with a 1 GB limit, I am not sure. Seems that a basic flashcart with no menu would be cheaper to make and better suited for flashing a single ROM to anyway.
 
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