Hacking DEAD [Shutdown]DragonInjector - Game Cart Payload Injector (Trinket M0 Clone)

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Gedi223

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That is indeed the case. Unfortunately I've been neglecting this thread as most news has either been relatively small or developing, and I prefer to post large updates here. In addition to that I've needed to work overtime at my day job to meet out current workload, which leaves precious little time to work on the project. Sorry everyone for the lack of updates here! :(

I will be posting a big update late next week or early the week after when the latest board revision arrives from the fab. There's been a lot of developments since my last big post here, and I'm now on Revision 11 of the design. Until that time, here are some key points and changes:

- The supercaps are out. They were able to manage one injection at best and had a standby time of less than half an hour, even when doubled up in series and charged with a special $5 charge-pump IC. The short of why this is the case seems that the reported capacitance (0.22F in this case) is only valid at a certain current draw, which is not mentioned on the datasheet. Documentation on this behavior is pretty sparse at best. While I still can't find any numbers for the caps I used, a similar cap from Elna touts a maximum discharge current of 0.05mA. The project draws 10mA, which breaks down the stored charge almost immediately.

- Return of the button cell! The project is now powered by a CR1216. It will not come with one so it can make it through customs, but they are common and inexpensive. Obviously, these aren't rechargeable. Some time in the future I'll look at a LiPo version of the DragonInjector, but it would be very difficult to ship I believe. That said, @stuckpixel on the Discord has found a way to control power of the gamecard slot which means I could now utilize it for charging as was originally intended! It wouldn't be for a few months at the earliest I could work on a LiPo version though, and the 200815 battery I'd need to use is rather expensive, so the cost would be about $20 more than the current version if it's possible to make.

- Injection count! I tested 250 injections out of a single CR1216 with a modified Trinket M0, and the voltage barely dropped 0.1V. It took a few hours of touching wires together over and over and after 250 I ran out of power before the battery did. :rofl: I expect the final injection count per battery will be a good deal higher than that and I'll be testing that as soon as the newest prototype is soldered up!

- Colors! I will now be offering both green and black DragonInjectors at launch, with Blue, Yellow, Red and Clear to follow if there's enough demand. The sticker and the PCB color will match the case color.

- Kickstand! I haven't posted anything about it here, but about a month and a half ago I designed a kickstand (I named it the DragonKicker, surprise surprise) that can store 3 MicroSD cards at a time, and uses a magnet to keep it closed. This was a request in the discord as many had noticed after lots of use the stock kickstand didn't stay in place any longer, and the Nyko MicroSD-holding kickstand has some usability issues. It's thicker than the stock kickstand, but just thin enough the Switch will still fit in the dock. They will be going on sale for $5 alongside the DragonInjector, or for a little cheaper if you end up wanting both. I'll make a separate post for the kickstand at that time.

I'm probably forgetting something, but it's late and I need sleep. Attached are renders of the latest design in black, as well as some renders and pictures of the DragonKicker. As always they are high res at source!

Thanks again everyone for all the support! :)

View attachment 149681 View attachment 149682 View attachment 149683 View attachment 149684 View attachment 149685 View attachment 149686 View attachment 149687 View attachment 149688 View attachment 149689



Please, just take my money already. I’ve got a day one switch that the kickstand is horrible on. I’ve tried replacement stands and even the nyko one. I’ll definitely will want at least two dragoninjectors and two kickstands when available.

Will the kickstand come in dild...uh, I mean, skin color
 

MatinatorX

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are we ready yet for buying ?

Still waiting for the new PCBs, I guess shipping is kind of a mess right now with the holidays.

Once the prototype works and I have some good feedback from testers, I'll start taking orders. Shouldn't be more than 2-3 weeks from now.
 

guaycuru

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The link to the discord is invalid (maybe expired), could you update it please?
Awesome idea by the way, looking forward to buying it!
 

MatinatorX

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The link to the discord is invalid (maybe expired), could you update it please?
Awesome idea by the way, looking forward to buying it!

That's weird, I just created a new one a few days ago due to the same issue being reported. They both had exactly 101 uses before dying, but I'd set the number of uses to unlimited...

Anyways, I created a new one and updated the OP and my sig. Hopefully it keeps working this time!

In other news, the DHL fairy finally visited today! :lol: Expect more news soon:

20181130_162730.jpg 20181130_162745.jpg
 

Triptamine

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Good to hear things are progressing smoothly! If only nintendo put this much effort into QA we would have better exfat drivers.
 
D

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i am sorry i skipped all the pages and have no clue on your updates
have you made a site for pre-orders, support or Donation, Etc

id love to have 2 of these when you finally Produce it, thanks
 

Mouser X

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i am sorry i skipped all the pages and have no clue on your updates
have you made a site for pre-orders, support or Donation, Etc

id love to have 2 of these when you finally Produce it, thanks
Nope, he's still working on it. He encountered numerous issues during the development process, and has now redesigned the board to use a battery. He just received the parts (see above) to build and test the most recent iteration. Hopefully we'll hear more soon. His first 10 'beta testers' then need to receive their units, and report back. Then he'll open up the sales. Mouser X over and out.
 
D

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Nope, he's still working on it. He encountered numerous issues during the development process, and has now redesigned the board to use a battery. He just received the parts (see above) to build and test the most recent iteration. Hopefully we'll hear more soon. His first 10 'beta testers' then need to receive their units, and report back. Then he'll open up the sales. Mouser X over and out.

Thanks, i went to his Discord and read everything

i hope he manages to complete
 

MatinatorX

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Any news about this?

Some news - no release yet unfortunately. In my testing today with the latest boards everything worked except the auto power-on. I had to move the transistor to the ground side of the power circuit to get it to work, which of course required ugly greenwires and the like. I seem to have forgotten transistors 101 and used the same source for the base and the collector. The PCB layout has already been fixed and the new revision was sent off about an hour ago for manufacturing. In the meantime, I'll be using the frankenjector I built today to get the firmware stuff out of the way. I'm also going to try and get the box art done for the case before the new boards arrive. The game-cart enclosure is already complete and works great. There are pictures in the Discord.

In other news, I've decided to make a part-picker and reheat oven my Christmas gifts to myself, which I'll be ordering this Thursday and will theoretically arrive a week after. With those, I should be able to get 100-200 DragonInjectors put together, tested and shipped per week. (But even if there was no DragonInjector I'd still buy them for my other projects!)

Believe me, I wish I was telling you all today that the prototype is complete and testers were going out. I have friends and coworkers asking me every day when they can buy one, and of course I want one for myself! Day job has kept me very busy as well which hasn't helped. In any case, my goal is to get this project out of development before the new year.
 
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Manurocker95

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Some news - no release yet unfortunately. In my testing today with the latest boards everything worked except the auto power-on. I had to move the transistor to the ground side of the power circuit to get it to work, which of course required ugly greenwires and the like. I seem to have forgotten transistors 101 and used the same source for the base and the collector. The PCB layout has already been fixed and the new revision was sent off about an hour ago for manufacturing. In the meantime, I'll be using the frankenjector I built today to get the firmware stuff out of the way. I'm also going to try and get the box art done for the case before the new boards arrive. The game-cart enclosure is already complete and works great. There are pictures in the Discord.

In other news, I've decided to make a part-picker and reheat oven my Christmas gifts to myself, which I'll be ordering this Thursday and will theoretically arrive a week after. With those, I should be able to get 100-200 DragonInjectors put together, tested and shipped per week. (But even if there was no DragonInjector I'd still buy them for my other projects!)

Believe me, I wish I was telling you all today that the prototype is complete and testers were going out. I have friends and coworkers asking me every day when they can buy one, and of course I want one for myself! Day job has kept me very busy as well which hasn't helped. In any case, my goal is to get this project out of development before the new year.

Don't worry! We are all hyped about this. How much will it cost (approx)? Will we be able to change the CFW easily by connecting to the PC or something? Nice work, btw :D
 

Mouser X

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I got one noob question, will that effect out game card reader version, will it be updated ?
This injector fits inside your Switch's cart slot, but does not at all interact with it. For example, when buying blank, burnable CDs or DVDs, the stack comes with 1 or 2 clear discs (not a CD or DVD. Just a clear, round, plate/disc of plastic). If you put that clear disc into your drive, your PC will still register your drive as empty. Yes, the clear disc is the same size and shape as a CD/DVD (just as this injector is the same size and shape as a Switch cart), but it's not a CD/DVD (and this injector is not a Switch cart).

So, no. There is, currently, no possible way for this injector to effect/update/modify/damage your cartridge slot. Later revisions of this injector, down the road, might, one day, pull current/power from the cart slot, but that's a long way off, and a big if. The most recent versions of this injector don't even use the metal contacts of the cartridge/game pak at all. They're just there for asthetic purposes (in other words, the additional [and not connected] metal contact points are there just to make it look pretty). Mouser X over and out.
 

OrGoN3

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Some news - no release yet unfortunately. In my testing today with the latest boards everything worked except the auto power-on. I had to move the transistor to the ground side of the power circuit to get it to work, which of course required ugly greenwires and the like. I seem to have forgotten transistors 101 and used the same source for the base and the collector. The PCB layout has already been fixed and the new revision was sent off about an hour ago for manufacturing. In the meantime, I'll be using the frankenjector I built today to get the firmware stuff out of the way. I'm also going to try and get the box art done for the case before the new boards arrive. The game-cart enclosure is already complete and works great. There are pictures in the Discord.

In other news, I've decided to make a part-picker and reheat oven my Christmas gifts to myself, which I'll be ordering this Thursday and will theoretically arrive a week after. With those, I should be able to get 100-200 DragonInjectors put together, tested and shipped per week. (But even if there was no DragonInjector I'd still buy them for my other projects!)

Believe me, I wish I was telling you all today that the prototype is complete and testers were going out. I have friends and coworkers asking me every day when they can buy one, and of course I want one for myself! Day job has kept me very busy as well which hasn't helped. In any case, my goal is to get this project out of development before the new year.
What!? How DARE YOU have a life, and a day job!!!!!! Also, w000t!!! Merry Xmas to MatinatorX! Also, can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
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