Hacking Advice: Simple (but good) Flashcart for a DS Lite?

[Slinger]

Update: I ended up getting a wood-running "dual-core". Actually I got it for free from qubtrash. It seems really good but I'll not have time to thoroughly test it for a while. Thanks everyone who replied!



Hi everyone! I originally posted this in RGF's kernel thread, but decided to create a new thread to avoid cluttering it. So... I've been lurking around GBAtemp on and off since the early days (before v2 I think?). I can't believe it's only now I create an actual account here! And that my first question would be such typical noob question.

I recently got hold of a cheap-ish DS lite (currently replacing the shell) and began looking for a suitable flashcart. I mainly want to try scummvm and snemulds/lolsnes, but good rom compatibility (and moonshell) would be nice as well. At first I was looking at getting a R4 (1:1 clone) and use wood, but old sd cards seem hard to find (and quite expensive). From what I can tell, this kernel on a dstt or a (sdhc) r4 clone might be a good fit.

To cut to the chase: I'm considering the following 4 cards:

* "R4-SDHC upgrade" (by r4i-sdhc.com): http://www.nds-card.com/ProShow.asp?ProID=143
* "DSTT" (by... cndstt.com?): http://www.nds-card.com/ProShow.asp?ProID=157
Both cards above cost about the same ($7.99) and - from what I can tell - at least the r4-sdhc seems to be supported (though not explicitly listed under the r4i-sdhc.com category any more). The cndstt on the other hand seems unusual... I assume the underlying hardware of both is quite similar. Is there some difference in hardware/firmware (affecting stability, compatibility) or similar? Would the r4-sdhc be the better choice?

* "R4i GOLD 3DS RTS" (by r4ids.cn): http://www.nds-card.com/ProShow.asp?ProID=149
Am I just going to regret not buying the r4i gold (or r4idsn) right away? It feels a bit overkill for my needs -I don't (and never will) need DSi or 3DS support, nor do I feel the need for RTS right now. I'm also not sure how much I will be using the DS. I got it because it was a good deal and I always wanted to try one. Compared to the mileage I've gotten out of my old EZF Advance and GBASP, I'm just not sure yet if I'll be using the DS enough to go for a more expensive cart. But I've heard the gold is good. If there would be some more selling-point for the gold for me as a simple DS user, I'd go for it.

* "R4 SDHC Dual-Core 2016" (by r4isdhc.com.cn): http://www.nds-card.com/ProShow.asp?ProID=507
This card was suggested to my by Sleet. Not much more expensive than the r4/dstt clones, but does run wood (1.62, modified?) and should not have firmware expiration. Seems like a viable option but I have not found any review of it. It lacks the RTS of gold, and got slightly older wood (1.62 vs 1.64). On the surface it seems like a good deal (like an upgraded original R4) but the unofficial wood and lack of adoption makes me feel I might regret buying it in the long run. If I don't care about RTS and 3DS, would I loose something over getting it instead of r4i gold? Rom compatibility? Missing features found only in wood 1.64? 1.62 and 1.64 seem not to differ so much. From what I can think of, future bugfixes seem unlikely for this card.

(nds-card.com - gotta support those who supports us, right? I'll order there unless some other store has an extremely good deal or I find something locally...)

I can't be the only one with this dilemma, and would really appreciate if people could share their thoughts on this. I'll be away for a few days so I wont be able to respond right away, but I hope this will spark some discussions in the meantime!

Have a nice day!

 

[Deleted member 387460]

Any cheap card should be perfectly fine, but since you're interested in SNES emulation, supercard dstwo is *snip* capable of the job. The other cards only work well with nes and gameboy

EDIT: untrue probably

 

[flashcardsimulator]

either get a supercard dstwo, or a acekard 2i. (or ak3i)
i have a acekard 2i, and it doesnt crash much (only 1 game crashes.)

 

[Swiftloke]

If you want to support the temp buy from nds-card.com

 

[Deleted member 386348]

Supercard DSTWO for emulation, however it drains your battery life like crazy.

 

[tbb043]

DSTWO is the best around, but not cheap. DSTT always worked fine for me, before I got a 3DS, which blocked it. The only other card I have any experience with is the blue card that came with Gateway, haven't used it much, seems fine other than having a physical contact problem (which can happen with lots of cards) works with the "paper" trick.

 

[Slinger]

Thanks everyone for the feedback!

Yes I know dstwo is the best. But the battery drain, and for that price I could probably get a psp instead (better screen for snes if I'm not mistaken). I got the ds because it was cheap and I've always wanted to try one, but I don't know yet how much I'll end up using it. If I know I'll be using it enough I'd buy the gold right away without hesitating. But it feels a bit overkill. At least I've been able to narrow it down a bit:

* RGF's ysmenu: The DSTT would be a better choice compared to r4-sdhc, but according to the irc channel: wood > ysmenu.
* WOOD: Either get the "R4 SDHC Dual-Core" which actually runs wood. Or the r4i gold.

So pretty much:

* R4 SDHC Dual-Core:
+ cheaper ($9)
+ runs recent wood, v1.62 (at least that's the claim, I've compared it in vbindiff to the other 1.62 binaries and they seems completely different)
- completely unknown
- no rts (unimportant for me)
? is there even anyone with experience of this card?!

or
* R4i gold:
+ well known
+ has rts (not important to me)
- more expensive ($17)

But the price is more of just a principle here. I'll let you know what I end up buying.


edit: my thinking so far: I'm open for the DSTT or R4i Gold as the lower and upper alternatives. And I'm leaning towards the "dual core" as something in between. I know it's a complete hit-or-miss/shot in the dark, but I'm interested in trying it out.

 

[qubtrash]

Thanks everyone for the feedback!

Yes I know dstwo is the best. But the battery drain, and for that price I could probably get a psp instead (better screen for snes if I'm not mistaken). I got the ds because it was cheap and I've always wanted to try one, but I don't know yet how much I'll end up using it. If I know I'll be using it enough I'd buy the gold right away without hesitating. But it feels a bit overkill. At least I've been able to narrow it down a bit:

* RGF's ysmenu: The DSTT would be a better choice compared to r4-sdhc, but according to the irc channel: wood > ysmenu.
* WOOD: Either get the "R4 SDHC Dual-Core" which actually runs wood. Or the r4i gold.

So pretty much:

* R4 SDHC Dual-Core:
+ cheaper ($9)
+ runs recent wood, v1.62 (at least that's the claim, I've compared it in vbindiff to the other 1.62 binaries and they seems completely different)
- completely unknown
- no rts (unimportant for me)
? is there even anyone with experience of this card?!

or
* R4i gold:
+ well known
+ has rts (not important to me)
- more expensive ($17)

But the price is more of just a principle here. I'll let you know what I end up buying.


edit: my thinking so far: I'm open for the DSTT or R4i Gold as the lower and upper alternatives. And I'm leaning towards the "dual core" as something in between. I know it's a complete hit-or-miss/shot in the dark, but I'm interested in trying it out.

Hi, if you are from Sweden i can send you one for free. R4i Dual Core 2016.
I ordered 20 pcs from China a while ago =) I got them for like 3.5 USD/Piece.
They work fine for me. Fast loading of games compared to my old R4 3DS.
They run wood 1.62 firmware from http://www.r4isdhc.hk/download_white_new2014/index.htm

Reply to [email protected] if you are interested...

 

[The Real Jdbye]

I vote for r4ids.cn R4i Gold because it has official Wood, good support from the team and it has RTS.
That "R4 SDHC Dual-Core 2016" is one of the carts with an expiry date on the kernel, once the kernel expires (which happens every 1-2 years or so) you have to wait for the team to release an "updated" one with just the expiry date changed, or change the time on the DS back. Once they stop releasing updates you will have no choice but to keep the date permanently changed back.

 

[qubtrash]

Ok, but if i set date to 2000-01-01 then i dont have to change in 16 years ? =)

Update: I tried changing date to 2018-01-01, card still works, 2020-01-01 works to.

 

[Slinger]

Hi, if you are from Sweden i can send you one for free. R4i Dual Core 2016.
I ordered 20 pcs from China a while ago =) I got them for like 3.5 USD/Piece.
They work fine for me. Fast loading of games compared to my old R4 3DS.
They run wood 1.62 firmware from http://www.r4isdhc.hk/download_white_new2014/index.htm

Reply to [email protected] if you are interested...

That's too kind of you. But in that case I insist I'll pay for it. Quite frankly any free deal makes me suspicious... Even if you just want to get rid of the cards, it'd still cost at least 7:- for the shipping (without a box).

Also, where did you find it so cheap? I've been scouring aliexpress looking for any cheap card for some experiments, but that price is almost unbelievable. Or do you happen to run some store and got more direct connections that way?

off topic: doing some searches on your nickname (sorry)... I know it's an old post (and different forum) but in case you're still wondering: busybox reads its invocation path and runs the suitable internal command based on it, so "ln -s /bin/busybox /bin/ls" will give you ls from busybox. Unfortunately this also means one can't easily name the symlink anything random, but at least the path doesn't seem to matter (it seems one can at least make a symlink in, say, /tmp/ls and have it run as ls).

I vote for r4ids.cn R4i Gold because it has official Wood, good support from the team and it has RTS.
That "R4 SDHC Dual-Core 2016" is one of the carts with an expiry date on the kernel, once the kernel expires (which happens every 1-2 years or so) you have to wait for the team to release an "updated" one with just the expiry date changed, or change the time on the DS back. Once they stop releasing updates you will have no choice but to keep the date permanently changed back.

You're probably thinking of the r4isdhc.com cards (without .com.cn or .uk tld). From what I've heard from Sleet (and also now qubtrash), this card doesn't have a time-bomb. But don't get me wrong, I really appreciate the input!

 

[The Real Jdbye]

That's too kind of you. But in that case I insist I'll pay for it. Quite frankly any free deal makes me suspicious... Even if you just want to get rid of the cards, it'd still cost at least 7:- for the shipping (without a box).

Also, where did you find it so cheap? I've been scouring aliexpress looking for any cheap card for some experiments, but that price is almost unbelievable. Or do you happen to run some store and got more direct connections that way?

off topic: doing some searches on your nickname (sorry)... I know it's an old post (and different forum) but in case you're still wondering: busybox reads its invocation path and runs the suitable internal command based on it, so "ln -s /bin/busybox /bin/ls" will give you ls from busybox. Unfortunately this also means one can't easily name the symlink anything random, but at least the path doesn't seem to matter (it seems one can at least make a symlink in, say, /tmp/ls and have it run as ls).


You're probably thinking of the r4isdhc.com cards (without .com.cn or .uk tld). From what I've heard from Sleet (and also now qubtrash), this card doesn't have a time-bomb. But don't get me wrong, I really appreciate the input!

As far as I know, all of the cards with a year printed on them have this. I know for sure it's not just limited to r4isdhc.com as there are carts from different websites (likely all by the same people) which have this problem. I can't say for sure if that particular one has it though.

 

[Sleet]

As far as I know, all of the cards with a year printed on them have this. I know for sure it's not just limited to r4isdhc.com as there are carts from different websites (likely all by the same people) which have this problem. I can't say for sure if that particular one has it though.

I did the testing myself, Dual Cores from r4isdhc.com.cn don't have this problem. Neither do Dual Cores from r4isdhc.in, which I believe are clones of the ones from r4isdhc.hk. I don't know about non-"dual core" ones from these teams.

All cards from r4isdhc.com do have the timebomb though.

 

[qubtrash]

That's too kind of you. But in that case I insist I'll pay for it. Quite frankly any free deal makes me suspicious... Even if you just want to get rid of the cards, it'd still cost at least 7:- for the shipping (without a box).

Also, where did you find it so cheap? I've been scouring aliexpress looking for any cheap card for some experiments, but that price is almost unbelievable. Or do you happen to run some store and got more direct connections that way?

off topic: doing some searches on your nickname (sorry)... I know it's an old post (and different forum) but in case you're still wondering: busybox reads its invocation path and runs the suitable internal command based on it, so "ln -s /bin/busybox /bin/ls" will give you ls from busybox. Unfortunately this also means one can't easily name the symlink anything random, but at least the path doesn't seem to matter (it seems one can at least make a symlink in, say, /tmp/ls and have it run as ls).

Oh my, that is an old thread you found... thanks for explaining anyway.

Regarding flash card. Sure, you can pay me the postage costs if you want. It will fit in a standard letter so one stamp should be enough.
I used this site to contact supplier: http://www.diytrade.com/china/pd/49...s_lite_r4igold_pro_r4_sdhc_3ds_fire_card.html
Just send an inquiry and wait for reply. But i suppose i was somewhat lucky ordering 20pcs. Think the minimum quantity is like 100pcs.
If they give you 5usd/piece it's still kind of cheap =)

But as i said, you get one for free if you want.
Where the f*ck do i find the button for private conversation???? I must be blind.

 

[Technicmaster0]

R4isdhc.com and r4i-sdhc.com are the same team, just different names/designs.
You should really go for the r4i gold 3ds rts (r4ids.cn). The wood kernel has by far the best compatibility and is much faster than the r4isdhc.com's os. It's really worth the few extra bucks.

 

[Red9419]

R4i Gold from r4ids.cn is the best in my opinion. The ui is not slow unlike others when scrolling, and every single game i have tried is working.

 

[Slinger]

Oh my, that is an old thread you found... thanks for explaining anyway.

Regarding flash card. Sure, you can pay me the postage costs if you want. It will fit in a standard letter so one stamp should be enough.
I used this site to contact supplier: http://www.diytrade.com/china/pd/49...s_lite_r4igold_pro_r4_sdhc_3ds_fire_card.html
Just send an inquiry and wait for reply. But i suppose i was somewhat lucky ordering 20pcs. Think the minimum quantity is like 100pcs.
If they give you 5usd/piece it's still kind of cheap =)

But as i said, you get one for free if you want.
Where the f*ck do i find the button for private conversation???? I must be blind.

I did not find a conversation button either (although I have received a message and replied to it). Maybe one needs to have certain number of posts, to prevent account abuse? I've sent an email anyway ("Zack").

And sorry about digging around, I just got curious of who turned up with such a good offer (and then I couldn't resist answering).


edit: also, thanks Technicmaster0 and Red9419 for the input! The gold seems the best option if I'll end up actually using the console. Right now I'm not sure how much I will, though.

update (10/07/2016): for anyone wondering, I've got good and bad news:
First of all, the cart. There are only good news here! qubtrash did send me one for free(!), and it does run wood (and got no expiration date). Now the bad news: trying to finish up the new case I managed to break the notorious em10. Completely the fault of the bad moulding of the case, not my fault at all... Also I got very little spare time right now (which caused me to hurry with the assembly... oh the irony), so I wont be able to try bypassing the em10 and finish this up for a while. Before the accident I did test aperture science ds and it runs perfectly. Unfortunately I did not try smurfs 2 to see if it really is running wood 1.62 (claims to be "1.72").

 

[Pokem]

I'm sorry for bumping this thread, but can the R4 Dual Core card you got go into sleep-mode without draining the battery?

 

[puszcza]

Hello,
I see you guys know much about Dual Core cards familly. I`ve got one from r4isdhc.com - 3.9b. It works with all gabes on my DS Lite and only have some problems with Atari, WonderSwan emulators.

1) Is possible on any software to save the brightness settings? It always started with maximum brightness. I`ve be glad if RTS option will be saved after changes/alterbative softare.
2) Some games have cheat option "brightness cheat for ds lite" but seems doesnt work wih this card. It is possible to fix?
3) Any way to change clock time font?