Cheap Slot-2 Flashcart?

[AnonymousUser98]

I want a slot 2 flashcart for my DS Lite, but the only one available is the EZ-Flash Omega, which is way too expensive. I want one for $40 CAD or less, and I don't see why I can't get a cheap one since the EZ-Flash V 3in1 was an amazing cheap option. The only GBA flashcart I can find anywhere online is the Omega, and there are literally no alternatives. Where can I find a slot 2 flashcart for less than $40 CAD?

 

[SylverReZ]

Save up for an EZ-Flash Omega DE, it's better than most of the cheap alternatives. AliExpress or the recommended vendors on EZ-Flash's website will have them.

 

[Blythe93]

Supercard. maybe? You can flash SCFW onto it to make it a bit better? That's the only cheap one that I can think of.

EZ-Flash Omega's definitely worth the price based on the features it offers, plus it comes with the case specific for the DS Lite Slot 2 that fits in nicely. I personally have the Definitive Edition and it's really amazing. Trust your fellow Toad.

 

[Kwyjor]

I want one for $40 CAD or less, and I don't see why I can't get a cheap one since the EZ-Flash V 3in1 was an amazing cheap option.

So, you can't find anyone selling an EZ-Flash V anymore..? Or an EZ-Flash IV?

Seems some people like to buy a GBxCart and reflashable carts, which might be fine if you're not switching games very frequently. Or you can even use that "Burn2Slot" program, apparently?
https://gbatemp.net/threads/anyone-has-a-gbflash-or-a-gbxcart-and-a-ds.667152/

 

[SylverReZ]

Seems some people like to buy a GBxCart and reflashable carts, which might be fine if you're not switching games very frequently. Or you can even use that "Burn2Slot" program, apparently?
https://gbatemp.net/threads/anyone-has-a-gbflash-or-a-gbxcart-and-a-ds.667152/

The only downside to the AliExpress re-flashable bootleg carts is that you cannot fit multiple games unless you buy the specific multi-in-1 carts that use a special mapper.

 

[Ryccardo]

[...] there are literally no alternatives. Where can I find a slot 2 flashcart for less than $40 CAD?

The Supercard has long been the cheapass GBA flashcard (if not nearly the only for a few years as the world ran out of 3in1's in quantity), and it's probably still available from the usual Chinese ecommerces, but it's cheap for multiple well deserved reasons - you can polish a turd but it still remains a turd

Yes the price of the Omega has climbed a bit compared to when I bought it (2017? about half a year after launch) but it's still under 50 € on Aliexpress, that's barely more than the full official price of 1 original game and frankly cheap flashcards is a historical aberration caused by the... "revolution for DS" and confined to that console (in fact, only for most-but-not-all Slot-1 cards), I remember the time around 2014 you're thinking of (when you could get a cheap 3in1 as long as it was the Lite), but that too was a discontinued product on clearance despite having basically no direct competition

 

[AnonymousUser98]

The Supercard has long been the cheapass GBA flashcard (if not nearly the only for a few years as the world ran out of 3in1's in quantity), and it's probably still available from the usual Chinese ecommerces, but it's cheap for multiple well deserved reasons - you can polish a turd but it still remains a turd

Yes the price of the Omega has climbed a bit compared to when I bought it (2017? about half a year after launch) but it's still under 50 € on Aliexpress, that's barely more than the full official price of 1 original game and frankly cheap flashcards is a historical aberration caused by the... "revolution for DS" and confined to that console (in fact, only for most-but-not-all Slot-1 cards), I remember the time around 2014 you're thinking of (when you could get a cheap 3in1 as long as it was the Lite), but that too was a discontinued product on clearance despite having basically no direct competition

They discontinued the 3in1 because a chip that it contained was discontinued. But it's such a great price!!! Why can't they just find an alternative chip? I want a slot 2 flashcart for that same great price as the 3in1.

 

[saulin]

Repro carts are cheap and re-writeable if you already have a Flasher but they only hold a game a time and you need to patch your roms to save, you could get the 369-in-1 cart too, that one can hold a few games but you still need to patch your games to save.

 

[AnonymousUser98]

Repro carts are cheap and re-writeable if you already have a Flasher but they only hold a game a time and you need to patch your roms to save, you could get the 369-in-1 cart too, that one can hold a few games but you still need to patch your games to save.

No, I want a flashcart that loads games from a slot 1 flashcart.

 

[saulin]

No, I want a flashcart that loads games from a slot 1 flashcart.

The cheapest is the Supercard and all the reviews say it sucks but I mean there is a custom firmware that might make it not suck maybe

 

[Deleted member 702243]

No, I want a flashcart that loads games from a slot 1 flashcart.

so you want something that isn't made or sold anymore. got it. this thread serves no purpose if you can't accept that though

you can look for one on secondhand market but it won't be cheap

your other option is rewritable single-game flashcarts. it's that or nothing for your price range. if you don't like it then I promise you an alternative isnt going to magically appear

 

[AnonymousUser98]

so you want something that isn't made or sold anymore. got it. this thread serves no purpose if you can't accept that though

you can look for one on secondhand market but it won't be cheap

your other option is rewritable single-game flashcarts. it's that or nothing for your price range. if you don't like it then I promise you an alternative isnt going to magically appear

Why don't they make them anymore?

 

[Blythe93]

Why don't they make them anymore?

Probably in favor of EZ-Flash Omega, both regular and Definitive Edition. I think I've purchased my DE for 40 USD or something during a certain sale on AliExpress, which for me was a decent price considering all the features you gain with it.

 

[BETA215]

Why don't they make them anymore?

You have to ask the manufacturers. We are simple users like you.

 

[AnonymousUser98]

You have to ask the manufacturers. We are simple users like you.

The specific EZ-Flash 3in1 was discontinued due to a chip it contained getting discontinued. I'm asking why they don't make any new flashcarts that work in a similar way.

 

[lwiz]

The specific EZ-Flash 3in1 was discontinued due to a chip it contained getting discontinued. I'm asking why they don't make any new flashcarts that work in a similar way.

Supply and demand, basically. GBA flashcart market isn't that lucrative in this day and age.

 

[AnonymousUser98]

Supply and demand, basically. GBA flashcart market isn't that lucrative in this day and age.

How could I make a slot 2 flashcart that works like the EZ-Flash V 3in1?

 

[Ryccardo]

How could I make a slot 2 flashcart that works like the EZ-Flash V 3in1?

According to the AI of the day a 3in1 is made of:

• PSRAM (fast temporary GBA program storage and DS ram expansion)
• NOR (long-term GBA program storage)
• SRAM (GBA save/memory expansion) and battery for it
• Vibrator (DC motor)
• FPGA or equivalent, that provides glue logic (switches those parts according to user's choice)
• Other glue logic such as (possibly) a transistor powering the motor

So basically you would need:

• Those parts or functional equivalents (note that the GBA bus is actually faster than Slot-1, this is why even a basic externally programmed flashcard was expensive when the GBA was hot stuff, and why the Supercard and G6 and ... suck at GBA mode)
• Ability to design a PCB that appropriately connects those parts to a GBA connector (you can get away with making it larger but of course it would look crappy), which will probably require at least a bit of expertise in high frequency parallel buses
• Ability to write a firmware for the FPGA to make it work, and preferably to make it command-compatible with a real 3in1 so that it will work in existing programs like Exploader, Wood, MoonShell, DSLinux
• Ability to solder said stuff together (at least some of the original parts are BGA, and I bet that if you were to only choose from whatever's currently in production for the foreseeable future you'll have more of them)
• MONEY!!! Small/personal scale electronics manufacturing is more financially and logistically accessible than ever but you will still pay a huge premium on ordering single parts compared to a genuine 3in1 which was made by the 1000s at least

 

[Deleted member 702243]

bro refuses to just accept that what he wants doesn't exist that he thinks he could just make his own instead for the same budget

single game rewriteable flashcarts are literally the option for this price point and I don't understand why op refuses that option and insists on ezflash 3in1

3in1 sucks too, the battery runs out eventually and then it doesn't hold saves anymore without taking it apart and having to de/solder to replace the battery. single game flashcarts you can just have batteryless saves, it strictly works better than the 3in1 ever did

 

[Tofu_mommy]

I've been able to score some cheap flashcarts (~$10 US) at local retro markets, maybe you have something of that sort locally too. I scored a supercard and an Ez-Flash IV for my collection for that price each, and also got a nice older r4i-sdhc.com card which is my main slot 1 card for moving my games between DSes.