Radica Genesis cartridge connection SUCCESS!!!!

Want to just shoot the breeze? Forum 42 is the place!

Moderator: Moderators

Post Reply
benheck
Site Admin
Posts: 1887
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 1969 6:00 pm
Location: Wisconsin - Land of Beer and Cheese and Beer
Contact:

Radica Genesis cartridge connection SUCCESS!!!!

Post by benheck »

Ha ha ha ha! I KNEW it would work!

Sure, it only took 4 hours of soldering, and a lot of that was to fix mistakes (such as wiring the cartridge slot in REVERSE - don't you just hate when that happens?) but I have successfully connected a cartridge slot to the Radica Sega Genesis thing. It has 20 address lines allowing you to use pretty much any Genesis game (I've tested some newer high-animation ones such as Earthworm Jim 2 and Batman & Robin, and they all work)

What I did was I found some Genesis cartridge ROM pinouts on the internet... a page with 3 different types (different ROM sizes) pinned-out. I then marked off the lines that were always the same (D0-D15 and A0-19) This left 2 pins on the Radica ROM unaccounted for. One is NC (no connection) so I assumed the other was A20. And it was. It was process of elimination and of course GUESSING.

The pinout drawing can be found in the Downloads page in the Videogames section of this site. I redrew the cartridge connector because the one posted on these forums started with A1 instead of A0, which is really confusing when everything else started with A0.

A photo of the rewired Radica can be seen on the main News page.

The Radica appears to run off 3.2 volts. 5 are apparently NOT required to run the cartridge. The unit draws a WHOPPING 65mA off 4 AA's.

Enjoy!
gannon
Moderator
Posts: 6974
Joined: Sun Apr 04, 2004 4:48 pm
Location: Near that one big lake
Contact:

Post by gannon »

woohoo!!! I'm getting a genesis tomorrow too, so I think I might get a radica and try this out :)
JackFrost22
Sir Posts-alot
Posts: 4186
Joined: Fri Jun 04, 2004 4:10 pm

Post by JackFrost22 »

Going to the mall on thursday I know what Im buying
goodie
Posts: 824
Joined: Mon Oct 11, 2004 1:02 pm

Post by goodie »

YAY!! I think I know what my next project will be now....
mnbvcxzlkjhgfdsapoiuytrewq
JackFrost22
Sir Posts-alot
Posts: 4186
Joined: Fri Jun 04, 2004 4:10 pm

Post by JackFrost22 »

I gotta wait till January :( Wait Ill try to beat Ben but mine will look really crappy :)
benheck
Site Admin
Posts: 1887
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 1969 6:00 pm
Location: Wisconsin - Land of Beer and Cheese and Beer
Contact:

Post by benheck »

Updated: Games that work (Testing all Genesis cartridges I own)

Space Harrier 2: Yes
Gunstar Heroes: No
Alien Storm: Yes
Quakshot (Starring Donald Duck): Yes
Batman & Robin: Yes
Golden Axe: Yes
Awesome Possum: Unfortunately YES
Ghouls and Ghosts: No
Sonic 3: No
Sonic 2: Yes
Sonic 1: Yes
Afterburner 2: No
Super Thunder Blade: Yes (The arcade of that was AWESOME! Like a possum)
Virtua Fighter 2: Yes (Yes, it exists for the Genesis. And yes, it sucks)
EA games: Don't know, the carts don't quite fit onto the slot and I'm too lazy to shave more off the slot today.
Air Buster: Yes (Another cool arcade game)
Aladdin: Starts up but freezes after the Genie shoot Iago (you know, the Gilbert Godfried parrot)
Vectorman: Yes
Earthworm Jim 2: Yes
Castlevania Bloodlines: Yes (That game had some COOL FX!)

that's all I have. If some of you wire this up more can be tested.
JackFrost22
Sir Posts-alot
Posts: 4186
Joined: Fri Jun 04, 2004 4:10 pm

Post by JackFrost22 »

Wait 65mah come on with a pocket tv led mod thats like hm........... 300mah :shock:
goodie
Posts: 824
Joined: Mon Oct 11, 2004 1:02 pm

Post by goodie »

No Sonic 3? :cry:
mnbvcxzlkjhgfdsapoiuytrewq
gannon
Moderator
Posts: 6974
Joined: Sun Apr 04, 2004 4:48 pm
Location: Near that one big lake
Contact:

Post by gannon »

hmm... If I remember right, the Genesis 3 had a similar compatability list.
MM007
Moderator
Posts: 1175
Joined: Mon Apr 05, 2004 6:01 pm
Location: In the wilds of suburbia...

Post by MM007 »

any idea of how to get Sonic 3 to work with it?
Warranty-Voiding fun!

Image
Sparkfist
Forum Administrator
Posts: 6754
Joined: Tue Apr 20, 2004 7:12 am
Location: Michigan

Post by Sparkfist »

Thats great to hear. I guess thats something I can look at when I'm done with the NESp I'm working on.

Ben you've redemed yourself.
vskid wrote:Nerd = likes school, does all their homework, dies if they don't get 100% on every assignment
Geek = likes technology, dies if the power goes out and his UPS dies too

I am a geek.
gannon
Moderator
Posts: 6974
Joined: Sun Apr 04, 2004 4:48 pm
Location: Near that one big lake
Contact:

Post by gannon »

Well, odds are that sonic 3 requires more hardware than what was put into the radica. I think that's the reason it doesn't work on the Genesis rev. 3 too
JackFrost22
Sir Posts-alot
Posts: 4186
Joined: Fri Jun 04, 2004 4:10 pm

Post by JackFrost22 »

Whoa you dont have MORTAL KOMBAT :shock: Do you guys think it would be bad to destroy a genny 2 i the name of progress?
shelter pitfall
Posts: 318
Joined: Sat Jul 10, 2004 5:20 pm
Contact:

Post by shelter pitfall »

segasonicfan, see if megadrive(J) games work.. (cotton?)
wow... thats cool.
I'm going to try that after my wizdom teeth get pulled.
where can I get the cart slot?
JackFrost22
Sir Posts-alot
Posts: 4186
Joined: Fri Jun 04, 2004 4:10 pm

Post by JackFrost22 »

Post Reply