How to put a PC Engine / TurboGrafx switch in your TurboGrafx ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ By Karl Stenerud (mock@res.com) 29-Jun-96 Modified by Earnest Rymer (rymerel@valleyint.com) 12-Feb-2000 This document must be viewed in a monospaced font, 80 column format. DISCLAIMER: ~~~~~~~~~~ I take no responsibility for any damages incurred through the use of this document or its contents. Use at your own risk. MAKE SURE YOU READ THE ENTIRE DOCUMENT THROUGH BEFORE STARTING! YOU WILL BE ALTERING CONNECTIONS WITHIN YOUR MACHINE! INTRODUCTION: ~~~~~~~~~~~~ A few years ago, a friend of mine gave me his PC Engine. I soon became obsessed with the thing and gradually acquired a Turbo Duo and a TurboExpress (as well as tonnes of games). The only problem was that all my games were the Japanese HuCards, which didn't work in the American systems without some sort of converter unit, which I promptly bought. I soon learned to hate the thing since it would crash my game at the slightest nudge of the game converter (Very annoying since I liked to use my Turbo Express). I soon became so frustrated that I took apart the game converter, found out what it did, and made a switch that would do it instead. MUCH BETTER! Anyway, if you hate the TV Game converter thingy for playing Japanese HuCards, and you know a little about electronics, this text is for you! THE THEORY: ~~~~~~~~~~ In order to play import games, eight leads from the HuCard to the console must be rerouted like this: /\ # # HuCard socket unit front of machine || # # (top view) # # ####### ####### ||||||| <- pins 10 20 30 38 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * | | | | | * | | | * * * * * * * * * * * * * * | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +-----|-|-+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +---|-+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +-+ | | | | | | | | X | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +-|-|---+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | +-|-|-|-----+ | | | | | | | | | | | | +-|-|-|-|-------+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +-|-|-|-|-|-------+ | | | | | | | | | +---|-|-|-|-|-----+ | | | | | | | | | +-----|-|-|-|-|---+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * | | | | | * | | | * * * * * * * * * * * * * * | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 10 20 30 38 * these pins go straight through pins: 16 -> 24 17 -> 23 18 -> 22 19 -> 20 -------- 20 -> 19 22 -> 18 23 -> 17 24 -> 16 The pin swapping is symmetrical. However, pin 21 is not rerouted. WHAT YOU NEED: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ - A TurboGrafx, Duo, or Express (duh!) - gamebit or equivalent - soldering iron and light-gauge solder - hacksaw blade / X-acto knife (for cutting notch in case) - wire cutters - 16-conductor ribbon cable - an eight-pole, double-throw switch - epoxy - other various tools (tweezers, toothpicks, you'll figure it out!) The switch should look something like this on the bottom: 1 2 3 4 \ 1 2 3 4 a b c a b c a b c a b c / a b c a b c a b c a b c ### ### ### ### \ ### ### ### ### / ### ### ### ### \ ### ### ### ### a b c a b c a b c a b c / a b c a b c a b c a b c 5 6 7 8 \ 5 6 7 8 / There are eight individual \ When you throw the switch, switches / eight contacts change the \ eight switches NOTE: This kind of switch is hard to find (Especially one small enough to fit in the Express). I found mine by using the part locator at www.e-switch.com. The part number is EG-8202. BEFORE YOU BEGIN: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1. Open up your machine. Unfortunately, your machine likely has some strange screws in it. Someone on the Turbo Mailing List said they know where to get the screw bits. You can make your own tool by cutting a notch in the end of a blade-type screwdriver with a hacksaw. 2. Locate the HuCard socket unit. 3. Find a nice place to put a switch. On the Express, I found that the best place is at the bottom of the machine, although I had to remove the COM port. Another list member went into the battery compartment. On the TurboGrafx, I mounted it on the right side of the machine. 4. Decide how much wire you'll need. You'll have 16 wires running from wherever you decide to put the switch to the HuCard socket in parallel. This is where ribbon cable comes in real handy. I just hacked up an old SCSI cable. 5. Test-fit everything first. I have found that it's better to do the case- cutting first, because your hands (and likely your brain!) will become fatigued from all the electronic work. This way, you'll be doing the cosmetic work when you are at your most patient. 6. I strongly suggest you find out where to get a replacement HuCard socket unit in case something goes wrong. LET'S HACK!: ~~~~~~~~~~~ 1. Get your switch and solder small pieces of insulated wire, crossing "a" on one switch and "c" on the opposite switch like so: 1 2 3 4 a b c a b c a b c a b c \ / \ / \ / \ / \/ \/ \/ \/ /\ /\ /\ /\ / \ / \ / \ / \ a b c a b c a b c a b c 5 6 7 8 NOTE: the crossing wires must NOT be connected to each other! *** STEP 2 IS THE POINT OF NO RETURN! *** 2. Desolder pins 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24 (NOT 21!) from the PC board (see above, "THE THEORY"). Straighten the pin out and cut it at a convenient length for you to solder on the new wiring. 3. Using the soldering iron and solder, connect the insulated wire from the switch to the pins of the HuCard socket unit like so: 1 2 3 4 a b c a b c a b c a b c 16l 16h 17l 17h 18l 18h 19l 19h 24l 24h 23l 23h 22l 22h 20l 20h a b c a b c a b c a b c 5 6 7 8 where "l" ("low") is on the PC board and "h" ("high") is on the pins of the HuCard socket unit. ie. terminal "b" of switch 1 connects to 16l, which is pin 16 on the PC board. terminal "c" of switch 1 connects to 16h, which is pin 16 on the HuCard socket. pins || \/ "high" -> ++--######## HuCard socket unit || ######## (side view) "low" -> ------------- /\ /\ /\ || || || pcboard 4. Connect all vital components and test the machine. I recommend giving everything a real good wiggle to ensure a proper connection. If something is going to pop off, you want it to happen now, and not after the epoxy's dry! 5. Mount the switch. I used epoxy, but you'd be surprised how well that blue tack stuff works in a pinch! I recommend scoring the surfaces of the switch and the TurboGrafx before gluing them. This will help the epoxy set. Congrats! You now have a PC Engine / TurboGrafx switch!