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FANATIC Cart Dumper [2024] |
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Released by :
Raf
Release Date :
15 August 2024
Type :
C64 Tool
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Credits :
Download :
Look for downloads on external sites:
Pokefinder.org
Summary
Submitted by Raf on 15 August 2024
This is dumper for "FANATIC" branded cartridges from FANATIC COMPUTER STUDIO ran presumably by ROBERT JAREMCZAK, author of hardware and code around 1993-1994 in Legnica, Poland.
Short story of my dumping attempt starting in 2023:
Beside clones and hacks of BLACK BOX cartridges FANATIC released 64-128 kilobytes game and game+utility cartridges, at least seven 64k game sets and at least one 128k with utils (EXTRA PACK: turbo tape, head fit, simple computer test, games).
Game Pack #7 was lying for years in my drawer.
My personal goal was to dump ROM of GAME PACK VII without disassembling it and... it's still intact :) I managed to dump first bank sometime in 2023 and it allowed me to debug it under VICE (startup bank was always exposed on reset and runnable as generic 8k cart) and
see what is gone on DE00 and DF00. It was clear there is counter or shift register (much different to magic desk or C64GS) switching banks, but at that time I didn't write succesful dumper nor reveal banking scheme.
Meantime recently I've aquired another cartridge accidentally (bought a C64 and it was just included) in very bad shape, w/o case, and it turned out to be another very rare FANATIC cart (GAME PACK I, no info on that on internet!)
working flawlessy despite no cover on ROM, oxidation and very bad quality of PCB, but most important: I've got view on chips. Cartridge contains only ROM, one chip (double counter TTL) and one transistor.
The transistor is simply a single logic gate - it is used to negate the /RESET signal (74393 is reset with a high state).
One 4-bit counter goes to A16/A15/A14/A13, which is used to select the 8k bank (PCB wiring limits capacity to 128k albeit I'm pretty sure it's not actual limit with one TTL)
and the second one definitely goes to /EXROM (which is the visibility of the ROM memory in the address space).
Performing any operation on DExx or DFxx increments one or the other counter respectively.
the GAME PACK cartridge still has place for the second TTL but I did not try to analyze what it can do additionally with it, it is connected to fi2
in fact, on this second counter the 3rd bit is connected to /EXROM, i.e. if you count to 8, EXROM line goes "1" and the cartridge 'disappears' from bus.
I guess these lower bits can also be used as additional addy bus, i.e. effectively get half meg ROM on just one TTL chip and one transistor or 1MB if you use 16k banks, or maybe even more if you move that 3rd bit to 4th, brilliant!
Because there is no support for such cartridge in VICE or at least I'm not aware of a match, on 15 August 2024 I managed to successfully alter previoously decompiled menu of GMAE PACK from the cartridge 0-bank
to work with a different type of cartridge, so the ROM dump (with CBM80 signature removed and menu loaded separately) of Fanatic mounted as Magic Desk is working 100% successfuly, so exact clones can be safely made and assembling MD-converted ROM image is also possible.
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How to use DUMP UTILITY?
You need a way to bypass cartridge startup (Read Markus Brenner's detailed dumping manual), briefly:
you can do that with KERNAL ROM replacement like EXOS, covering contacts on cartridge, adding switches to computer or using cart port expander with switches.
You load my utility, enable cart ROM visility, RUN. Chunk name will be printed on screen, On device #8 (any IEC drive/emulator/sd2iec with 128 kilobytes free) you get 16 8k chunks of ROM,
If cartridge is less than 128k there will be duplicates, check that after dumping. On SD2IEC files are pure BIN but beware of 2-byte load address when transferred from 1541 (PRG file effectively).
TIP:
COPY /B FANA000 + [remaining files here] + FANA015 Result.bin
will make you onefiled dump.
if any problem is spotted feel free to contant me.
==========
Raf/Vulture Design 15.8.2024
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