Troubleshooting SA1 clock

[kdawg8]

After many attempts to read Super Mario RPG with no luck, I loaded the clock calibration sketch and after connecting the two pins together in the SNES socket I'm getting 0 MHz. I've verified all of the solder joints are good and the cart reader works fine with all other cartridge types for SNES and other consoles. How can I troubleshoot the clock generator vs. the snesCIC as causing the issue? (I have a BK 390a multimeter which can measure frequency for troubleshooting) Thanks!

[sanni]

Release V6.1 had a bug where the clockgen could not initialize, please try V6.4.
I also updated the clkcalc sketch to support exFAT.

Clkcal sketch:

Set the config switches like this:

Then press one end of a jumper wire against SNES slot pin 43(A18/BA2) and the other end of the wire against one of the following pins and it should read those values:

• 3072000.00 Hz when connected to SNES slot pin 56(CIC Clock)
• 4000000.00 Hz when connected to SNES slot pin 1(EXT Clock)
• 1000000.00 Hz when connected to SNES slot pin 57(CPU Clock)

Also make sure the clock generator is installed with the parts side up.

If it still shows 0 Mhz in the clkcal sketch then the clock generator could be broken.

[kdawg8]

Connecting pin 43 to each of the 3 pins you indicated gives, after a brief transient, 0 MHz. I also connected pin 43 to the Arduino SCL pin to check that there weren't any issues with uploading the clkcal sketch and I get 77,800 Hz (is this right? seems low). While doing this I realized I haven't checked the CLK0 or CLK1 switches yet for good solder joints, will do that once I get a new battery for my meter. If those are good I guess I'll order a new clock generator. Thanks for your help!

[kdawg8]

Got a new clock generator in today, clkcal is showing the correct frequencies now and I was able to dump my childhood saves from Super Mario RPG : )

[sanni]

Thanks for reporting back. Happy it now works for you.

[Chomemel]

Hi,
I write here because I don't really understand how to calibrate the clock.

Frequency is roughly 3093600 Hz between pin 43 and 56.

If I press one switch, I see "adjusting". Then "correction" is set the value of adjustement. But the "frequency" is still the same. See.

I also checked with pin 1 and pin 57. And here is what I read.

[Chomemel]

Another question.
Are the clock generator and the cic only for SA-1 games ? Or also for the ones with other enhancement chips (like FX or CX4) ?

[sanni]

SI5351 Clock Gen is for SNES SPC7110/SA1/SF Memory/Satellaview cartridges and N64 cartridges with EEPROM saves.
The snesCIC is only used for SA1 afaik.

Try calibrating the Clock Generator by removing "//" in front of "#define clockgen_calibration" and "#define clockgen_installed" in Cart_Reader.ino and then selecting "Calibrate Clock" in the SNES submenu.
There you can click a button to increase the step width, maybe you just need a higher offset.

[Chomemel]

Thanks Sanni for the answers.

I updated with 9.1 and changed what you told me in the options. I was able to calibrate the clock form the SNES options. I guess, I needed a higher offset indeed.

Unfortunately, SA1 games still can't be read.

I tried reading N64 cartridge with EEPROM and both ROM and saves can be read. So I guess the clock generator works fine (at least "CLK1").

So I have 2 things left.

• The super cic
• CLK0 of the clock gen (but if CLK1 works, CLK0 should wor too, right?)

[Chomemel]

Ok, I might have found the problem. I'll update when I'll be able to verify

[Chomemel]

Finaly, I fixed everything. First of all I was stupid enough to solder the PIC upside down. Then I also realised that I flashed the wrong hex file. What a dumb.
Anyway, I was able to dump ROM and files from SA-1 cartrige. However, the cart reader can be a bit more picky with SA-1 cartridge...

Here are pictures of triumph

Thanks a lot again Sanni. Now the elec part is over.

[superbonaci]

I'm wondering if the hardware from this link is related to this project: Open Source Cartridge Reader V3-ALTER Build service [Group F]

since it has a purchase option "SA-1 UNLOCK SNES & N64 EEPROM SAVE (OPTION FEE $28 [PIC12F629 MICROCONTROLLER WITH THE SNESCIC AND CLOCK GENERATOR])"

If I have such board borrowed from a friend, how can I tell if it was purchased with the SA-1 option or not? Any way to tell without any physical game?

[Chomemel]

There should be the 12F629 microcontroller soldered and the clock genreator.
You should check this link to see what they look like. Check out the video too.

[superbonaci]

@Chomemel thanks!