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Hi all,

I got this console from Révo in hope to extract the following previously undumped games:
A Ponte
Air Hockey
Anaconda
Aniversário
Asa Delta
Batalha Naval
Bil Bolha
Blocos Mágicos
Caça Palavras
Canhão
Corrida da Pesada
Corrida de Tampinhas
Encanamento
Faroeste
Força Alienígena
Guerra dos Monstros
Lance Livre
Mexe Mexe Tupi
Mosaico
Natação
Pedreiro Polar
Zôo

A lot has been discovered about this hardware and to his disappointment all those games are in fact Megadrive ROMs not Master System ones.

There are only 3 chips on the motherboard:
- TECTOY-580 (QFP138)= Megadrive on a chip, yes it's actually a MD not a SMS
- 16MB (128Mb) 16 bit flash (TSOP48) with a similar pinout than a MX29L3211 with two repurposed pins to extend addressable size: pin 12 (GND) becomes A21 and pin 36 (!WR) is A22
- Altera EPM3064A CPLD (TQFP100) for the games decoding logic. I populated the missing JTAG port and to my surprise it wasn't even locked (file in attachment)

What's interesting:
- populating the missing SMS cart slot allows to boot physical SMS carts
- replacing the first 4MB of the flash by a MD ROM does boot the game

To be completed...

EPM3064A (3.0).zip (5 KB)

CPLD

That's a cool find congrats! I wonder if they ever thought about releasing a Master-Mega console at some point.

PrOfUnD Darkness wrote

I wonder if they ever though about releasing a Master-Mega console at some point.

Probably MegaDrive users wouldn't care that much about SMS games?
I don't know, but it didn't in fact happen.

Thank you for this! Can you share the menu ROM also?

Sure, I was waiting for the green light from Révo and got it now.
But even zipped it's too big to be attached here...

Here it is… it’s apparently implemented as one giant Mega Drive game rather than separate ROMs.

MS3_120_in_1.zip (10.07 MB)

to byte swap you can:

dd conv=swab if=MS3_120_in_1.bin of=MS3_120_in_1_swab.bin

Some games have small changes from other releases, like the copyright year,or instructions.

Hi, I didn't think this was worth making a thread, but in case anyone is searching about this console or another version that uses the same chip, it's possible to make it sound better and mod it for RGB. Akino_R11NOR wrote a tutorial on his Twitter, I can't post a link because it's one of my first posts.

As Twitter is somewhat impossible to use now and will likely not be a stable source, you could copy/paste it here.

Maxim wrote

As Twitter is somewhat impossible to use now and will likely not be a stable source, you could copy/paste it here.

Good idea, the pinout is:
R; Pin 9
G; Pin 10
B; Pin 11
C-Sync; Pin 13
He didn't mention which pin has the mono audio, but that's easy to figure out, and of course since it's an RGB mod it needs a board with a THS7316 or something similar. Interestingly he also used the second internal cartridge slot to wire a Mega Drive cartridge port.

Apocalypse wrote

- TECTOY-580 (QFP138)= Megadrive on a chip, yes it's actually a MD not a SMS

This doesn't surprise me since I'd imagine a lot of the SMS-specific chips were out of production at the time and TecToy was churning out GOACs by the bucketload. Interesting that all the games were crammed into a single ROM file though.

ApolloBoy wrote

Apocalypse wrote

- TECTOY-580 (QFP138)= Megadrive on a chip, yes it's actually a MD not a SMS

This doesn't surprise me since I'd imagine a lot of the SMS-specific chips were out of production at the time and TecToy was churning out GOACs by the bucketload. Interesting that all the games were crammed into a single ROM file though.

Not that it affects the console a lot, there is a list here that has less than 30 incompatible games for the Mega Drive with an adapter, plus all of the games that rely on the TMS9918 modes, like SG-1000 and Coleco games. Still, if they wanted to have more authentic hardware they could have asked Majesco, which was manufacturing the Game Gear all the way until 2002, it would have been interesting to have a GG in a Master System shell. If Akino finds a way to install the 3D glasses adapter I'll post here the how to.

Apocalypse wrote

What's interesting:
- populating the missing SMS cart slot allows to boot physical SMS carts
- replacing the first 4MB of the flash by a MD ROM does boot the game

To be completed...

It seems like some people have already tried, but even by restoring the missing components the slot won't work.

This guy said he used the 112 version as a comparison and even then it didn't work.

It might be a case of whatever BIOS is there isn't programmed to detect the cart slot.

Hey there, I've just got a Master System 74 Super Jogos from a street market. From what I've seen it uses the same TECTOY-580.

Until now all the games I've tested using a flash cart works.

Let me know if you guys want me to do any test on it.

you can run the SMS Test Suite and confirms that the VDP is detected as a Genesis/MegaDrive one - it should be

I've done the test, here are the results:

Hardware tests
JPN?: No
VDP?: 315-5313
TV?: 60Hz (NTSC)
MediaEnable?: No
Z80 type?: CMOS

Model: Genesis/MegaDrive
Region: USA/BRA TV:60Hz (NTSC)

Is there any way I could boot a Mega Drive game on it? LoL
I've tried but I only get a black screen.

NaiAdventure wrote

Is there any way I could boot a Mega Drive game on it? LoL
I've tried but I only get a black screen.

According to Apocalypse (first post of this very same topic) if you change the contents of the internal Flash with an MD game, it will run (the menu you see when you boot the console with no cartridge inserted is an MD ROM). Of course you would have to restore the original contents to get back to the standard functionality.

sverx wrote

NaiAdventure wrote

Is there any way I could boot a Mega Drive game on it? LoL
I've tried but I only get a black screen.

According to Apocalypse (first post of this very same topic) if you change the contents of the internal Flash with an MD game, it will run (the menu you see when you boot the console with no cartridge inserted is an MD ROM). Of course you would have to restore the original contents to get back to the standard functionality.

That's amazing! What a finding.

Author	Message
Apocalypse Joined: 26 Feb 2021 Posts: 159	Master System 3 Collection 120 Super Jogos Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2024 8:08 pm
Apocalypse Joined: 26 Feb 2021 Posts: 159	Hi all, I got this console from Révo in hope to extract the following previously undumped games: A Ponte Air Hockey Anaconda Aniversário Asa Delta Batalha Naval Bil Bolha Blocos Mágicos Caça Palavras Canhão Corrida da Pesada Corrida de Tampinhas Encanamento Faroeste Força Alienígena Guerra dos Monstros Lance Livre Mexe Mexe Tupi Mosaico Natação Pedreiro Polar Zôo A lot has been discovered about this hardware and to his disappointment all those games are in fact Megadrive ROMs not Master System ones. There are only 3 chips on the motherboard: - TECTOY-580 (QFP138)= Megadrive on a chip, yes it's actually a MD not a SMS - 16MB (128Mb) 16 bit flash (TSOP48) with a similar pinout than a MX29L3211 with two repurposed pins to extend addressable size: pin 12 (GND) becomes A21 and pin 36 (!WR) is A22 - Altera EPM3064A CPLD (TQFP100) for the games decoding logic. I populated the missing JTAG port and to my surprise it wasn't even locked (file in attachment) What's interesting: - populating the missing SMS cart slot allows to boot physical SMS carts - replacing the first 4MB of the flash by a MD ROM does boot the game To be completed... EPM3064A (3.0).zip (5 KB) CPLD

PrOfUnD Darkness Joined: 29 Jun 1999 Posts: 384 Location: Brazil	Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2024 8:36 pm Last edited by PrOfUnD Darkness on Fri Feb 23, 2024 12:21 am; edited 1 time in total
	That's a cool find congrats! I wonder if they ever thought about releasing a Master-Mega console at some point.

sverx Joined: 05 Sep 2013 Posts: 3893 Location: Stockholm, Sweden	Posted: Wed Feb 21, 2024 9:45 am
	PrOfUnD Darkness wrote I wonder if they ever though about releasing a Master-Mega console at some point. Probably MegaDrive users wouldn't care that much about SMS games? I don't know, but it didn't in fact happen.

chirinea Joined: 13 Mar 2007 Posts: 40 Location: Vitória da Conquista, Brazil	Posted: Wed Feb 21, 2024 12:27 pm
	Thank you for this! Can you share the menu ROM also?

Apocalypse Joined: 26 Feb 2021 Posts: 159	Posted: Wed Feb 21, 2024 9:33 pm
Apocalypse Joined: 26 Feb 2021 Posts: 159	Sure, I was waiting for the green light from Révo and got it now. But even zipped it's too big to be attached here...

Maxim Site Admin Joined: 19 Oct 1999 Posts: 14798 Location: London	Posted: Wed Feb 21, 2024 10:19 pm
	Here it is… it’s apparently implemented as one giant Mega Drive game rather than separate ROMs. MS3_120_in_1.zip (10.07 MB)

sverx Joined: 05 Sep 2013 Posts: 3893 Location: Stockholm, Sweden	Posted: Thu Feb 22, 2024 8:51 am
	to byte swap you can: dd conv=swab if=MS3_120_in_1.bin of=MS3_120_in_1_swab.bin

PrOfUnD Darkness Joined: 29 Jun 1999 Posts: 384 Location: Brazil	Posted: Sat Mar 02, 2024 9:45 pm
	Some games have small changes from other releases, like the copyright year,or instructions.

M-S Joined: 15 Jun 2024 Posts: 4 Location: Brazil	Posted: Sun Jun 16, 2024 2:28 am
M-S Joined: 15 Jun 2024 Posts: 4 Location: Brazil	Hi, I didn't think this was worth making a thread, but in case anyone is searching about this console or another version that uses the same chip, it's possible to make it sound better and mod it for RGB. Akino_R11NOR wrote a tutorial on his Twitter, I can't post a link because it's one of my first posts.

Maxim Site Admin Joined: 19 Oct 1999 Posts: 14798 Location: London	Posted: Sun Jun 16, 2024 7:36 am
	As Twitter is somewhat impossible to use now and will likely not be a stable source, you could copy/paste it here.

M-S Joined: 15 Jun 2024 Posts: 4 Location: Brazil	Posted: Mon Jun 17, 2024 3:00 am
M-S Joined: 15 Jun 2024 Posts: 4 Location: Brazil	Maxim wrote As Twitter is somewhat impossible to use now and will likely not be a stable source, you could copy/paste it here. Good idea, the pinout is: R; Pin 9 G; Pin 10 B; Pin 11 C-Sync; Pin 13 He didn't mention which pin has the mono audio, but that's easy to figure out, and of course since it's an RGB mod it needs a board with a THS7316 or something similar. Interestingly he also used the second internal cartridge slot to wire a Mega Drive cartridge port.

ApolloBoy Joined: 30 Jan 2007 Posts: 339	Posted: Wed Jun 19, 2024 6:04 pm
ApolloBoy Joined: 30 Jan 2007 Posts: 339	Apocalypse wrote - TECTOY-580 (QFP138)= Megadrive on a chip, yes it's actually a MD not a SMS This doesn't surprise me since I'd imagine a lot of the SMS-specific chips were out of production at the time and TecToy was churning out GOACs by the bucketload. Interesting that all the games were crammed into a single ROM file though.

M-S Joined: 15 Jun 2024 Posts: 4 Location: Brazil	Posted: Wed Jun 19, 2024 10:44 pm
M-S Joined: 15 Jun 2024 Posts: 4 Location: Brazil	ApolloBoy wrote Apocalypse wrote - TECTOY-580 (QFP138)= Megadrive on a chip, yes it's actually a MD not a SMS This doesn't surprise me since I'd imagine a lot of the SMS-specific chips were out of production at the time and TecToy was churning out GOACs by the bucketload. Interesting that all the games were crammed into a single ROM file though. Not that it affects the console a lot, there is a list here that has less than 30 incompatible games for the Mega Drive with an adapter, plus all of the games that rely on the TMS9918 modes, like SG-1000 and Coleco games. Still, if they wanted to have more authentic hardware they could have asked Majesco, which was manufacturing the Game Gear all the way until 2002, it would have been interesting to have a GG in a Master System shell. If Akino finds a way to install the 3D glasses adapter I'll post here the how to.

M-S Joined: 15 Jun 2024 Posts: 4 Location: Brazil	Posted: Wed Jun 26, 2024 3:46 pm
M-S Joined: 15 Jun 2024 Posts: 4 Location: Brazil	Apocalypse wrote What's interesting: - populating the missing SMS cart slot allows to boot physical SMS carts - replacing the first 4MB of the flash by a MD ROM does boot the game To be completed... It seems like some people have already tried, but even by restoring the missing components the slot won't work. This guy said he used the 112 version as a comparison and even then it didn't work.

ApolloBoy Joined: 30 Jan 2007 Posts: 339	Posted: Wed Jun 26, 2024 9:35 pm
ApolloBoy Joined: 30 Jan 2007 Posts: 339	It might be a case of whatever BIOS is there isn't programmed to detect the cart slot.

NaiAdventure Joined: 09 Jul 2024 Posts: 3 Location: Brazil	Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2024 10:29 pm
	Hey there, I've just got a Master System 74 Super Jogos from a street market. From what I've seen it uses the same TECTOY-580. Until now all the games I've tested using a flash cart works. Let me know if you guys want me to do any test on it.

sverx Joined: 05 Sep 2013 Posts: 3893 Location: Stockholm, Sweden	Posted: Wed Jul 10, 2024 9:05 am
	you can run the SMS Test Suite and confirms that the VDP is detected as a Genesis/MegaDrive one - it should be

NaiAdventure Joined: 09 Jul 2024 Posts: 3 Location: Brazil	Posted: Wed Jul 10, 2024 11:15 am
	I've done the test, here are the results: Hardware tests JPN?: No VDP?: 315-5313 TV?: 60Hz (NTSC) MediaEnable?: No Z80 type?: CMOS Model: Genesis/MegaDrive Region: USA/BRA TV:60Hz (NTSC) Is there any way I could boot a Mega Drive game on it? LoL I've tried but I only get a black screen.

sverx Joined: 05 Sep 2013 Posts: 3893 Location: Stockholm, Sweden	Posted: Wed Jul 10, 2024 12:55 pm
	NaiAdventure wrote Is there any way I could boot a Mega Drive game on it? LoL I've tried but I only get a black screen. According to Apocalypse (first post of this very same topic) if you change the contents of the internal Flash with an MD game, it will run (the menu you see when you boot the console with no cartridge inserted is an MD ROM). Of course you would have to restore the original contents to get back to the standard functionality.

NaiAdventure Joined: 09 Jul 2024 Posts: 3 Location: Brazil	Posted: Wed Jul 10, 2024 10:59 pm
	sverx wrote NaiAdventure wrote Is there any way I could boot a Mega Drive game on it? LoL I've tried but I only get a black screen. According to Apocalypse (first post of this very same topic) if you change the contents of the internal Flash with an MD game, it will run (the menu you see when you boot the console with no cartridge inserted is an MD ROM). Of course you would have to restore the original contents to get back to the standard functionality. That's amazing! What a finding.

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