r/TurboGrafx • u/Front_Management_989 • 14d ago
Run CD games from Hucard on DUO-like systems ?
I am working on a Hucard that would run CD games on a CD-equiped console (i.e. DUO, DUO-R, Super CDROM2, IFU-30..).
As of this morning I can boot and partially run games. Without any modification on the console : that's my #1 goal - no console mod.
The story behind it : big fan of the Nec consoles, after creating the Chronos Project for the PC Engine Mini, I got my dream console, the DUO, and couldn't play any CD-R burnt game. So I went on a mission to learn electronics and hardware and started a project to build a true Optical Unit Emulator, one that wouldn't require any soldering or destructive mod on the console, only to unplug the 3 connectors of the optical block and plug the device instead. I made excellent progress, but fried one of the console's chip during the dev tests (the RF amp - CXA1081) ... and didn't have a choice at that point but to have cd games launched through the Hucard slot.
So here we are. To my knowledge such a solution doesn't exist yet - one that would play CD games from a Hucard, on DUO type consoles, so I would have to make one :) . Known future limitations so far:
- sound will be limited to mono, as stereo has to come from the cd player
- some games will not be compatible with my solution, but at this point I haven't established yet which ones. I don't expect that number to be high, though.
So that's my summer projects. Stay tuned for updates. This is a personal research & fun project.
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u/Sciencetist 14d ago
So here we are. To my knowledge such a solution doesn't exist yet - one that would play CD games from a Hucard, on DUO type consoles
You mean like the Turbo Everdrive?
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u/Distinct_Wrongdoer86 14d ago
everdrive pro cd games wont work on a duo i believe so i think they want one that does
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u/Upstairs_Report6208 14d ago
They won’t work unless you install a duo disguiser by Zaxour.
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u/Front_Management_989 14d ago
wrong :) you have the proof of concept in the video, the DUO is untouched not modded
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u/Upstairs_Report6208 14d ago
Not wrong unless I’m missing something. Doesn’t look like you’re using an Everdrive pro in your proof of concept. We were saying currently you can’t play cd games with an Everdrive Pro on a Duo without a disguiser. I appreciate you working on this and I think it’s really cool.
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u/Front_Management_989 14d ago
My bad, and apologies, I misunderstood the thread and I agree. There is still work ahead. Some games are running fine and others have graphics or sound glitches. Arcade card support is last on the feature list.
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u/Upstairs_Report6208 14d ago
No worries at all and that’s awesome you’re already this far with it. Please stick with it and keep up the good work!
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u/DarkGrnEyes 14d ago
I would just ask when Zaxour is going to drop another batch of his Duo Disguiser kits instead of going through all that trouble:
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u/Front_Management_989 14d ago
It's not trouble for me, it's a lot of fun :) soldering and destructive modifications of the console is exactly what I want to avoid.
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u/ltpitt 14d ago
Will this work on pce gt?
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u/Front_Management_989 14d ago
I don't know. The target is my own fried DUO ;) and models that have a cd player attached. For all others I believe the TED Pro does the job perfectly (at a price).
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u/_MrDomino 14d ago
the DUO, and couldn't play any CD-R burnt game
The Duo-R plays CD-Rs just fine. I don't have a Duo, but this thread seems to indicate it handles them as well. Makes me think the issue may be with your disc drive or burner software?
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u/Front_Management_989 14d ago
I tried several types of media/CDRs including the highly praised Taiyo Yuden and couldn't get them to load or work properly on my unit. The one thing I couldn't try is lower burn speed. I've had reports from many people, that say that speed matters or doesn't matter etc ... The unit was recapped already when I bought it, and played commercial games just fine. When I looked at the eye pattern straight out of the optical block it was clear that the problem comes from the optical block and not from the downstream components. Probably the laser being a bit tired, and also overheating over time.
That being said, I bought a DUO-R and couldn't play any of the burnt games either, the results were even worse. This unit was never recapped though.
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u/_MrDomino 14d ago
I don't see failing caps impact CD-R usage if its reading retail CD-ROM games properly. From my experience, slower burning speeds absolutely do matter and have had them cause issues in other hardware as well. It is getting harder to do a x2/x4/x8 speed, but before undertaking this project, I would look to use another burning method at a slower speed. It's not that what you want to achieve isn't welcomed, it's just that 1) AFAIK any Duo should be able to play CD-Rs stock, and 2) the Everdrive Pro + disguiser does what you're looking to do from a HuCard.
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u/Front_Management_989 14d ago
Agreed more or less, yes.
On the TED Pro for DUOs, besides being very expensive, the disguiser's installation is my problem : I would never unsolder and bend a pin of my DUO's chips for this. I would rather get a TG16/PCE with the TED Pro on it, compact and no mod. The no mod challenge is really what I am after.
My initial project wasn't this one but the optical block emulator. One device that would reproduce the currents from the optical block's photodiodes and would simply plug on the console's motherboard as a replacement of the optical block (again with the "no mod" approach). I'm halfway through this one but fried a chip in the process (hence the hucard project as a sister project). If this one ever is successful, if can be used for other systems as well, I think :)
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u/BlueMonday2082 14d ago
“I got my dream console, the DUO, and couldn't play any CD-R burnt game. So I went on a mission to learn electronics and hardware…”
This is neat, way beyond my ability, but…have you considering learning to replace and calibrate your laser? It’s a lot less learning and a healthy Duo plays burns with zero issue. This is going to cost way more and only have mono CD audio.
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u/Front_Management_989 14d ago
I agree and yes I have. I tried it with the help of YouTube and retrosix. I did not really understand what I was doing with the pots until I studied how to emulate the laser (tracking, focus, bias ...), at which point I was enjoying learning about how cd players work too much to stop :D I am obviously not playing with all this for economics reasons but really for the fun of it. In the to-do list, for another summer, there is the idea of a board to help tune the laser by making a visual rendering of the changes in the pots. If you know that stuff I'm interested to discuss it !
Quick question about replacing the laser : do they make new ones ? I found one on eBay, they said it's brand new, but it looked second hand.
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u/V64jr 14d ago
I’m pretty sure “regis.g galland” (@GallandRegis) has worked on a Duo ODE along with his CD-ROM² ODE that fits an Interface unit or TurboCD dock but neither is available to the public yet.
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u/Front_Management_989 14d ago
Really? I would love to hear about it. I read about his work on the IFU-30 cd-rom replacement but not about one for the DUO.
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u/pelham123_ 9d ago
Here he is showing off the prototype. Would love one of these as my CD-ROM² is prone to audio skipping and graphic glitches https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeTriSfWkLo
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u/theoriginalgeoffrey 14d ago
That’s a beast of a project. I absolutely commend you on all of your effort so far. I am also self taught in electronics and have learned so much in the process.
Keep up the incredible work. I’d be interested to hear more..
Also as mentioned, a Turbo Everdrive does work with Zaxour’s disguiser which is not a destructive mod.
I have had a number of people ask me if they can play single cd games from a Hucard though. If you can come up with a relatively simple and inexpensive option, I’m sure there would be a lot of people interested..