PC Engine Duo card

Vimtoman · 06/22/2016, 01:47 PM

Is this a copy?

I did not notice that the potting was the full length of the card. Are they all like that?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEC-PC-ENGINE-Hu-card-ARCADE-CARD-DUO-card-only-Japan-for-DUO-/361603324353?hash=item54313cd9c1:g:XCAAAOSwPc9W1cYx

MNKyDeth · 06/22/2016, 02:17 PM

This one looks exactly like the one I have. I bought mine brand new sealed.

I don't think it is a fake or copy of any kind. Not sure there are fakes of these out there to be honest.

TurboXray · 06/22/2016, 02:31 PM

That's exactly how the Duo cards look.

NecroPhile · 06/22/2016, 03:04 PM

'Tis normal..... but what's "potting"?

Vimtoman · 06/22/2016, 04:53 PM

Potting is a process of filling a complete electronic assembly with a solid or gelatinous compound.

I had a Pro card but never really used it and sold it recently.
Obviously did not look at it properly.

The stickers on the Duo just didn't look right.

SignOfZeta · 06/22/2016, 09:41 PM

They look completely different from one another. The Duo looks a bit cheaper...which I guess it was.

NecroPhile · 06/23/2016, 09:29 AM

Quote from: Vimtoman on 06/22/2016, 04:53 PMPotting is a process of filling a complete electronic assembly with a solid or gelatinous compound.

Gotcha. It's strange that they made the Duo card's pcb full length but used a smaller pcb on the more heavily populated Pro card.

Quote from: Vimtoman on 06/22/2016, 04:53 PMThe stickers on the Duo just didn't look right.

Yarr, they look cheap compared to the screen printed humps.

CrackTiger · 06/23/2016, 11:00 AM

Maybe the PRO uses some of the millions of pcbs they made for SFII' and maybe one was released before the other?

TurboXray · 06/23/2016, 12:23 PM

I have the Pro card, a part right now, and it's definitely not the SF2 PCB. It uses three SRAM chips just like SCD cards (not sure why they didn't use one), a rom chip, and the mapper chip - and four large dram chips. On the Pro version, the extra stuff takes up space, so the last two DRAM chips are actually on top of the PCB under that bubble - it needs that bubble.

TurboXray · 06/23/2016, 12:28 PM

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(click on them for the higher res version)

CrackTiger · 06/23/2016, 01:28 PM

Does that mean that the PRO is the only HuCard that makes use of the bubble, or does the Populous card also stick out?

TurboXray · 06/23/2016, 01:38 PM

I don't know. I never own the Populous hucard. Given that it has 32k of ram and probably a logic gloptop for address translation, it shouldn't need to fit under the bubble. When did it come out? About the same time SCD 3.0 upgrade card came out?

Vimtoman · 06/23/2016, 02:04 PM

So its not potted but just stuck in with double sided.

The ripple layer on the top must be some kind of paint ?

NecroPhile · 06/23/2016, 03:19 PM

Ah, so it is full length just slightly narrower under ze hump. I wrongly assumed the pcb was sized like the other humped cards.

Quote from: Vimtoman on 06/23/2016, 02:04 PMThe ripple layer on the top must be some kind of paint ?

Yarr, it's a black epoxy coating same as the games.

wilykat · 06/23/2016, 04:58 PM

Populous have bubble on the back but I've checked (glue had dried out anyway) and it's empty. It looks like a spot for a small button battery, like the card shell is based on Tennokoe Bank card but never used the extra space.

It is a bit odd Duo card has bigger circuit than Pro even though Pro has extra 64k RAM added on top of the total RAM needed for Arcade games.

NecroPhile · 06/23/2016, 05:22 PM

Quote from: wilykat on 06/23/2016, 04:58 PMIt is a bit odd Duo card has bigger circuit than Pro even though Pro has extra 64k RAM added on top of the total RAM needed for Arcade games.

It looks like they're roughly the same length (both leave room for the thumb grip area on the end), so it's just the width that's a bit less. Presumably that's so the hump could be bonded directly to the bottom shell, lessening the stresses placed on the pcb itself.

TurboXray · 06/23/2016, 06:12 PM

What Necromancer said. (To the tee). The Pro card has 256k of rom, and 192k of ram that the Duo card does not. The base 64k of ram from the original CD unit, is always on the system itself (sys card 1.0 to 2.x have no ram on the cards - only rom upgraded. i.e. code).

imparanoic · 06/23/2016, 10:27 PM

i wonder whats in the hump on a tennokoe bank card?

imparanoic · 06/23/2016, 10:28 PM

Quote from: imparanoic on 06/23/2016, 10:27 PMi wonder whats in the hump on a tennokoe bank card?

http://nonta6913.blog.so-net.ne.jp/2007-09-29

a battery!! cr2302 battery

Johnpv · 06/24/2016, 10:19 PM

2320 not 2302.

Finding one with the solder tabs on it is a royal bitch. Let alone finding one with solder tabs in the same position as the OEM ones.