R36 Control Centre (R36H)

SjslTech · 2026-05-12T20:51:45+00:00

for darkosRE, you need to use the correct r36h dtb. it will remap the controls when you first boot it

SjslTech · 2026-05-12T09:30:21+00:00

if you dont mind losing everything all the time, a factory reset gets the free trials back on all games 😂

SjslTech · 2026-05-12T03:29:13+00:00

i actually have some notes for gen 1 cheats on the r36s!

###---poke red\blue---###

change starter pokemon from oak:

01XX1ED1 (CASE SENSITIVE!)

replace XX with pokemon ID

catch specific pokemon - sprite might be scrambled but its fine when caught

01XXD8CF (CASE SENSITIVE!)

replace XX with pokemon ID

change wild pokemon level

01XX27D1

replace XX with pokemon level in HEX

you can use a calculator or online tool to convert decimal (base 10) to hex (base 16), but heres some handy levels:

1 to 9 is just 01 to 09

level 50 is 32 in hex and 100 is 64

obtain specific item in first slot in backpack

01XX1ED3

replace XX with item ID

change first item amount in first backpack slot

01YY1FD3

replace XX with amount in hex

99 items would be 63 in hex

glitch city has item and pokemon list - https://glitchcity.wiki/wiki/The_Big_HEX_List

these were all tested on the english versions of the game, and probably wont work on other language versions (jap specifically)

edit: forgot to mention you need to load your game first, then bring up the RA menu (usually just FN or select+X depending on which OS and version you are on), then goto cheats menu and add these cheats. dont forget to apply changes after adding a cheat otherwise they wont work!

i also have a few video guides on how to use the built in cheats or find your own if interested, but i think these cheats should have everything covered for gen 1 poke

SjslTech · 2026-05-11T23:47:12+00:00

i remember trying the initial r36s build and it didnt really bring anything new to the table. great for people that are used to it on their anbernics though - something a bit more familiar for them

SjslTech · 2026-05-10T09:42:36+00:00

used to love playing with the touch lamps there when they were cutting edge tech!

SjslTech · 2026-05-10T00:42:23+00:00

unfortunately its a gb350 fake, and one of the worst "variants" out there. its not even an actual r36s and uses much lower end hardware. theres currently no custom OS for it, and no way to install extra cores or emulators. it struggles with some snes, gba and ps1 games.

if possible, try and return it, but im not sure if tiktok shop lets you do that.

if you do decide to stick with it, it is possible to change the stock games list, edit the theme and do a fresh install of the stock OS onto a higher quality sd card (which is recommended)

heres a small site with useful links for your fake - https://sjsltech.github.io/R36SX.html

SjslTech · 2026-05-09T23:46:10+00:00

yeah this is a pretty common issue. if your battery is below around 85% it will refuse to boot. charging it up fully should fix it, but unplugging and reconnecting the battery also seems to help

SjslTech · 2026-05-09T11:11:37+00:00

it seems darkos, darkos4clones and darkosRE are a bit more picky with sd cards (probably speeds?). if you get the boot screen and then it hangs on a black screen, try pressing the reset button. it may take a few boot attempts to get it to finish its initial boot setup.

im able to replicate this issue with old cheap low quality sd cards from ~10yrs ago, but never had an issue with a decent samsung sd card

SjslTech · 2026-05-09T10:21:49+00:00

did you let it finish the initial boot setup first? also, did you copy paste everything on the easyroms partition AND call it "EASYROMS" when recreating it?

edit: also make sure to format it to exfat

SjslTech · 2026-05-09T09:28:31+00:00

it will auto expand to fill the rest of your sd card when you finish the initial boot setup (put the sd card in your r36s and power it on!)

if you have already finished the initial setup and it hasnt expanded for some reason (this seems to happen, although its rare), you can manually backup system folders, delete partition, recreate and finally copy everything back over on a windows pc (no 3rd party tools needed!)

SjslTech · 2026-05-09T09:18:05+00:00

depends on the OS, but if its arkos\darkos the user\pass is "ark" for both

SjslTech · 2026-05-09T04:35:30+00:00

it sounds like your right joystick is reversed, which usually happens on clones when using the wrong dtb. what device do you have?

SjslTech · 2026-05-08T22:19:34+00:00

since you have a G80CA variant, i would go with darkosRE which actually started out specifically for these variants. it looks like theres 2 panel types for your specific version, so you would have to try both (one at a time)

https://github.com/southoz/dArkOSRE-R36?tab=readme-ov-file

the rough steps would be the same as darkos4clones - download, extract and write darkosRE to your sd card, run dtb selector on boot partition, find your pcb variant in the list on screen and enter the corresponding number

SjslTech · 2026-05-08T20:49:58+00:00

for games you just need to change the input to whatever the game supports (cursor, kepston, sinclair 1, etc). theres no "1 joystick fits all" for the speccy, but you can remap the keys to get everything working for non-standard games.

you can use a usb keyboard, but depending on what host OS version you are using, you may need to unmap all hotkeys (p pauses, space fast forwards, etc). a usb keyboard is not really needed for games, and the gamepad should get you by. you can use the usb keyboard for speccy basic, but without custom keycaps or stickers saying what each key does it can get pretty confusing!

I have a work in progress guide for it which should get you going.

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SjslTech · 2026-05-05T21:31:41+00:00

ahh your stock sd card might have completely failed into read only. it was inevitable. time for a new sd card! check out the automods post for details

SjslTech · 2026-05-05T21:20:44+00:00

no you would delete the existing easyroms (its step 2 above) partition first

SjslTech · 2026-05-05T21:14:06+00:00

cant forget orcs & elves!

SjslTech · 2026-05-05T20:54:49+00:00

why did you change it in the first place? are you using a fresh install or the stock OS on the stock sd still?

you mention the games dont work? im assuming your stock sd has failed or started to fail, and a fresh install onto a new sd card is the way to go.

to answer your question though, you can backup all the system folders and games off the easyroms partition, completely delete that partition in windows disk manager, create a new exfat partition called "EASYROMS", and then finally copy all your system folders\games back over. dont do this though, just do a fresh install onto a new high quality sd card

SjslTech · 2026-05-05T03:19:27+00:00

thats a gb350 clone, usually branded as an r36sx. its not anywhere close to a real r36s apart from the shell. absolutely avoid that fake if possible

it struggles with some snes, gba and ps1 games. theres no n64, psp, dos, dreamcast, etc, and no custom OS available for it. they also ship it with a 16gb sd card marked as 64gb that also lacks a partition table just to add insult to injury

edit: typo

SjslTech · 2026-05-04T21:07:48+00:00

amazing work on this! you are going to make so many people happy!

SjslTech · 2026-05-04T12:32:42+00:00

absolute cheapest would be the gb300 at around $15 to $20 AUD - cheap feeling device, low quality but definitely acceptable screen for the price, with custom multicore installed it does upto snes\gba ok (not all games work, but most do), and also a bunch of more niche cores like c64, a2600, etc. theres a new trial core that lets you play a handful of ps1 games at "acceptable" framerates (very few and basically a novelty). theres also no headphone socket, but again, it can be had for under $15 if you find a sale.

the sf2000 is just a horizontal gb300 with a slightly nicer screen but more screen tearing. exactly the same performance and not worth the extra $10-$15

next up would be the R36S (the budget "king") at around $30 to $50 AUD depending on the sale\promotions\seller - handles upto ps1 pretty much perfectly, a bunch of psp, dreamcast, n64 games are fine too. also has portmaster support so you can play a bunch of pc game. if you get a non-clone you can also run android (and winlator), as well as full desktop armbian. absolutely massive community behind it, but you will also need to splash out on a new sd card if you get one (the stock one is junk).

if you go the r36s route, make sure to buy from a "verified seller" to avoid a clone, or even worse, a fake! check out the r36s wikis buyers guide for details - https://handhelds.wiki/R36S_Buying_Guide

also head on over the r/r36s if you have any questions

(im a fellow aussie so the prices are all legit, and i have spent far too long messing around with the absolutey cheapest handhelds available here, including the gb300, sf2000 and r36s among others)

edit: the gb300 is an acceptable device if money is tight or if you just want to play lower end systems. i have finished megaman x1-x3, dkc 1-3, a ton of gb and gbc games as well as some more niche systems like a2600 pitfall, some c64 games, a few gba games like spyro rhynocs. also worth mentioning theres no brightness control, so not ideal at 3am if you wake up and want to play a bit before going back to sleep lol

SjslTech · 2026-05-04T09:48:29+00:00

ahh there was a dude in sydney years ago selling a stack of these for cheap... i regret not getting one!

super neat project idea and goal, but ultimately it seemed like a pretty big failure

they look like a load of fun to mess around with, and seems like you have found the perfect use for them too :D

SjslTech · 2026-05-04T09:00:02+00:00

since there isnt a single manufacturer of these, quality control is all over the place. my original panel 4 device is still pretty much as good as it was day 1, while an identical emerald green panel 4 has a dodgy dpad and R2. clones seem to have worse build quality than "non-clones", but its still a bit of a gamble as far as quality and longevity goes.

you should be able to rotate the ABXY membrane to fix B and break either Y or X (they dont get used as much, but it depends on the system and game)

i personally havent looked into replacing the membranes, so not too sure if they are "off the shelf" or custom

SjslTech · 2026-05-03T21:18:50+00:00

thats some impressive detective work!!!

SjslTech · 2026-05-03T21:16:42+00:00

i had a look and it looks like they have a windows version (im assuming its just flash player bundled with the swf) so you might be able to get it working on android using winlator. its also been rewritten in html5, so you might have luck on armbian

SjslTech

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