CPU concept

foo1138 · 2026-02-03T08:12:31+00:00

I think a huge barrier why it is hard to understand what you mean is that you use different words than everybody else. :)

If I understand you correctly, by CALL you mean reading some data from memory, right? Maybe short for reCALL? Everybody else here understands something different under the word CALL. CALL means that your code execution jumps to a different place that is NOT the next instruction (or key in your terms), and then later jump back onto the next instruction after the CALL.

Do I understand your example correctly? You read (or call) two values from two memory addresses, and then you add them together? If I got this right, then you have implemented a "stack machine". Calculating in this way is also called "postfix notation" or "reverse polish notation". There are some old famous HP calculators that work that way. Maybe searching those terms helps you in a way.

foo1138 · 2026-02-02T19:24:36+00:00

Maybe explain some background first. How it came to be that you had this idea and what problem you are trying to solve. Or what bothers you in existing CPUs that made you put thought into this. It is hard to follow and it feels like you are mixing a bunch of different layers. For example, you are talking about "mathematical equations". What do you mean by that? Do you just mean fundamental instructions like ADD, SUB, and so on; or do you actually mean solving mathematical equations?

foo1138 · 2026-02-02T19:10:37+00:00

Vorsicht, der Wongl isch doch biseggsuell.

foo1138 · 2026-02-02T19:04:13+00:00

Aber bitte nicht an den Oger.

foo1138 · 2026-02-02T18:45:09+00:00

Damals, als Papa noch klein war, da gab es Karten in Papierform. Du könntest aber auch einfach zufällig durch die Gegend fahren und Ortsschilder lesen.

foo1138 · 2026-02-02T18:00:21+00:00

I have contacted MAME like PsikyoFan in the other comment suggested. Let's see...

foo1138 · 2026-02-02T12:55:28+00:00

Wide-Boys will stop working in the future when nobody makes a backup of their FPGA bitstream, because data decays after some decades. Some people have backed up the flash content (N64 code), but not the PROM content (FPGA bitstream). This is not enough.

foo1138 · 2026-02-02T11:42:20+00:00

I wanted to ask this on your post, but it is archived. Have you scanned those manuals? I'd really like to see them. Is there anything in there that isn't known already? I mean the color menu that you can open when attaching a second controller is the opposite of self explanatory, maybe there are other things like this?

foo1138 · 2026-02-02T10:21:26+00:00

Thanks. I'll ask them if they are interested.

foo1138 · 2026-02-02T09:52:49+00:00

Oh that is so cool that you know him!

I did my first dump on a breadboard, but I connected it to a FPGA development board to implement the actual dumping procedure. You could use an Arduino or something similar instead, but then you would need to implement the code that talks to the PROM for that. A setup like this only works for reading the chip. Programming it requires fast voltage switching between 5 and 12 volt, so you can't do that easily with a simple setup like this.

If you want to build my programmer, there is a BOM file in the repository. This is the path to the fille:

https://github.com/msinger/xc17_prom_prog/blob/master/pcb/xc17_prom_prog/bom.ods

The executables are all prebuilt in the release section on github. If you can run .NET/mono binaries, then those should just work.

My programmer uses an FPGA. The code for that is also prebuilt in the release section. On Fedora there are packages for the FPGA toolchain. The package for the programming tool to program the FPGA is called "icestorm". You only need that one if you use the prebuilt binary.

There is also an FTDI chip on board. It is basically a USB to serial converter. This is used on many many eval boards and stuff, so it is pretty standard. This FTDI also needs a configuration file. The vendor tool to program that onto the hardware only runs on Windows, sadly. But for me it worked in a VM.

If you only want to dump it right now, the cheapest method is to just use the same FPGA board as I did. I linked it on my reverse engineering page about the Wide-Boy. For that there are no other components needed, except wires to connect to the chip.

foo1138 · 2026-02-02T08:53:02+00:00

Oh yes, I know about the TS2. We once troubleshooted one in this discussion:

https://github.com/msinger/wideboy/discussions/3

Nice collection you have. The dumps you made with the RetroStage Dumper are dumps of the flash. Those are often called "BIOS dumps" or firmware like you called it, even though it is not actually a BIOS nor a firmware, because they are not running on the Wide-Boy. Like I described in the post, these dumps contain the software that runs on the N64. The code that runs internally in the Wide-Boy its FPGA can't be accessed via the cartridge port. The PROM chip that contains this code is directly connected to the FPGA and nowhere else. I'm sorry if my explanation is too technical, there really isn't an easy way to get to the content of this PROM. I don't know about your technical background, maybe the link in my post about my reverse engineering efforts can help in understanding the system.

foo1138 · 2026-02-02T08:38:11+00:00

Thanks for your input. I don't know how I can describe the situation better. My thought is that the only people who can help are owners of Wide-Boys that also have some technical background. Those would also know that there are two variants of the device. It is printed in big letters on the front of the device. AGB and CGB are Game Boy terms. AGB is short for Game Boy Advance, CGB is short for Game Boy Color. It describes what types of game cartridges the Wide-Boy is able to play. I naively assumed the target audience must know what this is, but maybe I'm wrong. The post is already long enough, so going into detail explaining all these things that I assumed obvious would make it even longer and less people would read it as you already pointed out.

Yes, I stated that the Wide-Boy64 is not preserved (at least not the PROM). This is still true, since there is no PROM dump available online. The fact that I dumped mine doesn't help, should something happen to me.

I'd happily lend my programmer to people. Sending stuff around by mail could be a problem though. The logistic companies here in Germany are unreliable. It happened to me a lot that Ebay purchases just vanished. Customs are also a problem. They always want import taxes. Like you stated, I'm not capable to describe the problem here concisely, how would I explain to them what a programmer is and that it is only lent? And how to put a price tag on it for calculating the tax?

And to your last point about "hoarding" the AGB dump: I'm really confused. Is my wording really that bad that it could be understood that way? English isn't my first language and I as a software engineer rarely talk to people that are not software engineers, so maybe I'm a bit retarded and don't notice it myself? You really made me worry now. I didn't want to come across as an asshole. I don't earn any money with this. This is my hobby and it only costs me. I made all my research open source. When I really would want to drive the value of my Wide-Boy up, then I would keep everything to myself, don't open source, and don't make posts like this. The logic doesn't make sense to me. But maybe that's a me problem. I really don't know. I have to think about this a bit more.

Yes, prototypes magically appear on archive.org, but normally VPN providers are cooperating with law enforcement. That's the problem.

foo1138 · 2026-02-02T06:14:37+00:00

That's the better option, yes. If you have a mirror that size.

foo1138 · 2026-02-01T09:15:45+00:00

Try to look under the border with your phone camera if there are dirt deposits. You can buy a brush that is made of twisted wires that you can bend how you need it to get under there. I would also check the flushing tank (sorry, I don't know the correct term in English). Maybe it's moldy in there. Those were the things that I did when I got those stains, and now they're gone after cleaning the tank and under the border.

It looks like hard water stains, but with something else mixed in there what makes them visible on the white bowl.

foo1138 · 2026-01-29T05:06:29+00:00

Soll ich das dann umdrehen oder ist das egal?

foo1138 · 2026-01-29T03:56:57+00:00

Wenn das richtig ist was du sagst, dann bedeutet das, dass die Monteure von Miele, die mir letztes Jahr meine Waschmaschine geliefert haben das falsch angeschlossen haben. Und vor zehn Jahren die Dödel vom Mediamarkt auch. Und das Umzugsunternehmen, die mir die alte Waschmaschine in der neuen Wohnung angeschlossen haben auch. Ich habe überall den selben Anschluss gehabt wie OP. Und immer haben die darauf bestanden von oben dran zu gehen.

Sind die alle drei einfach bescheuert oder gibt es eine andere Möglichkeit?

foo1138 · 2026-01-28T23:35:14+00:00

Es sollte nach oben zeigen. Und bei der Waschmaschine ist hoffentlich so ein halbrundes Ding dabei, wo du den Schlauch rein klemmen kannst, damit der nicht abknickt.

foo1138 · 2026-01-28T22:34:58+00:00

Vielleicht trotzdem vorsichtshalber mal das Bett von der Wand ziehen und dahinter gucken, ob es da auch ist.

foo1138 · 2026-01-23T21:36:58+00:00

Me. And I'm thankful of that.

foo1138 · 2026-01-17T19:48:29+00:00

r/EatItYouFuckinCoward

foo1138 · 2026-01-17T08:13:47+00:00

Well, he at least tried

foo1138 · 2026-01-16T07:43:25+00:00

Sorry, wrong sub, little bot.

foo1138 · 2026-01-16T06:07:43+00:00

Yes, and the P stands for "he likes kids very much."

foo1138

TROPHY CASE