GC Loader - improvements - like WODE Jukebox

Portables, case replacements, mods etc, all in here!
Post Reply
Borg Number One
Posts: 28
Joined: Sat Jan 30, 2021 8:02 pm

GC Loader - improvements - like WODE Jukebox

Post by Borg Number One » Mon Mar 15, 2021 10:27 pm

Hi.

some days ago, I bought a GC-Loader:
https://www.gc-forever.com/forums/viewt ... =25&t=4836

I just can say that it is working really great and fast.
It is good to copy all my CleanRip - GC-DVD rips to the SD Card and boot the GC-Loader with swiss (boot.iso)

The main problem is:
GC-Loader can only directly boot one (on a PC/notebook/tablet previously determined) GameCube DVD image: Any GameCube DVD image file renamed to boot.iso.

If I would like to boot another image file, then you have to use the swiss method (renamed to boot.iso) and then you can select another GameCube DVD image file after swiss was started.
But swiss and swiss' (sometimes less, sometimes more) time consuming patching process in this case is necessary to start another GameCube game than before.
So GC-Loader is not really more than homebrew booting via SDGecko or SD2SP2 - except the possibility to boot only one predefined GameCube DVD image directly.
Changing the predefined GameCube DVD image which should be booted requires:
  • a PC/notebook/tablet with SD Card Reader
  • putting the GC Loader SDCard into the Card Reader
  • renaming any other stored GameCube DVD image to: boot.iso
  • putting the SDCard back into the GC Loader
Well it seems to be that - regarding the prints on the circuit - the GC Loader has follwing interfaces:

SPI?
+5 (+5V)
GND (Ground)
SCK (Serial Clock)
MISO (Master In -> Slave Out) (SDO; Serial Data Out)
MOSI (Master Out -> Slave In) (SDI; Serial Data In)
CS (Cable Select)

JTAG?
TMS (Test Mode Select)
TDI (Test Data In)
TDO (Test Data Out)
TCK (Test Mode Select)
GND (Ground)
3V3 (3.3V)


Please, could you (meneerbeer or someone else who is possible to do that) develop and provide an additional small device - with a (multiline) alpha numeric LCD display and some buttons.
A device hat can use the JTAG or the SPI connection to tell GC Loader which GameCube DVD image should be loaded / used.
Scrolling up/down of detected GameCube DVD image files on the GC Loader's SDCard should be possible with the additional small device.

The connection should be realized with the help of a Flat Flex Film Foil Cable / Flexible Flat Cable, so that the user can decide where to put the GC Loader controller device to.(left, right, behind, below the GameCube) - without keeping any GameCube door lid opened (because of the Flexible Flat Cable)
-->
Like the WODE Jukebox is/was able to do.
Or like other current drive emulators are already able to do so, like the HxC floppy drive emulator: google (image search) hxc floppy lcd flat cable

The GC loader setting (currently loaded/used GameCube DVD image, is emulated GameCube Door Lid open or closed, GC Loader identification values/strings, ...) should be stored in a .txt / .ini file on GC Loader's SD Card then.

A solution with:
  • placeholder for the GC Loader controller device and display
would also be great:

Image
IMG-20210307-225319000-HDR-mod.jpg
(969.57 KiB) Not downloaded yet

I will definetly buy such a GC Loader controller device extension.

Thank you very much.
User avatar
emu_kidid
Site Admin
Posts: 4927
Joined: Mon Mar 29, 2010 10:06 am
Location: Australia
Contact:

Re: GC Loader - improvements - like WODE Jukebox

Post by emu_kidid » Tue Mar 16, 2021 12:15 am

From what I hear the FPGA is already nearly full or completely full, so don't hold out too much hope for this to be added.

You could write a small loader that sits before Swiss/whatever as boot.iso that reads a .txt file on the device, but the problem is that GCLoader is read-only effectively too so you'd need a SD2SP2/SD Card in a memory card slot to make this a possibility.
Image
Post Reply