XenoFUSION

[megalomaniac]

XenoFUSION:
What do you get when you cross a Xeno GC modchip and a WKF? a XenoFUSION


The Atmega8 on the Xeno modchip has built in ADC functionality to monitor for voltage.
Using this feature to monitor the WKF SD card slot will allow the Xeno to also act as the pin29 switch to create an auto-load type functionality at bootup and can also be connected to your existing pin29 switch as backup (if needed).
This modification requires nothing more than 2 wire soldered and a XenoGC firmware update.
( is this the first ever unofficial firmware release? )

view MEGAdrive and XenoFUSION in action here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-7U0fu-z3o

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Xeno will be set up to deliver GND signal on PortD to WKF.
Xeno will be set up to monitor voltage on PortC pin PC2.
   IF voltage is detected, PortD will shift to open GND.
      This will mimic pin 29 manual push switch functions and 
      enable auto-loading of WKF iso.
   IF voltage is NOT detected, then PortD will remain as closed
      GND to allow normal DVD loading. Xeno drivecode will also
      upload as normal. 
   IF voltage is detected once again after drivecode upload, then 
      an SD Card must have been reinserted into the slot and an
      open GND signal will once again be sent to WKF pin 29. 

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VOLTAGE MONITORING: is measured by a single wire between Atmega8 and the WKF SD card slot.
   WKF SD CARD PINOUT = 9, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
   WKF SD CARD Slot pin #1 = 0v when no card inserted.
   WKF SD CARD Slot pin #1 = 3v when card is inserted.
   Atmega8 pin PC2 is set up to monitor presence of voltage.
   Atmega8 pin PD5 is set up to provide pin29 GND function.
   A normally closed switch can also be used inline between 
      the Atmega8 pin PD5 and the WKF pin29.  This will allow
      manual operation to "eject" the iso any time after
      automatic operation has been performed or to provide
      backup functionality for any reason undiscovered at 
      this point.

more information will be posted and updated on the wiki page
http://www.gc-forever.com/wiki/index.ph ... eno_Fusion


installation

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2 wires
one solder bridge

two corner pins were strategically chosen as the soldering points for xeno to make for a much easier soldering install with plenty of accessibility for even the novice modder. Using the corners will provide less chance to short any pins.
It also happens to be the bottom left corner pin can be dedicated for voltage monitoring...luck!!

this bottom left corner pin is soldered to the WKF SD card slot pin #1 as indicated in the pic below.
the top right pin goes to WKF pin 29 or a normally closed switch (for backup purpose).
ELECTRICAL SAFETY NOTE: If you already have a pin29 switch, you must disconnect the lead from GND and solder it to Xeno instead.
DO NOT leave the switch soldered to GND and Xeno at the same time.

also, as shown in the pic, a solder bridge must be created between the "AREF" pin and the capacitor. This AREF pin is used as voltage reference for internal baseline voltage monitoring.

[Diminuendo]

bloody amazing man, one question though; this will disactivate the gamecubes original eject sensor right? what would be the best solution for multi-disk games? would it be a simple action of pulling out the SD card and putting it back in?

well that was three questions, but your stuff always amazes me.

[megalomaniac]

gamecube does not have an eject sensor like the wii (which is what the WKF is expecting)...so we simulate the wii eject button with the pin29 switch....XenoFUSION will simulate the functionality of the wii eject button (normally closed switch)...along with the ability to detect if the card is inserted or removed to ensure the WKF gets the signal it requires...

and like before, for multi-game titles, you will still remove the SD card, insert the other SD card then manually open and close the GC lid, or for portables hit the lid replacement switch...but i doubt portables will have on board DVD drives anymore

also, of course, all of this info applies only to WKF....


i have not tested this functionality on wode...but since there is no real need to detect an SD card on WODE or any need to initalize any type of wode function ( since wode already gave us auto-loading ability ) then the XenoFusion firmware will default to regular drivecode upload as any xeno normally would...and in all reality, there is no reason to update a Xeno with XenoFUSION firmware when connected to a wode...

[Diminuendo]

Ok, cool that's how I was thinking it would work, I was a little silly and forgot that pin 29 is NOT the GC lid closed switch.

[mida84]

Fantastic work. Congrats.

[yamaharacer]

does this mean we dont have to solder in a nc switch anymore?

[megalomaniac]

even thou this solution seems to be very stable and could possibly be a complete replacement for the NC switch, i would still have a switch connected as a back up for some reason i have not thought of yet...or maybe in case there is a small bug in the XenoFUSION code that i have not come across yet...

...but at least the switch can be moved towards the back and out of the way since it will not be needed much...and maybe eventually the switch wont ever be needed...

[liquitt]

wow mate, that's fantastic!!

[kel01]

Great work mega. My next cube will be even better now if I can do away with the eject switch thanks to you

[Cubdax]

Fantastic work! Thanks again for sharing your discoveries and knowledge

[MockyLock]

...
Somehow "funny" this post...

[Duhasst0]

Is the new modified xeno firmware available for download anywhere? I have been able to find a link to it or anything. Thanks.

[megalomaniac]

i was hoping to have a more stable release of the xeno flashloader utility so i could make a DOL loadable upgrade for XenoFUSION firmware....
i guess i could always release a hex version for now...

updated first post with hex

[Duhasst0]

Excellent, thanks man. I will be testing that when the rest of my gear arrives.

[Cybertronic]

I'm curious why so many people tend to do a wired installation of the XenoGC vs a wireless install. Know the chip isn't much bigger than a thumbnail and takes a fine point iron (available at any RadioShack), but it just strikes me as odd since the design was supposed to make it easy to install. I guess too many people use too much solder and blob up the entire holes.

Note: I do SMD repair work on Acer tablets for a living, so my perception of easy/difficult is a bit skewed, but just wanted to hear some other voices on the matter.

[Diminuendo]

Maybe it was made to be used with that silly solder paste stuff and it's difficult to make work with the proper stuff?

Note: I do SMD repair work on Acer tablets for a living, so my perception of easy/difficult is a bit skewed, but just wanted to hear some other voices on the matter.

off topic but out of interest if I gave you a surface pro could you remove the processor and RAM and upgrade them?

[Cybertronic]

I have no experience with the Surface Pro, and I absolutely *hate* BGA chips with a passion. Most of my repairs at work include replacing faulty power buttons, toggle switches, usb ports, dc jacks.

The surface pro is a very expensive device, if it stopped working while I was upgrading something, that would be very unfortunate for me. I wouldn't feel comfortable doing commission work like that. There are also sometimes unexpected results when changing hardware specs on dedicated system board.

[Plastic]

How would I flash the .hex with the utility, just put the dol and the hex in the root and it goes?

[Duhasst0]

From what I can tell from the xeno source thread it needs to be injected into the dol. I have no idea how to do this or build the dol from source. If I had a linux machine I probably could but don't. Otherwise you need to build a programmer.

[megalomaniac]

the hex file can be used standalone with an AVR programmer to flash the chip...
the flashing utility contains the hex file and code to use the dvd drive itself to flash the chip...

[LOCtronicz]

Awesome work!! Xeno chips are cheap to get this would be a great solution for an automated wiikey switch. Any way to flash the xeno from the dvd drive? So making the hex file into a bootable dvd?

[megalomaniac]

the flasher utility itself is still a bit buggy....thats why i only posted the hex file...
the flasher works, but it involves some very specific sequences and checks from the user....and im not comfortable releasing the flasher as is since in its current state, it could potentially leave the chip erased / blank



as you can see here, the flasher works....
it not XenoFUSION firmware...this video was taken a few weeks before writing the XenoFUSION enhancements...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lhd8M3_NaI

[LOCtronicz]

A yes sorry I just read that you posted that in the first post of this page. Pity it doesn't work properly. On another note does the xeno chip work when only connected to a wiikey fusion? Since for portables we wouldn't be using the discdrive anyway.

[megalomaniac]

A yes sorry I just read that you posted that in the first post of this page. Pity it doesn't work properly. On another note does the xeno chip work when only connected to a wiikey fusion? Since for portables we wouldn't be using the discdrive anyway.

you can still power the chip and connect it as indicated to the WKF slot and pin29....
it will just have nowhere to upload the drive code....which is fine...
when i tested an atmega on a breadboard, there was no dvd drive connected and it worked all the same...

so this will work in portables too


or an afterthought.....dont even need the xeno code at all...
just a simple standalone function will work which was my first test program i wrote before adding it to the xeno code

[Diminuendo]

that sounds pretty awesome but wouldn't that be a bit of a waste using a XENO? couldn't you make a dedicated ATmega circuit for driveless Wiikeys?