One of the gray areas of emulation is access to games. While it is possible to emulate a console's behavior with external code without taking anything from the original hardware, making a "dump" of a cartridge's content qualifies as piracy. One of the many solutions on the Web to avoid this is SNES-RD, a homemade adapter capable of directly reading Super Nintendo cartridges through a USB port.
The Temptation to Hack the NES Classic
When Nintendo announced the new version of its beloved NES console, the world began to shout. However, once it confirmed its "immutable" list of 30 built-in games, many of us thought "sooner or later someone is going to hack it". It is too tempting a target for hardware enthusiasts, and once they understand how it works, I'm sure they will find a way to add new dumps. Almost at the same time, the desire arose for the Japanese giant to do something similar with its Super Nintendo. There are definitely classics on that platform that deserve to be rescued, but getting the original hardware is becoming increasingly complicated (it will turn 26 years old in November). It is almost painful to see that cartridges survive much better than consoles. Games remain intact in their ROM chips, while consoles fall apart. As always, creating a dump of a cartridge will make Nintendo scream, but it is the only way we have to rescue the content, unless... it can be read and used without the need for copies.
SNES-RD: A Cartridge Reader via USB
That's when SNES-RD appears. It is a Super Nintendo cartridge reader, based on the Atmel AT90USB1286, a microcontroller that we can find in options like the Teensy++ 2.0. In essence, the reader behaves like a mass storage device: You connect the adapter, then the cartridge, and load the game copy directly with your favorite emulator. For now, SNES-RD works with "LoROM" cartridges, but once its creator manages to obtain "HiROM" cartridges, it will be a matter of modifying the code to implement their compatibility.
A Raw Project
There is no doubt that SNES-RD looks like a fairly "raw" project, so to speak. In fact, there isn't even a diagram, and to get the pinout of the adapter we have to look at the firmware code. I imagine that in the coming weeks a more formal PCB will appear that allows us to create the circuit and solder the Teensy without having to duplicate that nightmare of cables. As for the gamepad adapter, that's another project by the same author, SNES-PAD, which uses a simple ATmega328P. Do you have a broken Super Nintendo, some cartridges and a couple of Teensys? Here is your project for next weekend.
