Panasonic 3DO - FZ-EM256 Save Memory Expansion (Memory Unit) - Cleaning and Teardown

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A short video looking at and cleaning up the FZ-EM256 Memory Expansion for the Panasonic 3DO.
#panasonic #3do #expansion #upgrade

[@GadgetUK164]

The RF level was adjusted later, in this video:- kzbin.info/www/bejne/g5S2mGiOptCVaLc And here's another repair to a 3DO I did later, with laser adjustment (and fixing sound issues):- kzbin.info/www/bejne/e4fZmaBoZ76EhJY Follow up:- kzbin.info/www/bejne/aYvFmWighN17m80 Crackling audio fix:- kzbin.info/www/bejne/pZTdiH9rnbOpapo Yet More Capacitors (on the CD drive):- kzbin.info/www/bejne/mGHHZYKehcitfpI

[@GadgetUK164]

Correction: That battery is a CR2354 (not 64). I couldn't see that until watching it on the video.

[@RiotRetroGaming]

Wow. That is huge... so is that expansion 😉 Apparently some of the Amiga engineers that were let go by Commodore worked on the 3DO architecture. Always wanted to have a play.

[@GadgetUK164]

Haha =D Yes, it is quite large for what it is! I am sure if Panasonic had tried they could have made it much smaller - and done away with the battery. If you compare to say the Saturn backup carts, those use the erasable TSOP version of the 27C040 (something like a 29F040). They could have put 512K of electronically eraseable ROM in there at much less cost than having 2 X SRAM chips probably. And I don't understand why they designed it to have a lead etc rather than something that stands up right or just sticks out of the back - maybe due to stability of the connector.

[@ezcompane]

That's pretty awesome. Now I want to search for one.

[@mikepearman6669]

love watching your vid's keep up the good work

[@GadgetUK164]

Thanks! I appreciate it =D

[@snesfan8935]

Yes, FZ-10 model have build in graphic file manager. No need in Game Guru disc to manage your files.

[@Nukle0n]

Even if the battery is still "good" at 3 volts, that doesn't mean it's not maybe failing tomorrow. Lithium cells generally have a stable voltage and a sudden dropoff, it's not like with Alkalines where they slowly decline.

[@GadgetUK164]

They don't die like that at all in these systems, I've seen them gradually drop over long periods of time - I've got numerous carts and systems that use rechargeable lithium cells and some of them are 25 years old and still working perfectly. The other plus is they don't leak either, so when they do fail its not a problem swapping them out.

[@osgeld]

you can change the left pane to copy from an expander slot to another slot if you want to re arrange your saves

[@GadgetUK164]

Yes - that's precisely what its for! I worked that out watching the video back as it was uploading lol. Quite a nice idea!

[@Bylga]

I SAVED this video for later *Ba Dum Tss*

[@GadgetUK164]

LOL :o)

[@Four_X]

Always liked the 3DO, yes it has its problems "in later life" but it was a good system and was underappreciated. Back on topic, could Panasonic of made that FZ-EM256 Memory Expansion any bigger, Ha.

[@GadgetUK164]

Haha, yes - I dont get why it used SRAM instead of EEPROM (one 256K 29F020 or 29F040 could have done the job at probably less cost) - like the Saturn used on the backup carts. Maybe SRAM was cheaper at the time. Stupidly large design imo.

[@chicomachado]

Hi man, what do you use to clean this black plastic. thanks for the video.

[@GadgetUK164]

For cleaning I generally just use a mixture of 90% water 10% washing up liquid in a spray bottle. Then when clean I use "Back to Black" which is just a sillicone wax - gives it a shine, protects it and makes the colours look stronger.

[@tangosucka8526]

Hi Mate, great video! I've just picked up one of these. Are you able to provide a link for the storage manager software? I can't find it anywhere 🤯

[@GadgetUK164]

Thanks! I cannot see it anywhere just now - the problem is that EmuParadise is no longer hosting the ROMS =/

[@GadgetUK164]

I might be able to dump mine and share it. I cannot get to it just now - could be a month or so before I can.

[@tangosucka8526]

No worries at all Mate. I had a BIG look on the net and came up with zero. That would good if you could. Cheers!

[@coyotekelly7143]

I have a question. My copy of road rash will not play music during game play. I have an fz-10. When I turn on the option for the music it says there is not enough system memory. Would this fix this?

[@GadgetUK164]

Very unlikely it would fix it! It sounds like either you have a RAM fault, or the error is missleading and actually its a problem with the CD drive? Have you got CD music (background music) working in other games?

[@Nukle0n]

Those chips with a 74 on them are probably 74 series logic chips? Wouldn't be unusual to see them next to some RAM.

[@GadgetUK164]

Absolutely, they are 100% 74 series TTL. It's more common to find a 244 or 245, or 373 next to RAM.

[@DanielSanchez-us5tc]

how do i recover save files on the built-in memory of the 3do system that i accidentally deleted

[@GadgetUK164]

I dont think that's possible!? Unless the software that you use to manage the memory cards has an undelete option built in.

[@michaelsworkshop9031]

Wish the design was simpler and the connector less obtuse -- would be easier to make homemade versions of. As it stands, vendors probably wouldn't see enough of a market to start producing a run of these in a modern clone version.

[@GadgetUK164]

Yeah, I agree! I think the easiest option is to perhaps do what I talked about in my first 3DO video - to add a larger SRAM to the motherboard and link up a way to swap banks (perhaps with a button or something). ie. Add a 256K chip in place of the 32K chip and have a PIC or something drive the upper address lines to toggle between 8 banks like the official backup RAM does.

[@tarstarkusz]

Hey Gadget, do you know someone in America who can write to my Saturn memory cart to play CD-R and imports? I cannot get the swap trick to work to do the initial reprogramming. Anyone who already has a memory cart can simply boot up their Saturn and then put my cart in and program it.

[@GadgetUK164]

I honestly don't know who to recommend =/ You might be able to find someone on the Sega 16 forum? I might at some point ask for names of contacts around the world so I can have a list of people I can recommend to do things like this.

[@Darklordsidius_JC]

Would you be able to assist me with adding a fan to an FZ-1? I was given the FZ-1 for my birthday but after 30 minutes, it starts to skip and eventually freeze. I removed the top and was amazed that the heatsink was just a piece of the shielding, so thin and not a good heatsink at all. I added 3 small, but with long fins, heatsinks onto the thin one that was there. They helped cool it with the top off but with the top of the shell on, they heated up to almost 70c. I noticed the motherboard has a spot for a fan header connection labeled CN660 and there are 2 unpopulated spots nearby labeled C660 & L660. I assume that they are all linked. There is also a spot in the shell for a fan to clip into, to pull air out of the system. I found an old 40mm x 40mm x 10mm pc fan and it clipped in perfectly, so I wired it to a usb 5v to 12v step up and ran the system with the fan popped in and running. The system stayed very cool and no skipping or freezing. The added heatsinks helped tremendously as well. What I need help with is the components that are missing in the C660 & L660. I bought a new double ball bearing fan and header connectors. Can you help me with information about what I am missing? Please and thank you!

[@GadgetUK164]

Are you sure it doesn't need the PSU section recapping? The behaviour you describe is more commonly related to either the CD drive (laser or caps on the drive PCB), or the PSU caps. I will investigate adding a fan, because I dont think mine has one either.

[@Darklordsidius_JC]

@@GadgetUK164 I'm sure it could benefit from some new caps, especially that small 10uf one on the PSU, I've seen that one faulty on a lot of FZ-1. I figured the fan would help everything last the rest of my life (old caps, voltage regulators etc.) but I didn't want to damage it if it needed proper components to make the fan work. I'll give the board a thorough review and check for bad caps. I have lots of smaller caps, but don't know what could be placed in the L660 spot. My eyes are bad but I think the C660 and L660 are parallel to each other on the board with positive splitting to each, exiting to a large ground that leads to the ground of the fan connector CN660. I will find my volt meter to see if that is the case. I think adding a fan would be a great idea and a fun project.

[@Darklordsidius_JC]

I just checked, the 10uf leaked a little. The power on those components runs like a horse shoe, starts at the bottom of the L660, leads up around to the top of C660 and out the bottom to the ground that CN660 is connected to. L660 gives off 9v. The CN660 has no power on its own. The open via on top of L660 and C660 is directly linked to the positive side of the CN660. After the power goes through the L660, it splits off to the fan at CN660 and to the capacitor that's missing on C660. Would a resistor go on L660?

[@GadgetUK164]

The capacitor and inductor are basically going to be filter related - to filter fan noise. It would litterally depend on the fan fitted in order to calculate the size of the inductor and capacitor. You could just fit a 220uF capacitor (or 470uF) - 16v or 25v, and maybe fit an inductor, maybe a 0.1H inductor or something.

[@GadgetUK164]

L660 will be an inductor! You would find it will work with either a piece of wire, or an inductor of say 0.1H, or you could try another size if you find the fan creates audible noise on the sound output.

[@Holty48]

Would you be willing to solder a new battery into my 3DO if I paid you well for your time/services? UK based. Cheers.

[@GadgetUK164]

I cannot do customer repairs sorry! =/

[@Holty48]

@@GadgetUK164 No problem. :-)

[@RetroGamerBB]

I wish someone would clone one or reverse engineer it and make a new one. Something anything

[@GadgetUK164]

Yeah, I guess reverse engineering would be possible. I am guessing that all that quad flat pack IC is doing is controlling the bank switching between the 8 slots, and basically routing the data and address lines through to the relevant places. There might be some kind of 'are you authorised 3DO hardware' hand shake or something going on, and maybe the data is encrypted, but I doubt it. The easier way would be to just put a 256J chip in place of the onboard SRAM and have some button or something to toggle between 8 banks (basically an internal RAM upgade for the normal 32KB)

[@RetroGamerBB]

GadgetUK164 - Retro Gaming Repairs & Mods I saw one on eBay for 140 and almost bought it. If I can get the USB HDD mod it won't be nessicary

[@RetroGamerBB]

GadgetUK164 - Retro Gaming Repairs & Mods any 3do attachments are like porn to me

[@GadgetUK164]

Hehe, yes, I have to admit to liking anything for the 3DO!

[@RetroGamerBB]

GadgetUK164 - Retro Gaming Repairs & Mods I always wanted the Japanese version of the fz-fv10, the vcd card. Even though the vcd format is garbage. And it would be a waste of the laser. The memory card it substantially more attractive given the storage situation on the 3do. I bought a bum fz1 to get mnemos fz1usb adapter, its plug and play on fz1 and saves can be copied and moved.

[@rasz]

meow?

[@GadgetUK164]

Hehehe