Help Building Eeprom Reader Options

[Spence67]

The only store that sells stuff like this in this shitty town is The Source, and they suck. I was able to get two 3.9k resistors, wire and a PCB. I was not able to find a 9 pin d-sub but I have pins I can just attach to the wire. Now for diodes all they had were 1N4001's which are 50v. Is there any way to reduce them to 5v? Why are the diodes even needed? Will it work without diodes if I use a parallel port instead of a serial port? Please tell me there is some way to make this work. Otherwise I just wasted $20 which is a rip off in the first place, sucks I can't buy anything online.

[Heimdall]

You can't use the parallel port, and you have to use 5V Zener diodes, not 50V diodes. You need them to limit the voltage to 5 volts - if you don't have them you risk damaging your PC, or your Xbox, or both. The 1N4001 diodes are no good for an eeprom reader - take them back and get a refund!

[ldotsfan]

Actually the original SI Prog design uses parallel port but it does not reduce component count.
You might want to search for rex xbox scene i2c. That is an older eeprom reader design and npn transistor may be easier to find than zeners.

[obcd]

It's possible to use the 1N4001. You will need 4 of them and a slightly modified schematic.

Place the 2 1N4007 diodes in place of the zeners.

Place another 1N4007 in serie with the DTR signal, it's kathode (the line on the diode) facing to the DTR signal.

Place another 1N4007 in serie with the RTS signal, it's kathode facing to the RTS signal.

So, you will have DTR - resistor - diode - CTS - diode to GND
and also RTS - resistor - diode - diode to GND

RTS is also connected to DSR

DTR is pin 4 on DB9
GND is pin 5 on DB9
DSR is pin 6 on DB9
RTS is pin 7 on DB9
CTS is pin 8 on DB9

If you can't find a DB9 connector, go to your local computer shop. He might have some DB9 male to DB9 female cables. Just make sure the connectors have housings that can be opened. Otherwise, you need to be sure that the pins you need are also connected to wires.

The modified schematic works (I have used it.), but like the original, it might work on some pc serial ports and not on others, since the rs232 standards aren't followed to the letter.

The diodes can be any small signal Silicium diode like the 1N4148 or the 1N914.
They are cheaper than the 1N4007 which is a 1 Amp diode.

If you don't clearly understand the modified schematic, don't try it out. Ask for help first. I might be ale to make a small drawing if I find the time.

regards.

[Spence67]

It's really possible? Awesome! Only thing is.. those were the last two 1N4001's they had. I don't know why Radio Shack has changed to The Source here in Canada, they suck! They are slowly losing all of the stuff Radio Shack was good for!

This post has been edited by Spence67: Jun 29 2009, 02:45 PM

[obcd]

You really need 4 diodes if you don't use zeners.

Sometimes you can find them in an old (defective) net adapter or in an old clockradio.

I am sure you will find several on an old television pcb.

If your local garage has some defective pieces of car electronics, you will probably find diodes in it as well.

regards.

[Spence67]

I was able to salvage one 1N5817 and one 1N5820 would those work? I'm sure I can find more.. actually I would have had three 1N5817's but I really suck and desoldering. Mainly because my soldering iron's tip is not fine at all.

[Spence67]

I was able to salvage several zener diodes and plenty of the types I found. I have 1N4148F's, TZX6V2C's and TZX7V5A's which have a VR of 5v, is that what I need? Please tell me I can use them.. Never mind seems VZ is what I'm looking for those are 7 to 7.3v but the 6V2C's are 6 to 6.3v will those work?

This post has been edited by Spence67: Jun 30 2009, 02:11 AM

[Spence67]

Sorry for posting three times in a row, but I can't edit my posts anymore for some reason.. Anyways seems I only have one TZX6V2C (6-6.3V) and I found one TZX5V1C (5-5.2V) can I use those? Or can I just use the one 5V1C some how?

[xman954]

CODE

SC --------|\|--------|--------/\/\/\/\------- pin 6 and 7

                      |

                      |---------|/|--------- gnd



                  

xbox vcc ----|/|-------|-----------|/|------- gnd

                       |----- /\/\/\/\ ------------ pin 4

SD --------------------|-------------- pin8

diodes 1N4148 or 1N4001-7

should work if the xbox is powered up (will not work for reading a eeprom by it's self )

[Spence67]

Ok, now.. does the [ \ ] mean the cathode is facing to the left or right? I would assume right, and what's Xbox VCC, just the power?

This post has been edited by Spence67: Jun 30 2009, 02:23 PM

[Spence67]

Would this be correct if I flipped the diagram around so that the pins are facing left.. because my PC is on the left and that's how I will be building this. All the diodes and resistors are the same I just forgot to label them all.

[Spence67]

I've finished making the reader exactly like my diagram above.. which I hope is correct.

[obcd]

Yes, everything seems ok.

The VCC is the 3V3 supply rail of the xbox. I know for sure that on 1.0 and 1.1 xboxes the eeprom chip is powered by that 3V3. It could be the 5V rail on the 1.6 model. The only way to know for sure is to measure it. You can't damage something if you skip with the 3V3 supply rail.

Just make sure that wire is decent connected. If it disconnects, the SDA voltage can increase to 8 to 10V, and the eeprom chip can't handle this. You have a 3V3 hole on the LPC holes.

If you connect the reader to the xbox and the pc, the xbox will frag if you power it on. For a 1.0 - 1.5 xbox, that's not a problem. After the frag, when it flashes red and green, the 3V3 power stays on. A 1.6 xbox turns the power off after the frag. You can leave the pc disconnected until the xbox is running.

If you manage to get the eeprom.bin file, check it with the liveinfo beta 3 program. It's serial number should match the one on the bottom of your xbox.

regards.

[Spence67]

Alright well the Xbox frags but it doesn't flash green and red just green, what does this mean? Also I could never get a 9-pin sub, I just left some casing of the wire empty about three millimeters in so I can push the wire onto the pin, I don't even know if the wire is even touching the pin, most likely not. Also, how should I have my serial port configured in the BIOS, just on auto? Lastly I don't need anything on pin 5 right? Since that's just a ground I can use.