Computer, Console and Arcade Stuff...

SNES

My current SNES is a PAL unit which has been expertly modified by those wonderful people over at Console Passion.

The cartridge slot has been widened to accept the chunky US cartridges, and the electronics have been modified so that a quick tap on the reset button causes the machine to reset as normal, but an extended press on the switch swaps the SNES between US, PAL and Japanese regions.

Although I'm a collector of boxed games I do also have a SNES Everdrive cartridge. This enables me to run SNES ROM images on my machine as if the original cartridge was plugged in. The majority of the time I use this to try out games before considering if it's worth my while tracking down the original to add to my collection. On other occasions it gives me a chance to dabble with some obscure title that I'm simply curious about

Also in my collection is a Multi Game Hunter device. Similar in function to the Everdrive, this is a floppy disk system that sits on top of the SNES and gives you the ability to load and save games to floppy disk.

With the advent of the Everdrive, this system is largely redundant and is kept in my collection as more of a curiosity item.

 

Multi Game Hunter

The Multi Game Hunter (MGH) is a cartridge back-up device released by the Venus corporation. The system works by allowing you to dump the contents of a cartridge to floppy disk(s) or to load previously dumped cartridge images back into the onboard RAM of the device.

One unusual feature of the MGH is that it's compatible with both the SNES and the Megadrive. The only difference is the connector bridging the device to the host system.

There isn't a massive amount of information online detailing the MGH, but from what I can ascertain, there were two versions available - one in black and one in grey. Images of the grey system can be found on this page.

One website I've visited states that the grey model cannot be upgraded from its original 16 megabits of onboard RAM, while another website reports that the grey model can be upgraded, and it's the black version that can't.

I have tried to dismantle my MGH in an effort to discover whether it can or can't be upgraded, but as yet I have not been able to find any chips which look like RAM. The box that came with my MGH states that the grey version can be expanded, however.

The MGH is powered by a 9v external power supply which is not included. I’ve found that Megadrive, Genesis and Spectrum+2 supplies all work well well with the system.

The PSU supplies power to the floppy disk drive, and all other parts of the device will work without the PSU plugged in. This means that once you've loaded your desired game (games are loaded into the system's RAM in their entirety), you can disconnect the power supply if you so wish.

With regards to data storage, each disk can store up to 12 megabits (approx 1.536 megabytes) of data. For dumped cartridge images that take up more than 12 megabits the image is spanned across multiple disks, and the system prompts you to swap disks as and when required.

These days the Everdrive cartridge is a more convenient and practical way of running ROM images on original hardware, but for its time the MGH was a versatile and well designed piece of kit.

Hardware Photos

In the photos below you can see a side profile of a SNES cartridge. The cart slots in there and is used to either take a copy of the data from the cartridge and dump it to floppy disk(s) or you can simply run the cartridge directly through the MGH. The system needs a cartridge inserted to operate.

Next to the SNES cartridge is a small black flap. Flick this up and a slot is revealed which can accommodate Megadrive/Genesis carts.

The floppy drive itself is apparently removable, but I’ve not attempted to remove it from the system. It works, so I don't want to tamper with it!

The whole unit connects to the SNES using the standard cartridge port, and while it may look a little unwieldy from the photos, it does sit securely to the console.

Multi Game Hunter to SNES Connector

In the photos shown below, you can see the connector which connects the MGH to the Super Nintendo. This can be removed and replaced with an adapter to connect the MGH to a Megadrive/Genesis instead. I can only assume that a different connector is also required to connect the system to a US Super Nintendo.

To remove the connector from the MGH you need to squeeze on the clip (shown in the top photo to the right) and pull. The clips aren't made that well, and the one on my unit is almost ready to snap off. I've found that this doesn't have any impact on the reliability of the system.

Although the edge connector cartridge is sealed, standard screws have been used, so it's easy to open up the unit and take a look inside.

There are no components contained within the edge connector. The cartridge merely directly maps to the pins on the SNES cartridge slot.

SF DOS for MGH Version 2.2

Here, you can upgrade your MGH DOS to version 2.2.

The MGH_DOSV22.ZIP archive contains the following files:

  • SFDOS22.MGH - SF DOS v2.2
  • FINGER.XS - Game Finger Util V1.1
  • SWAPPER.XS - Swapper Service Utility V1.0
  • SAVER.SX - Gamer Saver Util V1.12
  • README.TXT - Detailed Instructions 

Download: MGH_DOS_V22

Once you've copied the files to disk, select "Upgrade Software" from the MGH menus to start the installation.

Once the installation is complete you should see "Upgrade OK" displayed on screen.

If you then select the "Check MGH" command from the MGH menus you should see the latest version displayed.

Full instructions for the other bundled applications can be found in the README.TXT file included in the archive.

 

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