Shown below, is a custom built DCC adapter board that was used with the 64DD development kit to interface two development cartridges to the N64 & 64DD console Data bus. This prototype board was likely built in-house by developers.
Front View of DCC adapter.
TOP SIDE of DCC adapter.
Cartridge Sockets.
Back underside of DCC adapter board.
Cartridge BUS extender Board - SIDE A
Cartridge BUS extender Board - SIDE B
Developers often cut corners wherever they could, and building any gear in-house, would definitely save the studio a few bucks!
The official DCC Adapter board that was released by Nintendo is shown below:
Official DCC Adapter board - FRONT
Official DCC Adapter board - BUS Extender PCBA.
Official DCC Adapter board - In 64DD Console.
Official DCC Adapter + 256K SRAM Cartridge.
Official DCC Adapter + IPL ROM PAK
As you can see the DCC Adapter adapter board was used for interfacing two dev cartridges together so that the 64DD and N64 consoles would have access to both devices simultaneously.
There were two instances where the DCC adapter would be used.
- A 64DD game is being tested and Run using an N64 Development Flash cartridge. The early N64 development flash cartridges did not contain internal SRAM memory. Therefore to test games that required SRAM, a special 256K SRAM cartridge used with the DCC adapter board. The final retail version of the cartridge would be populated with a dedicated SRAM chip.
- A 64DD game is being tested on a 64DD Development console using a Partner-N64 debugger. A special Cartridge is needed when developing on the 64DD. This cartridge is called the “IPL ROM PAK” and it provides access to special FONTS and WAV data information. The data can only be accessed at a special address offset, which is different from the 64DD and N64 hardware. This was necessary in order for the Partner-N64 debugger to function correctly during development.