Wifi SD card in GDEMU

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moi
blackout!
Posts: 143

Re: Wifi SD card in GDEMU

Post#11 » Wed Jan 05, 2022 4:13 am

There might be several reasons for troubles with transfer of large files:
-connection timeout (check the settings in the web interface)
-hardware issues with the adapter itself
-general slow transfer due to used serial protocol

I've done some research and it looks like the adapters require stable input voltage of 5V, via USB for instance:

Module parameters:

1) The module adopts ESP-12S, which is based on ESP8266's low-power UART-WIFI chip module;

2) The main frequency supports 80MHz and 160MHz;

3) Spectrum range: 2412-2484MHZ;

4) Logic voltage: DC 3.3v;

5) USB input voltage: DC 5V;

6) Size: SD-24mm *58.3mm; TF - 24 mm * 45.5 mm;

7) Transmission file name format requirements: only support the file name consisting of ASCII code;

8) TF card memory: 128M.


https://aliexpress.ru/item/400099142585 ... web201603_

BSD9000
shadow
Posts: 12

Re: Wifi SD card in GDEMU

Post#12 » Wed Jan 05, 2022 10:32 am

Oh and here's something else I noticed: the card doesn't show its IP or device name on my router's client list. There are a few devices which don't show anything in the IP and device name fields, only a MAC address. If I'm motivated, I might try figuring out the MAC address of the card either by process of elimination, or by plugging in a spare router and having only the card connect to it.

It may very well be an issue of a dropped connection that causes the touch and go transfer. If that's the case, then it really speaks to the resilience of the data transfer protocol, that it can complete the transfer, even though the target goes dark and then comes back up.

As far as the voltage requirements, there appear to be 2 possibilities for wifi not working in the GDEMU:

1) the memory chip has a lower voltage requirement than the wifi chip, and the GDEMU only provides this lower voltage.

2) as you can see in the provided link, SD cards have 2 ground pins. Maybe the wifi chip requires that they both be connected, and the GDEMU connects only one.

All the things mentioned above will take me an hour or 2 to chase down. If I get around to it before the card finds its way into an everdrive64 (assuming it works in that), I'll let you guys know.

https://www.electroniccircuitsdesign.co ... inout.html

BSD9000
shadow
Posts: 12

Re: Wifi SD card in GDEMU

Post#13 » Wed Jan 05, 2022 10:38 am

And as far as the card maybe installing a driver on Windows to request a certain power, that's a good theory, but it doesn't explain how it can work in my Wii, and in digital cameras, which is where it's actually intended to go.

moi
blackout!
Posts: 143

Re: Wifi SD card in GDEMU

Post#14 » Wed Jan 05, 2022 1:18 pm

BSD9000 wrote:And as far as the card maybe installing a driver on Windows to request a certain power, that's a good theory, but it doesn't explain how it can work in my Wii, and in digital cameras, which is where it's actually intended to go.



Pure speculation on my side based on information available at that time(yesterday ☺️). I imagine the Wii and windows PCs are handling SD card differently to GDemu. I'm still optimistic that those differences can be neutralized by using an SD adapter with a separate power supply. So I've ordered the one from AliExpress and will report once I've tried it for myself.

BSD9000
shadow
Posts: 12

Re: Wifi SD card in GDEMU

Post#15 » Wed Feb 02, 2022 6:10 pm

Oh in case anyone was wondering, the newer everdrive 64 carts take microsd only, so this card is out of the question.

moi
blackout!
Posts: 143

Re: Wifi SD card in GDEMU

Post#16 » Fri Feb 04, 2022 12:24 pm

An update on my tests of that model. It's kinda unstable overall. The connection seems to close after aminute or two.
Aside from that issues the SD card contents can only be accessed via wifi rather than through the sdcard slot.
Sadly it seems there is no way to use wifi sc cards at the moment.

BSD9000
shadow
Posts: 12

Re: Wifi SD card in GDEMU

Post#17 » Fri Feb 04, 2022 1:02 pm

Man, you must've gotten a Friday afternoon card. Mine never had issues accessing the data when plugged in directly, and files under 50mb in size have had a 100% success rate transferring over wifi. Even files over 1gb made it over about 75% of the time, you just had to be patient when the card appeared to have quit.

It currently resides in my wii, where it does great at receiving homebrew applications and game save files for gamecube and wii games. If I had an older everdrive cart with the full size sd slot, that would be an ideal application for it, as most cartridge games from the 90s are well under 50mb.

BSD9000
shadow
Posts: 12

Re: Wifi SD card in GDEMU

Post#18 » Fri Feb 04, 2022 1:05 pm

It might also help to pop the card into a Windows machine (or set it as a network drive, if your card's content can't be accessed directly for some reason), and set the permissions for the config file as read-only.

moi
blackout!
Posts: 143

Re: Wifi SD card in GDEMU

Post#19 » Fri Feb 04, 2022 4:16 pm

BSD9000 wrote:It might also help to pop the card into a Windows machine (or set it as a network drive, if your card's content can't be accessed directly for some reason), and set the permissions for the config file as read-only.


I did. I guess I might have received a faulty adapter...

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