Some tips plus some price of the copiers.  If any of you are interested
in getting a new copier, e-mail to Victor@Ucme.Berkeley.Edu
Thanx!

______________________________________________________________________________

The scheme is:       (Revision 6 July 93)

1.  Basic assumptions about copiers:
    A.  The standard units cannot back up or play back carts that make use of
	special chips like DSP, S Customs II or Super FX.
	Super Wild Card can back up Super Mario Kart and play it back, in
	the presence of the original cart.  So if your original cart
	malfunctions, you are not able to play the game back.
	No known copier can back up Super FX games.
	Super Pro Fighter is alleged to come out a Super FX interface.
	An original StarFox cart plugs on top and you can play the backed
	version of StarFox.  There is no guarantee that it can play later
	Super FX games.  It will not come out till another Super FX based
	game is out.

	[ The DSP adaptor for UFO is now available at US$90
	  DSP interface for Super Pro Fighter Q at US$100
	  DSP interface for MGH at US$100
	  There is NO DSP interface for Game Doctor SF2 and Super Wild Card ]

    B.  For copiers other than Super Pro Fighter, Super Wild Card and GDSF2
	protected SFC games(about 18 up to now) cannot be backed up, by normal
	user, but all those games can be played back.  For Super Pro Fighter,
	the backed files are in FIG format.  It only reads FIG format
	(interleave format) protected games.  For UFO, MGH and Game Doctor
	SF2, they read only BOX format(non-interleave format) protected games.
	For Super Wild Card, it reads all FIG format protected games and
	most BOX format.
	To convert FIG format to BOX format, FIG2BOX.LZH for IBM PC can be
	used.

    C.  Each of them has a protected SFC game decoder inside.  For GDSF2, MGH
	and UFO, it can be replaced easily.  For Super Pro Fighter and Super
	Wild Card, it is built inside the unit and cannot be replaced readily.
	The old decoder is for <=16M protected games, while the new one is
	for >16M protected games.  All units come with the old decoder slot.
	The new one is optional for UFO, GDSF3 and Supercom Partner.
	Super Pro Fighter needs a modification to play the >16M protected
	games, but then, the <=16M protected games can't be played.

	[ The other names for protected SFC game decoder are hi-RAM adaptor,
	  PAL adaptor, and SETA adaptor ]

    D.  Usage of copiers depend on different users.

2.  Copiers offered:

    1a) Game Doctor SF3 v3.0 16M - US$340
    1b) Game Doctor SF3 v3.0 32M - US$460
    1c) New decoder adaptor for GDSF2/3 - US$50
    1d) 16M memory expansion board for GDSF2/3 - US$120
    2a) UFO 18M hyper version - US$360
    2b) DSP adaptor for UFO - US$90
    2c) UFO 26M hyper version with both decoders - US$420  (on promotion)
    2d) New decoder adaptor for UFO - US$50
    3)  Super Wild Card - US$350    (needs no power adaptor)
    4a) Super Pro Fighter 16M Q version - US$340
    4b) Real time save+slow motion interface for SPF(Q) - US$50
    4c) Super FX interface for Super Pro Fighter Q - not yet available **
    4d) DSP interface for Super Pro Fighter Q - US$100
    4e) Super Pro Fighter 24M Q version - US$400
    5a) MGH v2.2 for both SFC/SNES and MegaDrive/Genesis - US$400
    5b) DSP interface for MGH - US$100
    6a) Supercom Partner 16M - US$350    (needs no power adaptor)
    6b) Supercom Partner 24M - US$400    (needs no power adaptor)
    6c) New decoder adaptor for Supercom Partner - US$50

** Super FX interface for SPFQ won't be available at least till another Super
FX based game is out.

[   Some points to clarify:
    1. The price includes shipping by registered air parcel to any area.
    2. No copiers will be shipped with any kind of power adaptor, because it is
       too heavy and expensive to send.
    3. There is a complete set of manual for Game Doctor SF2, in English.
       For UFO, the manual is in brief.  There is no manual for Super Wild
       Card, Super Pro Fighter or MGH.
**> 4. All the mentioning copiers other than MGH is only for SFC/SNES.
    5. For Game Doctor SF2 and MGH, you need no passthrough to insert a SNES
       cart to the copier(for backup).  For other copiers, you need a SFC<->
       SNES convertor.  Of course, if you need not backup any cart, forget it.
]

3.  Added comments not in the comparing chart below:-

    UFO may load disks very slow.  This problem can be overcome by using
    the format utility it provides, but it is not 100% IBM PC MS-DOS
    compatible.  If you use an utility called FDFORMAT, the maximum speed
    of loading a 8M file can be boosted to 29 seconds.  Edit a batch file
    called "f144.bat" whose content is simply the line:

    fdformat b:/u x1 y3

    This can also boost the disk loading speed to a max of 29s for all
    other systems.

    Supercom Partner also needs no additional power adaptor, and the base
    adaptor is detachable from the unit.  It's better than UFO, in which
    the base adaptor is NOT detachable.  There is no memory upgrade or
    new decoder for Super Wild Card(till now), even if you replace the old
    decoder IC by the new one, the old protected games(<=16M) can't be played
    then.  You EITHER sacrifice the <=16M protected games, or >16M protected
    games.  The situation is the same for Super Pro Fighter.  For Supercom
    Partner, there is both memory upgrade and optional new decoder slot.
    The detachable adaptor design makes replacement easy.

    MGH2 will be out later.  It's still on development.  The only known
    upgrades are include built-in 24M memory and new decoder.

    There will be a service to upgrade the current MGH to MGH2, details of
    which are still unknown.  Also, you need to send the old copier to Hong
    Kong for an upgrade.


4.  Game Boxer is different from Game Doctor SF2 - explained later.

5.  Among all the mentioning copiers, only Super Pro Fighter Q does not
    come with instant save/slow motion utility.  The interface is priced
    at US$50(optional).

6.  *NOTICE*
    For Euro SNES users, you must either remove the protection chip in your
    SNES, or remove the dual flip-flop 74LS112 in the copier.  I recommend
    Game Doctor SF2/3 because the operation can be done without the need to
    unscrew the unit.

[Excerpt of a message from Dierk Mueller to Michael Klauser]
Michael Klauser writes:
>
>   I've just unscrewed the base adaptor of GDSF2.  I investigate how the pins
> are connected to the cart slot of SFC.  I wonder if it can be either removed
> so it can match euro SNES or have it re-wired in another way...tell me if
> you know.

That's of no problem.
First of all I'll show the pinout of the SNES slot:


01                            32
02                            33
03                            34
04                            35

05 [01] GND                   36 [24] GND
06 [02] A11                   37 [25] A12
07 [03] A10                   38 [26] A13
08 [04] A9                    39 [27] A14
09 [05] A8                    40 [28] A15
10 [06] A7                    41 [29] A16
11 [07] A6                    42 [30] A17
12 [08] A5                    43 [31] A18
13 [09] A4                    44 [32] A19
14 [10] A3                    45 [33] A20
15 [11] A2                    46 [34] A21
16 [12] A1                    47 [35] A22
17 [13] A0                    48 [36] A23
18 [14] -                     49 [37] U3-1 (LS139)
19 [15] D0                    50 [38] D4
20 [16] D1                    51 [39] D5
21 [17] D2                    52 [40] D6
22 [18] D3                    53 [41] D7
23 [19] /CHIP-ENABLE          54 [42] R/W (SAVE-RAM)
24 [20] CIC-1 (ID-OUT)        55 [43] CIC-2 (ID-OUT)
25 [21] CIC-7 (ID-IN)         56 [44] CIC-6 (ID-IN)
26 [22] U3-13 (LS139)         57 [45] -
27 [23] VCC                   58 [46] VCC

28                            59
29                            60
30                            61
31                            62

To use an GDSF on Europaen SNES you have to do the following:

- Remove 74LS112 from base adaptor of the GDSF
  Best method is to cut it out ( no soldering required)

- Straightly wire the pins of the CIC (24,25,55,56) from the SNES-side
  of the base adaptor to the GDSF-side of the adaptor

- You must have a card inserted always (like with the MGH )

Hope this helps.


MGH is for both SFC/SNES and MegaDrive/Genesis.  The DOS is of version
2.2 and, the unit comes with a instant save+slow motion interface for
the SFC/SNES part.  There is no such utility for MD/Genesis games.
It also comes with a start-up cart, and a w/decoder adapter for protected
SFC games.
Size of DRAM is 16M.  Backup RAM is 256k.
It reads raw binary and MGH files, and it reads most w/header files.
Instant save data(for SFC/SNES games) can be dumped to disk during
runtime of games.
Graphical option menu.  Easy to learn to use.  No manual is needed.
It's the heaviest copier among all.


Comparison of UFO hyper version with Game Doctor SF 2:

		UFO hyper                       Game Doctor SF 2

DRAM size       18M                             16M

Backup RAM      256k                            256k

*instant save   workable also for               16M GDSF2 not workable for
		16M games                       16M games, 32M GDSF2 workable

slow motion     1/2, 1/4                        1/2, 1/4

Parallel port   built-in, corr. communication   no parallel, can't connect to
		software not yet available      IBM

RAM expansion   32M expandable but              32M available
		not immediately available       memory card at US$120

Cart utilities  cart backup                     adjustable backup size
		instant save, slow motion       instant save, slow motion
		directly applicable to          applicable to disk game backed
		original carts                  from carts

Disk utilities  disk format(720k, 800k, 1.44M   disk format(720k, 1.44M, 1.6M),
		1.6M), file backup, rename,     file backup, rename, delete
		delete

*Goldfinger     available                       available
function

Option menu     Graphical(command in English)   Graphical(command in English)

*Acceptable     raw binary, FE(flying eagle),   raw binary, FE(flying eagle),
game protocols  super magicom(.SMC), MGD,       MGD for ordinary games,
		for normal games                non-interleave format for
		non-interleave format for       protected games(BOX format)
		protected games(BOX format)

Special         goldfinger codes can be read    internally stored gamename in
functions       from and stored to disks        cart automatically displayed
						after loading game
		Filename no need to start       Uninterruptible Data Retention
		with 'sf' as in other common    (UDR) technique - you need not
		common copiers (Super Magicom   reload your game even SNES is
		is not available now), it       off, provided that power cord
		can start with any character    is connecting to GDSF2, only
		string of 11 characters         1/50 power consumed by SNES is
						needed.
						Separable memory areas, you can
						load 4*8M games for 32M version
						and can swap between them

Base adaptor    separable from the unit         separable from the unit,
		DSP adaptor is optional         DSP adaptor is not available

SFX
compatibility   planning                        planning

Disk Drive      3.5" drive, same as that        thin 3.5" disk drive same as
		used by common PC               those used by Laptops

Appearance      nice looking, but not slim      slimist copier among all,
		enough                          also weighs lightest

Summary         instant save applicable also    UDR technology
		to 16M games                    separate memory areas
		can read goldfinger codes       can store 4*8M games(32M ver)
		from disks                      slimist and lightest
		DSP adaptor is optional         laptop thin disk drive
						show internal game name
		parallel port for PC connection 32M ver. immediately available

Manual          bilingual manual in brief       7-page manual in English


PAL decoder for  removeable and replaceable, but not likely has to be replaced
protected games

Shipping        by registered small air parcel  by registered small air parcel

Price           US$360 (18M hyper version)      US$340 (16M version)
						US$460 (32M version)

		All prices include shipping by registered air parcel.

Footnote:
*instant save-  dump the content in working RAM and video RAM to a memory area
		in copier(1.75M, this is the reason why GDSF2 can't apply
		instant save to 16M games).  You can apply instant save at any
		time and retrieve the saved scene later, particularly useful
		for action/shooting games of high difficulty.  However, since
		the sound CPU of SNES is independent of working CPU, the
		sound at the moment when instant save is applied is not saved,
		so the sound is not synchronised with the gameplay.  For better
		result, either retrieve the data in the same stage when you
		apply instant save, or perform instant save during transition
		between levels/before boss.  All will return normal(no more
		messy screen in case instant save is not in success) after
		your character dies/plane crashes.

*goldfinger codes-      similar to the working of Game Genie code
			each goldfinger code is a 14-digit HEX string
			several GG code->gfcodes convertors are available

*game protocol- actually, there are only 2 main game protocols.  The most
		standard one is raw binary.  It's accepted by all new copiers.
		Its variation includes MGD game protocol which includes a
		small tag file besides the raw binary game program.
		The other game protocol is FE(flying eagle).  Its filename
		needs not start with 'sf', but can be any character string
		with a limit of 11 characters at max.  Super Magicom filename
		format is actually of FE filename protocol(game protocol).
		The characteristic of these games is that they each have a
		512 byte header.

	Game Doctor SF3 is similar to SF2, except that GDSF2 uses slim sized
	3.5" drive, while GDSF3 uses regular sized disk drive.  Slim sized
	drive has the advantage of better looking(lightest and slimist among
	all copiers) but has the disadvantage of failure to read/write after
	2 or more hours of continuous playing, PROVIDED that you use an
	inappropriate power adaptor, such as that 9V/1.3A for Genesis.
	For too powerful power adaptor, this can cause overheating.
	The second difference is, the function "real time save/slot motion
	directly applicable to cart games" is added.

	Also, GDSF3 can be upgraded to 24M or 32M, rather than 32M upgrade
	only for GDSF2.  But for 24M upgrade, it's not yet available.  The
	available upgrade is 32M.  The new decoder slot is optional for
	GDSF2/3.

	Supercom Partner is similar to Super Wild Card in function.  Power
	is drawn from SFC/SNES without causing problem.  But for Supercom
	Partner, the base adaptor is detachable.  It comes with the decoder
	adaptor for <=16M protected games, the one for >16M protected games
	is optional(US$50).


    No power adaptor is included.  The power adaptor you need to buy has the
    following output: DC 9-12V , 850mA-1.5A , central core is negative.

    ATTENTION:  NEVER USE ANY AC OUTPUT POWER ADAPTER!  OTHERWISE YOU
		WILL GET THE COPIER BURNT OUT!

    For Super Pro Fighter and Super Wild Card, you would need a stronger
    power adaptor as mentioned above.  DC12V,>1.2A, central core negative.


    Note that Game Boxer is *not* exactly the same as Game Doctor SF2.
Actually, the product originates from a company in HK but is also jointly
offered by a Taiwan company, whose product is called Game Boxer.  Their
functions are similar but, according to a message from Brian, who didn't
buy a Game Doctor SF2 but instead, buy a Game Boxer from another source,
felt that Game Boxer is not very good in quality.  Also, his source didn't
provide him any manual and he had to photocopy one from another guy who
ordered GDSF2 from me.

[Excerpt from an e-mail from Brian Sullivan to me]
______________________________________________________________________________
I recently got a Game Boxer (I ordered it before I saw your posts to r.g.v).
I received your operating instructions from Gavin Ouckama... I appreciate
you taking the time & effort to generate them, as they've come in very handy.
Anyway, I wanted to mention a few things and ask you a couple of questions,
since your answers in the past have been thoughtful and accurate.

I noticed the Game Boxer version of the GD SF requires a cart be inserted
to get the Boxer menu selections to display which was unexpected (see... I
don't get good info from the source I bought from.  It's like pulling teeth).
I had seen some spurious things, like the "Load Game" option missing from
the "Load Disk" menu.  That prevented me from playing the saved games until
it finally appeared (after more than a few power cycles, and going into the
VX.0 mode at one point).  Have you seen anything like this in the Game Doctor
SF? It seems OK now.  I have yet to try the Saver, and the Super Modes.

I also ran into a problem writing BRAM one time.  I played Legend of Zelda
and wanted to save BRAM, so I did a save & quit in Zelda, then powered off
the SNES and ejected the game disk and put in an unformatted disk.  I
formatted it, then when I tried to write BRAM, I couldn't (I was able to
get it later).  I noticed that for some reason, the game was no longer
loaded (I didn't power off the Boxer, so I'm not sure why... formatting
disks does not cause A/B/BRAM to clear, so I don't know what the problem
was).  I reloaded the game, and when I started playing it I found that my
game state was still there, so I cycled the SNES, got the Boxer menu, and
then saved it.

Thanks for all your help.  Hopefully we can do business in the future.
I've got nieces and nephews... ;-)
____________________________________________________________________________

	The problem above won't happen in GDSF2, as it is more stable as well
	as reliable.  Note:  a manual in detail is provided and you need not
	guess how the unit works.  The manual is 7-page long in English.


	I personally recommend Game Doctor SF2 to all users.


  The new Super Wild Card is of version 2.0BC rather than the old 1.8C.  It is
more expensive than the old version.  It can instant save 16M games(*), show
internal game name, 1/2 slow motion, backup SRAM of original cart and
reload the savedata from disk to SRAM of cart(available only to SWC, no other
copier has this function), goldfinger codes can be stored to and read from disk,
fast disk loading speed(min time 29 seconds for 8M games), improved disk format
facility with verify on/off, readable file format not limited to the with
header format, it can as well read files of MGH,GDSF2,UFO,Super Pro Fighter
format, that is, any with or without header file format, filename can be
any sequence of characters and no longer limited to sfxxxxxx, parallel
port available, the only copier that can backup Super Mario Kart without
any adaptor, instant save data can be moved to disk(UFO cannot), parallel
port with communication software available(use the one for Super Magicom).
It's better than UFO 18M.  This new version Super Wild Card is of version
2.0BC, rather than the old 1.8C.

SUPER WILD CARD IS THE ONLY BACKUP UNIT THAT DOES NOT NEED A POWER ADAPTER.

[ (*) - it can instant save 16M games temporarily, but will hang the SNES
later]

  Game Doctor SF2 has instant save, but not applicable to 16M games, it's
the first manufacturer that designs the instant save and 1/2 1/4 slow motion
utility, it displays internal game name automatically after loading a disk,
has an advanced cart backing up facility which allows you to backup any size,
instant save can also be saved onto disk and can be retrieved, goldfinger
codes are NOT readable from/storable to disk, but allows you to write gfcodes
to any memory space from 0-32M(rather than 0-8M for all other copiers),
partitioned memory areas(32M = 4*8M memory units) and UDR(uninterruptible DRAM-d
   ata retention) technique, combined together makes the unit works very
well, allows you to load 4*8M games to 4 separate memory areas for 32M version
(note that instant save is allowed for 16M game in 32M version), swap games
from one to another if you pre-load games into the memory areas and you need
not reload even after your snes is off and on again to come to the GDSF2 option
menu to do any operation such as loading another game, saving backup RAM data,
saving instant save data, choosing another game pre-loaded into a memory area,
it's particularly useful for RPGs and simulation games whose savefiles need
to be backed to disk frequently, cuz it is the only copier that keeps the game
even after the snes unit is switch off(note: all copier needs to be switched
off and then on again to enter the option menu, ordinary reset only acts as
a reset to the game) as it is the only one which use UDR technique.  Option menu
looks better than that of Super Wild Card, GDSF2 is the slimist and lightest
copier among all others, and is well protected in white foam box.  For instant
saving 16M games, you need the 32M version, because 1.75Mbit is needed to
dump the content of work RAM and VRAM(and some registers) to the DRAM of copier.
Other copiers(UFO, Super Wild Card, MGH and Super Pro Fighter) copy GDSF2's
instant save and slow motion hardware.


Summary:

		GDSF2                           SWC

	32M immediately avail           32M not immediately available

	read w and w/o header file      read w and w/o header file
	but some w/header cant be read  all can be read

	read the normal file format     read all file format even for protected
	for protected game              games(FIG/BOX, except some BOX format)

	needs a power adaptor           needs NO power adaptor, but may not be
	and is the most stable copier   very stable

	goldfinger codes not storable   gfcode readable from/storable to disk
	or readable from disk

	parallel port NOT available     both parallel port and communication
					software available

	file name limited to the        no limit in filename format(as long as
	format sfxxxxxx                 it's <= 11 characters)

	cannot read/load backup file    can do so
	data from/to original cart

	gfcodes is designed to write    same as most copiers, gfcode writtable
	to the first 8M, but can be     only to first 8M area
	written even to the 8-16M
	part for game > 8M

	memory areas partitioned into   just offer a 16M block of memory and
	8M/unit, for storing at most    allows one game to be loaded each time
	4 games in 32M version          and needs reload after each power cutoff

	provides with a 7-page manual   no English manual, the Chinese manual is
	in English                      completely useless
