Cartridge schematics?

[gbpxl]

I Googled this and used the forum search function here and havent found anything to suggest that someone has drawn up or found schematics for ANY game cartridges, just consoles. I was thinking about doing this myself but I will preface this by saying I once had the idea of mapping out 2D games using either the Retron 5 or an emulator and assembling screenshots to put together full maps of games but theres a website that already did this.

I would be really discouraged to start doing this only to find out later on there is a already a trove of hundreds of pictures of schematics for carts done professionally and I learned that I wasted my time.

[Pr3tty F1y]

I'm not sure if you're going to find any archive of "schematics" but there are sources that try to capture PCB photos for this purpose.

SNES Central keeps a repository of most SNES PCB variations: http://snescentral.com/system.php

No-Intro also tries to get PCB images of all particular variations of practically every rom-based console out there. Here's Sonic the Hedgehog for the Genesis/Megadrive for example: https://datomatic.no-intro.org/index.php?page=show_record&s=32&n=1231

There may be other sites for different console niches (I haven't checked but I'd wager a guess that SMSPower would probably have images of Sega Master System/Game Gear PCBs).

[gbpxl]

I tried a program but it didnt have all the features I wanted. kinda hard to use. but still better than Paint

[Greg2600]

Not exactly sure what you mean by schematics. There are plenty of 3D models for shells, plenty of source code out there too, plus newly created GUI, programming tools, and compilers for new games.

[gbpxl]

wiring diagrams. PCB layout. trace drawings. signal flow

well in researching component names I found out the PCB contacts are technically called "gold fingers." I always just called them the contacts. I had trouble finding the universal symbol for fingers on my diagram so I used male pins instead. I couldnt find a symbol in TinyCad for the various microcontrollers and thats where I gave up

[jb143]

The technical name is "Edge connector" and most schematic software should have an option for it. Usually though, it'll just be a rectangle that lets you label the pins.

You're probably not finding existing schematics because most cartridges aren't going to be complicated enough for people to need them for doing repairs and stuff.

Common rom and ram chips should be in most software but mapper and bank switching chips might be custom. But there should be an option to create the custom chips.

You might also try proto and repro building sites.