What is this strange flashcart? (Ninja DS SmartCard)

[LunarPurin]

So I was browsing online looking for copies of pokemon pearl for a language set collection I'm building up. I discovered this bizarre looking flashcart that doesn't look like much I've ever seen before.

I'm mostly just extremely curious about it, and I might buy it for myself, as I'm kind of collecting flashcarts at the moment ^^;

 

[SylverReZ]

That's a really early, but also hard to find flashcart for the DS. It was created by the same guys who made the Wiinja for the Nintendo Wii.
It only supports up to a 2GB microSD and doesn't work with SDHC cards.

Latest firmware can be downloaded here: https://gbatemp.net/download/ninjads-microninja.19070/

 

[LunarPurin]

That's a really early, but also hard to find flashcart for the DS. It was created by the same guys who made the Wiinja for the Nintendo Wii.
It only supports up to a 2GB microSD and doesn't work with SDHC cards.

Latest firmware can be downloaded here: https://gbatemp.net/download/ninjads-microninja.19070/

I was thinking about picking it up anyway but definitely will now. It sounds like an interesting piece of Flashcart history and if I seem to be collecting them, picking it up should be fun :3

 

[SylverReZ]

I was thinking about picking it up anyway but definitely will now. It sounds like an interesting piece of Flashcart history and if I seem to be collecting them, picking it up should be fun :3

Totally, its worth the buy.

 

[LunarPurin]

Totally, its worth the buy.

Yeah! It's been really interesting stumbling into things like this, I also got two unique versions of the N5, one with a spring-loaded SD card slot with notches on both side, and another with no springs and only a notch on the back.

 

[SylverReZ]

Yeah! It's been really interesting stumbling into things like this, I also got two unique versions of the N5, one with a spring-loaded SD card slot with notches on both side, and another with no springs and only a notch on the back.

Just be careful with some variants of the N5, as they are prone to frying the e-fuse in original DS models.

 

[LunarPurin]

Just be careful with some variants of the N5, as they are prone to frying the e-fuse in original DS models.

They are? I had no idea!
I've been using them in my DS Lite and haven't noticed any issues.

Kind of a shame since they have a traditional style shell and are much more aesthetically pleasing than the notched R4 cards..
Though, the new EZ-Flash Paralell is probably the best looking flashcart AND most promising flashcart on the market anyway. Maybe I should pick one of those up some time.

 

[TheStonedModder]

Just be careful with some variants of the N5, as they are prone to frying the e-fuse in original DS models.

I didn’t even know the DS used e fuses

What’s the downside of that being blown for the NDS?

 

[SylverReZ]

I didn’t even know the DS used e fuses

What’s the downside of that being blown for the NDS?

Downside is that once these fuses are blown, then your DS is a paperweight pretty much, unless you replace the fuses.

 

[lifehackerhansol]

I didn’t even know the DS used e fuses

What’s the downside of that being blown for the NDS?

Pretty sure it's a full on hardware fuse and not an e-fuse.

It's there to protect your console from short-circuiting. You'd have to replace the fuse after the fact obviously.
...which happened to my DS before, I didn't insulate the back of the LCD panel before reassembling the console and I blew one; bridged them with no replacement fuse and called it a day lmao

 

[LunarPurin]

Pretty sure it's a full on hardware fuse and not an e-fuse.

It's there to protect your console from short-circuiting. You'd have to replace the fuse after the fact obviously.
...which happened to my DS before, I didn't insulate the back of the LCD panel before reassembling the console and I blew one; bridged them with no replacement fuse and called it a day lmao

That's a really scary thing to risk, I think I'm going to have to put my N5 cards into disuse if that's the case. I do also have an AceKard 2i, does that have the same risks attached? I find it generally much more usable than the N5s anyway, since the N5s have a particularly hard time with emulation for some reason.

 

[lifehackerhansol]

That's a really scary thing to risk, I think I'm going to have to put my N5 cards into disuse if that's the case. I do also have an AceKard 2i, does that have the same risks attached? I find it generally much more usable than the N5s anyway, since the N5s have a particularly hard time with emulation for some reason.

N5 sucks in general. I hate it.

It's honestly just the N5 that had that issue (and only with their early revision models). Acekard etc is fine.

 

[LunarPurin]

N5 sucks in general. I hate it.

It's honestly just the N5 that had that issue (and only with their early revision models). Acekard etc is fine.

Is there a way to identify which ones might be problematic? I have two, both of which I've removed the screw from and opened up from curiosity

 

[SylverReZ]

That's a really scary thing to risk, I think I'm going to have to put my N5 cards into disuse if that's the case. I do also have an AceKard 2i, does that have the same risks attached? I find it generally much more usable than the N5s anyway, since the N5s have a particularly hard time with emulation for some reason.

The N5 card with the latched microSD slot are known to cause bricks. I personally don't recommend them for the most part.

 

[Ryccardo]

Yeah! It's been really interesting stumbling into things like this, I also got two unique versions of the N5, one with a spring-loaded SD card slot with notches on both side, and another with no springs and only a notch on the back.

Makes sense given it's one of the first, if not the first* R4 clone

* excluding the M3 Simply which is an R4 with a jumper changed... now I wonder if it runs official Wood, which I don't think ever mentioned it explicitly...

A friend of mine had it back when it was hot, we went together to the electronics fair, he bought the N5 (instead of a real R4 that must have been maybe 7 € more expensive so about 30 like mine was), I bought a triwing screwdriver
No problems either

 

[LunarPurin]

The N5 card with the latched microSD slot are known to cause bricks. I personally don't recommend them for the most part.

I have two different N5 styles, are either of these two good?

Right off the bat, I think the one on the left looks better, seems MUCH higher quality, the SD is spring-loaded, and the chip on the front reads "ALTER MAX 11" on the top two rows, with the other one simply having "APL40260.1" on the back of it.

 

[SylverReZ]

I'd recommend choosing the microSD friction slot rather the spring-loaded one (aka the second one). Not only does it look nicer than the prior one, but there's a larger gap where the cartridge contacts would be, making it easier to clean with q-tips. In addition, it doesn't brick your DS.

 

[LunarPurin]

I'd recommend choosing the microSD friction slot rather the spring-loaded one (aka the second one). Not only does it look nicer than the prior one, but there's a larger gap where the cartridge contacts would be, making it easier to clean with q-tips. In addition, it doesn't brick your DS.

Wait, really? The one that seemed to have lower build quality is the better one? ^^;

The label on the spring-loaded one is a bit dirty, but it's replaceable and cosmetic.