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[bitblt]

The DS Linker is a new slot 1 card being distributed by the Supercard team. The DS Linker was not designed by Romman or Supercard. This unique slot 1 solution has been shadowed by the recent release of Supercard DS (One).

I decided to buy one as a gift for my nephew because it seemed like it would be easy to use. I couldn’t help taking a quick test drive.

The DS Linker package comes with a slot 1 card exactly the same size as a DS game. It has a built in 1 gigabyte of flash memory and 4M EEPROM. It fits perfectly in the DS slot and seems durable because it doesn’t have a microSD slot or USB connector. This slot 1 device is a no-pass solution and is recognized by the DS and launched like a commercial game cart.

To copy files to the card you use the included programmer that goes in the GBA slot. The programmer has a mini USB connector and a cable that connects to a standard USB port. Most PCs (including Apple) will recognize this device as a U-disk. This solution does not require PC software and clean ROMs can be copied directly to the U-disk. (Note trimming ROMs is recommended to conserve space.) You will also need to copy the DSYSTEM folder before the game menu interface can be loaded.

The game interface attempts to look interesting by using 3D graphics but actually comes across as being amateurish in my opinion. The game menu displays dancing 3D cubes for each game icon with additional game information displayed on the top screen in 2D. When the system loads anything from the flash drive a large spinning CD is displayed. The 3D textures look terrible and sometimes important system information is difficult to read because it’s floating over a background image. Hopefully the DS Linker interface will be improved with software updates?

Transfer speed using the USB interface was unbelievably slow.  It took almost 40 minutes to copy 30 games. Perhaps my DS Linker is malfunctioning?

The opera browser works perfectly.
The few games that I tested seemed to work fine.
Homebrew does not work for some reason, even homebrew that doesn’t use fatlib.

My evaluation could not be completed as my unit has stopped working. The card now displays “Indextab chkerr on 0x00000001” when I try to run anything.  I’ve tried reformatting the card and starting from scratch without success. I’m going to have to return this unit to RHS for replacement after Christmas. Oh well. Luckily I have a spare Supercard I can give my nephew as a Christmas gift.

Even though my evaluation of DS Linker was cut short because of the malfunction, I was not very impressed with this card when it was working. My recommendation is to stay clear of this one.

[sneef]

thank you bitblt!  you just saved me from further holiday heartache!

[PharaohsVizier]

I don't think that all of them are messed up, maybe you are just unlucky.  I can't imagine Romman distributing something that'll break in a day or two.

[zektor]

I had a bad feeling about this card from the start....looks cheapy. Romman only distributes this card BTW...the SC team does not make it. Taking the chance and distributing a product could bring in great revenue....but at the same time could leave a nasty scar upon the company name should the device end up sucking.

[PharaohsVizier]

Yea that is why I don't think that the Supercard team would distribute a crappy card.  It just isn't worth it, the risk.

I had high hopes for this cart, it was actually #1 on my to buy list, until I won the DSLink  

[zektor]

Yea that is why I don't think that the Supercard team would distribute a crappy card.  It just isn't worth it, the risk.

I had high hopes for this cart, it was actually #1 on my to buy list, until I won the DSLink  

Now, the DS-LINK is a GREAT card. Sucks that this garbage is so closely named to it (DS-Linker / DS-Link).

[bitblt]

I don't think that all of them are messed up, maybe you are just unlucky.  I can't imagine Romman distributing something that'll break in a day or two.

I don't think all of them are messed up either. I'm just saying I wasn't impressed with the card even before it stopped working.

[sneef]

yes, and your description of the amateurish interface made me think twice.. i was almost sucked in by the 3D icons.. i'm a sucker for 3D, flashing lights, or anything eye-catching. hehe

[sinkhead]

I recommended my friend to buy this... I had heard about the slow write speeds as well, but it seemed so easy for him...

Never mind.

- Sam

[DeVS]

I got a DS-Linker in for review, here it is,lol:

Well bad news about the DS-Linker. I hooked it up to the PC, turned it on, got a white screen on the DS that says "Mount flashed Drive" and below that is says "USB Disk Program". Windows then does the usb recognize pop up and says device is ready to be used. Went to my computer and the DS-Link isn't listed, waited a few secs then get a pop up saying USB device malfunction, device not working properly. Tried unpluging and redoing it a few times and each time I get the same USB device malfunction error and the DS-Linker never mounts. Another major flaw I found besides flat out being broke, the USB cable that comes with it to connect the linker to the pc gets HOT, im mean more then warm, this sucker heats up. Never had a usb cable get warm never the less HOT to the touch. That has me very worried.

[DeVS]

Well quick update. I used a USB cable from my digital camera that uses the same usb mini end on it and it worked first time. It seems the cable they send for use with the DS-Linker is defective. Gonna try out the unit some more.

[sinkhead]

I bought a really neat USB flash drive, that got really hot and melted... It shorted out the USB port on one of the school computers, resulting in circuit breaker doing it's stuff and cutting the power for the entire room...

- Sam

[DeVS]

Got to agree with Bitblt the transfer speed is sllloooooowwww. Taking 11minutes to transfer 3 games.