The only store that sells stuff like this in this shitty town is The Source, and they suck. I was able to get two 3.9k resistors, wire and a PCB. I was not able to find a 9 pin d-sub but I have pins I can just attach to the wire. Now for diodes all they had were 1N4001's which are 50v. Is there any way to reduce them to 5v? Why are the diodes even needed? Will it work without diodes if I use a parallel port instead of a serial port? Please tell me there is some way to make this work. Otherwise I just wasted $20 which is a rip off in the first place, sucks I can't buy anything online.
basically.. the guide works for the device.. the software accesses the serial port.. the diodes are crucial to keep the rails to 5v or you will fry the eeprom. see if chunkhead has one he can sell you tested and working. This is an intermediate/advanced electronics project.. as it says in the guide.
The correct zener diodes are an absolute must, the circuitry you'll be tapping into is Very frail. As far as a 9 pin connector, just get a serial cable and cut off the unused end. Grab a voltmeter(with a continuity tester on it) to match up the wires with the pin holes. I wouldn't recommend using the free hanging pins because you may have to unplug the connector a couple times to get everything to work. I had to plug in my eeprom reader after I powered on the xbox and hit the "read" button once, for it to work correctly. Try an internet search for the diodes with terms like "mail order" or "free shipping", there's always someplace out there that will ship anything to anyone. I know it seems like you blew a bunch of money on nothing, but it's better than frying your eeprom, and you have most of the parts you need... Good luck *edited because my fingers bologna like to put random words into my sentences without my knowledge..
