I found this great Ds hack on instructables. This user has submitted a 10 step full guide on how to recreate this cool DS Hack. You will need some time and ofcourse a little patience. This DS modification will require you to open the case for your nintendo DS and we thinks its an advantage if you are comfortable using a soldering iron. This DS Hack makes the Nintendo DS a truly portable and self reliant system. The Solar cell attached allows  for the DS to be charged on the go, providing it is supplied with enough sunlight.

some of the features are

We hope you enjoy this cool DS hack, We can wait to see the solar powered PSP. But for now check out some Pics of the solar powered DS

Raguaviva a DS hacker has hacked the DS to work with a wired optical mouse. He uses the mouse as one would use a typical mouse as he demonstrates  in a paint type program, but perhaps the coolest application is that he has found a way to use the optical mouse as a low quality camera. This DS hack is a very cool idea that needs to be put to good use. Im sure with a little innovation this could be something  even better. Check out this video of this cool DS hack.

source http://codinglab.blogspot.com/2009/06/nintendods-uses-optical-mouse-as-camera.html

DS flashcards Explained.

What is a flashcard ?

Nintendo Ds Flashcards have been around since the GBA . Flashcards where developed for the original Gameboy  Boy Advance and have also been developed for all the Gameboy’s successors. There are a huge variety of flashcards for DS, all modern flashcards allow for backup games and homebrew software to be played on the Nintendo Ds.

The different varieties of DS flashcards means that finding information an comparing them can be quite time consuming , finding out which is the right Flashcard for you may have many factors such as price, functionality and size. This guide will serve to help you make a more informed decision on which DS flashcards are the bess for you.

Due to the amount of flashcards on the market today means that we here at Modsandhacks will only be comparing the most popular and what we consider to be the best of the DS flashcards.

Before we talk about the features of our rated flashcards you should probably know a few things about how flash cards work and what features are available. the nature of flashcards makes it possible to boot unsigned code from your Nintendo DS.

first generation flashcards came in the form of GBA SLOT-2 cartridge, this would be plugged into the Ds Slot 2 as it is compatible with with GBA cartridges. SLOT-1 devices made an introduction in 2007 and have been in rapid developement since then.

There are two types of Flashcards:

	DS SLOT-1 Flash Cards	DS SLOT-1 SD / TF/ Adapters
	This is a complete solution where memory and all flashcard functionality are packed into an all in one DS SLOT-1 Flashcard. This does not need a Passkey to run. However DS SLOT-1 has no way to run GBA Roms, unlike SLOT-2 Flashcards. SLOT-1 Flashcards are the easiest to use and to configure. These cards are a good choice for the novice hacker.	These are just like SLOT-1 flashcards, where the major difference is that these cards have no internal memory. Memory can be added to the flashcard by inserting either SD or TransFlash memory stick, where Roms can be stored on.

	DS SLOT-2 (GBA) Flash Cards	DS SLOT-2 SD / TF /CF Adapters	PassCard / PassKey
	These can come in the form of a GBA cartridge or like a DS Lite Dust cover. It has intergrated re-writable memory which is used to store backup files such as  DSRoms, GBA Roms and all DS Homebrew.	These are similar to DS SLOT-2 (GBA) Flash Cards, except these cards have no internal memory. Memory can be added by inserting a SD,microDS,TF or FC memory card. This allows for upgradable memory or even multiple uses of memory cards.	A PassKey is used to allow the DS to boot and run unsigned code form the GBA SLOT-2 on the DS. A Passkey is a requirement if using a SLOT-2 Flashcard. With out this Roms and Homebrew will not run. Flashcard sellers will often supply a PassKey with SLOT-2 flashcards.

Ok so now you understand the difference between SLOT-1 and SLOT-2 Ds Flashcards you can make a better descision on what kind of card will be suitable for you.

To Summarise:

If you dont want to use a seperate PassKey and prefer easy funtion with an easy setup and intall as an all in one solution, its a good idea to go with a SLOT-1 Flashcard,.DS SLOT-1 SD/TF adapter are also a good idea if you want upgradable and mulitple memory sources. Remember SLOT-1 Flashcards can NOT play GameBoy Advanced roms.

If you would like to run GBA Roms and run most of the Homebrew available on DS, I suggest that you use SLOT-2 Flashcards. Remember  SLOT-2 Falshcards REQUIRES a PassKey in order to Play backup games

What about DSi?

Not all Flashcards work with all models of the DS. For example  some first generation DS Flashcards will not work with the DS Lite or DSi. When purchasing a Flashcard you will need to take note of what DS models it is comaptible with.  Some of the newer Flashcards support all models of the NDS. There are certain Flashcards that have been made specifically to work the the Nintend DSi. The chart below show a list of DS flashcards along with the Flashcard compatibility. Here are a List of Popular Flashcards available on the market today:

For a comparison chart of  Individual flashcard Features

A Geek by the name of RandomEurasian has put up this cool DS mod on Youtube. He has modded his Nintendo DS to play games using a SNES controller.  He has hard wired his DS to enable functionality of the SNES controller.

A few DS Tricks
This is a video i found on Youtube, from who i can only describe as a “Super Geek” . It’s a cool clip showing a few little Glitches and Exploits on the Nintendo DS. This guy seem’s to know his DS hacks and we seem to like. Enjoy:D

A UK resident by the name of Yun Can Meng was sentenced to a year in prison after pleading  guilty to having imported a whopping 26,500 R4 cards with intention to distribute and sell them.

ELSPAs Director General Michael Ralinson said the organization was “pleased” with this outcome and how robust the court was.

We here at Modsandhacks think that a sentence was ridiculous. However if you in the Ds flash card business it may cause you to think twice.

DS Hack and Whats possible

DS hack : We want Softmod

Are you wondering how you can hack Nintendo DS. if so then your in the right place. Nintendo DS hack scene seems to be lagging a bit, following in the footstep of its predecessor the original gameboy.  Traditionally Nintendo have always been one step ahead with its security compared to other consoles. This is partially due to the fact that the game medium used was cartridges.  unlike CD’s and DVDs cartridges cannot be easily accessed using a PC or other typical hacking equipment, which makes it less accesible to the hacking community. Other ways of interfacing with the DS had to  be acknowledged. This lead to special cartridges being developed that could be used in the DS game and memory expansion ports. However this technique was not new or exclusive to the DS hack scene, instead inspiration was taken from Flashcarts that had been developed for the Gameboy, GBA, SP.

So What Nintendo DS hacks exist  to play backup games ?

Flashcards

Currently we have no true soft mod hack or modchip for the DS like the one that exist for the Wii and Xbox 360. This basically leaves you with one option if you intend on playing backup games on your hacked Nintendo DS.

The only real DS hack  that allows for backup games and ROMS available to you is in the form of flash cartridges. These cartridges will either be in the form of NDS or GBA Flash carts these work by being inserted where your typical games cartridge would be inserted. . These flash cartridges also allow for SD or SDHC memory to be inserted and loaded from them.the main difference between these flash cartridges and the original games is that the original DS games are ROM which does not allow for files to be manipulated of deleted.  these flash carts allow for ROMs and games and DS Hacked software to be stored and loaded from form its GUI menu.

Depending on the type of flash cartridge you have may mean you will need a Passkey. A passkey is another kind of flash card that look like a DS game card. This works in conjunction with your main flash card to fool The DS into thinking its playing a NDS ROM  form the GBA card slot.you will only need this if you are using a SLOT-2 GBA flash cartridge. This passkey basically allows for ROMS, emulators .and any other non DS native software and media to run as if if was native to the Nintendo DS.

The following list are just some of the Flash cartridges that ModsandHacks recommends

• M3 Perfect Lite microSD
• CycloDS Evolution
• R4 DS
• NinjaPass a.k.a. FlashPass

What other DS hacks exist ?

Many DS hacks and mods also exist, these hacks  usually explore exploits in the DS hardware. Backwards engineering is performed and extra functionality can be squeezed out of the console. many people have found new ways to interface directly with the internal hardware allowing for a host of DS hack functionality to be utilised. by using certain inputs and outputs on the mainboard has allowed for creative hackers to come up with some unique ideas. Some examples that exist are using NES controller on DS, using optical mouse on DS. Someone has even found a way to Get a mini USB port on The DS. This type of DS hack is not software based but rather better suited to electronics geeks.

See more information on the best Flash cards