PCB RTC

RETRO TRACER FOR CARTRIDGES

Got an old game cartridge and ever wondered what's going on inside it? Photograph its board, front and back, and trace it — follow the copper with your eyes and a cheap multimeter, and the tool turns what you prove into a real map. Red dots turn green as the wires earn their place. No experience needed, nothing to install: it all happens right here in your browser.

or scroll down and play with an example first

STEP 1

Take two photos — the front and the back of your board. A phone photo in decent light is plenty.

STEP 2

Mark the gold pins along the edge with one drag. The tool already knows what each pin is for, and tells you as you go.

STEP 3

Follow the copper. Draw the wires you can see, prove the ones you can't with a multimeter — and watch red turn green.

ADD YOUR BOARD

Two photos and you're tracing. Your photos and your map stay in this browser — nothing is uploaded anywhere.

no photo yet
no photo yet

Both faces are needed before the mapping starts — a board can't be traced honestly from one side, because half its copper lives on the other.

PLAY WITH AN EXAMPLE

Two boards ride along with the tool, so you can try everything before your own cartridge is even open. Whatever you do to them stays on your copy.

The GOLDEV 7-in-1 board, photographed from the front
GOLDEV 7-IN-1 — a finished map to read
A whole board already traced: 364 points, every wire proven. Read it, poke it, even wreck your copy — one tap brings the original back.
OPENS FULLY TRACED
The Gunsmoke board, photographed from the front
GUNSMOKE — a clean board to practice on
Nothing traced yet. Lay the gold pins, draw your first wire, get the feel of it — no multimeter needed to start.
WAITING FOR ITS FIRST MARK
Everything you trace lives in this browser and can be exported as a file whenever you like. Tracing on a tablet? Export after a good session — browsers can be forgetful with things they think you've abandoned.

PCB RTC · born on the Project Lirrann bench