Your #1 source for Atari Lynx news and information!
Atari GamerAtari GamerAtari Gamer
  1. Home >
  2. Pages >
  3. Atari Lynx Cartridge Pinout

The Atari Lynx supports cartridge sizes of 129K, 256K, 512K and 1Mb (bank switched). The Lynx cannot address data on the cartridge directly and instead uses two counters to read data. The first counter is for the block number (0 - 255), the second counter is for the position within the block (0 - 4095, depending on cartridge size). Your code must know the exact block size used on a cartridge to be able to read data from it.

Related pages:

  • What's inside an official Atari Lynx cartridge?
  • Atari Lynx Hardware Notes

    Physical Characteristics🕸

      Pin pitch: 1.59mm

    Pinout Diagram🕸

    Below is the pinout for a typical Atari Lynx Cartridge.


    Pins and Functions🕸

     1 — GND 13 — A3 25 — A13
     2 — D3 14 — A6 26 — A12
     3 — D2 15 — A4 27 — SWCON/WE
     4 — D4 16 — A5 28 — A8
     5 — D1 17 — A0 29 — A9
     6 — D5 18 — A7 30 — A10
     7 — D0 19 — A16 31 — Vcc
     8 — D6 20 — A17 32 — AUDIOIN digital I/O for 1M cards
     9 — D7 21 — A18 33 — Vcc
    10 — CARD/OE 22 — A19 34 — SWVCC
    11 — A1 23 — A15
    12 — A2 24 — A14


    Additional Information🕸

    Pins A12 - A19 are connected to the 74HC164 to select the block.
    Pins A0 - A10 are connected to the 4040 to select the position within the block.
    Pin A11 is missing.
    The Card/OE pin is strobed on reads.
    The Swcon/WE pin is strobed on writes.

    See more Atari Lynx Programming Resources here and the following related pages:

    Original information retrieved from RetroIsle.

    Battery and SWVCC🕸

    SWVCC is an unregulated 5V supply as compared to VCC. This can be taken advantage of to measure the voltage level in the battery if a custom cart was made. The voltage on SWVCC would be Vbatt-5V-0.6V. Note that even when the Lynx is off, there is a small voltage present on both SWVCC and VCC pins at the cart connector.

  • Did we get something wrong or you have something to contribute? Please tell us about it!
    You can find Atari Gamer on...
    Be sure to follow for the latest Atari Lynx news, updates, stories and photos!
    [ Don't show again ][ Dismiss ]
    Loading...
    10
    We have an online shop that has lots of Atari Lynx related goodies - including LCD mod kits, flash carts, display stands and other fun things for your Lynx! Check it out here.

    If your download doesn't start automatically after 10 seconds, please click here.
    Cookie Consent
    By continuing to browse or by clicking ‘Accept’, you agree to storing of cookies on your device to enhance your site experience and for analytical purposes. To learn more about how we use cookies, please see our privacy policy.
    Accept and Close