Two R4 Questions from a total n00b.

Hello everyone. ^_^I recently decided to purchase an R4 for my DS. A quick Yahoo search brought me to;http://www.r4ds.com/Which I'm assuming is the official R4 site. Next, I clicked on "Where to buy R4", and it brought me to a page with a link to the online store "RaidenTech" which brought me to this;http://www.raidentech.com/r4dsrefornid.html?gclid=CIC_8NeY6JoCFQzxDAodYFZVCAWith an asking price of $14.95 with the option to add a 2GB Micro SD card for $8.00.Now, my question is this; Is the site I went to the official R4 web site? And was what I ordered an R4 from RaidenTech? Since I'm completely new to all this, it's impossible for me to sniff out the reals from the fakes. I haven't received it in the mail yet, it's coming on Thursday. Once I get it, should I be looking for something special to make sure it's the real deal?Also, my second question is; Which Micro SD card works best with the R4? Any particular brand or size? I'd really like to get a larger size than a 2GB. Would a larger size still work just as well?Thank you for your patience with a n00b. The best way to learn is to ask questions, right? ^_^(Nintendophile)

Official R4DS website yes. It'll be a clone definitely. Unfortunately, the original R4 does not support SDHC capacity, so you can't go higher than 2GB (although there used to be 4GB NonSDHCs).

Replying to #1

Indeed =]

Well, I'm glad that it's the official site. But then, that's where I'm confused. Because, I was directed to RaidenTech FROM the official R4 site, saying that RaidenTech was selling the R4 from, well, the official R4 site! lol. So, if it's a "clone", how will I be able to tell? And, if it is a clone, are there any kinds of dangers?Again, thank you for the help. It's much appreciated. ^_^

Not all clones are dangerous, I think the sdhc one is safe...but not sure how many different versions there are...or how many are safe...If you haven't known/guessed the r4 has stopped production, now all that is left is clones, some are better I have heard...To be honest I'd go with acekard...good brand, easy to use..and no clones, just different versions (rpg, 2, 2.1 [safer to use than 2 apparently due to some error that isn't harmful to the ds just the data or incompatibility] and the "i" version for the dsi) but that is just my opinion...

cyclods evolution is by far the best non-DSi cart available. The main problem with R4 clones is varying compatibility with games, and if you dont know exactly which clone you have, upgrading the firmware is a pain, because only the exact correct firmware will work.

So, only a certain type of firmware will work on the clone? Which, I'm guessing, is what I bought; a clone. Is there any danger downloading the latest firmware from the R4 web site? And also... if they've stopped manufacturing the R4, and the official site is still up, then why would there still be a link on their site saying "where to buy"... I guess I'm just complaining now, though.I also just ordered the "Edge Card" for the DS because I read some good reviews on it, and it was reasonably priced. Any words of wisdom about this particular card?(All of you guy's help has been much appreciated, by the way. ^_^)

edge is a clone of the cycloDS. While the firmware updates for EDGE are not quite as quick as for cyclods (and they're needed more often than cyclods) EDGE is the card to buy if you cannot afford a cyclo. Compatibility wise it is pretty much equal.With clones of the R4, and indeed any other clone, only that clone's firmware will work on it (there are exceptions). An official R4 firmware will not work on a clone, a clone firmware will not work on an original. Neither will an R4 III firmware work on an R4 SDHC (for example). You have bought an R4 SDHC as far as I can tell, this means you will need to use the firmware for that specific clone. Also, a word of warning about some SDHC compatible flashcarts; the microSD reader you get with some of them is NOT SDHC compatible; if this is the case then you will need to buy another microSD reader that is SDHC compatible, to be able to use SDHC microSD cards.

Thank you, Loonylion, that was extremely helpful! I'm glad there are people like you guys on this forum to help out the newbies.I know the Edge card has an official website to download the newest software for the card, but I'm not sure where I'll have to go to get the newest sorfware for the R4 card if it is indeed a clone... Do clones have official sites? lol. Maybe it'll direct me to the proper place once I get the card in my hands...I'm expecting that I'll have many more questions in the days to come. It's awesome to know that there are people here that will help. Again, thank you. ^_^

www.linfoxdomain.com/nintendo/ds has firmwares for all flashcarts.

Great tip, Loonylion! Again, thank you. You're my new best friend. ^_^