my Sweet64 progress thread!

Master of Portables · Post by **Master of Portables** » Thu Jul 19, 2007 9:30 pm

Woot, I got my battery today. (dang, that shipping was FAST!) Anyway, here are some pics of it being taken apart: (By the way, I decided to not resize the picture because I to lazy to, so if your 56K... to bad

)

Front of the battery

Back of battery

The guts of it (looks like I clearly didn't read the caution label

)

I couldn't do anything today, since I had an unexpected guest, and now the weather is really bad so I can't go outside...

bacteria · Post by **bacteria** » Fri Jul 20, 2007 1:30 am

Nice. Where did you get it from (link please) and how much did it cost?

How do you recharge these? What do you need to use and how do you hook it up (do you just wire a couple of the pins to the mains to recharge them - how do you know how long to recharge them safely, etc)?? I notice from marshallh's site on the excellent L64 (case is beautiful) he mentioned that that battery has built in protection circuitry and charging facilities, http://retroactive.be/l64/index_4.htm and appears to recharge by the plug on the base of the case. He mentioned about 2.5 hours playtime with this battery is likely.

Interestingly, on marshallh's site, he didn't use heatsinks, used the metal sheet from the N64 and the 4mb expansion pack (not relocated I notice, as console is quite thick, so has the height, as it appears from the pics); yet many people say heatsinks must be used to disipate the heat. No idea if he used a fan to remove the heat from the console, as there are no pics of the rear of the console he made. Some people also say you have to use a fan to remove the heat generated, you say it is optional. Conflicting information! Perhaps it doesn't matter, although of course it is better to play on a cooler system than a hot one, more comfortable to hold! I am using both heatsinks and a fan in mine anyway, not risking it - heat might not be the issue (?), but may wear the system out quicker ultimately.

Anyway, keep the pics of your updates coming.

Master of Portables · Fri Jul 20, 2007 11:05 am

ok first the link! <a href="http://ebay.com">EBAY</a> (just search for Polaroid BT41 and you should get to it

) I got it for surprisingly $20 shipped!

I think I know abut the L64, he input 9 volts into the terminal and it charges, and when its done charging, the led on the side will light up

I have tested my battery with a multimeter, and it has 4000 MAh when not under load, and I haven't tested it running so I can't be sure...

Seriously, if you think about it, didn't the REGULAR stock N64 only have the "crappy" heat sinks and a metal sheet? and that didn't melt now did it?

bacteria · Post by **bacteria** » Fri Jul 20, 2007 1:25 pm

Yes, I agree with what you say about the regular N64 metal heat distribution sheet; but so many people seemed to say that this wasn't good enough as everything got very hot, etc. I agree with your logic, it was the same as mine originally. The original N64 did get hot after reasonable gameplay time, you could feel the heat from the air vents - the smaller the case, the bigger the problem; so yes, the portable should be ok with the stock heat plate, but the question is whether it gets too hot in a smaller case?? I am playing it safe!

Good e-bay find BTW, and nice information; keep it coming!

jeroen · Post by **jeroen** » Fri Jul 20, 2007 1:34 pm

bacteria wrote:Nice. Where did you get it from (link please) and how much did it cost?

How do you recharge these? What do you need to use and how do you hook it up (do you just wire a couple of the pins to the mains to recharge them - how do you know how long to recharge them safely, etc)?? I notice from marshallh's site on the excellent L64 (case is beautiful) he mentioned that that battery has built in protection circuitry and charging facilities, http://retroactive.be/l64/index_4.htm and appears to recharge by the plug on the base of the case. He mentioned about 2.5 hours playtime with this battery is likely.

Interestingly, on marshallh's site, he didn't use heatsinks, used the metal sheet from the N64 and the 4mb expansion pack (not relocated I notice, as console is quite thick, so has the height, as it appears from the pics); yet many people say heatsinks must be used to disipate the heat. No idea if he used a fan to remove the heat from the console, as there are no pics of the rear of the console he made. Some people also say you have to use a fan to remove the heat generated, you say it is optional. Conflicting information! Perhaps it doesn't matter, although of course it is better to play on a cooler system than a hot one, more comfortable to hold! I am using both heatsinks and a fan in mine anyway, not risking it - heat might not be the issue (?), but may wear the system out quicker ultimately.

Anyway, keep the pics of your updates coming.

I believe he once said to me that he later on used proper heatsinks.

bacteria · Post by **bacteria** » Fri Jul 20, 2007 1:36 pm

Great, confirms it! Better to use a cool case than a hot one.

jeroen · Post by **jeroen** » Fri Jul 20, 2007 1:39 pm

I believe the keywords were: "I believe"

Master of Portables · Post by **Master of Portables** » Fri Jul 20, 2007 1:51 pm

Bacteria, you keep exaggerating things about the heat it generates. need MORE proof? look at Turbo Tax's N64p, I don't see a fan there...

Seriously, the N64 will function, and will not "melt" with the original heat sinks it has on it.My case was designed after hours of finding out all this crap I know know, so I know what I'm doing!

Master of Portables · Post by **Master of Portables** » Sat Jul 21, 2007 2:35 pm

yay, more case pics! the analog stick piece has been glued in, and is ready to be bondoed in today!

hole cut using my trusty X-acto knife

piece glued in using my trusty hot glue gun...

bacteria · Post by **bacteria** » Sat Jul 21, 2007 4:12 pm

Love and peace, man!

Anyway, case is looking nice so far, well done.

I take back what I said before, the D-pad is probably in the best place. I thought about the thickness which is ideal for holding a unit comfortably - the gap between the base of your thumb and forefinger; in my case about 30mm (adult hands) - with my case, this means joystick middle of case, D-pad on top (accessible but not comfortably - ideal), left shoulder button on top on side (forefinger tip) and Z button where my middle finger rests underneath. You hands are probably smaller than mine as you are younger than me by a fair margin (I am 41 years of age), so you probably find the left shoulder button on the top more comfortable.

Anyway, keep up the work and updates.

Turbo Tax 1.0 · Post by **Turbo Tax 1.0** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 11:38 pm

Master of Portables wrote:Bacteria, you keep exaggerating things about the heat it generates. need MORE proof? look at Turbo Tax's N64p, I don't see a fan there...
Seriously, the N64 will function, and will not "melt" with the original heat sinks it has on it.My case was designed after hours of finding out all this crap I know know, so I know what I'm doing!

I did actually put one in later on

by the way its looking good and I'm glad the case is shaping up so well

bacteria · Post by **bacteria** » Fri Jul 27, 2007 1:25 am

Turbo Tax 1.0 wrote: I did actually put one in later on

Can you elaborate please?

Turbo Tax 1.0 · Post by **Turbo Tax 1.0** » Fri Jul 27, 2007 10:29 am

I bought one from radio shack and put it on the left side blowing over the heatsinks, It is kind of a copulate up fan though, I wish I didn't get the one that was already opened(stupid choice on my part)

Metal Mario · Post by **Metal Mario** » Fri Jul 27, 2007 11:59 am

It's looking good! Can't wait to see finished product!

Post by **marshallh** » Fri Jul 27, 2007 10:12 pm

Looks a lot like an L64... either a tribute to my own work or the fact that I ripped it off the GBA

Remember, you can never sand too much (with fine-grit paper anyway). Get everything nice and smooth, it will pay off! Also, using a flat paint will hide lots of small details. Something to think about.