N64 Liuhu Edition

[palmertech]

Do the heat sinks get hot?

Are you using thermal paste (Like Artic Silver 5), or just the gray goop pads? Don't use them, they are terrible to the max.

[Liuhuparta]

They get warm. A bit more than average body temperature. I said earlier that I used thermal adhesives. I even linked to the eBay. Here's a picture of those.



E: It finally seems like I got rid of the crashes! One of the RAM chips was loose on the other side and so did the Expansion pak's chip. Looks like I was too rough with those at some point. I soldered them well and everything works. I also upgraded all heat sinks to slightly bigger ones.

Now I have only one tiny problem. Analog stick's neutral position is wrong. It's moving slowly to the bottom left corner. Is the problem in the potentiometers or what? This occurs every time I power uo the console. The thumb stick is always untouched at that time.

[Liuhuparta]

I have now designed the final appearance of this machine. I made a 3D model using the free Google SkecthUp app.


[Final design]


[Wireframe]


[Top]


[Bottom]


[Front]


[Back]

[XCVG]

Pretty sweet! Though I do suggest putting the shoulder buttons on the back. Easier to grip that way.

[Liuhuparta]

I have tested different positions and it's best to have them where I drew them.

[asdfjkl;]

that's gonna be one hella cool portable

[64M320N3]

It's not going to look exactly like that.
It just never does...

[Liuhuparta]

I made the molds for vacuum forming just a moment ago from modeling paste. I'll sand them within couple of days. The control stick still wants to move on it's own. Hopefully I get it fixed soon.



E: I tried to push L + R + Start to reset the neutral position of the control stick. Won't work. I tried to rewire it in different ways. It just pulls to other directions. I put the original thumb stick back. I couldn't believe it, but I still pulls to some intercardinal direction. The only way to get it stay still was use no thumb stick at all! Anyone has any similiar experiences or helpful tips?

[bacteria]

Can we have larger pics of your cases??

[Liuhuparta]

Not yet, because as I said I have made the molds – not the case. Here's a bigger picture of the molds. I still need to sand them in their final form. In return you tell me what's wrong with my control stick. I soldered the original stick back and it won't work right. Help!

[bacteria]

Did you disconnect a ground, or have a short, or wire it backwards? Not easy without pics, we're not psychic!

[Liuhuparta]

Can the controller save the "neutral" position of the control stick or something? The weirdest part is that I couldn't get it to work right with the original stick. I tried all possible combinations and it still pulls to bottom left corner. I also soldered the wires from the controller away and back to the N64 PCB while it was on, so I "unplugged" and "plugged" it back.


Here's a shot of the GC stick.


Here's the controller setup (click for huge pic).

[Mario]

Is your controller getting the full 3.3v? They do screwy things when they aren't getting enough voltage.

[asdfjkl;]

ooo, that's a possiblility, but Is the joystick loose at all? this crap happens to me all of the time because I have played with my gc controller so much the joystick is loose and If I don't hold it in place perfectly up and down it goes to one side and the game is impossible to play.

[bacteria]

ooo, that's a possiblility, but Is the joystick loose at all? this crap happens to me all of the time because I have played with my gc controller so much the joystick is loose and If I don't hold it in place perfectly up and down it goes to one side and the game is impossible to play.

That might be the issue. When the N64 is turned on, the position of the joystick is at that time set as being center, even if it isn't, so if your joystick is loose, it could explain your issue.