, so this is the clean slate thread. Now with a new name: The 64Snap!I have pinned down the dwindling of my old thread to the fact nobody wants to read a 100 post worklog that only really gets going on the 6th page,
so I will recap all the exciting bits:
After my custom arcade machine project earlier this year I decided I wanted to make a n64 portable for the "personal project" assignment the school makes everyone do. Looking back on it I had slightly unrealistic expectations of myself, but all noobs do.
.So right off the bat I was then given a n64 with exp. pack, 10 games and 4 controllers by a good friend.
Soon after, I went to england to see my grandpa and decided that since screens are sparse in Australia I would buy one whilst over there.
I was reading through bacteria's website and noticed he had a screen for sale, I ended up buying it for $50 AUD:
I soon discovered by re-reading bacteria emails that it only took rgb. Initially i thought that it wouldn't be too much of an issue, but it turned out to be a major pain in the ass.
Basically PAL n64s cannot output rgb. I thought I was screwed but i came up with these three solutions:
1: Trade my PAL n64 For a NTSC n64 then put a PAL PIF chip in it so it can play my games.
2: Put a vcd-nus DAC chip in my unit allowing it to output rgb (supposedly trickier soldering)
3:trade my screen with somebody.
I went with option 1.
(it's prettier and neater in person)
I should have went with option 2 as it wouldn't have required me to ship a my n64 for $15 (screwing over the uber budget intent of my project), it would have only cost me $3, but at the time a had a craptacular soldering iron and doing the DAC transplant would have been nearly impossible and was daunting as I believed it would be loads harder than the pif transplant.
In the end i found out that the pif and dac pin spacing was the same so i could have done option 2 instead and I got a new soldering iron anyway. so i learned a lot, wasted stacks of time (good thing mine isn't particularly valuable) and got a new soldering iron (courtesy of my parents). So not too bad.
I then put new heat sinks on the n64:
relocated the cart slot a couple of times (i will have to do it again)
Then the issues with my screen started. So first off i couldnt get my batteries to run the screen (6000mah camcorder batteries). Then i did get the screen to turn on but when i plugged the screen into the n64 i got this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zRUYAJ989s
I assumed the original n64 cable didn't have pins for rgb anymore so then I hooked it up to my little screen.
I got scanlines, interference, green and blue lines spazzing across the screen and a high pitched squeal from the main board. It sucked hard... but I noticed the main screen pcb had little screws you could turn to affect the image (something i wanted to do desperately after no progress with the screen at all after a week and a half). I soon realised that the image was actually the blue and green lines, it was just smooshed down and whizzing across the screen insanely fast. I had got the image to slow down and become taller but it was impossible to keep still, it would almost stop, but then just fly in the other direction.
I realised my screen required sync. I just hooked the composite signal to it and the image stabilised. It worked because composite has sync built-in.
I was really happy but I noticed there was only green and blue in the image, my red was missing. This was because i was earlier lifting the rgb pins on the DAC off the n64 board so as to get a brighter image and i had bent it one too many time and it was hanging on by a thread, so i hot glued all over it to keep it in place. somehow it broke off.
the next day when i came and turned my screen on nauseating black smoke came off of it. I still have no idea why but it works now so i am happy.
then i though i fried it again but it just turned out i had put the ribbon cable that goes between the screen and its boards in the wrong way.
just today a new DAC arrived from snowpenguin and i managed to put it in in 3 mins (much better than the previous 2 hours for the PIF) now i have my screen in order.
i am planning to put the n64 in a psone shell. this means i will really have to come through on keeping stuff small such as the speaker amp board that i am putting in from an old set of psp speakers and redoing the cart relocation with thinner wire and only doing the necessary pins. plus loads more.
so i will be updating this new thread with the casework and stuffing in of electronics. if you want more detail about any of the stuff i wrote here check out the old thread: http://forums.benheck.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=30851
