Expansion pack relocation... has anyone tried this before?

MiGs · Post by **MiGs** » Tue Jan 03, 2006 4:45 am

I don't know much about circuit boards or the expanision pak itself, and dunno if this has been asked before... but, would it be possible just to bend the actual board at the line where the wihte and green part meet? If it was heated, and then bent slowly 90 degrees, you'd save a lot of space. So is it possible? Sorry if its a dumb question XD.

G-force · Post by **G-force** » Tue Jan 03, 2006 1:04 pm

Are you sure they are that sensitive to static? I handle mine all the time and it still works fine. It's the same with my N64, I handle the exposed board all the time for measurements and the like, and it still works. And I never bother to discharge (although I don't wear shoes or socks, would that have something to do wiht it?) Maybe its something in the air... Humidity or something.

timmeh87 · Post by **timmeh87** » Tue Jan 03, 2006 1:20 pm

i know that things being fried by static is not a myth, and i know that there are things on the board that can be fried by static. id say its probably a rarish occurrence, but its way better to be safe than sorry.

also, about the jumper pack - elecric rains is different than mine! im looking at mine right now, and at the far left, in that large rectangle above pin two (the first pin on the left in the bottom row), there is an isolated rectangle that is pin one.

in electric rain's, you can see a dark area where pin one makes contact. yeah. on mine, that has a rectangle cut around it.

so there goes my theory about pack insertion. i wonder why mine is like this...

oh and migs, you cant do that. the boards are fiberglass. they dont bend bend, and heating them up does nothing. can you imagine if they did melt? soldering would be a real pain in the ass...

n3rrd · Post by **n3rrd** » Wed Jan 11, 2006 10:05 pm

As a first post I thought I would mention something about ESD. The static issue isn't a myth, as stated by timmeh87.

Generally, when you feel a static shock, the voltage is estimated to be atleast 2,000 volts. Just compare that to the maximum voltage a chip can handle and you pretty much can figure the rest out. This means that it IS possible to shock a chip with a voltage low enough that you can't feel it, but high enough to damage the chip.

ESD doesn't always finish a chip off -- that is actually quite rare in comparison. It's possible to cause slight damage that only rears it's ugly head when the chip heats up, or a certain part of the circuit is heavily loaded.

I believe IBM did a study a while back about problems with motherboards and processors and found that a very high percentage of crashing and errors is due to improperly handled hardware being slightly damaged by ESD at some point in it's life.

By the way, timmeh, where abouts in Ontario are you? I was surprised to hear you mention Sayal. I picked up a Weller WP25 iron over at the one near me over Christmas to replace an older one I had. I prefer the screwdriver tips myself.

If needed, I work at an EB Games. I can look to see if I can find an expansion pack or two in the back and see if we have any third party ones.

timmeh87 · Post by **timmeh87** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 9:11 am

i live in ancaster, i went to the sayal in burlington. its always nice to meet a fellow canadian on here =)

timmeh87 · Post by **timmeh87** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 4:38 pm

ok so i finally bought a new nintendo 64 yesterday. it came to just under $29 canadian with tax, which is not that bad (some other store was asking $40 + tax). anyhow, i took the expansion pack curcuit board from my previous attempt at this, soldered off all the wires, and popped it in to the new motherboard. to my suprise, it still worked! (this is after taking the chip off, putting the chip back on, soldering it to a 64, and removing it from a 64. makes me wonder if the chip on the other one is still good)

so i then got to work connecting it to the motherbard in exactly the same way i did before..

and it works! woo. id take a picture but the webcam sucks and you probably wouldnt see any detail. plus im lazy. anyhow. now i have to relocate the new cart slot.

Turbo Tax 1.0 · Post by **Turbo Tax 1.0** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 5:28 pm

you must be a godly solderer

sniper_spike · Post by **sniper_spike** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 5:30 pm

Quite so, congradulations tim!

Metroid fan · Post by **Metroid fan** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 7:38 pm

... Thats impossibly hard how did you, how could you, wow...

timmeh87 · Post by **timmeh87** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 8:03 pm

*shrug*. it didnt work the first two times. by the third time i had a system going.

i used enamled wire. thats the trick. ill try to take a picture.. later.

i want to try an xbox ram upgrade. i just need a working xbox.

Turbo Tax 1.0 · Post by **Turbo Tax 1.0** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 8:25 pm

were can you buy enamel wire?

timmeh87 · Post by **timmeh87** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 8:46 pm

i got mine at radio shack when i was in grade 11... 2 years ago. it came in a three pack with red, green, and clear (copper). i used red.. the smallest of the three. its roughly the width of one of the traces.

(edit: picture)

Post by **Skyone** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 8:59 pm

Ya, I got some of that too, but I hate it.

-Courtesy of the Rat Shack

sniper_spike · Post by **sniper_spike** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 9:04 pm

I got some of that stuff too, I've already used some to make a home-made inductor and a home-made resistor.

Turbo Tax 1.0 · Post by **Turbo Tax 1.0** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 9:43 pm

is iot good wire? or is it really only good for fine connections