New portable SNES was born today

[myersn024]

I spent most of the day getting the details of my portable SNES ironed out, and here's what I did. The SNES that I used was one of the full sized ones that is new enough to have a built in sound board. Since I really like the full size SNES cases, I decided to incorporate it into the final design. The very first thing to do was to get everything running on batteries. This was for the most part already done, but I needed to test the screen and SNES together off the same power source. It worked.
<img src=http://www.austinbull.com/pictures/runonbatts.jpg width=400>

Then it was time to set about making a case for this monster. Since I really like the SNES cases and I couldn't find anything else suitable, I decided to incorporate the SNES case into the final design. I prepped it for paint and then shot two coats of black Duplicolor spray paint on it. Here's the results.
<img src=http://www.austinbull.com/pictures/frontpost1.jpg width=400>
<img src=http://www.austinbull.com/pictures/bottompost2.jpg width=400>

After that, there was a little more wiring to do. So, with the battery pack going under where the original switch used to be a new one was needed. I also added some connectors to the audio and video lines attached to the underside of the mobo. You can't really tell what kind they are in the picture, but they're called J plugs. They are very common in the R/C airplace world and work great for lines that aren't going to be subjected to high current. Therefore they were an ideal choice for the A/V lines. The connectors on the battery and the battery side of the switch are also common in the R/C airplane world, they're called JTS plugs and are good for around 4 to 5 amps. The battery is a homebuilt pack made from 7 Nuon AA rechargable NiMH batteries rated at 2500 mah. I got them from Batteries+ for $9.99 per pack of four. So far I'm very pleased with them.
<img src=http://www.austinbull.com/pictures/insides.jpg width=400>

Here's a pic of the switch and a close up of the connectors on the battery. The switch I used is a DPDT rocker switch, but I didn't get a proper charging jack the last time I went to Radio Shack. I decided that drilling two little holes and running the wires outside the case wouldn't be that big of a deal. Plus I can always re-do it later and add a charging circuit and jack to the current configuration without too much hassle. Also, old habits die hard and I would rather peak charge my batteries with a good, fully adjustable battery charger....this makes it easier for now.
<img src=http://www.austinbull.com/pictures/switchcon.jpg width=400>

So after a full day of piddling, here's what the final product will look like.
<img src=http://www.austinbull.com/picutres/nicktendo.jpg width=400>

The screen isn't attached in that picture, it is just propped up to look like it will when everything is finalized. I still have to make something to prop the back of the screen up with before it can be permanently attached. As most of you have noticed, there isn't any controller built into anything you've seen. The reason for that is this will be more of a table top, or laptop portable than a handheld one. As such, having an externally connected, full size controller will be preferrable. I will be shortening the cord on one of the controllers that I have, down to about 2 or 3 feet to make it more portable friendly. What I really like about my design is that it can still be easily used with a regular TV, and since the screen has a built in on/off switch, battery life can be greatly lenghtened in that capacity. After getting everything connected and running, my trusty Super Whatt meter showed that the whole thing was pulling about 860 milliamps. After a little figuring, and assuming a full charge (once again, that's why I like using a good battery charger with peak detection) I should get almost three hours of play time before another charge is needed. The SNES itself only pulls between 350 and 400 milliamps, so just running it off batteries to play on a regular TV will result in nearly 6 hours of play time.

Anyway, sorry for the long post but I needed to show off my work and ask for feedback on my efforts. So, please tell me what you think and ask any questions you may have regarding any part of my build.

I almost forgot to tell everyone the names I'm contemplating.
1) SNES-top
2) iSNES
3) SNESbook (it would be more appropriate if the screen folded like a notebook computer, but I like it)
4) Super Nicktendo (because my name is Nick)

[jeroen]

It's so cute. Who was his mother?

[Rellizate]

It's cool, but I never liked Gloss Black...

[Steve-o]

Looks good, but one question. Does the cartridge get in the way of seeing the screen?

[myersn024]

Looks good, but one question. Does the cartridge get in the way of seeing the screen?

The screen has the speakers built into the bottom of it, so that raises the screen enough to prevent the cart from blocking the screen in any way. Below are two pics taken this morning. The first was taken with the SNES sitting in my lap and the second was taken with it sitting on a table. As you can see, the cart won't block the screen in its current configuration.

<img src=http://www.austinbull.com/pictures/laptop.JPG width=400>

<img src=http://www.austinbull.com/pictures/tabletop.JPG width=400>

[myersn024]

It's cool, but I never liked Gloss Black...

Me either, but it was all I had. It looks better in person than it does in the pics.

[Life of Brian]

I like the Nicktendo name - it's catchy. I hope attaching the screen goes smoothly for you - you've made some awesome progress so far.