New SNES portable project

Venom · Post by **Venom** » Wed Nov 07, 2007 6:31 pm

Started a new SNES portable project not too long ago.

The screen I'm using is pretty hard to find, and I got it for 30$ at woot.com. It's called "Game Power", and is made by a company called
Vector, and underneath it says iMobile.
It was designed to run in the car, and had a power inverter in it, so you could plug whatever system you wanted in, provided it could use RCA hookups. It's a 7" widescreen (can switch ratios) and runs pretty well.

I've found where every lead goes, and have even managed to get the screen to run off of batteries. The bottom case of the screen (kind of folds up like a laptop) is where the SNES board is going, as its big enough. The buttons are going on the top first fold-up part.

More later... when I can get this SNES opened up.

benol · Post by **benol** » Wed Nov 07, 2007 7:14 pm

Why put buttons on the case? IMO, something that looks like that would be cool with corded controllers.

Website · Post by **Life of Brian** » Thu Nov 08, 2007 1:05 am

Hey I bought the same screen! It's going into a digital picture frame as a Christmas gift though...

Well, getting the system to play on a screen is half the battle. Best of luck.

Kyo · Post by **Kyo** » Thu Nov 08, 2007 8:21 am

Aw man, I want that screen.

Venom · Post by **Venom** » Thu Nov 08, 2007 6:30 pm

Yeah, that's not a bad idea considering the screen sits up and is in front of you, but that's not what I'm planning to do.

I should have gotten three, and then three more again during the woot-off.

I have a problem though:
I've gotten the SNES apart, and I've got it running on batteries/taken off useless stuff. I've wired the screen's ground video out to the SNES correctly, together, and when I switch it on, the screen flickers up (it looks like what happens when you turn on a console connected to a TV, a bunch of curved lines flicker for a split second), but I don't get any picture at all. I've tried different games and cleaning them, and no picture. When I take the game out though and turn it on, the screen doesn't flicker at all. So it's reading from the SNES.

Does it need a video amp to work? I've checked the connections and they're okay, I don't have any other ideas though.

Website · Post by **Life of Brian** » Thu Nov 08, 2007 10:21 pm

Wait, I thought you had it playing on the screen? What did you change in the setup?

Venom · Post by **Venom** » Thu Nov 08, 2007 10:38 pm

That was with the RCA jacks. I removed the multi out on the SNES and wired the video and ground directly. There are two capacitors on the jack board (from the screen) that they went through, but I'm not sure how important those are. That's the only change I made.

The board with the jacks has a connector going into it. Two green wires, and three yellow. The green wires are video and ground, and the yellow ones audio. I'm pretty sure the first green one is video, because I switched them and the screen came out with a bunch of horizontal lines that scrolled infinitely up. I plugged my N64 into the screen to make sure it was still working (and it does), so I don't know where the problem lies.

Edit: Just another piece of information. If I rock the game back and forth (or take it out) when the SNES is switched on, the screen goes green. Also, the game is free standing on the cartridge connector with no support. I'll keep experimenting.

myersn024 · Post by **myersn024** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 1:30 pm

I had a similar problem when I was working on my SNESp. Make sure you didn't reverse the polarity on your power. If you did, you'll need a new 7805 since reverse polarity will fry it. Also, double check to make sure that you've got your SNES and screen grounds connected to each other.

Venom · Post by **Venom** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 5:58 pm

I checked the 7805 several times to make sure it was right, before and after powering. There are two green wires from the screen that extend to a yellow jack, one is ground and the other is video. I had them connected pretty well, and don't think those are the problems. I appreciate it though.

I think the problem was with a certain part with some letters on it. Next to it was "T1+" on the circuit board, I had accidentally busted it, I don't know how but I have no idea where else the problem would be. The part is close to the SNES ground area, and it's got four legs. I'm not sure what it is though.

Venom · Post by **Venom** » Sat Nov 17, 2007 6:11 pm

I apologize for the double post. Since the last post I made I've gotten a new SNES mini, and I had done what I had before, and connected the video and ground lines, and this time, it worked! I got a clear picture.

Everything was the same as last time except for one thing: the SNES was still running off of the wall adapter. I went ahead and hooked up the battery and regulator to the SNES and made sure it was right. Now when I switch it on, the screen flickers and it looks like it's going to come up, but now I don't get a picture at all. I've tried many games and I've looked over the connections many times.

The only difference is a new power source. If anyone could tell what's wrong or have any suggestions that would really help, because I've no idea what's keeping the game from showing up on the screen.

schmellyfart · Post by **schmellyfart** » Sat Nov 17, 2007 10:46 pm

So when you use the batteries, the screen does the flicker thing?

What are the specs of the battery and the regulator?

Venom · Post by **Venom** » Sun Nov 18, 2007 1:02 am

I guess I used the wrong word, flicker as in the screen finding the signal (some waves flick up the screen and switch to the game) like a lot of screens do when first getting a signal. It "flickered" when I used it with the wall adapter, and then the game displayed. I mentioned it because it looks like it's about to start playing, but never shows up.

The battery is actually an 8-cell battery holder, with 8 1.2v 2500 AA Ni-MH batteries, and their voltage linked together.

The regulator is the 7805 the SNES came with.