Questions about building a multiple console system.

[anexanhume]

Ok, so I'll start with my idea. I know a lot of people on here seek to make the consoles of old small and portable. I want to do the opposite: cram as many as I can in a full ATX tower. Of course, this is an ambitious project, but I unfortunately never seem to manage any simple projects.

My background includes an BS in EE as well as layout, board etching, and soldering for a job I had as an undergrad.

I plan to start small like adding S-Video out to what consoles I can and gradually build up my confidence and slowly start adding the boards to the tower.

Basically I wanted to get a feel for feasibility, size reduction techniques, things to watch for (already got quite a few by lurking).

First of all, what would be the best way to selectively route power? I assume I'd be using some sort of mechanically switched-relay to supply power and then use an auto-sensing video selector to automatically route the right audio/video out. I really have no relay or PSU experience, so I was curious what kinds of options I would have there.

I was also curious about what boards I could use. From what I've read, I could successfully use a Radica with a genny cart slot for minimal size there. Would I also be able to take advantage of the power base conveter there? I'm also curious if I could use a turbo express as opposed to a grafx board.

I'm obviously going to have to have long connections between cart interfaces and their respective mobos if I'm using a full ATX tower. Would my wires be prohibitively long?

My main point here is compatibility. If I was willing to sacrifice there, I could just use a bunch of emulators, or grab an NES-on-a-chip and other similar stuff.

Any other comments/concerns are welcome.

Thanks

[Sparkfist]

Look at the one that was posted in the News forum. Vomitsaw did the whole thing using skills that are used in making portables. The best thing he did when making it was that he had a perf board (I think) that he mounted all the cartridge slots to it and make it more professional looking.

If you plan to fit as many systems as you can; Atari 2600, NES and Genesis. All are very small, you can use the NOAC and GOAC (or Genesis v3) set up to get them in there. As for Atari, use either a 4x4 Atari 2600 or a FB2.

Beyond that you'll have to work other systems in there.

[anexanhume]

Look at the one that was posted in the News forum. Vomitsaw did the whole thing using skills that are used in making portables. The best thing he did when making it was that he had a perf board (I think) that he mounted all the cartridge slots to it and make it more professional looking.

If you plan to fit as many systems as you can; Atari 2600, NES and Genesis. All are very small, you can use the NOAC and GOAC (or Genesis v3) set up to get them in there. As for Atari, use either a 4x4 Atari 2600 or a FB2.

Beyond that you'll have to work other systems in there.

Yeah, the super genitari actually reminded me of me wanting to do this, so I thought I'd ask. It's a lot more feasible than my other ideas:

1. Build a processor (and board) that supports all of the instruction sets of all cartridge based systems with interchangeable cart interfaces. ( impossible and of questionable legality).

2. Throw a bunch of CD/DVD based systems in a box and have them share a DVD drive. Have a signal interpreter that detects which console the system is for and routes the signal and power to desired system (not impossible, but requires some wicked skills).

As you can see, the idea I posted is a lot more feasible.

[Sparkfist]

1. Build a processor (and board) that supports all of the instruction sets of all cartridge based systems with interchangeable cart interfaces. ( impossible and of questionable legality).

Yeah that might not be possible. What it sounds like at first is you want an emulator. It would be far easier to simply take the actual hardware, rewire the cartridge slots and cram it into the case.

2. Throw a bunch of CD/DVD based systems in a box and have them share a DVD drive. Have a signal interpreter that detects which console the system is for and routes the signal and power to desired system (not impossible, but requires some wicked skills).

You might be able to do this. If you use at least a 12x CD-ROM, you can get systems like: Sega CD, PlayStation, Saturn and Dreamcast (modded to CD-ROM). If they all use a simple data cable which should be the same you can do this. Best way to do this is to make a custom board where all the connections are made to one CD-ROM.

DVD-ROM would only be good for systems like the PS2, Xbox, 360 and the Wii. The problem you have though is that the Xbox and 360 use PATA connections to the drives, while PS2 and Wii (likely) are wired directly to the DVD-ROM. This is less likely of being done then the CD-ROM systems.