Taking the plunge, building my own! :)

[HinesleyT]

Well, I have been scrounging around the forums a bit and trying to get an SNES portable to be commissioned for me, but I don't think it's going to happen, so I am excited about making my own!

I will be buying Ben Heck's book soon if that will give me an understanding of the core of the system. I'll be using an SNES mini, or SNES2, whatever you want to call it, because I want 100% full compatibility all the time.

Besides Ben's book, can anyone suggest a build log or anything that describes all the parts and pieces on the SNES mini's board and such? I was hoping to use a ZN-40 if it would fit in that, if not, what case should I use? I want at least a PSOne screen or something that size in it, and I want the controls to feel like it's the same as playing with an SNES controller, or VERY close to it, with no strain on the hands, etc.

If anyone could lead me in the right direction with some links, advice, etc., I would be greatly appreciated.

I have been sifting through lots of builds on here, but most are just pictures with no internals or at least no explanation of the internals, so any help with finding something to look at would be greatly appreciated.

Has anything like what I'm attempting been made outside of the standard "CNC" or "hand-built" Ben Heck cases? (using the mini and not duo, twin, etc.)

Life of Brian's SNES portables (the black one and white one both made with the ZN-40 case) are my ideal SNESp, but I dunno if that's possible with an SNES mini, because I think he used a Retro Duo (correct?).

Thanks guys!

Trevor

[lovablechevy]

Well, I have been scrounging around the forums a bit and trying to get an SNES portable to be commissioned for me, but I don't think it's going to happen, so I am excited about making my own!

I will be buying Ben Heck's book soon if that will give me an understanding of the core of the system. I'll be using an SNES mini, or SNES2, whatever you want to call it, because I want 100% full compatibility all the time.

Besides Ben's book, can anyone suggest a build log or anything that describes all the parts and pieces on the SNES mini's board and such? I was hoping to use a ZN-40 if it would fit in that, if not, what case should I use? I want at least a PSOne screen or something that size in it, and I want the controls to feel like it's the same as playing with an SNES controller, or VERY close to it, with no strain on the hands, etc.

If anyone could lead me in the right direction with some links, advice, etc., I would be greatly appreciated.

I have been sifting through lots of builds on here, but most are just pictures with no internals or at least no explanation of the internals, so any help with finding something to look at would be greatly appreciated.

Has anything like what I'm attempting been made outside of the standard "CNC" or "hand-built" Ben Heck cases? (using the mini and not duo, twin, etc.)

Life of Brian's SNES portables (the black one and white one both made with the ZN-40 case) are my ideal SNESp, but I dunno if that's possible with an SNES mini, because I think he used a Retro Duo (correct?).

Thanks guys!

Trevor

Life of Brian only used the retro duo for his contest piece. both of his zn-40 snesps were with snes minis. there's more than enough room to use the snes mini with the zn-40.

there isn't one specific thread that will have all the info you are looking for. for constructing a case using the zn-40, Life of Brian's threads, G-forces playmad thread, and my handyduo thread are great to go by. there are a few others who have used it (sharp sapphire, khaag), but i don't remember how much detail they went into.

as for the electronics side, ben's book will tell you all you need to know. the 5" psone/zenith screen will fit perfectly fine in the zn-40 case as long as you led mod the screen and chop the top part of the board off. see one of the above threads for reference. and you can use the original snes controller. just hack it apart and put it in the case.

hope this helps some!

[HBN]

Good luck. It's not that hard, even without Ben's book. I had mine ripped apart and mostly wired in minus four hours. Only I'm not using a mini, so Ben's book doesn't exactly help me. What I know I got from the forums, and from Chev.

I'm looking forward to seeing some progress pics. Careful small soldering, and beware of cold joints. Don't burn yourself.

[HinesleyT]

Sweet, Zenith or PSOne screen better?

Thanks so much guys! I'm excited!

[lovablechevy]

Sweet, Zenith or PSOne screen better?

Thanks so much guys! I'm excited!

they are the exact same screen. zenith generally run cheaper tho. they were made for the gamecube, xbox, and ps2. make sure you DO NOT get the gamecube intech screen tho.

[HinesleyT]

Ha ha ok, and I looked in LOB's thread and he did the anti-glare mod, then I looked in yours and the Playmad thread, but where's the LED mod? Also, is that just for screen brightness?

[lovablechevy]

Ha ha ok, and I looked in LOB's thread and he did the anti-glare mod, then I looked in yours and the Playmad thread, but where's the LED mod? Also, is that just for screen brightness?

well, the led mod is covered really well in ben's book. in fact, here it is from his book! people vary on this forum for how many leds they use. ben uses 3 leds. it seems the most common on the forum is the 4 led mod. i personally use 6 leds. and at least 1 member has used 8 leds. in this thread, it is discussed how to figure out what resistor you need for how many leds you choose to use. and on my thread, i didn't really cover the steps of modding it... but these picsshow what you can chop off the top and it still work after the led mod is done.

the led mod is generally to help on battery conservation. the brightness is never as good as the original back light. the more leds you use, the closer to the original brightness it is, but the worse your battery conservation is. however, it is a necessity when using this screen in a zn-40 case. otherwise it just won't fit.

i did the anti-glare mod for the handygear. it really is quit easy to do and give amazing results.

[HinesleyT]

Maybe I missed something, but why replace the LCD screen's original backlight with LED's if they aren't as bright?

[lovablechevy]

Maybe I missed something, but why replace the LCD screen's original backlight with LED's if they aren't as bright?

for 2 reasons. 1) it will dramatically increase your battery life. 2) it makes the board smaller so that you can fit it in certain cases, like the zn-40.

as stated in my above post:

the led mod is generally to help on battery conservation. the brightness is never as good as the original back light. the more leds you use, the closer to the original brightness it is, but the worse your battery conservation is. however, it is a necessity when using this screen in a zn-40 case. otherwise it just won't fit.

[zzattack]

Hey, for those leds I know Ben says to get T1 leds but they're hard to find for me locally so I'm wondering would these work (well)?

http://cgi.ebay.com/100-3mm-6000mcd-LED ... m153.l1262

[Life of Brian]

All I can say is "maybe" - you might want to find ones that are even brighter.