Portable SNES Project 2

[Kyo]

Some of you might have seen the SNES project I put up here a while ago, but either way, here's a short summary:
I made a technically completed SNESp (it had a screen, batteries, LED backlight and all that stuff), that was only lacking a case. I ended up forgetting about it and it hibernated in the corner of my workdesk. A while ago I looked at the project again, only to find that my screen wasn't working anymore.
Yesterday I took another look. I have gotten back into doing stuff with my soldering iron recently and I have already successfully failed to build a SNES controller -> USB adaptor.

But anyway, I decided to look at the SNES board, see if it was still working. It was. I could have tried to locate the problem with the screen, but it was a very crappy screen anyway and I decided I didn't want to frankenstein my old SNESp, but instead start a new project. I desoldered the SNES from the batteries & screen, and made some plans.

In my old project,t at first I used 6AA rechargeables, then two 3.4 Li-ion packs I got from a broken portable dvd player. I don't want to use these, I would like to use a more elegant solution. I removed the 7805 and soldered a battery holder with 4AAs on the Out & ground ports, to see if it would work. It did.


I believe Brian has also made a SNES like this a while ago. Anyway, now that the Proof of concept it working (I'm currently running the demo sequence of "The lost wikings" over and over again on my TV to see how long only the SNES will last with a pack of 2600mA/h Ni-mh rechargables. On paper, because the snes uses 500mA, it should last 5.2 hours, but it might not go that long due to voltage drops, they're 1.2V each, so it's only 4.8 as is)

After I'm done with that, my next step would be finding a good screen that will take 5V, but I'm confident I'll find something. I'm looking at cheap broken portable DVD players that take external inputs. Recommendations would also be welcome.

[bacteria]

Long time no see, Kyo!

[Kyo]

Indeed bacteria, indeed. But don't worry, it's all ok now.

[DK]

Nice to see you back, looks like you've been busy moonlighting as a mod on the OpenPandora forum

Can't wait to see this project develop.

[bacteria]

So why did you stop posting for such a while Kyo, and are you back properly again now??

[Kyo]

I don't know, I guess I kinda just faded away. It's weird with my hobbies, I get really obsessed with them and spend an awful lot of time (and if necessary, money) on them, but then from one day to another, I lose interest for a while, but eventually I come back. It's the same with forums.

So yeah, I might leave again, but you can be confident that I'll always be returning eventually

[Ben Cebhrem]

I used to have that problem. I came to the conclusion that I was being pulled in too many different directions and that for my hobby, it's my time.

Now life is a bit easier, and I can actually see myself getting a portable (or three) done.

By the way, good luck!

[Kyo]

Flawless Victory!

the canidates, so far:



-Casio TV-880
Old pocket TV of my father
-SEG DVX-P 517
"broken" dvd player I got on ebay which works surprisingly well for being broken

I have not yet decided what I'll use as a screen, here are the cons and pros:

Casio TV-880:
-Smaller
-Takes 4 AA batteries, so this will definitely work
-probably less power consumption
-Well documented
-of less practical use in it's current form

-Smaller screen


Dvd player thing:

-bigger screen

-the picture seems kinda blurry
-might not work on 5V, which would require me to step up the voltage, shortening battery life
-16:9
-probably takes more energy

The choice seems fairly obvious, but the casio TV _IS_ really small. I'll connect a SNES to both, to see what it looks like

[Kyo]

I just scored a PS1 screen (original) for 37€, thank you ebay notifications. I'll probably end up using that. I'm thinking about

1) Using 6 AAs instead of 4
2) converting the voltage to 7, so I can use it in the screen.

We'll see what will happen. By now you should have probably noticed that my modding-attitude is "don't plan, just throw something together". That's pretty much how I do everything, but it seems to work very good for me actually. Asides from the fact that it costs a lot of money. But I like keeping stashes of everything, so I'm glad if I stash up some electronic components during the process.

[bacteria]

My philosophy is to plan in detail in my mind everything, transfer the relevant thoughts to paper, then just make it exactly as planned. It is the only way to make something small.

[Kyo]

I disagree. I plan when I can't take action, but I like just jumping into stuff right away. I believe the impulsive approach can be just as good and small as the well-planned one. For instance, if I had impulsively bought a SNES Mini, which I didn't because I'm not a rich person (plus I'd have to buy an NTSC screen and everything as well) I could have made a SNES as small as any of the others seen on this site. Let's face it, making a portable is essentially just buying a couple of components, removing some stuff, throwing them together and then making a pretty case for it. Planning may prevent errors, but it does not necessarily make the result better.

Now, it'd be different if I said I threw everything together as quick as possible, which isn't what I'm doing. I'm handling everything with care, I'm just skipping the planning phase. When I work on a project, generally I solder, then I turn around and research a little, write it down on a paper and go back to soldering.

Anyway, I made a decision. I'll buy the components for a vacuum table, and try to build one. I'll make me a nice vacuum formed case. I'll probably use bacteria as example and make it with modeling clay, which is a great idea. (The thought didn't even occur to me when I thought about vacuum forming before)


Edit: I was bored and I disabled the lockout chip on my board. But I was really bored, so I disabled it on a different board as well (a big one).

[Tibia]

Let's face it, making a portable is essentially just buying a couple of components, removing some stuff, throwing them together and then making a pretty case for it. Planning may prevent errors, but it does not necessarily make the result better.

I couldn't agree with you more.

Personally, I find the impulsive method keeps it more enjoyable. Detailed planning feels too much like work for me to really get into it.

[hailrazer]

hahhahahah

Two great minds at odds....what does that remind me of .....

Oy yea Tesla and Edison.

Tesla planned everything until it was perfect in his mind and then he made it. That meant nearly 100% of the things he made worked perfectly the first time. But that also meant he didn't try a lot of things because he never perfected it in his mind.

Edison meanwhile started working on a project as soon as he had an idea. That meant it never worked perfectly , but he invented a lot more stuff.

6 of one , half dozen of another.

[bacteria]

[Kyo]

hahhahahah

Two great minds at odds....what does that remind me of .....

Oy yea Tesla and Edison.

Tesla planned everything until it was perfect in his mind and then he made it. That meant nearly 100% of the things he made worked perfectly the first time. But that also meant he didn't try a lot of things because he never perfected it in his mind.

Edison meanwhile started working on a project as soon as he had an idea. That meant it never worked perfectly , but he invented a lot more stuff.

6 of one , half dozen of another.

Heh, I guess you could put it that way. It reminds me a lot of (a more modern example) Adam and Jamie from mythbusters.

Then again, I'd rather be a famous inventor than a TV show host