ARGH! Another one bites the dust.... This makes the fourth NOAC that I've somehow fried in my modding career. The screen is still okay, the controller is just fine, the voltage booster is putting out a steady 8.16v (the screen needs 7.5v or more), so no problems there - but I managed to get a little puff of smoke from the NOAC and an awful buzzing so I'm giving up hope on it. Just goes to show, even if you have a lot of experience with this stuff, double check everything, and take extra care with every step, sometimes you might just miss something.
The good news is that all I need is a new Super Joy III board. All I will need to do is put it in place, connect the AV, power, and controller connections, and I have a finished portable. Until then, this project is shelved. I WAS SO CLOSE TO FINISHING THIS! ARGH!
I might as well share my progress pictures. The NOAC fried when I did my final step - powering the system up to make sure it all works. I don't know what I missed, nor do I care to troubleshoot right now.
I originally thought I needed to wire the pots before gluing them in place, but I quickly learned that the ribbon cable was too thick for where I needed the wires to go:
After I had glued them in place, I replaced the ribbon cable with Kynar wire. This stuff is so thin, it's fantastic. I never have to worry about wires bulking up my projects with this stuff. Just don't use it for power or anything... The scratchy messiness in between the two pots are where I filed a lot of plastic away so the power button would sit just right.
Things started getting messy as I continued to add more and more connections:
Ugh - the controller glop top of DOOM!
My voltage booster in place, doing that thing it does.
There really aren't too many connections that go to the NOAC itself, so it won't take very much to get this portable in working condition once I get a new Super Joy III (whenever that may be):
The power button, while a cool idea, was a pain to get in just the right spot. A lot of trial and error and removing and reapplying hot glue went into getting it right:
And that was it! I was finished! But after a quick test and a puff of smoke, I learned that it was not meant to be.
The power button is depressed in this picture. And so am I.
I even had little rubber things to go over the screw post holes!
*Sigh* Oh well, I guess I can just stare at its blank screen and imagine all the fun I would be having right now if it hadn't died on me
Interesting side note - these pictures make the portable appear larger than it actually is (at least, according to my screen's resolution).
