i need some help. can anyone point in the right direction?

[clpahr]

hi. i'm a noob here. the snes has always been something i've clung too from my childhood. it was my first system, and in my opinion the best gaming system ever made. (and yes, i do own a 360) anyways, i guess there is no better way keep this system alive than to turn it into a portable hand held.
i've built tons of stuff in the past. but nothing quite this extensive. i have a general idea of how to go about it, but need some help with the details. can anyone point me in the direction of a step by step "how to" guide to converting my snes into a portable?
the things i need the most help with are the controller installation, battery and power supply, slimming down the board, and screen installation. so pretty much everything lol. any help would be great. thanks.

[XCVG]

Ben's book has a nice how-to guide for beginners. Or read the stickies and project threads.

[clpahr]

thanks. where can i get his book?

-clpahr-

[themadhacker]

what type of snes do you have? the book is only for snes mini.

[clpahr]

yeah after looking some info on the book online and some people who've used it, i've noticed that it only cover the mini. unfortunately, i have the original. what are the big differences between the mini and the original? do you think i could fit the original into a ZN-40 enclosure like the one "life of brian" used for his second snesp?

[clpahr]

hey, thanks for all the help. i would prefer to use the duo, but i already have two originals. and i can't find a duo for less that forty or fifty. would it be worth it to dish out that much for the duo if i already have an original? plus i heard there are sometimes compatibility issues for some snes carts with the duo. is this true?

as far as ben's book, it only covers the mini snes. no help for me with my jumbo snes.

i was looking at some li-ions as far as batteries go. what's this you say about a 5v in the psone screen? (that is what i plan to use)

the controller seems like the most complicated thing to me. you have to build several boards from scratch don't you? one for the d-pad, one for the a,b,x,y buttons, one for the start, select buttons, and then for the L and R buttons, right? forgive me if i'm wrong, i just can't really get a hold on how you convert one board into several spaced out ones. (i'm kinda new at this. sorry to sound dumb) i also plan on having a 2nd controller port. i've only seen this in pictures. i've yet to find any info on how best to accomplish that on here, but i have a general idea of how to do it. if you know anywhere i can get info on that i would appreciate it.

thanks again to everyone on here who has helped out so far.

-clpahr-

[XCVG]

Ok, your 'big' SNES might be usable. Take a look at them. If it has 'Eject' MOLDED into the eject button then it has the newer, smaller board. If it's printed on, it has a big board. The smaller board is bigger than the mini but you can still make an ok portable.

[clpahr]

cool. thanks. i have two, and i'm almost sure one is one of the newer ones. nice to know. thanks again.

[clpahr]

ok ok. so after further research, and lots of help from various people, (thanks again btw) i've decided that i will be trading in my original snes for something with a smaller board. (if you're gonna do something you might as well do it right)

however, it is the peoples advice that i need once again.

which would be better? the retro duo? or the mini snes?

can anyone answer Q's such as:

which actually has a smaller board? (before and after cutting them down)

which used less power?

which is easier for conversion?

thanks again.

[XCVG]

The mini SNES has better compatibility and the games look and sound better. It can also be RGB and region modded. The Duo is smaller, has a removable NES portion (I think), and I think consumes less power.

[clpahr]

thanks.

when you say that the mini looks and sounds better, how much of a difference is it? it it really noticeable?

how much smaller is the duo than the mini?

i've read that the duo works fine as just a snes, so i'm not that concerned with compatibility.

i've also read that there is sections of the duo that are only used for the nes, but they're not anything you can just cut off.

from all the info i've gathered and all the help i've got, i think i'm leaning toward the duo. i'd sacrifice a small amount of pic and sound for a smaller unit. (i mean, the thing is gonna be small anyway. it shouldn't make that much of a difference) plus i'm digging the use of less power.

anyone got any info on how much the difference is in picture and sound quality between the duo and the mini?

thanks everyone.

and thanks to sparkfist for posting the "how to". lots of cool info.