The eN64p STATUS: Finalizing case. Total cost: $134

[mikeyg]

This looks amazing. Can't wait to see the case.
Are you adding lob64 or any other special features?

[robm]

Thank you

Yes, an LOB64 port will be implemented; rumble pack is also going to be thrown in; I'm working on a small AVR-based diagnostic board that would fit in the average N64 case that would connect to a PC through the LOB64 connector, but that's not going to be done anytime soon, as it's a back-burner project due to the fact that almost no one except me will care. The expansion pack will also be included, and a headphone jack will be thrown in for completion's sake.

[mikeyg]

Thank you

Yes, an LOB64 port will be implemented; rumble pack is also going to be thrown in; I'm working on a small AVR-based diagnostic board that would fit in the average N64 case that would connect to a PC through the LOB64 connector, but that's not going to be done anytime soon, as it's a back-burner project due to the fact that almost no one except me will care. The expansion pack will also be included, and a headphone jack will be thrown in for completion's sake.

What would it be able to do by hooking up to the computer? I'm pretty curious about this.
I found out I need a controller pak(is that the same as the expansion pak?) to play duke nukem 64. This is helping me, though.

[robm]

There are some different voltages I'd like to be able to sample easily once the case is put together. I've been doing minor testing with a 'mega168, but that's bigger than what I'd really like. Probably go with a 'mega128. A small switch would be placed near the LOB64 port to switch between link/diagnostic mode. Voltages I'd like to sample (that I can think of so far):

Main supply voltage (from battery)
Voltage from pth08080
Voltage to LCD screen
Voltage form each processor

There's a few other things I'd like to tackle, but that'll wait until I have those five voltages read correctly from the diagnostic board. I'm working on designing the PCB now, but there's some things I've got to look into on the 'mega128 before I can get too much farther on it. I am working on a power supply board for the N64 to simplify connections; that pth08080 would be a whole lot prettier and easier to deal with if it was part of a slightly larger PCB so that people don't need to solder a cap straight to the regulator. The process works, it's not hard, but fuuuugly.

I really don't know why I just went into all that . This is going to get it's own thread in the middle of summer when I really have time to break out the dev board and fiddle around.

[mikeyg]

Sounds cool. Can't wait for the final product..

[codeman]

Are you only going to use the atmel chip for sampling voltages? Why not simply put in a few analog transmission gates to feed those voltages to your port and just check it with a multimeter if you really wanted to know what they were? Do you have anything else planned for the processor to do?

[robm]

Eventually, yes, I do have pretty significant plans for the 'mega128, but, they are relatively far down the road. For the most part, it would be more of a learning experience for me rather than an actual, useful addition to the N64p world. However, the upside is that once it's done and is successful, then for around 15 bucks people could have their own diagnostic board for their N64p. Far less than that if they did it themselves. I need to delve into a spare N64 at some point so I can work out a relative pinout for the cartridge slot so I can determine what pins are power, ground, and (most importantly) data so I can provide a reference for the processor, so it can determine if the N64's "OS" is talking to the cartridge.

This is going to look extremely retarded, but here's an idea of what I would want out of this program:

[codeman]

http://www.crazynation.org/N64/n64_cart_info.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That's a link from one of the stickys...it already tells you the cart pin-out so it'll save you some work!

[robm]

Holy /crap/ man, nice find! That literally takes months off of my project time this summer. Thank you!

Huh... as I'm looking over this, it even gives me PIF and EEPROM pinouts too. How nice.

[robm]

Minor update; regulator, power jack, headphone jack, and power switch all mounted in the case.

Regulator soldered together (ick... can't wait for board):



Regulator/switch/power jack assembly:



Switch and power jack:



Headphone jack:



For some reason, the regulator now puts out a decreasing 12V, meaning when I first switch the unit on, it starts out at supply voltage and slowly drops... haven't wasted time to see how far, but definitely not the required 3.3V. Anyone have any ideas on that?

[XCVG]

Sounds like a capacitor somewhere is defective.

[robm]

Actually, as it turns out, my multimeter was toast.

Now that problem is figured out, now I get to figure out why the N64's motherboard once again won't fire up.

[mikeyg]

I know this is a big bump, but wondering how this is coming along.

[robm]

With upcoming surgery and other life issues, I haven't had a whole lot of time to work on it. I have been slowly hacking at the case, but nothing major so far to report - plan on hitting this hard soon. I'm disappointed at not being able to finish this by my deadline, but then, that's not exactly unexpected on a first project.

The hardware side is going well; I put everything in the case, and it fired off of wall power, so that has gone well.

[mikeyg]

With upcoming surgery and other life issues, I haven't had a whole lot of time to work on it. I have been slowly hacking at the case, but nothing major so far to report - plan on hitting this hard soon. I'm disappointed at not being able to finish this by my deadline, but then, that's not exactly unexpected on a first project.

The hardware side is going well; I put everything in the case, and it fired off of wall power, so that has gone well.

That stinks,hope your surgery goes well. Hopefully, you'll be back on your feet and finishing this project,soon.