Beta64 Wip 25/01/2010

[colindecon]

I would first like to start by saying hello to everyone and a big nice one for all the hard work , ive been reading here for a while and have become inspired to build my own machine Dubbed "Beta64"

I first Brought an N64 on May 1, 1997 (uk release date(yes sorry from london )) and ever since then i wanted a hand held one so here's my chance.

ive already brought a psone with a screen and controller and 2 n64's and 3 offical controlers also ive collected over 40games already i have a gamecube controler to hack up, ive ordered some free bits from texas instaments thanks to the great infomation on this site,

all i need now is a Glue gun and im off


wish me luck

colindecon


Updated 25/01/2010
I have done some case work now what do you think

[gamer255]

Good luck

[silver]

I read on the forum, that officail nintendo 64 controllers cant be modded to utelise the gamecube joystick, and when I took apart the controller the officail joystick is pretty big...
I should start my portable soon ( a ps1p), and we are both from England so I wish you the best of luck!!!

[colindecon]

I read on the forum, that officail nintendo 64 controllers cant be modded to utelise the gamecube joystick, and when I took apart the controller the officail joystick is pretty big...
I should start my portable soon ( a ps1p), and we are both from England so I wish you the best of luck!!!

Yep i read that also, ive been looking for 3rd party controllers on ebay not sure what to use

also where can i find some info on battery voltages for example how to make a 7.2 volt lithiom battery work with the n64

[silver]

the way I'm powering my psone at the moment is with two lithium ion camcorder batteries, I already had a charger.
but because we live in the uk we cant get batteries from batteryspace, because the postage is $70!
I read bacterias wordpress site, and he recommends using the camcorder batteries as an alternative, he wired two 7.4v(4 cells) in sereis and parallel to get 4600 mah, which is what I'm doing.
The bateries section in the reference section is a big help it explains all the battery stuff to you.
other than that you also need a Texas instruments card, which you can delivered for free(even in the uk). harshboys wiring diagram explains that clearly.
maplin.co.uk or rapidonline should supply you with all of your electronic components( 100uf capacitor etc..).
are you planning to led mod the screen?
I've not been here very long, but I've sort of bided my time until I knew I could do something.

[colindecon]

led mod?? is that for making the screen brighter?



i found some cool guides on http://www.youtube.com/user/MODDEDbyBACTERIA" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[silver]

nah, it makes your screen less bright but it saves you quite a bit of battery life, look into it in the screens reference section!!
bacterias really good for info.
you also have to think about casing as well, are you still at school and have access to D.T room? because that would make your life a lot easier.
otherwise home vacuuming forming is a good idea, theres a good guide to making vacuum forming tables all over the internet.http://www.retroactive.be/l64/-this shows a really good vacuum formed case.
you could also use MDF sheets like sam-thornley did(in the ps1 section)
its all about getting your facts right before going in.

[colindecon]

thats all great info thanks, i think my first case will be a frankencase, i think i will try vacuum forming on my second try, one step at a time i think

i just watched Bacteria's video and learnt a lot, would love to see some more video tutrorals.

as for school... im 30 and a bit past school but have access to funds and handy enough to try most things, i was 17 when i first got the n64 thats 13 years ago, now i feel a bit old haha

[silver]

I also looked into franken-modding: http://www.okw.co.uk/(polycase.com is american and postage is like $30)
theres quite a lot of cases on there, or you could alternatively go for something like a kids datamax delight, you can get them off amazon(like hailraizers Ncube: http://forums.benheck.com/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=34490).
however as hailraizer said franken-modding takes ages with all the sanding!!

yeh, I got my n64 when I was 9, I'm 18 now

[colindecon]

cool links thanks, maybe i can make a frakencase then use it to make a vacuum formed case, i like the idea of hacking and sanding

the datamax delight looks quite nice but im going to start with this http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ABS-Black-Desktop ... 3a56e022b0

my dream design would be the n64 controler with a screen on top

[silver]

thats basically a zn-45 from polycase.com, which means I might get one as well.
I know hat case works because shockslayer made at least 3 portables using that http://forums.modretro.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=219
it would be pretty easy to use that case, the second case would be like a second portable, because I'm pretty sure you would have to chop the board up to fit it inside, but I like the concept and I really like the trident at the bottom.
consider what would be easiest for for a first portable, regardless of size or shape, because you can always make another.

[colindecon]

i would love to keep the offical pad under the screen and use a gamecube stick, maybe i can combine a 3rd party controller with the offical one and the gamecube stick

[silver]

no the one in your drawing, if you want to replace the joystick, i think any 3rd party controller will do

[colindecon]

Texas instaments just emailed saying they sent the 2 power regulators I requested samples of by fedex to be delevered tomorrow how sweet is that and free of charge

[mako321]

mine came in less than 24 hours of ordering