Recommended Power Supply?

Doofus · Post by **Doofus** » Thu Apr 21, 2005 1:44 am

Having not enough funds, and way too much time on my hands to think about my portable, I've been thinking about all the ways I could power my system... There's the oh-so-common 8xAA method, which I originally wanted to do, and some portables use Video Camera batteries... But I was browsing through Ben's PS2p section and saw his DVD Player power thingus, and found the ability to display how much juice is left in the battery VERY exciting.

Battery

Cool % Display

So I'm wondering, what's the best way to power my N64 portable? Are all of my above mentioned ways practical? Do you prefer some methods over others? Are there ways to get a % display without a cool battery supply like this one?

SO MANY QUESTIONS, so much time...

EDIT: Oh, and another thing that's been bothering me.... Is it possible, with any of these configurations, to be plugged into the wall (charging) and playing at the same time? Or do the batteries need to be unused whilst charging? If not, is it possible to make a switch, to allow for your choice of Wall Outlet Gameplay or Battery Current Gameplay?

nos_slived · Post by **nos_slived** » Thu Apr 21, 2005 2:27 am

It is possible to make a display like that with a regular battery:

Code: Select all

12V+
   |
button
   |
 LED (25%)
   |
   ----/\/\/\/---- GND
   |
 LED (50%)
   |
   ----/\/\/\/---- GND
   |
 LED (75%)
   |
   ----/\/\/\/---- GND
   |
 LED (100%)
   |
GND

Using 3V LEDs as the example above, you can make your own meter. The resistors can be pretty much any value above the resistence value of your LEDs (put use a fairly high value), as long as they don't burn a lot of your voltage. This is only a rough diagram, and I am sure another member can improve it.

I know that one somebody's (I think it was RPGTKNick's) tutorial, I read that you can simutaniously charge while playing, however some batteries(probably NiMH, but I can't remember) are dangerous when charged like that. If you do not want to attempt this, you could use an SPDT switch to choose power input:

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12V Battery Pack (SPDT 1)-----Internal power setup (SPDT C)-----External PSU/Charger (SPDT 2)

SPDT C (common lead) would go in series before or after your power switch.

If I'm not too tired after work tomorrow (technically this evening), I will draw up some actual pics of these setups.

Doofus · Post by **Doofus** » Thu Apr 21, 2005 5:00 pm

Thanks! That would be awesome if you could.