PCp project under construction: ongoing summary + images

[teraflop122]

OMFG- YYYOWWWWEEEEzeERRRS

No one is trully a MAN until they know what 120volts of wall current feels like!

Well, I finished wiring everything together. I wired the batteries to the LCD and the regulator circuit core, etc. Basically, I created the actual circuits that my previous power circuit images represented.

I have four unlaballed switches, but I can deduce what they do by looking at the wires. I toggled all of them over to the Battery setting, placed in 5 D batteries, and flicked the LCD on/off switch. Something amazing happened: the LCD came on!!!!11!!!11! GOD was I relieved!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But then I realized that- ho-hum, that wasn't the hard part of the soldering. The real test was to flick the uber primary ON/OFF switch for the Core Power Circuit, which is responsible for sending 5 volts to the hard drive and motherboard. I flicked the switch....and....the motherboard light came on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The only problems I have encountered? Well, for one, the LCD screen turns off whenever power is going to the motherboard, and the computer didn't boot ~_~

At least the light was on! That means that my core circuit works! OMFG I'm so friggin happy!

Now, if only I can get the darned thing to boot up.

[Gamelver]

No one is trully a MAN until they know what 120volts of wall current feels like!

what about 220 volts!!!.....I was in portugal and I got shocked at my grandma's house .....

[vb_master]

Couldn't that potentually kill you?

[Gamelver]

maybe ...but it lasted just for an instant....

[teraflop122]

Well, Gamelver, 220volts just makes you into a manly man, instead of just a man. I guess that makes me 'just a man' It could kill you if you were gripping a wire, because the current would make your muscles contract. You would end up sitting there, sucking up endless amounts of current, until someone came and got you.

Well, I have some good news, and some bad news. However, I am not going to present the news in any organized order.

The core power circuit works. I'm sure of that now. I plugged both the LCD and the mobo into their respective AC adapters, and everything booted up. The LCD even displayed a semi understandable image of the screen, but split into four sections and all out of synchronization. Furthermore, I got the computer to almost boot off of 6 D batteries (up from 5) at 9 volts, and it successfully booted from 7 D batteries at 10.5 volts. Unfortunately, at 10.5 volts, the LCD screen did not work correctly, and on NONE of the voltages would BOTH the LCD and the Motherboard operate simulataneously.

Even more desturbing is that PowerStrip is not compatable with my chipset and graphics system! Unless I can find an alternative way to force the display into position and set it to the correct frequency, I'm screwed.

The virtual CD software didn't work flawlessly. SimCity 3000 would not load, but Alpha Centauri did fine. JoyToKEy successfully loaded at startup as I scheduled it to, making the mouse and keyboard mostly unnecessary.

EDIT: I'd appreciate suggestions about the power problem involving the inability of the LCD to operate simulataneously with the PC components. Otherwise I will do what I always do: go with the brutishly simplest possible solution. In this case, that would be to give the LCD it's own batteries. (750mA at 7.5volts, so two sets of 5 AA's in parallel would offer about 7.4 hours of play time, believe it or not....actually, I don't believe that...)

[teraflop122]

It is all up to you people now. You people, and me. The project is so near completion that I can taste it; it is being held back only by the pesky little software problem with PowerStrip.

Surely one of you has a way to get the 15MHz pixel clock without PowerStrip??? Surely!!!

[daguuy]

if 7 Ds works for the mobo, keep it and use a 7808 to make it 8v for the screen

[teraflop122]

I rarely use profanity, unless something has gone seriously wrong. (wonders whether forum will automatically filter the word)

I founda version of Powerstrip that would run. I was on the home stretch, home plate in sight! So close!

It was then that the hard drive decided to kick the bucket....for good this time. The horrible sound of a head crash. Time seemed to slow down on the screen....

I'm out of the game, it seems. With no money, I have no way of replacing the destroyed hard drive. MY parent's, being the cheapskates that they are, could not bring themselves to buy a little 512MB CF card for me.

At least I learned some things along the way, and I will definitely complete this project at a later date, but come this Tuesday I'm off to Hawaii for a fortnight.

crap

[Triton]

bummer man! i have an old HD you can have if it would help
EDIT; dreamcasts are weird, had to quote or somthing or it would not let me post

[tom61]

Bummer. Laptop HDs sure are finicky things.

Hope you enjoy your vacation, even without your hand-mand portable computer!

BTW, when you get back, you might want to look into getting a MAX787 to replace the 7805 array.

[vb_master]

So what does a head crash sound like?

[teraflop122]

vb_master: It is the sound of Death.

tom61: A MAX787, ehh? Well, at least you know now that the 7805 array will work, but I guess that doesn't matter when you have time to place online orders.

Triton: thanks for the offer, but I would never get it in time to complete the PCp by the planned date (tomorrow ) Thanks for the offer anyways, though.

I am by no means finishes, just delayed for several weaks. Having a PCp will still be useful to me even if I have no more vacations to bring it on. Anyone living in Florida during that last hurricane season knows what I mean

[shmagoogin77]

i live in florida too

[teraflop122]

Hurricanes are fun!!!!

[Unidentified Assilant]

Well, good luck, I still want to make a PCp (wonders if a motherboard could actually fit in a Game Gear case), I was thinking about making a Portable PC in a a Game Gear case (as stupid as it sounds), complete with GG Emulator!