modular portable

Reaperman@home · Post by **Reaperman@home** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 12:07 pm

I've been thinking about handheld systems, and how much better they'd be if you could just buy a processor upgrade with a new cart slot on it, slide the old one out and pop the new one in--kind of like the laseractive experience. That's never going to happen except for here...

what if a portable was made, that just handled Screen, Battery, Audio and Controls and had a 15-or-so pin connector that hooked you to your chosen OAC system. Preferably modded with a cart slot, but I suppose it's not really necessary.

Thanks to the small size of these systems, size isn't nearly as big of an issue anymore.

now when new OACs come out you just mod them to have the right connector and slide them in. "Oh boy, the new 32x OAC came out--it's a good thing I don't have to make a whole new portable for it..."

Post by **Sparkfist** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 1:46 pm

There has been talk about modular style portables as far back as a few months after this forum started up. To date the only person that has done somthing close to that is G-Force(ha spelled it with a capital F!), where he has his set up to use the same tv screen.

Now we all would love to have it were you can just connect a tv or any screen to something like the Flashback but for that to work you need to have the connectors made and then installed. Its not a bad idea just impractical as really the chance your going to have to replace a screen or controller is miniscule.

G-force · Post by **G-force** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 1:54 pm

Sparkfist wrote:(ha spelled it with a capital F!),

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

MM007 made a SNES this way, with the screen just screwed on.

I came up with an idea for modular portables here. It was a good idea, but I never did it. I even have a concept drawing there.

Reaperman@home · Post by **Reaperman@home** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 1:59 pm

yeah, that picture was pretty much exactly what I was thinking of--cosmetic differences, but the same idea.

I don't see it as being especially impractical. Instead of hardwiring the machine together, you just wire a plug into it.

my motivation for making a portable is pretty low at this point, though--unless that portable storage idea on the C64 works out sometime soon.

soundwave · Post by **soundwave** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 2:02 pm

I'd have done this months ago, except homemade portables are at the bottom of my to-buy list.