A few basic questions from a potential portable N64 maker

Post by **marshallh** » Wed Mar 08, 2006 7:05 am

I have those same batteries. They are not meant to handle high current drain like the N64.
You need some larger batteries, preferably at least Sub-C size or bigger.

timmeh87 · Post by **timmeh87** » Wed Mar 08, 2006 5:11 pm

i hope you didnt actually drain a 7.2v pack to 1v... that couldnt have been good for it.

at all.

did you take manual measurments? thats dedication right there...

anyhow. insulation. i was planning on just mounting my components with metal brackets in a rigid way. such that they werent lying against each other in the first place. i figured no good would come of it... i wouldnt suggest using a single sheet of paper, you might get a sharp corner of something ripping a hole in it. maybe some sort of 30 mil rubber (pond/pool lining) would work...

Post by **marshallh** » Sat Mar 11, 2006 9:24 am

There's no way to "fix" the loose analog stick problem, it's permanently damaged because the friction wears down the plastic.
Lik-Sang.com has replacement sticks for $6, you might want to check those out.

Mode7 · Post by **Mode7** » Sun Mar 12, 2006 11:29 pm

http://www.gamesx.com/rgbadd/rgbn64.htm

Did anyone try out his mod? Read the pink text and maybe you'll have better luck with RGB.

timmeh87 · Post by **timmeh87** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 4:56 pm

a lot of people say that the signal quality is too weak, i think both methods have been tried.

and those "signal weakening" "resistors" are actually capacitors. thats why they are called "C124" and not "R124", etc.

i have yet to try this myself, and i might never, sice i think i fired the only n64 i had with rgb.

*o* · Post by ***o*** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 2:41 pm

looks good...

timmeh87 · Post by **timmeh87** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 8:57 am

well you could try wiggling your tip.

lol that sounds dirty.

well yeah, sometimes tips get realy oxidized, and possibly loose, and the heat transfer between the heating element and the tip suffers. take it out, steel wool it, and put it back in.

timmeh87 · Post by **timmeh87** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 10:14 am

the fuse idea should work. i have been thinking about putting a fuse in mine for a while... just havent gotten around to it.

(in the future, you can use the 'code' tags to make drawings like that)

Code: Select all

      you can do
stuff like this
                and you dont need brackets
   or
 c r a      p

as far as the charging setup, im basically too lazy to think about it right now...

and the brightness mod shouldnt affect battery life either way. youre just signalling the one of the chips to make stuff a bit brighter, youre not changing the flow of power in any signifigant way.

timmeh87 · Post by **timmeh87** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 6:09 pm

might wanna ask him how he knows that... who knows.. maybe hes right. (i doubt it though)

Post by **marshallh** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 9:21 am

Good job. I'm interested in how you got the buttons working (I have mine working but it's not as good as I'd like it.)
Did you cut out the button PCB and wire it to the controller chip, or?

timmeh87 · Post by **timmeh87** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 10:27 am

dude, that looks almost exactly like my mock up (except i made mine out a solid block of foam and just drew everything on

) i rounded the edges more though. like i said, giant GBA.

i dont think his buttons actually work... i think he just taped them on from behind.

daguuy · Post by **daguuy** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 6:18 pm

don't worry about heat sinks melting anything, they don't get that hot

vskid · Post by **vskid** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 9:34 pm

Ya, the least of your worrys if it gets that hot will be wire insulation. I'd be more worried about my hands getting melted to the case.

For my portable, I plan to use the metal shielding/heatsinks that came with the N64.

vskid · Post by **vskid** » Sun Apr 09, 2006 7:36 am

Do you think radioshack would let me return my battery pack, used just once? Why didn't you post this two days ago?!

Post by **marshallh** » Sun Apr 09, 2006 9:13 am

IMHO, that rating is bull excrement. AAs suck at high-current applications.

Another thing to think about: How the heck are you going to charge 12 AA cells in less than a whole day?
I had 10 AAs in my old N64, they were OK but crapped out after 30mins. I used my Super Brain 959 charger with them and it took me the whole day to charge (4 cells and then 6 cells.)

I'd stick with the sub-c route, it's much easier (and faster) to charge.