MiNi64

Hi all,

I am a serial modder of everything and have recently turned my attention to one of my favourite platforms of all time.. the N64. Here's a link to a gallery of most of my previous and current projects: http://sexualcastles.deviantart.com/gallery/

My first 'modded' N64 was for a friend this Christmas and was a pretty basic red/black theme with colour changing front lit logo and some smoothing:(http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2014/ ... 752drf.jpg).

But now I am in the process of building a cut down N64 which for the sake of identifying it will be called MiNi64.

Here are some work in progress photos so far:

http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2014/ ... 75bilo.jpg

http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2014/ ... 75bilx.jpg

Unlike a previous modders "Mini N64" I have used the original case which means that the side vents are still there and the original plastic is used so thickness remains the same on 90% of the case. I also used the embossed 'Nintendo' logo from the rear of the system to cover the front hatch where the ram goes, smoothed out the front LED and opened the back for a back lit colour changing logo again as it looks pretty slick and matches the controller I am making to match.

My current plans include removing the AV out and replacing it with RCA jacks straight from the back of the system and a new power outlet. Ideally a Figure 8 socket but may settle for a standard big IEC as they seem a pain to find in my current part of the world..

I am also planning on a white colour scheme with a custom design I created over the system and possibly accent colours (Gold maybe) and am currently undecided as to whether to try and make the power and reset buttons mini or to delete them from the top completely and relocate the power to the back of the system.

Any constructive thoughts/comments would be appreciated!
 
Thanks people, I am going to try and get the majority of the case work finished this weekend and maybe pick up some heat sinks and a fan to keep things cool. Only downfall is that there is still snow outside so too cold to paint and get a good finish.. :wtf:
 
Didn't get much done with the console this weekend but was working on my controller for a while, did a little guide here: viewtopic.php?f=33&t=12515 for a user who wanted to take the controller plug apart. I needed to take it apart for painting and also to splice in an extension cable so thought I would help him out.

Made this 'logo' for the MiNi64 too, unsure if I am going to incorporate it as yet
 
Update:
I went and bought a Dremel to trim the metal board cover so that it fits in the case and also clears the new aluminium heat sinks. I am going to use the board cover to mount a 12v fan to keep things cool and also another circuit that you can see in the top right of one of the photos along with the PTH08080 voltage regulator for the smaller power socket on the back.

The second circuit will be used instead of a power button which I am going to smooth out along with the reset button.. but that will be relocated to the back of the case. I removed both the power and reset buttons from the board and bridged the power pins. I don't want to give away the surprise circuit just yet as it may not work but if it does it will probably be one of the most pimp aspects of the whole project!! :tophat:

I am aiming to complete all of the case work this week as I need to redo the back because I am no longer using the standard AV and power so the holes are too big. I should have all the wiring done tonight/tomorrow so if it works I may post a video up of how the system will power up.



 
So the 12v 800ma power adapter I bought seems to be putting out 15V!! I took readings after I powered on the system and everything was reading 15.77V so I am assuming the board is completely fried and fit only for the bin unless someone can tell me any different?

Everything was reading 15.77V.. the ground, the trimmed down shielding, the 3.3v line, every connection on the PTH08080 voltage regulator.. literally everything.

Unless someone tells me otherwise I think I am going to have to use my other board and get a new power adapter and PTH08080? :wtf: And in future will test adapters power output before I plug them in.

On another note though the power replacement circuit I used worked perfectly even at 15V when it should only be 12V!!

If someone could give me some comments it would be appreciated.
 
So I did a bit of reading and the plug I bought as 'regulated' obviously was not. I am going to pick up a regulated 7VDC adapter as that should be enough to power the N64 I believe
 
Might not be fried. If you haven't powered it in awhile, you can plug in the stock PSU and put your finger on the RCP. Turn it on, and if it gets FREAKING MOLTEN HOT in mere seconds, you'll know she's toast. If it doesn't seem too terribly hot, it's likely fine. This is known as RCP testing.

As long as you didn't supply 12v to the 3.3v line, there's a chance she'll be alright. Just keep in mind anytime you feed that line more than say 3.5v it's probably not going to survive.

edit: 12v not 15v wtf runs off 15v
 
So the project got put on the back burner a little however all of the wiring is now finished other than an on/off switch. The board was toast so used another one.

http://th07.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/i/2 ... 85cuzf.jpg

I need to do a little more case work to install the RCA out into the back of the case and fill the power and reset buttons which means more sanding before paint but it has been tested and is all working perfectly.. rediscovered my love of Star Fox 64 in the process.

I also need to work out how I am going to secure the top and bottom case sections.. I assume I will need to work out some sort of clip system as there are no places left for the standard screws.
 
Also can anyone offer advise as to whether I should be using the fan to blow air onto the board or mount it so that it is blowing through the top vents and in effect sucking fresh air in through the sides and pushing hot air out through the top?
 
Re: Re: MiNi64

SexualCastles said:
Also can anyone offer advise as to whether I should be using the fan to blow air onto the board or mount it so that it is blowing through the top vents and in effect sucking fresh air in through the sides and pushing hot air out through the top?

Don't worry about that, Shockslayer had stated that it is not necessary to have a fan (waste of energy), vent holes will be just fine as long as you put heat sinks over your chips you will be fine.
 
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