Portable N64 questions.

[MickJordy]

What's up, guys. Me and my friend are wanting to build an N64 portable, but we do have a few questions.

Are there still people who want to buy a portable? I've seen quite a lot on YouTube, and I can't help but wonder if all the potential buyers already have one.

Second, how much will an N64 portable go for? We're planning on making the N64 ABSOLUTELY complete (with the exception of the disc add-on), with all 4 controller ports, AV out, built-in Expansion Pak, and the rumble/transfer/memory pak port as well (found on the back on the N64 controller).

We're thinking of beginning WITHOUT a built-in battery, and just run it off the mains. If the N64 works without flaws, we're going to add a built-in battery.

Any tips are welcome!

Regards,

Jordy and Mick

 

[Rohan Loomis]

well batteries are like the most expensive thing in a portable, and typical n64 portables go for $400 - $700. If you want one without batteries it would turn into about $300 - $550.

 

[vskid3]

Keep in mind that by "typical", he means good looking and well built. If it looks like the case was carved out of a Tupperware container with a dull pocket knife and the innards are held in place with tape, don't really even expect anyone to buy it.

Building portables with the intention to make a profit generally doesn't work out. Even if it does, you'll be lucky if you make a few dollars an hour after all is said and done. So do it for the fun or the challenge and you'll have a good time. Do it for the money and you'll probably be disappointed.

 

[Rohan Loomis]

yeah nice hard work and effort are needed to qualify for typical. now there are people who build very very very nice n64 portables (*cough*shockslayer) that are just amazing.

 

[MickJordy]

Thanks for the replies, folks!

We've been looking into cases for the portable, however we haven't had the best of luck so far. Because this is our first portable, we were thinking of going with the infamous ZN-45 from PolyCase. However, there was a small problem.

The shipping costs are LUDICROUSLY high. It costs 60 dollars alone to ship the darn thing to the Netherlands, so we've ruled that one out. Do any of you guys have some tips on a good-looking, very durable, affordable case, that most importantly ships to the Netherlands (without costing a fortune)? Keep in mind that this is our first portable, and I'm not all too comfortable trimming the board too much. We also want the cartridge slot to be fully internal (no lump sticking out the back). As for the screen, we're going with the Zenith 5", so that's something to take into consideration.

We shamelessly thought about this thing: https://static.bol.com/imgbase0/imageba ... 876204.jpg (ignore the lunch inside, rofl). We'd fit the controls in the bottom part, and the screen in the part above it. However, seeing it's a lunchbox, this might indeed not be too great of an idea.

Suggestions are appreciated!

- Mick & Jordy

 

[Rohan Loomis]

well most people make their cases out of old hardware cases. DuHasst0 used an old dvd drive case.
shockslayer use the actual n64 case. I've heard of people making portables with dvd boxes. Another way that you could get a case if from Downing, he can vacuum form cases and stuff like that.

 

[MickJordy]

Hello everybody,

We've got our N64 today with a controller (still need a gamecube controller for the joystick) and ofcourse the expansion pak. We'll order the other parts soon, screen, heatsinks, etc.

We've one question left so far: What kind of wires do you guys recommend for things as the card slot re-location. And what switches do you guys prefer for things as on/off, first player port internal/external, etc.

We would love it if you can recommend stuff that is buyable at dealextreme, as they don't have shipping costs to the Netherlands.

Thanks!

- Jordy

PS. If I have made any mistakes in my grammar I'm sorry, my buddy Mick is the guy who speaks English the best.

 

[watsug]

IDE ribbon cables are great for cart slot relocation. Plus it's free from old computers

What controller are you using? Official controllers don't work with gamecube analog sticks without an adapter.

 

[MickJordy]

I think we already have a cable like that

And about the controller, we were planning to use the orignal controller with the gamecube joystick. But I don't like that adapter thing. So I think I'll go with my plan B.

A 3rd party controller, are the joysticks of those things any good? If so, what is the best 3rd party controller?

And now back to the wires, what wires are useful to wire up the controls?

-Jordy

 

[watsug]

Official N64 controllers use photo diodes in the analog stick while modern controllers use potentiometers. Some 3rd N64 controllers also use potentiometers which means (if the values match) they can be replaced with GC/PS/Xbox analog sticks.

Here's a guide: http://forums.modretro.com/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=1226

In my portable I used IDE cable for pretty much everything besides power (you want thicker wires for power). I you've got broken electronics, take it apart and harvest the cables

 

[MickJordy]

Thanks for the explanation, WatsuG!

After some discussion, we decided to go for a replacement joystick which SHOULD work with the original controller. http://www.gameland-groningen.nl/a-2646 ... kje-nieuw/ The page is in Dutch, however. You'll probably have to figure out what it says with Google Translate, or something. It does state it's a replacement joystick for the official N64 controller, so it should work just fine.

We have one final question, it's battery-related. We're looking for cheap, reliable Lithium-Ion or Lithium-Polymer batteries, with a built-in protection circuit. Does DealExtreme ship any quality batteries, or will we have to look elsewhere? (The site doesn't really matter all that much, as long as they ship to the Netherlands for free, or for a reasonable price).

Thank you guys again for all the comments, you've all been quite a big help! ^^

 

[watsug]

We have one final question, it's battery-related. We're looking for cheap, reliable Lithium-Ion or Lithium-Polymer batteries, with a built-in protection circuit. Does DealExtreme ship any quality batteries, or will we have to look elsewhere? (The site doesn't really matter all that much, as long as they ship to the Netherlands for free, or for a reasonable price).

Most Americans say batteryspace when you ask for batteries, but for us in europe the shipping will cost more than the batteries itself. What I used in my last portable and use in my current portable is camcorder batteries.
The battery packs have standard 18650 Lithium Ion cells in them, and a protection circuit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuBeeQ0B-u0&

There's different models of these but many are basically the same, the only thing that differs is the connectors.
The best part is that a battery + charger combo = 20€

 

[MickJordy]

We have another question, regarding switches.

Is it a smart idea to use a cheapo 3-way switch from DealExtreme as a power button? I'm worried the current will be too high, resulting in the entire thing melting down.

I've also noticed that all 2-way switches have 3 pins. I can't help but wonder what the third pin is for? (I know. This sounds like a really stupid question, and it is. <<)

And, yes, we've been looking into camcorder batteries as well (like the ones Bacteria recommended). However, not a single site shows how much amps the batteries put out (according to Bacteria, the current had to be 2 amps). As you'd expect, this resulted in some confusion. As a result, we can't quite figure out which batteries to get. (Getting batteries right off the bat was Jordy's idea, not mine. << I just wanted to test everything with the mains adapter before going into any of the battery stuff).

 

[DuHasst0]

Your 2 way switch with 3 pins are basically an On-On switch. When in position 1 points 1 and 2 are shorted. When in position 2 pins 2 and 3 are assorted. So pin 2 is common between the 2.

So let's say position 1 is on and position 2 is off. Solder the voltage coming from the batteries/power to pin 2 and solder a wire from your n64 to pin 1 on the switch, so postion 2 is off.

Or you could use the same switch for video out or an external player port 1. I how I didn't confuse you. If you have anything else just post or pm.

 

[DuHasst0]

I hope this helps you out.

 

[MickJordy]

Thank you so much DuHasst0!

I wonder if you can also help us out with our battery protection circuit boards. Our batteries both have an own PCB, but they don't fully protect the battery against every bad thing that can happen. So we bought a seperate PCB that does provide full protection. The question is if we can leave those original boards and just hook them to the new PCB or do we need to remove the batteries own PCBs?

Our batteries: http://www.ebay.com/itm/3-7V-4500mA...US_Rechargeable_Batteries&hash=item4ac61e6e01

Our new PCB: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Protection-...862?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item336ac821de

After this we can start. Only things that haven't arrived yet are the case, charge jack and the wall power plug. We'll open a worklog very soon!

-Jordy

 

[DuHasst0]

I would remove the old pcb and use the new. No need for the others if you have a better one.

 

[MickJordy]

Re:

I would remove the old pcb and use the new. No need for the others if you have a better one.

Taking a closer look at the battery, we can see that it's gonna be a tough task to remove the old protection circuit. Will leaving them in place harm the battery's operation or not?

Also, while removing the cartridge slot, I got very confused. The pins of the cartridge slot go into the INNER row of pins, while Bacteria tells us to wire them to the outside row. I wonder how that works, since the unused expansion port was connected to the outside row to begin with. Really confused here, don't see why you would suddenly use another pin row.

-Mick

 

[zan2568]

The pins of the the cartridge slot make contact to the pins on the expansion port which is soldered to the outer pins. So in short solder to the outer pins.

 

[MickJordy]

Thanks for the answer! We'll start relocating somewhere next week. I will also open a worklog by that time.

There is one thing left we can't figure out ourselfs, it's about the a/v out port. We want an a/v out option on our portable to play it on a television. We want to use the original n64 (and snes/gc) a/v out port. My buddy wants to keep the option to use S-video on a television. I'm not sure if this is going to work so I made two, I hope possible, diagrams. Can anyone tell me if one of them will work? I prefer the right one in the image as that will only take 1 switch.

If this is answered we can almost start the building progress, still waiting for some power jacks, OKW case and heaphone jack.

The diagram I've made, I'm sorry for my terrible paintskils ;(

http://nl.tinypic.com/usermedia.php?uo=a6BMdyuA/VwyI/VOP9sS6oh4l5k2TGxc#.Ul2ljRBtrSo

-Jordy

Edit: can't get the image on the forum, follow the link please.