80's NEStop

[wallydawg]

Full worklog at Benheck, but a lot of it is just me spinning my wheels on different screens and such. I think I've posted most of still relevant material here in the OP. There is a lot of jumping around and not much order here as this was off and on work over 2 years (mostly off).

This project is for a NES Laptop with a 1980's feel. I started sometime in early 2011, with the hope to display it for MGC 2011 which obviously didn't happen, nor MGC 2012, or MGC 2013. The design I am going for is a hybrid of old 80's electronics, mainly the tv we used to have that I played NES on growing up. The cartridge bay is going to pop open and work like a cassette deck, and there is also a bay for one built in controller. I was hoping to have 2, but that would have made the unit either way too long (if I had them on each side of the cart like I originally wanted) or way too thick (if I stacked the controllers on top of each other). Eventually I may make some custom designed controllers that will fit a pair of them. The screen is offset on the top, and the grill next to it is made from the ridge design parts from the top of an NES case, wherein the top half will open up like a door to reveal most of the screen buttons (the bottom half is essentially a speaker grill). This is not really a portable per se, so no batteries and I'm not going to LED mod the screen.

Completed Tasks:
Cart slot relocation
Removed expansion slot
Remove rf box (Thanks Ben)
Disabled Lockout Chip
Made a "NES Video Amplifier" as described in the book
Wire NES and Screen to run together off of PSone Adapter

The Case:
Vacuum formed case Comission (Thanks Lorne)
Cut holes for Screen and Screen Controllers
Cut holes for Game and Controller bays
Create cart and controller bays
Paint

Additional Worklog:
Hardwire controllers and screen controllers
A/V out jack
Secure parts in case
Hinges

WORKLOG:

Cart slot wired up. I think the connecter was from an old broken Game Genie. Pretty Tedious. Had a game I didn't care about attached for when I soldered the other side to the NES. I guess that picture got deleted by imageshack though, for whatever reason.

Expansion slot removed and lockout chip disabled. Can't remember if I took the picture before or after taking the picture so you may not see that. It's just one pin cut anyway so nothing really much to see anyhow.

A few capacitors relocated to have the NES sit a little lower in the case.

Made the video amp next. The picture was coming out kind of washed out so I removed the top 220ohm resistor and everything was fine.

Might be hard to tell on the photo, but if you compare the green and the blue you can see it looks a little more pale in the top photo. Looked worse in person than on camera, of course. The bottom picture is with the top 220 ohm removed as mentioned, looks a lot better.

The Case:
I had Lorne (Metallica Man X) from BH vaccuum form it for me. Here is his worklog of that and photo urls if you want to see the creation of that. Hopefully they all still work.

As for projekt pics, here's a nice stack for ya.
They're all numbered in the order that I took them.

http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/4908/numbah1.jpg
http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/4814/numbah2.jpg
http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/9315/numbah3.jpg
http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/8638/numbah4.jpg
http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/5871/numbah5.jpg
http://img691.imageshack.us/img691/2632/numbah6.jpg
http://img651.imageshack.us/img651/3672/numbah7.jpg
http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/4656/numbah8.jpg
http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/1656/numbah9.jpg
http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/2091/numbah10.jpg
http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/3384/numbah11.jpg

Drawing out the cuts for the screen, screen controller door, and the cart and controller bays. We cut it with a scroll saw, even though the polystyrene used is super simple to cut with an exacto knife.

Pre-sanded/filed cuts. I went over them again recently and is a lot straighter.

NES ridge design cut off of the old case for the screen door and speaker grill.

Got over zealous and painted it too, long before it was really ready to be. Color is called "Pebble" which was used to try and mimic an aged, retro look without being the "gross yellowed electronics" look. Would have liked it to be a shade more grey and a shade less tan, but it is what it is and I still like it.

Since I didn't finish the project for display at MGC 2011, I was hoping to work on it in our Benheck Experience space but with all the bustle of the con (plus I was doing Nomad Screen Replacements as well) all I got around to was having Ben dremel off the RF Box for me.

When I was trying to use a PSOne screen at first, I guess I wired something incorrectly as I couldn't get it to work so the project was halted. Eventually I found an Intec PS2 screen from goodwill for $2, and tried to use that one instead. That screen was complete garbage, was too thick for my case and ended up breaking during an LED mod attempt. The only good thing about it was it's screen cover, which I implemented in the front of the case which I like better than the large gap that was present in from front of the case to the start of the screen.

No reason to even post anything involving that god awful screen, but when I got it and the nes to run off of the same power adapter I decided to daisychain all the Game Genies I could find to make the miniscule update at least mildly amusing.

With that Intec screen being trash, an eBay seller neglecting to send me a 5" backup LCD (which wouldn't have worked anyway since it was unnecessarily widescreen even though the auction stated 4. Figured they would lie/misinformation about it the other way and say it was widescreen when it really isn't), and not really worth the cost (imo) of a Dalian "Good" Screen for an NES project I was back on using the same PSOne screen as I started with. Don't know what happened last time but it works fine now.

Which brings us up to date. Yesterday I wired the NES to run off the PSone adapter. (bigfoot's favorite game, that's why the picture is blurry). Still using composite jacks as the wires have to run outside of the case from the bottom half to the top half. The visible outside wire I'm going to use the cable from an NES controller, which will be next, along with adding a A/V out port and a switch to go from the Laptop's Screen to TV Out (no with no audio/video coming from the PSOne screen.

 

[wallydawg]

Bump. Starting working on this again to hopefully get it done and playable by MGC 2014, but I've been saying that for a while so don't anybody hold their breath.

Casework updates. Here's the back of the bottom part of the laptop. The wires coming out will connect through a similar port to the top of the laptop. The wires and cable are from an NES controller. The switch turns the laptop's screen on and off as an option for when you are using the A/V out port.

I didn't really like how the tops of each of the cases were coming together, just placing it right on top of the vacuum formed pieces, so I decided to get some 1/16th inch bending aluminum from the hardware store to strengthen the sides. I then bent it around the outside of the case corners and glued it to the top pieces, then cut the access plastic around the aluminum and sanded it smooth. The sides of these case pieces will have a strip of black vinyl tape covering the aluminum and the edge of the plastic for a uniform look.

How the case piece fits together with the vacuum formed parts.

Rough basic idea of what the laptop will look like closed. Again, the sliver and white parts where the laptop top and bottom comes together will be wrapped in black vinyl plastic for a solid color.

 

[ttsgeb]

That white balance, holy cow.

Also... This is still alive! Sweet.

 

[wallydawg]

Re: Re: 80's NEStop

That white balance, holy cow.

Yeah sorry I didn't notice until afterwards. I take horrible photos as it is so when something comes half legible I count it as a win. I have some more updates very soon so I'll fix those pictures one by one when I can

 

[wallydawg]

Bump. Working on the bay for the screen controls today. For the buttons I am using an old AWIA remote that I got from Goodwill for 49 cents. The buttons are fairly reminiscent of the NES start and select buttons, so that should look nice. As a nod to the styles of other consoles of it's day (and to add more buttons to try and make it look like an old TV), additional Start and Select buttons from a first player controller will also be placed here, to mimic the behavior of all the switches on the front of the Atari 2600 and the Pause button on the SMS.

Cut out the rubber membrane from the remote for the Volume, Contrast, and Start/Select buttons. The RESET button is from an old Superjoy clone, and the Power button is the circle button from a third party PS1 controller, which was the closest thing I had that looks like a power icon.

Drawing out the button locations. I placed them in order that I anticipate using them, so Volume on the top above Contrast, and the extra Select/Start buttons on the bottom. A button was used for power instead of a switch to keep the look of an old tv. I might try to add in a Nintendo logo to the upper left corner, time permitting (so probably not).

I used the Remote as a guide for the holes, cut out the ends of each button with a drill press, and cleaned out the excess plastic with an exacto knife. The Rough cuts are shown on the left and the cleaned out parts on the right.

Completely cleaned out and sanded smooth. Some are a little off, but with the button membrane inside you can't really tell. The upper left one turned out the best.

Thankfully, the Power and Reset Buttons are circular so I just marked the center and used a reamer to make the holes.

Test fit put inside the front of the case.

The buttons will sit behind the NES grate, which I am also using as a Speaker Grill. My original plan was to have the whole thing open and close, which leaves an area too empty. Just a section of the top will open now, as the rest stays stationary acting as the speaker grill. I made a quick photoshop mockup of basically how I hope it will look when finished and painted.

It's finally going to be not freezing and/or snowing for at least a couple days soon so hopefully I can get the case completely done soon so I can spray paint. I think I'm basically done, just need to cut out a hole for the power jack. All other case work is post painting; buying some vinyl tape for the sides of the inner case parts and attaching aluminum for the cartslot guide and the controller bay on the bottom of the case.

 

[wallydawg]

Bump. I'm pretty sporadic on projects. I usually work on something halfway, get stuck on some strange detail and it gets thrown on the backburner. In an effort to finish projects once and for all, I usually work on them during the month of October, an opportune time to work on "dead" projects, as I haven't worked on this one/others for over a year. This is all the work I accomplished over that month, mostly casework.

A few design updates since the last update, originally I had painted the case the Krylon Fusion Color "Pebble" hoping it would simulate the look of an old "Weathered" plastic of an 80's computer. That was not the case at all as the Pebble color is a disgusting looking Tan. After seeing the R - K A I D - R Portable Arcade Machine I decided to class it up a bit and give it an outside woodgrain finish and color the inside an NES grey, most likely the lighter top color. The inner case parts will be screwed into place through the friction hinge in the back and a 3D Printed plate (like a music box I guess) for the front to class it up a bit, instead of just random screws that would look out of place in the front.

For the outside faux woodgrain finish, I bought some Model Master Acryl Paint from Hobby Lobby, where I plan to use a mixture of a few tutorials I found on youtube:





(another one I'll edit in when I find it)

 

[wallydawg]

Working on the aluminum inserts that will attach to the plastic parts of the case via the friction hinge in the back and 3D printed accents in the front. Not sure if I'll need any supports on the side but it looks fine for now. If anything I'll just 3D print a spacer that connects to the motherboard or the sides of the cartridge and controller bays.

I rubber banded the two parts together when placing the drill holes to make sure they lined up correctly for the friction hinge. The aluminum parts you see will be completely recessed into the plastic parts of the case, and the black outlined parts that I did with "art tape" from Hobby Lobby will be visible when the case parts are installed.

Pilot holes drilled. No pictures of my murky garage but I just used a normal drill so nothing really to see there.

With the aluminum holes drilled and the case recessed into the base, marking out the holes in the plastic case.

Hinge Action. It doesn't meet up quite flush, but not as bad as this picture has it shown in the right corner. Because I went with 1 middle hinge over 2 (they're expensive!) there's a bit of travel causing some alignment issues, but I'm just going to 3d print out some regular hinges for better alignment. Wasn't sure where to put at first because they had to be equidistant from each other so I wouldn't go crazy. Wasn't a lot of room to do it though so I put them where the external wire cords were, which I will probably only need one anyway (instead of the two) that I had on both ends, again for symmetry. For said external wire cord I used one from an NES controller for "maximum authenticity"

Other info about the back here, the A/V switch is wired up to +5 volts to the screen so you can turn it on/off (can't remember if it's optional or you if have to) to activate the 3.5mm A/V jack next to it. The square hole is the power jack. The wire cord connects the screen and other wires to the motherboard, which, again, will be moved to make room for the additional hinges.

Case open. Goes all the way to 180 degress, not that you would ever want to do that but it is handy during building it, putting in the screws.

Closing the case again is giving me a bit of an issue because it doesn't go back down all the way flush. This was with the torque screw on the hinge all the way tightened, so I loosened it a bit and now it's only about half this bad (just didn't feel like taking a better picture lol). Obviously I can't unscrew the torque all the way down because then it wouldn't hold the top case up with all the parts inside and it'll be all floppy. This was with nothing inside the top case too so I'll have to do some more science to that later once I get the screen and it's components in place. I'll probably just find some circular magnets at Hobby Lobby or something for the front corners to clip together.

Regarding the paint, I bought this woodgraining kit to make the faux woodgrain on the outer case parts. You use the circle-y part first, rocking it back and forth to make the knots and then use the triange tool with the teeth on it to add in more grain. The gross pebble tan color will remain as the base color, but I'm going to scruff it up with an Emory board (and maybe an exacto knife line here or there) to make some grooves. Testing on 2 extra pieces of plastic made a huge Dang mess so this method is out.

First print of the front plate and additional hinges. Added a small radius on the front plates to try to have in blend into the case. Printed the hinges vertically which I guess was a bad idea because they look pretty haggard.

Installing the parts, I mathed incorrectly on the plates and they do not match up with the edges like I had planned. I added an extra 2mm to the height so it'll go all the way to the lip as warranted. Couldn't really add more than that because that's where the radius of the case starts to curve. Since I'm printing out the front plates again I'll make new hinges too so they don't look so terrible.

 

[wallydawg]

Try #2 on some prints. The ones from before on the left, and the new ones on the right.
Added 2 mm on the bottom so it would reach the lip of the case and 2mm or so on the top to be a little taller. Couldn't go much more than that as that's where the case starts to curve.

Much better look than before, IMO.

Also made new hinges, which aren't as wide to better fit the middle screw. Doesn't line up so great in this picture on account of the nylon screws I used to test placement (only thing I could find at the time), got some better ones.

Thinking about the cable that connects both sides of the case, I cant recall why I was using two of them, other than to be even lol. I'll make sure before cutting the holes but I think just the one should suffice, so here's another photoshop of where I plan to put it instead of the two at the ends.

So that's everything I got done during October. Of course I mean to continue to work on this project, trying to finish it before the next MGC but as history shows, we'll see. I hope to work on the paint next, so depending on how bad the fumes are on the Acryl paint we decide if I get that done before spring or not. Hopefully another update before next October