My first GameCube portable /Questions I have

[SCHjunior]

I recently stumbled across this vast network of portable system creators and I have decided to join in. After looking through forums and reading lots and lots of posts/tuts I still have some questions that were left unanswered.

I was really anxious to start this project of creating my first portable so I won a few GameCube console auctions that looked promising on eBay. I then proceeded to purchase a 4.3" backup monitor. I already had some parts like the controllers, basic electronics, and some plastic sheeting I got for free from somewhere. I don't know where to find the right batteries or what to look for in general. Any ideas? I have quite a few old portable dvd player/laptop batteries laying around. Will these work for powering the GameCube?

I waited a day after ordering these parts and I just couldn't wait anymore. I have heard that it is important to start with the system and the internal workings before making the case but I wanted to dive in, so I started the case. I like the look of the AG-85 from Polycase.com and a lot of people use them for portables so I was going to buy one and start the layout of the buttons for it. The price wasn't too high for the case, but the shipping was kind of outrageous. I hear they have free samples but I don't want to deceive this company over an 8 dollar case. Is there any other site that has cases that could be used? I tried OKW but they didn't have anything that looked promising.

I noticed they had the 2D and 3D CAD files so I just downloaded them and printed what I could. I was just going to clone the AG-85. I started by cutting out the top half of the case and rounding it over.

This is what it looked like:

I have never vacuum-formed anything before, so I attempted to with this wood form of the back half of the AG-85 shell. My vacuum was not strong enough and it really didn't do anything. I ended up just heating the plastic with a heatgun and holding over the form with a pair of gloves.

Gotta say, this was not my best work. I just wanted to get a feel of the case's size and see if I liked it. I didn't really though. Are there any other cases that have been used? I like longer cases, kind of like the ZN-40 and ZN-45 but I like the curves of the AG-85. I decided to create my own design by combining these three.

I love this design. I made the wood mold in two pieces and I vacuum-formed it. This time I borrowed a shop-vac and dug up my old coil heater. This made the forming MUCH easier.

I have heard that polystyrene is the best for these cases. The plastic I have that I used for these forms is definitely not polystyrene and it does not have as much rigidity. I have ordered a few sheets of .20" polystyrene to remake these case halves again. Will this be thick enough for the case?

That is all I have done for now, any feedback is definitely appreciated.

 

[kinect360]

www.batteryspace.com

 

[SCHjunior]

Okay, thanks. I think I would probably be better if I used the right batteries. I assume I should get Li-Ion cylindrical batteries that are 3.7v. How much mAh should be enough? How many batteries do you recommend I get?

 

[kinect360]

4 batteries that are 3.7v wired correctly to give you 14.8v. You want atleast over 2400mAh.. As for enough mAh, its all up to how long you want it to last/how much you have to spend on batteries. Skies the limits when it comes to batteries as long as you have the cash lol.

So atleast 4x 3.7v 2400mAh

 

[SCHjunior]

Alright, thanks. That helps a lot. I think I will go with 2600mAh.

 

[SCHjunior]

Does anyone know why soft tact switches are so much more expensive than plain "clicky" tact switches? I just need a few rubber topped tact switches, but they cost at least 5 times more than plain tact switches.

Is there another place to get them?

 

[kinect360]

Are you using them for the controller?

 

[SCHjunior]

Yes, actually I want to use soft tact buttons for all of the buttons which I will wire to the original controller board. I also already have some plain tact switches which I plan to use for the "double-tact-switch" method of getting the full effect of the triggers.

 

[kinect360]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lot-of-2-Black- ... 19da80a5b3

Found this, your idea is great I think I will be using soft tacts as well. These might be took thick however. Let me know.

 

[SCHjunior]

Yah, I found those. They look much too large and the are 50cents a piece. The regular tact switches are something like 5cents a piece.

I found this listing for 100 rubber ones that was $26.99.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/100pcs-4Legs-Ta ... 2a28ba20fb

I don't need that many. Would you be interested in going 50/50 on this listing?

 

[SCHjunior]

I was just reading through other people's worklogs for GameCube and Nintendo 64 portables and I stumbled across a log from one of Bungle's N64 portables. He used a 5 inch screen that said Zenith on it.

I have been looking everywhere for a 5 inch screen other than the PSone screen that is under $50.00. I did not want to pay that much for a screen. I looked up this Zenith screen, and apparently they are for the original Xbox and the PS2. I found this one for $32.48 shipped.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A2A ... UTF8&psc=1

How great is that? I immediately returned my other 4.3 inch screen I had just received. I put it in the mail and I was promised a full refund. This made my day.

 

[kinect360]

Yeah possibly

 

[vskid3]

The Zenith screen is just a repackaged PSOne screen, so all the pinouts and such are the same.

 

[SCHjunior]

That's even better. I was glad to have found that. I think it will work great for my case design.

I also found some soft tactile switches that were MUCH cheaper. They are rubber and they are in the US. I bought some.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/181159657537?ss ... 1439.l2649

 

[SCHjunior]

My GameCubes arrived in the mail today, along with the wires I ordered to test them. I got three consoles that were labeled "as is" and they all apparently powered up. I didn't even check if they were the newer model GameCubes or not. They were such a good price I couldn't resist.

Anyway, I plugged them all in and they all powered up as promised. The disc trays all spin. The only problem is, none of them have video!

I am going to go double check on another television to make sure it wasn't just my television's fault. I got a brand new AV cable that arrived today as well, so that isn't the problem.

If worst comes to worst, and these consoles don't work (and are not fixable), I will sell them individually on eBay "As Is" and try to make my money back. I got three of them for $25.00 total, shipped. It shouldn't be too hard to make up that money.

 

[SCHjunior]

Good news! They all work fine. I tried them out on another Television and they all power up. They all go to the disc menu, and two of them read discs. One of them does not spin at all. I will have to look into it further, but ones enough for now anyway.

Now to start my portable!

 

[SCHjunior]

These are the three consoles I got:

I took one of the consoles apart and I prepared the motherboard for use. I think it is a pretty small motherboard to start with.

This is it sitting in my mock case, I think it will be fine. I am going to trim off as much shielding as I can, but I like the shape and size of my case so I don't need to trim much of the board.

That's all for tonight. Tomorrow I will try to see if I can start to gather up all the pieces I will be needing. Most of it will be here tomorrow (with luck).

 

[kinect360]

Looks good so far, let me know what you use to trim the board. Haven't went out and both a Drexel bit et to cut mine

 

[SCHjunior]

I will probably just end up using my Dremel. Cutting bits aren't too expensive.

 

[SCHjunior]

I received the Zenith 5" display today. It looked promising but it did not work. It won't display an image at all when it is turned on a hooked up to the GameCube. I tried using an AV cable I had and I used the one it came with.

There was also a red dot towards the center of the screen that showed up whenever the screen was on.

I printed a return slip and I will probably be returning it for a refund so I can buy another one.

Does it work straight out of the package when plugged into the GameCube? Am I just doing something wrong?