My N64p (56k warning)

[codeman]

Well I figured I'd share what I finished! I completed the electronics about 2 years ago (since the electronics is really easy for me)...and since then I've just been lazy about getting the case done. But here's the (semi) finished product!

I designed my own power board for this project, but I made it so that it could be used for other projects as well:

The power board makes it so that the wall adapter and batteries are switched in and out automatically. It's configured so that the wall and batteries are never connected at the same time, so there's no unwanted charging or anything like that on the batteries. It has a PIC microcontroller on board for power switching and power line monitoring. I'm also able to change the duty cycle of the fan using one of the two external push buttons. I eventually hope to add a temperature sensor so that the PIC can automatically adjust the speed of the fan depending on the temperature of the N64 processors.

Unfortunately I made a silly mistake when thinking about the circuit design for this board, so I had to do some modifications. Rather than using power MOSFETs for switching the batteries, I had to use relays instead. Ultimately it's a better solution, but it takes up much more space.

Various pictures of my portable:


Ocarina of time seems to be the standard for picture taking!




Showing the batteries I use and the battery compartments in the back:


It can fit two 4000mAh batteries for a total of 8000mAh...should be able to run it for 4 hours or so (this might be conservative, but the batteries are kind of old so I expect their capacity to have dwindled a bit) It has a built in memory card, uses the expansion pack, and I was able to keep all the buttons that are on the N64 controller including the L-button since I like the kirby 64 game! It's a bit thicker than I would have liked, but that's because I was greedy about the battery size since I wanted it to be able to run for along time and more powerful batteries equals more space. But even with this thickness it's surprisingly comfortable to hold.

I've configured the PIC to run in a very low power mode, so it should take much less than 5mA while running, thus having a minimal impact on the batteries. I plan to add a power indicator LED soon, which will be very easy using the A/D of the PIC and possibly a PWM output depending on how I want it to work. The two buttons above the c-buttons are the power button and the extra button. To turn it on, simply hold the upper button for about 1 second and it will turn on. The second button I'm not sure what to do with really. For now I have it set so that pressing the button will toggle through different fan speeds. Anyone have any ideas for that second free button?

[metalcookie]

that's one great portable! i especially like the battery slots. it you bought 2 7.4 6600mAh camcorder batteries, you'd have a lot of life!

[samjc3]

its beautiful!!

[eurddrue]

PWNT again. Is that case frankencased?

[jleemero]

I must say, it's a thick sucker, but that is some phenomenal work; I absolutely love the bit of custom electronics work you did with the power board there

[thewise1]

I can see some lines on the case, or else it's the camera. Did you use a CNC machine to do the entire case?

[robm]

Looks fantastic!

Who did you have do the board? That looks pretty good, being silkscreened and all. I have similar plans for mine, but it's going to be a bit smaller, as I'm not planning on integrating the battery charger circuit.

[codeman]

Thanks everyone! Yeah, it is a bit thick that's for sure...but that's the price I paid for wanting everything enclosed, and I really liked the front design, so the only option was to go thicker.

The case was custom built using a 3D printer, so that's where the lines come from. I got the work done for free since they have a printer at a company I used to work at The printer method was great because it was even able to put screw mounts where I wanted them which is hard to do with single sided machining. Unfortunately I had to modify the case a little bit since things didn't go exactly to plan, which is why you can see the crappy bondo work on the back of the case...

For the board I used Eagle PCB do design it (since it's free!) and used http://www.pcbfabexpress.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; to have it made. They have some pretty good deals and they do a really good job, but you have to order a minimum of five boards. But it worked out ok since I can use this board for other projects. I could have condensed everything on the board, but I wanted to make sure I had really thick power traces.

[eurddrue]

How did you configure the PIC to run in low power mode?

[codeman]

http://www.microchip.com/wwwproducts/De ... e=en010265" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I used that PIC, which is designed for low power applications. I also set it to run at its lowest operating frequency and I put it to sleep when it's not being used.

[sam_thornley]

A truely awesome portable! I'm drooling at your power board. I need to try having pcbs made sometime, as i usually build DC-DC convertors and audio amps on perfboard.

[ShockSlayer]

That's pretty awesome. I like the design: Nice job!

[eurddrue]

Ok, another question. Is it weird having the z button behind the L button? I've been thinking of what it would be like if I built my case like that.

[Basement_Modder]

This is a great portable! Loving the custom powerboard!

[codeman]

Thanks for all the comments! Having the Z button behind the L button is pretty comfortable. There are no games that use both the Z and L buttons, so you'll never have to awkwardly have a finger on each button somehow, so it work's out well. Or at least it has for me.