I just got started on the NESp from Chapter 7 of Ben Heck's book. So far I have removed the RF box, expansion port, power switch connector, and re-soldered the capacitors to make the motherboard more flat. I'm surprised I haven't broken anything or burned the board, reading over Ben's book has helped my soldering skills a great deal. This is about all I can do until the parts ship in.

just a quick tip : don't work on tinfoil

I wasn't, just set the piece there for the picture. That was my splatter guard for the desoldering iron.

Not bad, the first time I tried to work on ANYTHING electronic it seemed like it broke just by looking at it wrong. After a while I realized that working on anything conductive is a bad idea.

Luckily, this isn't the first time for me. I do have a little experience from wiring electric basses. Trust me, I've destroyed plenty of electronic stuff in the past.

The packages came in from Mouser, Ben Heck, and ebay (psone screen) today. I still need to get some screws, aluminum siding, and some nylon spacers.

Wow! Ben's still selling the kits? Cool.

Keep us posted!

Will do, but I'll try to make updates when I get a fair amount accomplished. What do you guys think of the SNES buttons with the NESp? A little out of place, but buying 2 new controllers just for their buttons will cost about $13-15 locally.

That actually looks really cool! The SNES buttons give it a unique touch.

Keep up the good work!

Those are really nice...I actually like them better than the ones Ben intended to go on (that must be some kind of sacraledge) Keep at it!

Thanks guys, I'll stick with the SNES buttons.

I'm at a standstill right now, I'm just about done wiring the d-pad portion of the NESp. On page 158, it shows I need a .1uf capacitor and a 1uf capacitor. I have re-read the chapter many times and it doesn't show where I get these parts from, nor does it show that I need to buy these in the book or online. Any help there?

Pretty much any dead piece of electronics. Or, if you aren't a scavenger like me, your local Radio Shack should have some. If all else fails there's always Digi-key (and Mouser, and Electronix Express, and this, and that...)

Thanks - but why isn't this in the "buy this for this project" part of the book or the internet, or mentioned elsewhere in the book?

Any suggestions on the electronics? I have a couple of old computers, a TV, and a few VCR's and DVD players. This hacking thing is mighty fun.

try all the electronics. chances are, you'll find the parts you are looking for in at least one of them.

Thanks, I found most of the parts last night! Although I wasn't able to locate a 1.0µF capacitor, so I just got one from radio shack. There is a lead on each end, rather than both being at the bottom. How can I tell which is positive and which is negative? There are no arrows on the capacitor.

Here is what I got:

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index ... ustRatings

That one is non-polarized, meaning it doesn't matter.