For the past 2 weeks I've been working on a NESp from chapter 7 of Ben's book (the handmade one). It varies just a little from Ben's version. This took about a month to plan, but I've spent most of the time working on the case.



Here's the inside. I sawed off the button holes from the NES controller and glued them in here. I just hate it when buttons spin in place, so I had to do this. In retrospect, maybe the d+pad and the select/start button holes were overkill.






Here's the back half:


My dad helped me build the case, so he and I signed the inside of the back half.




Anyway, here's the NES motherboard.

As you can see, I disabled the lockout chip and connected it to a ground.

The top of the motherboard. I was worried about the cartridge connector sliding off, so I attached it to the mobo with 2 size-6 screws for peace of mind. Has anyone else done that also? BTW the connector is a brand new off-brand one I found on Amazon.


Today I worked on the controller boards. They turned out pretty well.

I took about 74 pictures of them, so inquiring minds can follow this link to the photo album for more pics.

That's about all I've done so far; I wanted to start the thread with some proof that I'm actually building one of these. I'll probably have an update tomorrow.

Well, good luck! You seem to be doing good so far, let's hope this thread doesn't turn into an argument like your last, huh?


How did you go about doing the front plate for the case?

I cut it from some 1/16" pvc I had lying around. You can't see this from the pictures very well, but it actually is textured . The hard part was bending the aluminum around it for the side walls. I used a baseball bat to bend it around.

That's a pretty big heatsink.

Great job so far! I think you did a very smart thing by attaching the controller plastic to hold the buttons in place. It looks like you are going about this in a very reasonable, well thought out way. My first attempt at something from the book (the SNES) was a disaster.

I'd say it's just right for a linear regulator. Those things get hot.

Thanks, LOB. I got that idea from your portables .

Looking great so far! Plus another modder from the Buckeye State!

--Minor Update--

I didn't get too much done today, but I have pictures.


As of right now, the power switch, the speaker, and the player 2 controller port are installed, not much else. More pics are posted to the photo album.

Tomorrow I need to fill the spacers with epoxy because they are too wide for the machine screws (anyone else ever have that problem?) and maybe the day after I'll install more components.

--Another Minor Update--

I wired up the player 2 controller port and mounted the 7805 regulator.

Looking really great so far! I especially like the look of the case, very very clean.

And your avatar is creeeeeeeeeeeeepy!

Good work! ..and hey, I now that avatar..it's from a video I saw on the youtube...kewl video, lol.

In what video did you see it? I got my avatar from this blog (original, I know).

For a handmade case, I think that is one of the most beautiful ones I have seen.
Unoriginal, yes, but indeed smooth.
Can't wait to see the finished result!

Another small mention: I now have a battery door.


Here's a view of it unattached:


I was surprised by how well it stays on. I was considering not using Ben's design for the battery door because it looked flimsy. I'm going to stick to an all-white design for the case, except for the buttons and the aluminum.



Thanks, man! I was thinking of using a project enclosure for my next portable and using the frankencase technique, but your comment is making me reconsider. I may be thinking ahead, but I already know that the next one will also be an original-hardware NESp, and will probably be run on li-ion batteries. I'll try to make a more original design next time around though.

If you use li-ion batteries, it would probably run forever.
Unless you don't LED mod your PSone screen...
But anyway, I love the progress, so keep it up!