NES powered by USB

Includes Atari 2600, Nintendo 8-bit, Sega Master System, MSX and more!

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threedog
Posts:52
Joined:Thu Jan 13, 2011 6:36 pm
Location:South Korea
NES powered by USB

Post by threedog » Tue Oct 30, 2012 2:26 pm

Ok, so here's a simple one. I decided to solder a USB cable to my ugly test mule/prototyping NES project. (Soldered the red wire to the 5V input on the board, black wire to ground, left green and white data wires dangling). It runs fine, and totaly eliminates the need for a big "wall wart" and allows for a lot of flexibility for power. I can plug it in to a cell phone charger, my computer, whatever. I suppose it probably saves electricity, too. No big deal, just something I haven't seen anyone else do, figured I'd try it.

In case anyone cares, future plans include:

Dual cartridge slots (72 pin NES and 60 pin Fami)
Built in speaker/headphone jack
Extra sound channel/microphone support, and -maybe- Ipod charger/input
Famicom style controller port
Neat, tidy wooden case with flipup PS1 monitor and nice flat surface to mount Famicom disk system
High capacity battery power.


****EDIT****


I can't really reccomend that anyone try this, as I now realize that a lot of USB ports only put out 5ma, and the NES draws nearly twice that.

17daysolderthannes
Posts:381
Joined:Thu Oct 18, 2007 7:15 am

Re: NES powered by USB

Post by 17daysolderthannes » Tue Nov 13, 2012 3:39 am

Not a big deal, just design it for use with two USB ports. I've known many portable hard drives to get the proper current using this method.

threedog
Posts:52
Joined:Thu Jan 13, 2011 6:36 pm
Location:South Korea

Re: NES powered by USB

Post by threedog » Sat Nov 24, 2012 6:59 pm

Good call, I never thought of that. Curious now to see how long I can run my ol' NES before the battery in my laptop gives up. (Hey, that counts as "portable", right?) :)

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