The Retro64 Worklog. NEWS: Finished! Got nice pics!

Neildo_64 · Post by **Neildo_64** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 11:17 pm

Electrical tape to secure parts = FAIL

bacteria · Post by **bacteria** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 11:47 pm

Indeed, you must solder parts not use tape. Tape will come loose and break your contacts after a short time, and also be unreliable; best to do the job properly.

grossaffe · Post by **grossaffe** » Wed Nov 12, 2008 1:53 am

bacteria wrote:Indeed, you must solder parts not use tape. Tape will come loose and break your contacts after a short time, and also be unreliable; best to do the job properly.

as I said, it was only for a gameboy game battery. considering that I replaced the original battery with one a little bit thicker, it fits more snug into the game cartridge and there isn't any room for it to move around. For a big project like portablizing, I think spot-welding would probably be the best solution.

sdh · Post by **sdh** » Wed Nov 12, 2008 7:34 am

Good work with the battery! Having them placed like a square will make the portable well balanced. How come you decided to have the screen on the outside though?

Neildo_64 · Post by **Neildo_64** » Wed Nov 12, 2008 10:48 am

Screen outside of case = More room inside case = thinner portable = 1337

Mario · Post by **Mario** » Wed Nov 12, 2008 10:48 pm

sdh wrote:Good work with the battery! Having them placed like a square will make the portable well balanced. How come you decided to have the screen on the outside though?

It's only one inch thick. There wouldn't be room for it inside the case!

In fact, I think I measured about 2.4cm with only the battery pack and the N64 with stock heatsinks. Leaves me .15cm (1.5mm!), which definitely isn't enough for the screen board.

Does anybody know of some super-thin heatsinks (3-4mm) that would be adequate with a fan?

Also, I'm posting pictures of the finished battery pack in just a minute.

EDIT: ^Nevermind, I gotta get to sleep. Tomorrow, though.

Neildo_64 · Post by **Neildo_64** » Thu Nov 13, 2008 1:49 pm

Mario wrote:It's only one inch thick. There wouldn't be room for it inside the case!

In fact, I think I measured about 2.4cm with only the battery pack and the N64 with stock heatsinks. Leaves me .15cm (1.5mm!), which definitely isn't enough for the screen board.
Does anybody know of some super-thin heatsinks (3-4mm) that would be adequate with a fan?

Also, I'm posting pictures of the finished battery pack in just a minute.

EDIT: ^Nevermind, I gotta get to sleep. Tomorrow, though.

I wouldn't recommend smaller heatsinks. Yes, even though they add a few mm to the thickness, you need them that big to dissipate the heat especially in the tight areas they will be in. I've done a LOT of experimenting with this stuff, and I would just leave them.

Mario · Post by **Mario** » Thu Nov 13, 2008 6:30 pm

Neildo_64 wrote:
Mario wrote:It's only one inch thick. There wouldn't be room for it inside the case!

In fact, I think I measured about 2.4cm with only the battery pack and the N64 with stock heatsinks. Leaves me .15cm (1.5mm!), which definitely isn't enough for the screen board.
Does anybody know of some super-thin heatsinks (3-4mm) that would be adequate with a fan?

Also, I'm posting pictures of the finished battery pack in just a minute.

EDIT: ^Nevermind, I gotta get to sleep. Tomorrow, though.
I wouldn't recommend smaller heatsinks. Yes, even though they add a few mm to the thickness, you need them that big to dissipate the heat especially in the tight areas they will be in. I've done a LOT of experimenting with this stuff, and I would just leave them.

Well, If I get thicker heatsinks, then I will break my 1" mark, and I will have to get the next size of aluminum strips that the hardware store offers, which is probably 2".

As stated before, I am using aluminum siding, like in the Sixty-Free Lite.
I guess I could use plastic and get it about 1 1/4", but that will be a last resort.
Also, It's just nicer to be able to say, "My portable is one inch thick."

Battery pack update: I promised pictures; here they are.
The finished pack - Very small!

But not small enough...

^That is the battery pack laying on the template I showed you earlier. As you can clearly see, it's way too big.

I guess I should tell you the reason why it needed to be 7" wide. I wanted to make the front and the back with Ponoko. They say the maximum printing size is 7.1x7.1". So now, I'm stuck. Either I make my own front and back, or I ask Ponoko if it's possible to print even 1" larger.
We'll see...

ShockSlayer · Post by **ShockSlayer** » Thu Nov 13, 2008 6:42 pm

Mah 6th n64p's battieries are 6.4 Ah

Nice work.

Mario · Post by **Mario** » Thu Nov 13, 2008 7:07 pm

ShockSlayer wrote:Mah 6th n64p's battieries are 6.4 Ah

Nice work.

Nice. And thanks.

I realized I miscalculated my battery life times. With the jumper pack, it should be 3 hours, and with the expansion pack, it should be about 2.4 hours. Still good, just not as much as I thought before.

Also, I looked at the FAQ for Ponoko, and I found the max printing size is actually 31.1x15.1 inches. Much better! The 7x7 was for the drawing submission. With an SVG file, you can use the bigger printing size. Now I just need to get Inkscape (free software) and learn how to make these SVG files. Wish me luck!

Mario · Post by **Mario** » Fri Nov 14, 2008 6:28 pm

Bumpdate.

I realized I really shouldn't be making the case design just yet, many things could change before it's really time to make the case.

I need a 3rd party N64 controller. Anybody selling one?

Neildo_64 · Post by **Neildo_64** » Fri Nov 14, 2008 7:23 pm

I have a superpad64 that has a fk'd up z button. Its this kind only gray.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/7 ... AA280_.gif

Mario · Post by **Mario** » Fri Nov 14, 2008 7:29 pm

Neildo_64 wrote:I have a superpad64 that has a fk'd up z button. Its this kind only gray.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/7 ... AA280_.gif

How much?

And what is wrong with the Z button? Is the plastic button itself cracked or something?

Neildo_64 · Post by **Neildo_64** » Fri Nov 14, 2008 7:46 pm

Its just plastic. The actual guts are all in working order. $5 + shipping?

Mario · Post by **Mario** » Fri Nov 14, 2008 7:52 pm

The button is cracked? Dang, I needed it. I'll see if anybody else has one, but if not, I'll buy yours.