Projekt Kodachi!!! (DC portable)

[Metallica Man X]

Mkay....another small update....

Rebuilt the audio amp, so that works nicely now. Redid the wires for just about everything, so the dreaded wire mess is significantly smaller now . The next item was dealing with the controller. After redoing the wires, it decided to start working again...sorta...the analog stick works, but the d-pad decided that up is down and down is down, so there is no up. I double checked the connections on each board, and they are hooked to the right spot. Of course, that doesn't matter that much really considering that all the other buttons on it don't work at all. Even with the extensions removed and just poking the buttons still on the board, nothing works at all.

So, with the controller shot, I just went ahead and ordered me up another controller. Hopefully it'll get sent out quickly and will arrive before the holiday....

The rest of the guts still work just fine, so no worries there.

In the meantime, I'm going to make a new case rear (arrrrgh!!!) and get it painted and all that jazz so it's all ready when the new controller arrives.

[Metallica Man X]

OK more update action..this time with some pics!

First things first......cut an extra space into the heat sink so the fan could fit in the case better...


I came up with a brilliantly simple idea for how to deal with the poof problem that doesn't involve going through all the crud needed to make a new case half...I just decided to mount the bulk of the disk drive outside of the case instead Sure, it's nowhere near as pretty, but it keeps the case way thinner in my hands so it's still somewhat comfortable to hold.



Got the triggers attached...so far so good....



Then....Fire it up! Woooooo Fighting game action! All buttons working great at this point...very nice....



Too bad it wouldn't last.... All of a minute after snapping that picture, I switched it off to change video inputs to make sure the composite input still worked...and my curse set in....When I turned it back on my brand new controller that I got in the mail this afternoon decided to stop working all together. Then, the screen decided that it didn't want to work anymore either, making only a white screen when powered up. I can't change the inputs on it or anything. Just a white screen. The Dreamcast is still powering up, as the sound is still there....but nothing else. And it continued to get worse, as even the power switch decided to quite working I'd turn it on, and it'd stay on even when switched off!!

I was so close to having a completed portable that worked on the first try...then the forces of the universe decided to kick me in the noots once again....like they always do...not sure what all is causing the endless hardware failure. The controller is still hooked up, no loose connections, no bad leads...the power switch fully actuates from its off to on positions without issue...and every connection on the screen is still hooked up and solid.

hate being cursed.....