N64 portable progress thread 56K

newguy101 · Post by **newguy101** » Mon Dec 29, 2008 3:38 pm

OK so i decided to scrap the N64 laptop idea and went with a more traditional portable. Been doing a lot of work but haven't posted anything, so heres some of my progress so far... nearly finished.

everything wired up to the board

my vac-formed case

put a lip on the case so it will align perfectly

starting to adapt controller into the case

jjhammerstein · Post by **jjhammerstein** » Mon Dec 29, 2008 3:41 pm

Wow, that looks good.
I like the lip idea.

Kyo · Post by **Kyo** » Mon Dec 29, 2008 3:45 pm

indeed. Good idea. What did you use as a model?

newguy101 · Post by **newguy101** » Mon Dec 29, 2008 4:01 pm

what do you mean Kyo, a model for what? as for the mold i originally used a clay mold but it broke since its brittle, eventually made a fiberglass mold; very durable.

jjhammerstein · Post by **jjhammerstein** » Mon Dec 29, 2008 5:01 pm

Can we see the mold?

eurddrue · Post by **eurddrue** » Mon Dec 29, 2008 9:27 pm

you know what screw it, I'm giving up on my portable for a while, all of these newblets keep coming in an pwning the crap out of mine

good job on your portable it looks awesome!(unfortunately that is why I have to quit mine)

jjhammerstein · Post by **jjhammerstein** » Mon Dec 29, 2008 9:31 pm

eurddrue wrote:you know what screw it, I'm giving up on my portable for a while, all of these newblets keep coming in an pwning the crap out of mine

good job on your portable it looks awesome!(unfortunately that is why I have to quit mine)

Channel that energy into your portable, make it awesome.
Or, get really good a vacuum forming, that's all this guy did.

bacteria · Post by **bacteria** » Mon Dec 29, 2008 10:33 pm

Lip idea is fine unless your fingers catch on it while holding the system; guess it all depends on if they do or not.

Coming on nicely.

newguy101 · Post by **newguy101** » Mon Dec 29, 2008 11:00 pm

ill post a pick of the mold tomorrow, as for the lip i did think of this (catching finger on it) and i plan to slope it a bit so it shouldn't be a problem. I managed to get my forming down to near perfect on my 3rd try, didnt think it was that hard. 1st problem was i didnt heat the plastic enough, 2nd time i needed to drill a few more holes; after that it went well. thanks for the feedback guys

palmertech · Post by **palmertech** » Mon Dec 29, 2008 11:31 pm

eurddrue wrote:you know what screw it, I'm giving up on my portable for a while, all of these newblets keep coming in an pwning the crap out of mine

good job on your portable it looks awesome!(unfortunately that is why I have to quit mine)

Newguy is not a newblet, he made that very ugly N64p WAY back, right?

EDIT: DISREGARD THIS I... Can't finish the meme.

NVM, wrong person.

collinE · Post by **collinE** » Tue Dec 30, 2008 1:03 pm

there are ways to make it fit without making that lip, but it actually doesn't look bad at all.

I was looking forward to seeing the laptop, but oh well. good job on the new version.

eurddrue wrote:you know what screw it, I'm giving up on my portable for a while, all of these newblets keep coming in an pwning the crap out of mine

you stop that. Just finish it. I got sad for a day when I saw sifuf's but then it ended up motivating me to finish mine. Everyone loves to see new portables, even if they aren't the "best".

bacteria · Post by **bacteria** » Tue Dec 30, 2008 3:59 pm

collinE - I too thought, "bugger" when sifuf posted his portable, however there are issues with it which make it incomplete - no memory card (I have N64 games that require it - Doom 64, etc), using the joystick for the C buttons will make it hard to play games like Banjo Kazooie for example, the d-pad is in a position where it is hard to use as you can't support the system by your palm - games like Pokemon Puzzle League come to mind; no rumble pack, so issues in games like Zelda (an LED could have been used instead of a rumble if space issues), no battery pack so not really a portable; adding such a pack would make it far thicker: also having the A button high and the B button low would have been better for using the system. He did however make the N64 and PSone screen mobos small which is highly commendable, although to date he has not given how-to guides as requested; this is a forum for sharing not hogging information. I think his system is fantastic but incomplete, in hindsight; so not definitive. Wondering too why he used a heatsink when there is no airflow (just a few holes on the case sides)?

I am sure sometime in the next year someone will make a definitive N64 system, with all the trimmings? Until then, I think the L64 is still top dog - might be a bit big but it is complete and lovely to look at.

newguy101 - you could always employ perspex surrounds on the insides of the cases and make screw posts, as per my thread; works well and also stops the vacuum formed case from flexing, which is an issue.

newguy101 · Post by **newguy101** » Tue Dec 30, 2008 4:15 pm

well i did notice the plastic tends to bend and i really didnt want it to flex, could be problem causing. Plastic, just like metal, is much stronger when it is curved or has indentions or "body lines", than when it is just flat. bends in the plastic give it strength which is another reason i put on the lip rather than performing the interior alignment mod. I know its hard to tell from just looking at a picture, but holding the portable in hand the lip doesnt make it any less comfortable. probably dont really "need" the lip but it makes me feel better lol, since the entire top part is flat.

I still am putting in screw posts, adds the needed stability. and the lip wouldn't begin to hold the weight of the portable together, merely for alignment.

As for Sifuf's portable i also felt the same way, not quite finished. He did an amazing job and i could never get my screen and board nearly that small or be able to even come close. but a "Portable" by my definition requires 4 things, minimum: Own power supply, audio, video, built in controller. Not to say thats all it needs but the basics.
Back to work, day off and trying to get as much done as possible

newguy101 · Post by **newguy101** » Tue Dec 30, 2008 6:03 pm

more pics and progress

wired up the controller today

used a gamecube d-pad to save a little bit of space

updated pic of the top of case

as requested, pics of my mold

the white is Spackle i used because it sticks well and easily sanded/molded

trimmed up N64 board

showing that it actually works

adapted Xbox 360 trigger buttons to use as my Z and R buttons

used a few tact switches and trimmed the the original triggers to again, save space

jjhammerstein · Post by **jjhammerstein** » Tue Dec 30, 2008 6:08 pm

you could take a whole half inch off of the bottom of the N64 mobo and only had to solder to the controller ports.
By the way, I see that you're putting in all 4 ports, L64 style.
Are you using the expansion pak too?