My next project after this one will be an N64p (v2). The case I am using for this GP2x project (214mm high x 244mm wide x 30mm deep) is the right size for an N64p (just), again using "C" cells, because although I won't need screen rotation for the N64p, the little extra height required for this in the GP2x project provides enough extra space for the larger N64 mobo. If I use a joystick from an official N64 controller, I can get everything into the same case height (30mm), including fans, and also using an official controller means I can benefit from hacking away at the controller mobo and reducing its overall size. I have thought of an ingenious way to get an Expansion Pack in there, fairly flat, by trimming a jumper pack right down to the contacts, wiring them from these contacts to the corresponding ones on the expansion pack - this will reduce height and lots of fiddly soldering work.
My aim is to have my v2 N64p the same size as the GP2x case, and running on mains or batteries this time; having both systems running in similar ways and being of a similar size and finished in a similar way would be neat. I have the skills to do this now.
Bacteria's project - Modding a GP2x....FINISHED
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bacteria
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I don't spam on my threads Skyone; what I do is a chunk of work at a time and take a little break when I have done some progress; during the break I upload the pics I have taken to date and update the thread. This is what I have done for the majority of my postings to date. I don't think it makes a difference in real terms if I make one very long thread or a series of shorter ones; although it does make it easier for others to see if I have made any updates since they last looked (which is my reasoning), and therefore they can decide if they want to see what the updates are rather than looking on the thread on the off-chance that I had updated it. If you don't agree with this logic please let me know, however I think it makes sense.
I spent all morning (nearly 5 hours) on this project this morning, so naturally had a few updates during this time to post. My postings either contain relevant thought processes to the project in hand and/or pics of actual project progress and descriptions - I don't do postings like "off to camp today" or "back from camp today" or similar comments - that is spamming; not relevant project updating. I am sure you agree
Yes, the project is taking shape nicely, thanks. I may be able to do some more project work today, failing that I have some time tomorrow to devote to the project.
I spent all morning (nearly 5 hours) on this project this morning, so naturally had a few updates during this time to post. My postings either contain relevant thought processes to the project in hand and/or pics of actual project progress and descriptions - I don't do postings like "off to camp today" or "back from camp today" or similar comments - that is spamming; not relevant project updating. I am sure you agree
Yes, the project is taking shape nicely, thanks. I may be able to do some more project work today, failing that I have some time tomorrow to devote to the project.
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bacteria
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Soldered wires to most of the GP2x controls, so I can connect them to the tact switches. Ground will be connected to the edge of the shoulder buttons as the ground there is a large area to solder to. I have also soldered to the old battery connections. I have made the wiring long enough to allow the case front and back to be alongside each other with the wires connected, this makes it easy to make any future repairs if needed.
Some contact wires are on the rear of the mobo (below pic) and the others are on the front (bottom pic).
Each contact has been tested to work with my multimeter, then I secured each wire in place to the mobo with hot glue.
Tomorrow morning I will finish the wiring (not much left on it to do) and then make the case rear, for the GP2x mobo to attach to. There is no point in the GP2x rotating with the PSone screen, the less moving wiring the better. I also don't need to remove the GP2x stock joystick, no point spending time doing this.
I can then add the remaining batteries to the case front, get the TI card working and then give everything a test (crossed fingers all will be ok) before doing more casing work.
Some contact wires are on the rear of the mobo (below pic) and the others are on the front (bottom pic).
Each contact has been tested to work with my multimeter, then I secured each wire in place to the mobo with hot glue.
Tomorrow morning I will finish the wiring (not much left on it to do) and then make the case rear, for the GP2x mobo to attach to. There is no point in the GP2x rotating with the PSone screen, the less moving wiring the better. I also don't need to remove the GP2x stock joystick, no point spending time doing this.
I can then add the remaining batteries to the case front, get the TI card working and then give everything a test (crossed fingers all will be ok) before doing more casing work.
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bacteria
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More updates coming soon this morning, thought I would post this pic - it shows the GP2x mobo on top of the PSone mobo (for illustration), there will be about a 6mm gap between the two when finished, so the PSone mobo can rotate without catching on anything.
As you see in the pic, I put the other four batteries in position, although they are not secured or wired up yet - there is no space remaining. The batteries are right against the edge of the case and up against the GP2x mobo. This is to illustrate that this project can't be made smaller than this, using C cells, unless of course you double the thickness of the system which would make it more like a cube, and hard to hold!
The pics are of course upside down, the speakers are at the bottom not the top.
Anyway, back to project.
Update (small one): I have got the batteries wired and hot glued in place. Had to be millimeter perfect! The blue wire connects the battery terminals together.
One tiny thing; when soldering wires to the desoldering braid, I did it when the braid was against the battery, so the thin plastic covering on the battery melted, revealing the metal from the battery; this caused a short and the one battery concerned started to heat and give off a small amount of smoke (just for a couple of seconds), so I clipped the connection, repaired the breach with electrical tape (2 layers) and all was fine again. I checked the cells with my multimeter and I am currently getting 7.8v across the 6 cells, not bad considering I recharged all the cells about a week ago.
I am going to mount the GP2x mobo onto the back of the case using screws and nuts, that way I can easily remove it if I need to. I perhaps should have done this with the PSone screen on the perspex, although it isn't worth changing it now as the PSone screen is only secured to the perspex front by a small number of small hot glue blobs so are easy to pry off quickly if I need to.
Another update:
Finished for day now, back again tomorrow. This is only a tiny update, so added it to this post as it is similar to the last entry.
The terminals from the batteries are linked up now and the TI board is in place, to the top of the two left batteries in the pic. I changed the resistor from 2k ohm to 2.2k ohm and thereby reduced the output voltage from 3.23v to 3.12v - this is close to the output from two AA batteries the GP2x normally takes; I don't know the voltage the GP2x will fry, so I am playing it safe.
I am getting my two voltages now I need to power the GP2x and PSone screen, but I am not in a position to turn on the GP2x and test everything is ok yet, if I try to I will get a big short as the GP2x mobo is on top of the PSone mobo at the moment. To play it safe, I have snipped the negative wire for the GP2x in two so I can re-join it later and also not connected the voltage output from the TI to the GP2x part, just playing it safe for the time being. I also need to get the wires connected from the GP2x to the casing and the switches done; it will then be a case of turning on the system and hoping it all boots up fine and I haven't done anything stupid with the wiring.
Back tommorrow!
As you see in the pic, I put the other four batteries in position, although they are not secured or wired up yet - there is no space remaining. The batteries are right against the edge of the case and up against the GP2x mobo. This is to illustrate that this project can't be made smaller than this, using C cells, unless of course you double the thickness of the system which would make it more like a cube, and hard to hold!
The pics are of course upside down, the speakers are at the bottom not the top.
Anyway, back to project.
Update (small one): I have got the batteries wired and hot glued in place. Had to be millimeter perfect! The blue wire connects the battery terminals together.
One tiny thing; when soldering wires to the desoldering braid, I did it when the braid was against the battery, so the thin plastic covering on the battery melted, revealing the metal from the battery; this caused a short and the one battery concerned started to heat and give off a small amount of smoke (just for a couple of seconds), so I clipped the connection, repaired the breach with electrical tape (2 layers) and all was fine again. I checked the cells with my multimeter and I am currently getting 7.8v across the 6 cells, not bad considering I recharged all the cells about a week ago.
I am going to mount the GP2x mobo onto the back of the case using screws and nuts, that way I can easily remove it if I need to. I perhaps should have done this with the PSone screen on the perspex, although it isn't worth changing it now as the PSone screen is only secured to the perspex front by a small number of small hot glue blobs so are easy to pry off quickly if I need to.
Another update:
Finished for day now, back again tomorrow. This is only a tiny update, so added it to this post as it is similar to the last entry.
The terminals from the batteries are linked up now and the TI board is in place, to the top of the two left batteries in the pic. I changed the resistor from 2k ohm to 2.2k ohm and thereby reduced the output voltage from 3.23v to 3.12v - this is close to the output from two AA batteries the GP2x normally takes; I don't know the voltage the GP2x will fry, so I am playing it safe.
I am getting my two voltages now I need to power the GP2x and PSone screen, but I am not in a position to turn on the GP2x and test everything is ok yet, if I try to I will get a big short as the GP2x mobo is on top of the PSone mobo at the moment. To play it safe, I have snipped the negative wire for the GP2x in two so I can re-join it later and also not connected the voltage output from the TI to the GP2x part, just playing it safe for the time being. I also need to get the wires connected from the GP2x to the casing and the switches done; it will then be a case of turning on the system and hoping it all boots up fine and I haven't done anything stupid with the wiring.
Back tommorrow!
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bacteria
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Done my work on the project today, off to work in a while and have some other things to do first.
Firstly, I put a new piece of perspex under the case front so I could trace its shape, I then cut out the case back and mounted it through the GP2x screw holes with plastic cable, hot glued in place. A small part of hot glue stuck to the board joining it to the GP2x mobo, so I left it. I wish I had realised if I gave several score lines in the perspex I could snap the unwanted bit off, saves a lot of time when cutting a straight line! Anyway, I am using this method now, I only needed to dremel off the corners to make them rounded.
I then placed the case back onto the rest of the case, all fits nicely. I have quite a bit more work on the insides of the case before completion, I need to set up the D-pad, attach all the wiring and locate it so it doesn't interfere with the screen rotation and make sure the screen rotation works fine: I will also probably need to reinforce the case to make sure it can't flex at all when being used, so I don't get a short when rotating the screen. The rotating screen aspect of this project has added a nice challenge from making a normal project where everything stays where is is supposed to!
You will see in the pic that the SD card sticks out a little, this makes it very easy to change the card as required without it being fiddly to do so.
I know I could rip the GP2x tv-out cable apart and just solder the wires to my system, but I decided to keep this cable attachment intact. It costs £10 to replace them and I won't benefit from doing this work. I have enough space in the case above the tact switches to house them, so that is fine.
Two more views below. I had to relocate (again) the 220uf capacitor on the rotating circle by the PSone screen for the chroma line as it would have just caught the GP2x mobo when rotating, it should be fine now as it is now laid flat, you can see it clearly on the bottom pic.
I will need to mount switches to the sides of the SD card for the screen rotation, power in and the on/off switch. There should be plenty of room for these.
It isn't easy to see but you can make out the GP2x mobo (top) and the PSone mobo (bottom); there is (just) enough gap between them for the screen rotation to work.
Firstly, I put a new piece of perspex under the case front so I could trace its shape, I then cut out the case back and mounted it through the GP2x screw holes with plastic cable, hot glued in place. A small part of hot glue stuck to the board joining it to the GP2x mobo, so I left it. I wish I had realised if I gave several score lines in the perspex I could snap the unwanted bit off, saves a lot of time when cutting a straight line! Anyway, I am using this method now, I only needed to dremel off the corners to make them rounded.
I then placed the case back onto the rest of the case, all fits nicely. I have quite a bit more work on the insides of the case before completion, I need to set up the D-pad, attach all the wiring and locate it so it doesn't interfere with the screen rotation and make sure the screen rotation works fine: I will also probably need to reinforce the case to make sure it can't flex at all when being used, so I don't get a short when rotating the screen. The rotating screen aspect of this project has added a nice challenge from making a normal project where everything stays where is is supposed to!
You will see in the pic that the SD card sticks out a little, this makes it very easy to change the card as required without it being fiddly to do so.
I know I could rip the GP2x tv-out cable apart and just solder the wires to my system, but I decided to keep this cable attachment intact. It costs £10 to replace them and I won't benefit from doing this work. I have enough space in the case above the tact switches to house them, so that is fine.
Two more views below. I had to relocate (again) the 220uf capacitor on the rotating circle by the PSone screen for the chroma line as it would have just caught the GP2x mobo when rotating, it should be fine now as it is now laid flat, you can see it clearly on the bottom pic.
I will need to mount switches to the sides of the SD card for the screen rotation, power in and the on/off switch. There should be plenty of room for these.
It isn't easy to see but you can make out the GP2x mobo (top) and the PSone mobo (bottom); there is (just) enough gap between them for the screen rotation to work.
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bacteria
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Time for some project work this morning.
Remember a while back I mentioned I would use the cap from a Sainsbury's foam bath top for the corners of the case? I decided to take this route after all, the reason being that this plastic is tougher than the card tube option. I'm not going to use the "D" shaped pine wood I used before for the case sides, I am going to use the flat 2mm perspex as I am using for the case skeleton. I figured if I use my "wallpaper" for the case top and back, I can paint the case sides in a different colour, which will look rather nice.
I am at the stage where I need to start wiring things up, a good place to start is the case top side, where the switches will be located.
Pic of the four corners, from one foam bath cap (top part not needed of cap):
I probably won't have any more time today than to make the two corners for the top and the top side and get the switches in place and hot glue it all in place.
UPDATE:
Managed to cut out the case bottom and the holes for the switches, and hot glued them in place. I also sorted out the positioning of some of the wiring. I then spent a while with the D-pad joystick; isn't working, so hacked away at another one (different type) and that seems ok; different top, from an analogue joystick top.
I may have updates tomorrow, see how it goes, on night shift again tonight.
Remember a while back I mentioned I would use the cap from a Sainsbury's foam bath top for the corners of the case? I decided to take this route after all, the reason being that this plastic is tougher than the card tube option. I'm not going to use the "D" shaped pine wood I used before for the case sides, I am going to use the flat 2mm perspex as I am using for the case skeleton. I figured if I use my "wallpaper" for the case top and back, I can paint the case sides in a different colour, which will look rather nice.
I am at the stage where I need to start wiring things up, a good place to start is the case top side, where the switches will be located.
Pic of the four corners, from one foam bath cap (top part not needed of cap):
I probably won't have any more time today than to make the two corners for the top and the top side and get the switches in place and hot glue it all in place.
UPDATE:
Managed to cut out the case bottom and the holes for the switches, and hot glued them in place. I also sorted out the positioning of some of the wiring. I then spent a while with the D-pad joystick; isn't working, so hacked away at another one (different type) and that seems ok; different top, from an analogue joystick top.
I may have updates tomorrow, see how it goes, on night shift again tonight.
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bacteria
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In the pic you can see in the centre, the cutout made for the bottom side. I have laid out the top and bottom of the system in this way so it is easy to get to the wires if I need to do any repairs. At least that's the theory.
It is easier to do all the wiring at this stage, because I can secure the trailing wires to the case top with electrical tape so the rotating screen doesn't catch them; and when the wiring is done to the switches I can then hot glue it to the case. I just have to hope I don't make any mistakes with the more complicated wiring parts.
There is lots of wiring. I will need to spend a fair time when I finish wiring checking everything is ok; it will be a case of praying it all works fine and first time. The chance of a short is very real and I won't be able to test the Ti card is ok for the GP2x until everything is turned on properly - either good news or lots of wasted time and a dead system if i'm not careful.
To illustrate the reason for the switches:
Normal mode:
D-pad up = up
D-pad down = down
D-pad left = left
D-pad right = right
A = A
B = B
Screen rotated mode:
D-pad up = right
D-pad right = down
D-pad down = left
D-pad left = up
Vol- = B
Vol+ = A
Vol- also = Vol-
Vol+ also = Vol+
(I don't need the GP2x Vol- and Vol+ buttons as the PSone screen will adjust audio volume).
This makes the project a bit harder and adds to the wiring, but means that whatever the game orientation, I press the same buttons in a game in the same way. 6 alternatives = 3 dual pole switches (as per pic). I had to remake the bottom side as I needed to mount the switches in a different way so they didn't interfere with the GP2x mobo - as I mentioned, things are fairly tight in this project; and the rotating screen means I have to be clever with cable tidying.
I made the pic below a bit bigger than normal as there is more on it. I put everything onto a single sheet of MDF so it is easy to move about.
Plenty of wiring left to do, however I won't get much time before Monday now for this.
It is easier to do all the wiring at this stage, because I can secure the trailing wires to the case top with electrical tape so the rotating screen doesn't catch them; and when the wiring is done to the switches I can then hot glue it to the case. I just have to hope I don't make any mistakes with the more complicated wiring parts.
There is lots of wiring. I will need to spend a fair time when I finish wiring checking everything is ok; it will be a case of praying it all works fine and first time. The chance of a short is very real and I won't be able to test the Ti card is ok for the GP2x until everything is turned on properly - either good news or lots of wasted time and a dead system if i'm not careful.
To illustrate the reason for the switches:
Normal mode:
D-pad up = up
D-pad down = down
D-pad left = left
D-pad right = right
A = A
B = B
Screen rotated mode:
D-pad up = right
D-pad right = down
D-pad down = left
D-pad left = up
Vol- = B
Vol+ = A
Vol- also = Vol-
Vol+ also = Vol+
(I don't need the GP2x Vol- and Vol+ buttons as the PSone screen will adjust audio volume).
This makes the project a bit harder and adds to the wiring, but means that whatever the game orientation, I press the same buttons in a game in the same way. 6 alternatives = 3 dual pole switches (as per pic). I had to remake the bottom side as I needed to mount the switches in a different way so they didn't interfere with the GP2x mobo - as I mentioned, things are fairly tight in this project; and the rotating screen means I have to be clever with cable tidying.
I made the pic below a bit bigger than normal as there is more on it. I put everything onto a single sheet of MDF so it is easy to move about.
Plenty of wiring left to do, however I won't get much time before Monday now for this.
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bacteria
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Some progress. Spent a while checking wiring.
Had a couple of loose connections from the batteries, fixed that, ok now.
On the pic below on the plastic strip in the middle;
On the left is the on/off switch, which will double as recharging. The middle of the switch is the power from the batteries, when to the right (on) power is supplied to the screen (7.2v+) and to the GP2x (3.12v), when to the left (off) then if the mains charger is inserted, it will have direct connection to recharge the battery - it also means I can't accidentally have the recharger working and the batteries on.
In the middle is a momentary on/off switch, I got it from an old computer. There are two sets of pins, so you can have it set to momentary on or momentary off as it happens, so I have set it to momentary off. There is no reason to switch off the PSone screen when I need to reset the GP2x (either because it hangs or needs resetting), I press the button, it cuts power to the GP2x, release button and power back (so GP2x reboots).
The right switches (I had to rotate them as they were touching the GP2x mobo before), are to switch between normal and rotating screen (functionality described before).
On the far right are the tact switches to control volume levels on the PSone screen. I don't need to have contrast buttons (I don't think so anyway) as once the level is set I don't see it will need to be changed.
The loose wire will be wired to the GP2x power in cable.
I decided to use the previously cut out perspex circle on top of the PSone mobo for two reasons: 1) provide protection so the GP2x mobo cannot touch the PSone mobo when rotated, even if the case is depressed unexpectedly, so I won't get a short. 2) If the wires are located closer to the middle of the PSone mobo then they have less distance to travel when the screen is rotated, so less chance a wire can snag and/or break off. I thought this was quite inventive!
The video cables (S-video) are wired up and secured in place with hot glue. When I finish, I will protect any loose wiring with electrical tape. The perspex circle will be secured in place with hot glue and posts when finished to keep it in place.
I cut out a hole and cut in the perspex circle so I can grab individual wires, connect them up, and bring them towards the centre of the plastic.
Have more wiring to do yet before finishing, and in a position to turn the system on and hope all is ok.
On this project, when I finish the guts of the system, I will give it a good testing with GP2x games and movies before I start making the outer shell. As I have made the system out of perspex (on purpose), I can see all the components, so can easily check on the integrity of the screen rotation.
I may be able to do some more work on this project today and post an update or two, otherwise I will tomorrow.
Had a couple of loose connections from the batteries, fixed that, ok now.
On the pic below on the plastic strip in the middle;
On the left is the on/off switch, which will double as recharging. The middle of the switch is the power from the batteries, when to the right (on) power is supplied to the screen (7.2v+) and to the GP2x (3.12v), when to the left (off) then if the mains charger is inserted, it will have direct connection to recharge the battery - it also means I can't accidentally have the recharger working and the batteries on.
In the middle is a momentary on/off switch, I got it from an old computer. There are two sets of pins, so you can have it set to momentary on or momentary off as it happens, so I have set it to momentary off. There is no reason to switch off the PSone screen when I need to reset the GP2x (either because it hangs or needs resetting), I press the button, it cuts power to the GP2x, release button and power back (so GP2x reboots).
The right switches (I had to rotate them as they were touching the GP2x mobo before), are to switch between normal and rotating screen (functionality described before).
On the far right are the tact switches to control volume levels on the PSone screen. I don't need to have contrast buttons (I don't think so anyway) as once the level is set I don't see it will need to be changed.
The loose wire will be wired to the GP2x power in cable.
I decided to use the previously cut out perspex circle on top of the PSone mobo for two reasons: 1) provide protection so the GP2x mobo cannot touch the PSone mobo when rotated, even if the case is depressed unexpectedly, so I won't get a short. 2) If the wires are located closer to the middle of the PSone mobo then they have less distance to travel when the screen is rotated, so less chance a wire can snag and/or break off. I thought this was quite inventive!
The video cables (S-video) are wired up and secured in place with hot glue. When I finish, I will protect any loose wiring with electrical tape. The perspex circle will be secured in place with hot glue and posts when finished to keep it in place.
I cut out a hole and cut in the perspex circle so I can grab individual wires, connect them up, and bring them towards the centre of the plastic.
Have more wiring to do yet before finishing, and in a position to turn the system on and hope all is ok.
On this project, when I finish the guts of the system, I will give it a good testing with GP2x games and movies before I start making the outer shell. As I have made the system out of perspex (on purpose), I can see all the components, so can easily check on the integrity of the screen rotation.
I may be able to do some more work on this project today and post an update or two, otherwise I will tomorrow.
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bacteria
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Had enough for today, back tomorrow.
Finished wiring apart from a few of the tact switches and the PSone power (and also the recharger).
Stripped the S-video cable so the cable was flexible.
Stuck down the wires and protected them with electrical tape.
Connected the speakers and the rest of the wiring.
Put some spacers (the purple plastic straw beads pieces).
This is a pic of the whole project as it stands:
I need to finish the wiring, then visually re-check all the wiring is ok, check everything has enough space to move ok, then turn the system on and hope for the best. I haven't tried the GP2x with the TI card, hoping it will be fine and will boot ok. I'm not fussed about the screen rotation initially, just that everything works and hasn't fried.
Assuming this is successful, I can set about finish the securing of the insides, re-testing, and testing screen rotation; then get on with building the sides to the case, incorporating the rounded edges, and the shoulder buttons. Assuming everything is fine to this stage, I will be on the home straight. If it isn't fine, a lot of wasted time!
I intend to have the headphones working as an option as sometimes I would prefer using them instead of speakers. Assuming this works ok, I could make the headphones built into the case itself, I have enough space under the joystick if I want to use it.
Finished wiring apart from a few of the tact switches and the PSone power (and also the recharger).
Stripped the S-video cable so the cable was flexible.
Stuck down the wires and protected them with electrical tape.
Connected the speakers and the rest of the wiring.
Put some spacers (the purple plastic straw beads pieces).
This is a pic of the whole project as it stands:
I need to finish the wiring, then visually re-check all the wiring is ok, check everything has enough space to move ok, then turn the system on and hope for the best. I haven't tried the GP2x with the TI card, hoping it will be fine and will boot ok. I'm not fussed about the screen rotation initially, just that everything works and hasn't fried.
Assuming this is successful, I can set about finish the securing of the insides, re-testing, and testing screen rotation; then get on with building the sides to the case, incorporating the rounded edges, and the shoulder buttons. Assuming everything is fine to this stage, I will be on the home straight. If it isn't fine, a lot of wasted time!
I intend to have the headphones working as an option as sometimes I would prefer using them instead of speakers. Assuming this works ok, I could make the headphones built into the case itself, I have enough space under the joystick if I want to use it.
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bacteria
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Finished the wiring last night, but I couldn't update this work to the site as it was "having problems again" (and I had to log in again this morning to the site).
I used some plastic beads, the yellow posts in the pic, to direct the wiring away from the screen area and tidy the wiring. I got these beads a few years ago from a mate - we used to give each other the cheapest, naffest, most useless and tacky present at Xmas we could; for fun - you guys try this, it is great fun! One year he got me a plastic trumpet and I got him a book about goat herding, in Russian - completely useless book and unreadable as he doesn't know Russian, which made it even more useless (classic!): anyway, another year he gave me these plastic girlie beads - completely useless; however I did find a use for them in my modding work! Anyway, I digress...
System fully wired as per pic below. I secured the top side to the top of the case with four normal sized blobs of hot glue spaced along the length of the strip, and only one of my right-angled triangles. This one triangle is strong enough to hold the strip in place, although I will need to add more later of course for strength, once I have put in the hole and plug for the recharger to go into. I used perspex for this triangle instead of mounting board as it is in keeping with the rest of the case.
I put the bottom of the case (containing the GP2x mobo) onto the rest of the case - barely fit, it is all quite snug to put it mildly. I used some paper tape to keep the side down in the pic.
I need to see if I can further refine the lose wiring to make sure I have optimum space between the perspex above the PSone mobo and the GP2x mobo; at least 3mm should be fine, and no wires will snag when the screen is rotated.
It would have been nice to have not used switches to change controller orientation, however I really do not have any space in the case for this. I had thought of a series of thin metal strips, moving along a circular channel, making contacts when rotated; this would have worked, but I have no space for this construction.
I'm looking forward to testing the system, but at the same time I am not looking forward to it, as it is "make or break".
I used some plastic beads, the yellow posts in the pic, to direct the wiring away from the screen area and tidy the wiring. I got these beads a few years ago from a mate - we used to give each other the cheapest, naffest, most useless and tacky present at Xmas we could; for fun - you guys try this, it is great fun! One year he got me a plastic trumpet and I got him a book about goat herding, in Russian - completely useless book and unreadable as he doesn't know Russian, which made it even more useless (classic!): anyway, another year he gave me these plastic girlie beads - completely useless; however I did find a use for them in my modding work! Anyway, I digress...
System fully wired as per pic below. I secured the top side to the top of the case with four normal sized blobs of hot glue spaced along the length of the strip, and only one of my right-angled triangles. This one triangle is strong enough to hold the strip in place, although I will need to add more later of course for strength, once I have put in the hole and plug for the recharger to go into. I used perspex for this triangle instead of mounting board as it is in keeping with the rest of the case.
I put the bottom of the case (containing the GP2x mobo) onto the rest of the case - barely fit, it is all quite snug to put it mildly. I used some paper tape to keep the side down in the pic.
I need to see if I can further refine the lose wiring to make sure I have optimum space between the perspex above the PSone mobo and the GP2x mobo; at least 3mm should be fine, and no wires will snag when the screen is rotated.
It would have been nice to have not used switches to change controller orientation, however I really do not have any space in the case for this. I had thought of a series of thin metal strips, moving along a circular channel, making contacts when rotated; this would have worked, but I have no space for this construction.
I'm looking forward to testing the system, but at the same time I am not looking forward to it, as it is "make or break".
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Negative_Creep
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bacteria
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The GP2x is quite small, about 145mm x 83mm x 29mm.Negative_Creep wrote:I'm liking the idea and it, but... isn't a bit on the large side? I know you have big hands lol, but it seems REALLY big.
EDIT: Also, if you are, what colour are you going to spray it?
My project is going to finish at 244mm x 215mm x 30mm.
Bare minimum sizes for any project using a PSone screen, joystick/D-pad and buttons (see below for reasoning): 230mm x 145mm x 20-30mm
The GP2x only has a 3" screen (so you have to squint at it), has a bad controller and the action buttons are too close to each other. Also, after using the system for any length of time your hands get mild cramp as, like the PSP, it is designed to be small to fit in a pocket and be used by children's hands and not adult hands. I know someone with a PSP who gets hand cramping after only about 20 mins of play, or less. That isn't good. I also find it hard on the eyes looking fixed on such a small screen (the PSone screen is about 40% larger in comparison).
You can only make a system as small as it can be given the components you are using. The PSone screen is quite large at about 150mm across (slight oval shape) for a start. You then need some space for controller buttons and a joystick / D-pad. This adds a minimum of about 35mm on each side. This makes your case at least 150+35+35 (symetrical), which brings us to at least 220mm overall. You then need a little space so the joystick / D-pad are not too close to the PSone mobo and for wiring; and the thickness of the sides of the case too (5mm). You also need to mount the joystick / D-pad in a comfortable position to use it; that adds about 5mm; so you are realistically up to 230mm long in total. In terms of height, you start with the PSone mobo height (about 140mm, assuming you don't do an LED mod and remove part of the mobo - I don't like the result of the LED mod so I don't do it) which you could mount into a case with a total height of about 145mm as minimum, although this gives no space for adding function buttons at the top or bottom of the screen area, so would force all buttons on the sides of the system which might look cramped. The PSone mobo is about 10mm thick (including the screen, assuming the screen goes inside the case and not sticking out) plus the thickness of your console mobo. You also need height for a joystick; up to about 35mm max normally (look at my N64 project), depending on what you are using of course.
Therefore, you could probably make a project as a minimum size of 230 x 145 x 20mm possibly, assuming the console mobo is thin, no heat issues and no built-in battery pack (just mains to power).
Then consider that holding a system is comfortable between about 20 - 30mm or so (so the depth of the system in this range is ok, and personal preference). You can of course use this 10mm or so for a lithium battery pack if you have one; otherwise you would be using batteries inside the casing, as I did. Sub-C cells are fine but of course do not have the extra power of the C cells (thick 5500mAh cells).
Taking this into account, my system at 244mm length is only 14mm longer than the minimum usable system, of which most was needed incidentally for the screen rotation part, the rest of the difference was to house the batteries; my system at 215mm is a bit higher than the bare minimum of 145mm, some was needed for the screen rotation (about 20-25mm or so), the extra was needed to house the thick batteries and large speakers. I could have reduced the height of my system from 215mm to 198mm but for the batteries and the fact I prefer quality sound from speakers rather than the tinny smaller ones used normally. Project building is always making compromises.
So, to summarise, the depth of the system is not relevant as it is designed with comfort to use (incidentally, it is only 2mm thicker than the unmodded GP2x as it contains normally 2 x AA cells); the length of the system is barely longer than the minimum you can make a system anyway: but yes, the height is taller than I would have preferred, but I had no option in my project, although I could have used sub-C cells and saved about 15-20mm from the case height - at a cost of a lot of playtime between charges and lower speaker audio quality (the 55mm speakers I am using take a bit of space) - given this scenario, longer playtime and better audio is far more desirable to me.
My hands are not massive, they are only very slightly larger than normal hands for an adult male, I use size 11 gloves if that is any indication. Anyway, it is only me using the console so it is only right I make it comfortable to use!! Only negative I see to this project is the weight, as it uses 6 x C cells; not too bad and fine to hold; and yes, if the height was a bit less that would have been nice, but these are very minor points.
Yes, the system is fairly large but it isn't overly large, and it couldn't be made any smaller given the components I am using. Everything is packed tightly as it is, very snug, and only just closes. I couldn't have made this system even 5mm smaller (length, breadth or height), it is that tight. I can't save any height even if I want to because 30mm represents the height of a C cell plus two pieces of 2mm perspex sandwiching it; although, for reasons I have covered on this and the Nintendo 64 Advance project, 30mm is an ideal total height in any case (so no problem).
I hope you now understand the decisions I had to make.
On your other query, i'm not going to spray paint it, as mentioned before I will finish it with some very attractive speckled thick paper for the top and bottom (better than on the PDA project), black paint for the sides, I will also use my PC printer to mark a nifty circles design onto the paper (I need to experiment with this) as well as marking out the button functions etc; which will have the effect of making the system not only look nice but also smaller (you will see what I mean when it is done). This system will look very smart, and unusual, when completed.
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bacteria
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Had a few fun and games with the system, anyway, to cut a long story short, it turned out that one of the contacts I made in the battery pack was somehow reducing the voltage from 7.7v to 4v, so of course the screen didn't work and the GP2x had no power as the TI card wasn't getting enough voltage. I was concerned as the GP2x went on and then off that it fried, in fact, it just lost its power and was fine. Sometimes I tested the voltage and it gave a true 7.7v and 3.12v other times it was near zero, or between. Problem was sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't - anyway, I identified the issue and it is an easy fix.
This is what the system looks like from the front view now (prior to my testing). D-pad joystick is not in it yet, that will happen later.
I then proceeded to put some strips of perspex on the top of the screen top and tape it down, as this part of the case is not secured yet and can literally fall out, until I make the case top, then it will be secure.
Here is the system working, all be it over the edge of the desk (I didn't want to tempt fate) - proves the system works fine, pic is part of the GP2x menu. This proves the screen, TI card and GP2x are working together fine at least.
Tilting the system a bit:
Once I have made sure all the connections in the battery pack are completely secure I can get the casing on better, flip it over and take proper photos; I figured as I have run out of time today, that at least I could post (poor) pics of the system to prove it works.
I have a fair bit of testing yet to do before I can finish the sides of the case and get on to the next stage.
This is what the system looks like from the front view now (prior to my testing). D-pad joystick is not in it yet, that will happen later.
I then proceeded to put some strips of perspex on the top of the screen top and tape it down, as this part of the case is not secured yet and can literally fall out, until I make the case top, then it will be secure.
Here is the system working, all be it over the edge of the desk (I didn't want to tempt fate) - proves the system works fine, pic is part of the GP2x menu. This proves the screen, TI card and GP2x are working together fine at least.
Tilting the system a bit:
Once I have made sure all the connections in the battery pack are completely secure I can get the casing on better, flip it over and take proper photos; I figured as I have run out of time today, that at least I could post (poor) pics of the system to prove it works.
I have a fair bit of testing yet to do before I can finish the sides of the case and get on to the next stage.