I've decided to take a second shot at making a portable N64. After tinkering around with my semi-screwed up board (and breaking it more), I went out and bought a new one and went to work on it. So far I've removed all of the connectors, including the expansion port, and put a 4" extension on the cartridge slot so I can set it up on the back of the board.
I'm aiming for as small a size as I can get (without killing myself doing reworks) so I've trimmed the board down a bit to approximately 5.5" by 4.5". I'm using an Intec screen pad for the display, but I haven't figured out which way I'm going for batteries yet. I just ordered parts from digikey for the 3.3v regulator (and a crapload of tact switches ), so once I get those in I can figure out about how big the case will be and hopefully have some results to show .
Nice, but how did you get the expansion pak connector off? I kinda maimed both the connector and a few traces (no real harm done, they can be fixed) when I tried desoldering it and inadvertently ripped it off to hard.
usbcd36 wrote:Nice, but how did you get the expansion pak connector off? I kinda maimed both the connector and a few traces (no real harm done, they can be fixed) when I tried desoldering it and inadvertently ripped it off to hard.
I cheated . I clipped all the mounting pins (on the ground shield) and pried off the connector, leaving all of the pins on the board still (I would have no use for just the connector). Then I held a soldering iron to each pin and pulled it out with pliers, then finally removed all the solder. Overall it took less than 15 minutes.
Edit: By expansion pack connector did you mean the slot for the memory expansion? The port on the bottom side of the board is what I took off.
I meant the memory expansion connector, the hardest thing to remove. You do have a good idea though, if I manage to ruin the board (I fixed the two traces I ripped off the board, just found the closest bits and soldered small wires onto them). For now, I just need ribbon cable, I've asked a member of the Mac user group I belong to who's a complete expert in electronics and he says they have miles of it where he works and I should stop by. The only problem is I forgot to ask him for contact information (or where he works) before he left, so I'll have to wait for the next meeting, or ask the secretary who keeps track of all of these things.
If you try removing another expansion pack slot (or anything similar) in the future, there are a couple of ways to desolder surface mount components with a lot of pins. The easiest way involves an air pen (which I'm assuming you don't have ). The way I normally go about something like that is use solder wick to remove as much solder as possible from all of the pins. Then heat up a couple of pins at a time and, using small tweezers or something similar, carefully lift them away from the board. You should be able to get everything off without a problem doing this.
Yeah, I'll keep that in mind if I happen to ruin the board any further. I've also figured out that you can bend the slot and sever the pin, then desolder them individually at your leisure (or just rip the pins out of the slot, holding them carefully to the board while doing so, and solder them directly to the expansion pak).
Just a quick update. The case is almost done and all of the electronics are in place (and working ). I'm pushing to finish the case and have it painted by the end of the day, so expect another update soon. For now though, a couple pics:
It's done! It took the whole day, but I managed to finish it before midnight .
Final specs:
-dimensions (not including the cart sticking up a little): 5" x 7" x 3".
-power: 3000mAh 7.2v RC battery, lm2576 regulator for the 3.3v line
-cooling: 5v mini fan, thin heatsink covering most of the board
-buttons: 12mm tact switches
-screen: Intec 2.5" (screen pad)
-case: modified 5x7x3" project box (from radioshack)
I took a couple pictures of the final product, but didnt get any of the inside (sorry guys, maybe later).
Thanks . As for the regulator, it has 2 caps, a diode, and inductor on it in addition to the LM2576 (digikey p/n LM2576T-3.3NS-ND if you're interested). I printed a simple board for it thats about .75" x 3.75". It fits in next to the N64 board. I should have some pictures of the inside later today, as I need to open it up...switched two of the C buttons when I wired everything to the controller .
G-force wrote:Hard to believe it only took you a day to make it. You must have had a lot of caffeine or something... Wow.
It took a day (and the whole day) to do the back part of the case and get everything assembled. I started working on it last week doing testing and getting the board cut to size, as well as moving the cartridge slot. I worked on it almost non-stop from thursday through yesterday to get it done. Anyways, here's a pic of the inside.
Could you post some more information on the 3.3v regulator (I'm assuming) you built? Are you using a National LM-series switching regulator, or just a linear regulator?
), so once I get those in I can figure out about how big the case will be and hopefully have some results to show 
.
(or where he works) before he left, so I'll have to wait for the next meeting, or ask the secretary who keeps track of all of these things.
). The way I normally go about something like that is use solder wick to remove as much solder as possible from all of the pins. Then heat up a couple of pins at a time and, using small tweezers or something similar, carefully lift them away from the board. You should be able to get everything off without a problem doing this.
, good luck. i might make another one (after i finish my 1st one) some day when i get a job, it'll be awsome
