worklog: ZN-64!!!(put on hold due to lack of money)

[metalcookie]

i highly doubt i am better than you at making portables. this is the first(but certainly not the last)time i have ever done anything like this. thanks for the compliment, though

[eurddrue]

i highly doubt i am better than you at making portables. this is the first(but certainly not the last)time i have ever done anything like this. thanks for the compliment, though

I too am still on my first attemt Can't get the thing to output video of any type My soldering skills may be better though from all of the times I've resoldered everything onto different boards though...

[metalcookie]

i hate it when you have to resolder and desolder everything, like that dreaded cartridge slot.
i completely soldered 48 wires on it, desoldered it, resoldered it again with 48 wires, desoldered it again, and then soldered 25 wires on the on the actual n64, desoldered it all, and THEN resoldered all 48 wires on the cart, and then resoldered every wire to n64 board.
i soldered wires on it 217 times and desoldered wires 121 times

oh well, i guess practice makes perfect, at the cost of a few burnt fingers

[thewise1]

The really tedious part it stripping twisting and tinning all of the wires. I hate having to resolder things too. I had to do my cartridge slot 5 times. 2 on my first board, then 3 times on my second.

Keep in mind though, even if you're scarce on money, a bare n64 with no cables controllers or jumper pak on ebay is usually only $10. The thing you want to worry about frying is the screen. But yeah. Hope it turns out alright.

[metalcookie]

-update-

well, something bad happened to the screen.
for some reason all of the colors are inverted. i am running it at its highest running voltage, which is 12 volts, but it won't work at any lower voltages. its always worked fine on 7.5 volts, but not now. i found a fuse on the screen's board(not the dvd player part) that is making no connectivity. i think this might be the case. what should i do? should i bypass the fuse?

[metalcookie]

-update-
i bypassed the fuse, and now the screen won't even turn on, so i removes the solder, and the screen turns on, just as it did


the colors are still inverted.
i didn't properly insulate the screen's board, and for some reason when i picked it up off of the board the power draw was affected.

i am still confident i can fix it, because i couldn't find any fried components and the screen still displays everything.

i'll post a picture of it later

well, if i can't fix this screen, i'll go with a PSone screen. i still have an impact wrench lying around my house, and we already have one so i'll pawn it for some money.

for the moment i'm going to work on running the n64 on batteries.
can you give me any advice for fixing the screen?
it is stable, but inverted

[metalcookie]

-update-

well, the screen is officially fried. i didn't want to accept it, but it is

this is only a miner setback, though, because i still need a lot to do with the controller. i'm going to save up my money to get a PSone screen. that will greatly reduce the size of my portable. i am still having trouble running the n64 with the pth0800 regulator, though. when tested without it being plugged up, it reads 3.263, but when everything is turned on, it drops down to 2.74, and slowly decreases. i know bacteria said it is possible to run at 2.89 volts, but 2.74 volts is too small. i guess i need new batteries.

oh, and how would you put a headphone jack on a PSone screen, or does it already have one?

the project hasn't been stopped because of the screen issue. that would be stupid. i wired up an old a/v cable and am testing with a great portable dvd player i have. i love it, and it's not going to be used. just for tests

[metalcookie]

again, i didn't search the internet for some answers.
sorry for the stupid question

oh, and how would you put a headphone jack on a PSone screen, or does it already have one?

[eurddrue]

again, i didn't search the internet for some answers.
sorry for the stupid question

oh, and how would you put a headphone jack on a PSone screen, or does it already have one?

I think it would be best if you read this entire topic. http://forums.benheck.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=2278
answer to your question http://forums.benheck.com/viewtopic.php?t=21882

[metalcookie]

my batteries aren't dead. i've tested them. i even wired the regulator and the 12 volt power source up to a 9 volt power adapter. on the power source i am reading 9.45 volts,and on the pins on the pth08000 i am reading 3.264, but the pins on the n64 read 2.786. i think the wire i am using has some Resistance to it, but i am not sure. i am positive there isn't something wrong with the batteries or the power adapter, because i am reading 9.45 with everything on. i think i just need to use different wiring for power.

oh, and i found out the 3.3 volt line can take 3.4 volts. i tested the board with the original power supply just to mae sure the board isn't fried, and on the 3.3 volt line i read 3.4 volts.

other than that little issue, things are going great

[metalcookie]

i just have one quick question -
before i started this project i disassembled an old portable dvd player with a tiny motherboard and a 4 in. lcd screen.
on the pinouts i saw two pins labeled y/o and c/o
well, after a little research i learned that s - video signal is chroma and yuma. i know that the n64 has these signals, but on the dvd player's board(not the screen's) those pins are labeled chroma out and yuma out. i presume these pins are sending out video signals to the screen. if this is true, then couldn't i have connected these signals coming from the n64 to those pins and connecting the n64's ground to the ground pins on the dvd player board, then could i have used that screen with the n64 even though it doesn't have a composite in?
and if that is true, then couldn't presumably i use any dvd player screen, as long as it uses chroma and yuma signals?

[metalcookie]

-UPDATE-

wow, this is the biggest update yet

i've decided to change the design plan to a hendheld system - not a laptop

the reason i did this is because when i was deciding to build a portable, i wanted it to be original, and my design was an exact copy of evilteddy's design. everything was the same. the speaker placement was a bit lower than what i planned but other than that - EVERYTHING WAS THE SAME. i guess great minds think alike

so i've decided to make it in a project box

i've already got some ideas on the design. for one, i'm going to use snes buttons instead of n64 ones. i really like the snes

i still like the idea of not having to hold your portable and still playing it with an external controller, so i'm going to make a stand for it on the back.i'm also going with the PSone screen, because it is so popular.
this saturday i am going to radioshack to pic up a few more components - mainly the project box.
the whole new design thing won't interfere with anything i've already got built. when i started this project, i built everything so it could fit in any case that i designed, and now with the PSone screen, i have much more versatility with what i plan.
i posted a new thread entitled "i'm having issues with my pth08000 regulator"
please loo at it, because it is a really annoying problem.
this portable will be a great one, as you will see in the next couple of weeks. this one will be clean and precise- i'm not going to add an "ish" to every measurement. everything will be perfect and planned. imperfection on anything is unacceptable at the moment. i now have a definite case i will build it into. it will have no rough edges and it will be awesome

[eurddrue]

Maybe you should just get a new regulator. Then if the same thing happens, rewire the whole thing. It's not like the TI cards cost a lot...

[ShockSlayer]

It's not like the TI cards cost a lot...

SS

[metalcookie]

-update-
case design still not 100%
this weekend i'm going to radioshack to pick up a few components, and to look at the project enclosures they have. if they don't have what i'm looking for then i will go with vacuum - forming.
i still need to get rubber tact switches for the controller and am eagerly awaiting the arrival of my new regulators. there isn't much i can do with my project at the moment. i lack the proper components to really move forward. i need new batteries, i don't have a PSone screen, and i have no way of testing the board without that brick the n64 is made to run on. still, any suggestions on the power issue? if it doesn't have the proper amps, then would connecting it to the 3.3 volt line drop the voltage?
don't expect any updates from me for a while, but please ask questions! i will answer any questions you guys want answered. i can really use your feedback, especially shockplayers. he's made so many portable n64's!
so please ask questions