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

[ShockSlayer]

First off, It's ShockSlayer.

And, Ratshack's project enclosures suck(they are too big), or, atleast the ones at mine do. Try looking around on Polycase, or buy some acrylic/perspex at your local Lowe's/Home Depot.

I posted in your other thread, try to keep it all in one thread though.

SS

[metalcookie]

i think i will go with vacuum forming most likely.
and i made a shocking discovery - my multimeter can't read amps!
i can't test if the regulator is getting enough amps
so i asked my dad if he could bring home an amp meter, because he works at mead westvaco, but he doesn't have one and none of his friends have one.

oh well, i guess i can get an amp meter somewhere.
any tips so far with what i'm doing?

[eurddrue]

i think i will go with vacuum forming most likely.
and i made a shocking discovery - my multimeter can't read amps!
i can't test if the regulator is getting enough amps
so i asked my dad if he could bring home an amp meter, because he works at mead westvaco, but he doesn't have one and none of his friends have one.

oh well, i guess i can get an amp meter somewhere.
any tips so far with what i'm doing?

Are you sure there's no 10A DCV setting? I have the cheapest avaliable $4.95+$1.35 S&H and Mine reads amps...

[metalcookie]

i'm sure. it's one of those auto selecting ones, and it only has 3 settings - one for volts, and one for resistance/uf's

here's the model
fluke 12b multimeter
my father brought it home for me to use, but it's for really large currents, not really made for this kind of stuff, but it will work
for checking the voltage

[metalcookie]

here's a link to a pdf with all the info
http://www.alliancetesteq.com/files/dat ... ke_12b.pdf

[eurddrue]

here's a link to a pdf with all the info
http://www.alliancetesteq.com/files/dat ... ke_12b.pdf

Yellow color for high visibility in the workshop or toolbox
maybe you should get one that checks amps, they're pretty cheap.

[metalcookie]

yah, that's what i plan to do.
my dad does have an amp meter, but he uses it on machines, plus the clips are for cables 1 inch thick. i'm not sure if my dad said it right but it tests at like 5000 amps. i really have no idea if it does, but i do know that 1 volt of the highest amps it tests can blow your heart out of your chest.

i might be a bit of a noob at this still, but i don't think that piece of equipment can help me, unless i try to build a lightning cannon

i also got my new regulators today, which was a bit of a surprise, because i ordered them yesterday
i do live in texas, though

[metalcookie]

-update-
i ordered my new regulators, got em today, and tested them before i wired them into the power circuit.
3.642 volts. tested with everything wired to the power circuit
2.756 volts.
apparently there is something wrong with my power sources, because there is no way i ordered 2 defective pth08000's, (the first one wasn't defective, though)
i tested the capacitance of the capacitor, and the multimeter read 94.6 uf
so, i've almost concluded that the problem is with the amps, but i don't know why all of my power sources could be supplying it with 1 amp, or 1.5 with the expansion pack.
saturday at radioshack, i'm going to buy a multimeter that reads amps, and conclude my power issue.
btw, when the original screen wasn't fried, i tested the n64 connected with my batteries, and it worked, BARELY. the screen flashed, but it flashed the gameplay of majora's mask, and the audio flashed in synchronization with the screen. i turned everything off and then off again. and it didn't work. i tested it with the original power source, and it worked. shortly after i fried the screen. i tried multiple times to get the n64 to run without the original power source, but no dice. i tested the power regulator (the new one) with it plugged into the n64 and first it read 3.1 volts. but after three times in trying to make it run it read 2.756. hope this helps anyone trying to diagnose my power issue.
i hardly think i fried the motherboard, because it still works flawlessly with the original power source.
please reply to this before saturday, because i have enough money to get a new n64, and if that is what it takes, that's what i'll do. i will not give up on this project, even if i fry 20 boards.
so far, i think it is the amperage

[metalcookie]

ok, i think i know what the problem is.
when i tested the batteries first with the n64 and it worked, barely, it had been charging for about 15 minutes, and every other time i tried playing it, the battery was plugged into an electrical outlet. i think when i tested the regulator alone, it read 3.264 with barely any amps, and when wired to the n64 the power draw was so great it dropped the voltage because of too low amps.
any ideas about my hypothesis? it's the only thing(well, besides the amperage problem)that can actually explain my problem

[eurddrue]

ok, i think i know what the problem is.
when i tested the batteries first with the n64 and it worked, barely, it had been charging for about 15 minutes, and every other time i tried playing it, the battery was plugged into an electrical outlet. i think when i tested the regulator alone, it read 3.264 with barely any amps, and when wired to the n64 the power draw was so great it dropped the voltage because of too low amps.
any ideas about my hypothesis? it's the only thing(well, besides the amperage problem)that can actually explain my problem

What is the amerage on your batteries? they may not have enough juice. Are they even fully charged?

[metalcookie]

i still don't have a proper multimeter, so i have no idea.
i'm getting one at radioshack on saturday, though
all i can do right now is make an educated guess.

[metalcookie]

i figured it out!!!!!
i can't check amps at the moment, but i rewired everything, and then checked my universal power adapter with my multimeter(it's been acting funny for some reason) and it was giving off 17 volts at any setting, so i tried unplugging it and looking at it. it only gives out 300ma.
i'm not a genius but i don't think that'l work.
if i charge my batteries with that adapter, with the batteries give off 300ma or not?
i also looked at my portable dvd player charger and it gives off 2.2 amps. will this fry the 3.3 volt line?

[eurddrue]

i figured it out!!!!!
i can't check amps at the moment, but i rewired everything, and then checked my universal power adapter with my multimeter(it's been acting funny for some reason) and it was giving off 17 volts at any setting, so i tried unplugging it and looking at it. it only gives out 300ma.
i'm not a genius but i don't think that'l work.
if i charge my batteries with that adapter, with the batteries give off 300ma or not?
i also looked at my portable dvd player charger and it gives off 2.2 amps. will this fry the 3.3 volt line?

No, that won't fry your line, but if you were really using a 300mah power source, that's your problem. And 17v is too much for the switching regulator I thought...

[metalcookie]

i never plugged the 17 volt line into the n64, i just tested it.
well, i tried turning it on, and nothing happened. it still doesn't work.
the 3.3 volt line is still just 2 volts. it's done this with every power source i have tried, and some most of them were, infact, 2.22 amps. i have no idea why it worked before but now refuses to work.
it still works with the original power source. should i use a different capacitor?

[eurddrue]

i never plugged the 17 volt line into the n64, i just tested it.
well, i tried turning it on, and nothing happened. it still doesn't work.
the 3.3 volt line is still just 2 volts. it's done this with every power source i have tried, and some most of them were, infact, 2.22 amps. i have no idea why it worked before but now refuses to work.
it still works with the original power source. should i use a different capacitor?

I think I had a problem like this once... Check if you have your capacitor on wrong, and check if your 2k ohm resistor goes back to the negative, not the positive. Did you use the 17v on the switching regulators? I think that they're only supposed to go up to 14v, so maybe that's toasting them.