Who needs a gameboy when you can take the original 8-bit Nintendo system to go? A FastMHz forums member has detailed instructions posted on how he ripped apart a PSone screen, gutted an original Nintendo system, and built his own gigantor gameboy using full sized Nintendo cartridges. The result is a bit of a frankenmonster engaged in a plastic homebrew encasing, but sometimes function comes before form. My question is...
do you I have to blow into this thing for hours before it works? [via
Digg]
(A mirror of the content is posted below as I'm sure this fellow's server will die any second now, one more side photo posted.)
Some of the greatest games ever made were on the good 'ol 8-Bit NES of the late 80s. I had my original NES laying around and decided to bring it back to life...as a giant "Gameboy" like portable.
Highlights:
-5" color TFT backlit LCD
-Externally rechargeable Lithium-ION power supply w/ > 3 hours runtime
-Sound
-Homemade Clear lexan case
Parts used:
-1 original NES console
-1 cheap clone controller w/turbo buttons (eBay)
-8 Lithium Ion cells, wired 4/4 parallel for ~15 volts @ 2400mah (AllElectronics)
-PlayStation 1 Screen (AllElectronics)
-Lexan (Home Depot)
-1 new 72 pin game connector (eBay)
-Lots of CA tire glue...(TowerHobbies)
Construction:
First I gutted the NES and PSOne screen and laid the parts out to see what dimensions the case would have to be. I then cut the 6 lexan pieces I needed and CAed 5 of them together, minus the back. Next, I cut out the hole for the controller using a scroll saw. A side benefit of clear lexan is I didn't have to make a hole for the screen. I drilled a hole in the side for the power switch and proceeded to glue the screen in place, minus extra citcuits I didn't need for interfacing with the PSOne. I then desoldered the NES capacitor and placed it on some wires behind the board to reduce overall thickness.
Next, I used a holesaw to cut the speaker hole in the back panel, and a scroll saw to cut the hole for the game connector to come through. I then glued the controller into the case, placed the NES motherboard over top, installed the power switch, glued the speaker in and waited....until finally, the batteries arrived! I took the 4 cell phone packs apart and re-wired them as 4/4 parallel to get ~15 volts @ 2400mah. I wired everything up to a 8v DC regulator as the screen used 7.5v and the NES used 9v AC, though he NES runs just fine on DC. The entire unit in operation draws ~720ma, and I have over 3 hours of playtime per charge. When it's time to recharge, I plug my AstroFlight Lithium charger into the convenient charge jack on the bottom right of the back panel.
What took longest was re-working everything to be as small as possible, but without extensive modification to the circuits. I could have used a so called "NOAC", or Nintendo on a Chip as they're called, but they don't SOUND or WORK quite like a real NES does...and I already HAD a real NES. Ordinarily you have to press the game down to make proper contact in the connector, but the new one is very tight and it turns out I don't need to hold the game down.
It's actually quite comfortable to play as I sanded down the corners on the bottom half of the unit. It's a bit heavy though, but I have no trouble playing it while laying down or sitting at a table.
Contest:
3:31 PM on 06.21.2006 | 
