Worklog Gamecube Portable: Let the Games Begin

[Cradiak]

I’m thinking about using the same screen. Does it work well? Did you find a way to power it off of 5v?

I'm at a bit of a standstill, I've had issues with the mobo so I can't test the screen atm. My plan is to power it off 5v, I believe it is supposed to work on anything between 5-12V. I'll let you know for sure once I can test it.

 

[TheGuy504]

I'm at a bit of a standstill, I've had issues with the mobo so I can't test the screen atm. My plan is to power it off 5v, I believe it is supposed to work on anything between 5-12V. I'll let you know for sure once I can test it.

Hey, I made this if you want to use it.
https://bitbuilt.net/forums/index.php?threads/run-screen-off-5v.2287/

 

[ThePuffpuff30]

I'm at a bit of a standstill, I've had issues with the mobo so I can't test the screen atm. My plan is to power it off 5v, I believe it is supposed to work on anything between 5-12V. I'll let you know for sure once I can test it.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe you should be able to power the screen with 12v from the GameCube. That’s how I did it before my MOBO died.

 

[cheese]

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe you should be able to power the screen with 12v from the GameCube. That’s how I did it before my MOBO died.

We generally use lower voltages, since you can get them with just two batteries.

 

[Cradiak]

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe you should be able to power the screen with 12v from the GameCube. That’s how I did it before my MOBO died.

Yeah you can as long as you have 12v supplied. Some gamecube portables run off less voltage though. Mine has a 12v power supply though but some don't.

 

[Cradiak]

I’m thinking about using the same screen. Does it work well? Did you find a way to power it off of 5v?

Hey, I finally got around to testing that screen. I had to get another gamecube mobo so it took awhile. It does run fine off 5V.

Proof:

 

[TheGuy504]

Hey, I finally got around to testing that screen. I had to get another gamecube mobo so it took awhile. It does run fine off 5V.

Proof:
View attachment 7234

Thanks!

 

[Cradiak]

Work Log 5

Been awhile since I've posted an official work log update. Things are back on track finally. I bit the bullet and bought another mobo, I couldn't figure out where the short was on my last one. They aren't expensive so it wasn't so bad. I discovered the zn housing is big enough that I won't have to trim it at all, so I didn't bother trimming the new one, and I got the dol-101 (I think lol), the one with the voltage Regulator on the mobo. I've got the new mobo all wired up like I had before.

I've pretty much finished the top half of the case, minus a few things I'll add toward the end (reset and power switch and some other things). The controller is just about done as well. I epoxied in some screw posts so I can secure the controller in the housing so it won't move around. I've tested the controller and it works, so I'm pleased with that. I still have to wire up the c stick, L, R, Z, and start. The latter 4 will be assigned to the shoulder buttons.

Here are some pictures of my case progression and the controller.






If you like listening to a very long winded nerd, here is the update video.



EDIT: Someone in the YouTube comments just pointed out I made the octagonal corners for the joystick on the diagonals instead of up/down/left/right. So.... I guess my controller will be extra efficient at 45° angle movement lol

 

[Cradiak]

What's that? A post in the GameCube forum? Must be Cradiak! Because I almost have a monopoly on GC posts lol

Time for work log #6 for my GCP!

It's been awhile since I've done a work log update (video below). Warning, the video is long, it's about 18 minutes lol

I've spent a ton of time troubleshooting since the last update video and I think I've sorted out all my problems (so far). Much thanks to @Madmorda for the literal hours she has spent with me troubleshooting said problems. I would be lost without her help, and the help of you other fine people here. Here's a brief breakdown of my progress and troubleshooting since the last update (for those who don't feel like listening to me for 18 minutes).

1. C Stick

• Had issues with the C stick axises (axi?) being inverted and shaking and stuff, and some directions weren't working at all. Turned out my C stick was bad, not sure if I did something or if it was just bad, but I replaced it and that fixed most of the issues, but some directions weren't working still. Apparently when I frankencased the gamecube controller into the housing I put the joystick housing in wrong (as some people pointed out to me) and instead of left, right, up, and down being at a corner, it is flat, thereby reducing the effective range of motion of the joysticks. The c stick seems to be the only one affected by that. I just have to make sure that the c stick is centered exactly right or the function is impaired. Once I finish and start testing a lot, if it becomes an issue, I will dremmel out some more space for it.

2. Motherboard Polarity

• So I thought I had a bad board because the board's voltage regulator fuse blew, and bypassing the fuse resulted in tripping the surge protection in the battery pack and power supply. After getting a new mobo, I discovered that the boards I am using have the + voltage going through the black wire and ground going through the red wire, because....reasons. After hours of pulling my hair out I finally figured that out. Madmorda had mentioned something about it early on in my troubleshooting but somehow I still missed it. Once I figured that out, I was back on track.

3. Disc Drive

• Got the disc drive replaced (mine had a bad motor or laser, not sure which), and used epoxy putty and bondo to frankencase it into the back of my ZN housing. Disc drive is working like a champ!

4. Housing modifications

• Epoxied/super glued more screw posts in the inside of the housing to secure the controller and mobo, and also fashioned a clip to hold the battery pack to the back housing.

I think that's mostly it. My list of things to do next are: 1) hook up my audio and speakers, 2) put new switch on battery pack, and 3) finish packing everything in the housing and cut out holes for the power switch and charging port.

The 12V supply port on the battery pack is also the port used for charging, meaning when the battery pack is charged (the switch has to be off to charge) the gamecube will turn on, even if the switch is off. So I ordered some DPDT switches so I can turn the battery pack and gamecube off and charge it without the gamecube turning on. Here are the switches I ordered. They have a light when turned on, so that saves me putting a power led on

Getting close to being finished, I'm getting antsy lol For those of you who want to watch instead of read, here's the overly long update video:

 

[Madmorda]

Wow your disc drive frankencasing looks 100x better than mine did lol. Great work so far, keep it up

 

[BocuD]

It looks great really! I wish there were more gamecube portables lol, I mean yeah Wiis are superior and all but still I find the gamecube super charming.. This entire portable in general, no super new custom pcb memes, all frank encasing, its how it all used to be. Cant wait to see it finished!

 

[Cradiak]

Thanks. Nice to see a little love for gamecubes lol I actually really enjoy frankencasing, even thought it doesn’t look as nice as a 3D printed case. But custom PCBs would be nice...maybe next time haha Glad your enjoying this blast from the past

 

[Cradiak]

Okay, little update video. VERY VERY close to being done. I had to do some rewiring for a couple reasons. One was I had the batter setup to charge incorrectly. I thought the battery would only charge with the switch turned off (which now that I think about it doesn't make sense because with the switch off the current has no way to travel from the charger to the battery...duh...), and secondly because I was using wire that wasn't a low enough gauge so the GameCube wasn't getting enough juice.

I wired up the audio amp and put two speakers in, which sound pretty nice I think. They are just small laptop speakers I got from amazon. I have to fix the buttons because both volume up and down turn the volume down currently. I have the volume buttons running in parallel with the screen controls since the screen control buttons are inactive unless you are in the screen menu. That way I didn't have to install any additional buttons. I added a couple LED's. One indicates the GameCube is turned on, the other one is not working currently, but was supposed to be a charging icon. Since I had to rewire the battery pack, that won't work, but I am planning on putting a port in so you can also power the GameCube from a standard GameCube power supply, so I'll have that LED wired to indicate when the power supply is connected.

I added an extra switch so the battery can be turned on and the GameCube can be turned on separately, since the battery has to be turned on to charge. That way the GameCube won't stay on when it's charging. I also added a switch to simulate the disc drive lid opening for games like Resident Evil 4 that have multiple discs.

I also noticed when I was doing some stress tests on the GameCube that the screen sometimes goes out and then comes back, but usually it is just white. Not sure if it is having a drop in voltage causing it to momentarily turn off? I have it running off 5V. I'm sure running it from 12V (it can handle both supposedly) would fix that, but I'd rather not. Turning the GameCube off and on seems to fix the issue. I'm probably going to add an additional switch to turn the screen on and off so if it goes white you can just power cycle it to restore the picture. I'm open to suggestions if anyone has a better idea, because I'm sure there are plenty lol

I also noticed the B button is pretty sensitive, so I need to tweak that a little.

Things to do:

• Fix the volume buttons
• Add the port for the GameCube power supply
• Add an on/off switch for the LCD
• Add an internal memory card
• Fix the B button
• PAINT!!!!!

EDIT: After talking with GingerOfOz, he suggested to try running the lcd off 12V instead of 5V. So far it seems okay, hopefully that fixes the intermittent screen issue.
Update Video:

EDIT 2: I am finally DONE!!! Check out the completed thread here: https://bitbuilt.net/forums/index.php?threads/the-gamecube-spite.2494/