Worklog Greasy Idiot's First Portable (WIP)

BocuD

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Wow those cases look amazing! I'm definitely ordering from them next time as well ^-^
 
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@ThePuffpuff30 if you dont mind me asking how much was the print? Mine was pretty pricey, well more expensive than I was anticipating..

@BocuD I didnt want to invade his thread like that lol but I wanted show him my case..Haha but it is a really awesome material. It's some poly nylon type of plastic and its freaking tough! I had to sand out grooves to fit my dual tacts correctly and I literally was getting nowhere with sandpaper or a metal file. I ended up having to use a dremel with a sanding drum on it lol
 
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@ThePuffpuff30 if you dont mind me asking how much was the print? Mine was pretty pricey, well more expensive than I was anticipating..

@BocuD I didnt want to invade his thread like that lol but I wanted show him my case..Haha but it is a really awesome material. It's some poly nylon type of plastic and its freaking tough! I had to sand out grooves to fit my dual tacts correctly and I literally was getting nowhere with sandpaper or a metal file. I ended up having to use a dremel with a sanding drum on it lol
Mine was pricey too. A good $48.35. SO worth it though.
 
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A couple more things came in the mail today.

AE3A3E37-4A49-449E-8FDF-4546C24DFEC1.jpeg
They finally sent me the right buttons! They won’t stay blue like this. I plan to paint the portable like a snes controller, so the dpad will be painted gray and the face buttons will be painted the right blue and light purple.
Speaking of which, how do you guys recommend painting buttons?

This ones a big deal:
237F707C-3CA2-49D4-A01F-5ACD5E14F323.jpeg
Special thanks to @Noah for trimming and prepping a Wii for me! It was super nice of him to step in and offer to help me out while I was feeling discouraged.
Here’s to hoping I don’t fuck it up!

Edit: Turned the full images into thumbnails
 
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Speaking of which, how do you guys recommend painting buttons?
pls no.


As a controller painter, can confirm painting buttons is the worst idea since me, It'd be better to cast buttons the color you want, or find some how you like it, In Bocud's portable, he used colored buttons he found online.
 
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pls no.


As a controller painter, can confirm painting buttons is the worst idea since me, It'd be better to cast buttons the color you want, or find some how you like it, In Bocud's portable, he used colored buttons he found online.
There’s some way to do it well. I have some custom joycon for my switch with painted buttons, and they’re fine.
 

Madmorda

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Deo is right here. Please don't paint buttons lol. For one thing, it makes them thicker so they don't press as nicely in their holes, and for another the paint will wear down. In a normal controller that might be okay, but it's kind of a shame to put so much work into a portable knowing that the buttons will chip and wear down quickly with use.

Idk what model 3ds buttons those are, but if they're new 3ds xl, why not use these?
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/132522415040
 
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Deo is right here. Please don't paint buttons lol. For one thing, it makes them thicker so they don't press as nicely in their holes, and for another the paint will wear down. In a normal controller that might be okay, but it's kind of a shame to put so much work into a portable knowing that the buttons will chip and wear down quickly with use.

Idk what model 3ds buttons those are, but if they're new 3ds xl, why not use these?
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/132522415040
I’m actually using the button guides you made for the original 3ds buttons, since I’m not nearly good enough to make my own button guides. I did see those, and if I could, I would TOTALLY use them.
 

Madmorda

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I’m actually using the button guides you made for the original 3ds buttons, since I’m not nearly good enough to make my own button guides. I did see those, and if I could, I would TOTALLY use them.
Well I still recommend not painting them :P If you paint them, you have to clear coat them, and those layers add extra thickness to both sides of the button. That could be enough to make them not fit right in the button guides without sticking.

Idk if there's time before the end of the contest, but if you want me to try molding you some custom ones, pm me :)
 

BocuD

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In Bocud's portable, he used colored buttons he found online.
lol no they are actually New 3DS replacement buttons. Yea they are bought online but they are OEM parts ;).
 
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Well it’s been so long since I’ve updated this that it’s fallen halfway down page two.
Should probably update it so people don’t think the project is dead
:rothink:


While I haven’t done a whole lot in terms of actually working on the project itself, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about how I’m going to do certain stuff, what I need still need, etc. I’ve also been working on acquiring the rest of the parts that I need.
Here are a few that are on their way:

B5B8BB9C-2047-4E24-936C-539DB6438F7F.jpeg
I haven’t actually seen any of these in person before, so it’ll be a surprise if they’re smaller than I think they are, or bigger than I think they are. They should be able to fit into my case regardless, but I’m not super comfortable with my ability to solder directly to batteries, so...

5A0FE8B1-8362-4B64-B4AF-C8AAEC59E32B.jpeg
I got these! I’m pretty sure they aren’t gonna fit in my case, so I’ll either need to make my case thiccer (that’s the plan) or find another way.

B5B8BB9C-2047-4E24-936C-539DB6438F7F.jpeg
Gotta have the proper screws.

And here’s a few more things that are already here!

D3D7BCA0-02F4-4F9A-BC48-7B3036E6BC52.jpeg
Battery board.
I actually went ahead and started adding it to the Wii. I held off on doing it, or touching the Wii at all really, because I’ve been so afraid of fucking it up, but tonight I went for it. Here’s the other side:

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My connections look a little sketchy, but I think they should be alright?

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Speakers.
Actually used one to softmod my 3ds :XD:

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Tacts.
A lot bigger than I was expecting. They should still do the job.

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Squishy tacts.
The orange ones on the BOM have been out of stock or discontinued or something for a while now, so I had to go with these. They seem fine, though.
These should make for a decent dual-tact mod.

B8370D50-7F58-4966-B56E-2C73D049F636.jpeg

Parts I still need:
- GC+ (planning on waiting for the store to re-open)
- Audio amp
- Charging jack and charging cable (recommendations are appreciated)
- Power switch (again, recommendations are appreciated)
- Back half of case (WIP)
- Heatsink and fan combo

Edit: Turned the full images into thumbnails
 

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where are you coming from?
i have a gc+ and some other parts laying around here.
 
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where are you coming from?
i have a gc+ and some other parts laying around here.
I’m alright for now. I heard something about a GC+ 2.0 or something? I don’t need one right this moment, so I’d rather wait to get one of those.
 

Aurelio

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I’m alright for now. I heard something about a GC+ 2.0 or something? I don’t need one right this moment, so I’d rather wait to get one of those.
GC+ 2.0 will be released soon-ish. I have few things to complete, but it’s working great so far
 
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Been working on the case a ton recently, just refining little bits here and there, and I'm almost ready to call it finished.
Here is what it looks like as of now:
Screen Shot 2018-10-01 at 1.15.30 PM.png

Screen Shot 2018-10-01 at 1.15.43 PM.png

I've made a ton of changes since the most recent version. The two most prominent changes, however, are the mechanisms for the shoulder buttons, and the thiccness of the backside.

I'll start with the backside, since that has the most changes.
Like I just mentioned, the backside is significantly thicker now to make room for the battery holders:
Screen Shot 2018-10-01 at 1.21.53 PM.png

I had to fix the usb port placement to compensate for it, but other than that, it wasn't too difficult.
It also gave me an excuse to work on fixing the shoulder buttons, which actually WAS difficult.
Screen Shot 2018-09-24 at 7.30.02 PM.png
Kinda shamelessly ripped it off of a bunch of other portables, but I think it'll work way better than what I had before.
... I just realized now that there's no easy way to get it attached GOD DAMMIT!
Guess I have yet another thing to fix!


Onto the front, the only thing I changed was the Z button.
For the sake of simplicity, I'm just gonna have the Z button be a tact switch. I'm gonna put it where it needs to be, and slide a piece of plastic underneath to hold it in place.
Screen Shot 2018-09-24 at 12.36.18 PM.png Screen Shot 2018-09-24 at 12.38.08 PM.png

Only thing that's really left is the final screw posts, which I'm struggling with because, honestly, I have no idea what screws to use to hold both halves together. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
I haven't done ANY work on the console since the last update, because I'm not that great at soldering yet and I haven't had the proper flux, either. Hopefully I can get the right stuff soon, but for now, getting the case finished up is my priority.
Tinkercad is a pain in the ass for making stuff like this, dude. Can't wait to try Fusion 360 for my next portable :XD:
 
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There we go.
Screen Shot 2018-10-01 at 5.26.32 PM.png
Ideally they'll just snap on.
That should do the trick, right?
 
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