Question My 8 year old n64 portable charge and play

riess

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Hi Guys,
I,m new to this forum but following the portable seen for quite some time now.

So 8 years ago i wanted to make a n64 portable and started to solder the ram to the main board and relocating the cartridge slot.

But i gave up after a while not having enough time etc.

So recently i tough wouldn't it be great to make that n64 portable you always wanted as you now have more soldering skills and a 3d printer:D
So i'm continuing this long lasting dream of mine.<3

Buttt i'm getting stuck on some crucial parts that i cant seem to figure out after read a ton of forum posts.


The problem that i have is for the 7.4v battery i cant seem to figure out why almost everybody is using 2 changers with a switch that redirects the charging circuit?

Is there a simple or maybe not so simple way to use 1 charger to charge the battery and play at the same time.
If not why?
So i know there are tablets and other devices that run on 7.4v that can charge and play and even show how full that battery is.

I hope you guys can help me with this as i want to continue my long lasting dream.
 

Stitches

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Sadly there isn't an easy solution for true charge and play. The switch trickery is so you have one plug for charging and one plug for wall power that can be used while the other plug is charging the battery without the wall power damaging anything.
 

ShockSlayer

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The switch diagram is the best way for most portablizers to emulate the functionality, but it does require you to power off the unit first.

True charge and play requires both a suitable power supply and the correct charging circuitry. There are some circuits in development by a couple different parties that'll ultimately be able to accomplish this, but as of now none of those have been completely finished up and tested. So far, marshallh's is the closest to being N64 portable ready.
 

BocuD

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I'm already working on a true charge and play circuit, which automatically switches the console's regulators to the chargers power using a diode and some transistors. It slowly charges the batteries trough a resistor and switches itself back to battery mode using those same transistors. I will probably release a schematic after the contest, but for now i'm keeping it private. If you really want to though just shoot me a PM. ;) It is for a wii though, so it may require some changes to be usable in an n64 portable. Good luck with the whole realizing your dream thing!
 

riess

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so i found a circuit that is exactly the all in 1 solution for this only that its made for 1cell 3.7v battery not 2 cell 7.4v.
powerboost 1000c
The powerboost lets you charge the battery and has leds to indicate if the battery is full or charging or empty.
Also if you remove the charger the system is not interrupted and continues to work on the batteries power.

so i was thinking this could be a solution:


This is however still not ideal and should be available with one circuit if i understood this whole thing better.
 

Aurelio

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I'm already working on a true charge and play circuit, which automatically switches the console's regulators to the chargers power using a diode and some transistors. It slowly charges the batteries trough a resistor and switches itself back to battery mode using those same transistors. I will probably release a schematic after the contest, but for now i'm keeping it private. If you really want to though just shoot me a PM. ;) It is for a wii though, so it may require some changes to be usable in an n64 portable. Good luck with the whole realizing your dream thing!
Charging through a resistor? What? Are you doing a proper charging cycle for lithium batteries? Please don't do/release anything that could blow things up. Send me a PM if you want me to check that :D
 

BocuD

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so i found a circuit that is exactly the all in 1 solution for this only that its made for 1cell 3.7v battery not 2 cell 7.4v.
powerboost 1000c
The powerboost lets you charge the battery and has leds to indicate if the battery is full or charging or empty.
Also if you remove the charger the system is not interrupted and continues to work on the batteries power.

so i was thinking this could be a solution:


This is however still not ideal and should be available with one circuit if i understood this whole thing better.
That doesnt work like that, the 7.4v spot on the n64 will be 10v if you do ot like this. You could use 2 regulators or just use 3.3 volts, if im right. You ahould ask @marshallh , he is the person on this forum who knows the most about the n64.
 

BocuD

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Charging through a resistor? What? Are you doing a proper charging cycle for lithium batteries? Please don't do/release anything that could blow things up. Send me a PM if you want me to check that :D
No, a resistor between the charge circuit and the power input.
 

riess

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Oke so i tought a long time about this i found that the xiaomi powerbanks have a charge plus use at the same time function and its the cheapest real 16850 batterys even al lot cheaper than if you buy them seprate.
As the powerbank is only €17

So i though is it possible to run the n64 of 5v and yes thats possible but involves a lot of work and is not eficient.

Then i though can i boost 5v to the 7.?v that the n64 likes.
So i found this TI board PTN04050C that can boost 5v from 5v to 15v:D

I made this new wiring diagram can you please confirm that this would work?
 

BocuD

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Oke so i tought a long time about this i found that the xiaomi powerbanks have a charge plus use at the same time function and its the cheapest real 16850 batterys even al lot cheaper than if you buy them seprate.
As the powerbank is only €17

So i though is it possible to run the n64 of 5v and yes thats possible but involves a lot of work and is not eficient.

Then i though can i boost 5v to the 7.?v that the n64 likes.
So i found this TI board PTN04050C that can boost 5v from 5v to 15v:D

I made this new wiring diagram can you please confirm that this would work?
It should work, however you should keep in mind that the ptn04050c works differently then the pth08080. The schematic is fine, but dont use the same diagram to set the output voltage and such. You should look up how to do that. Also, you should make sure this xiaomi powerbank supplies more then 1 amp, since your n64 combined with a display is probably going to use more then 1 amp. Good luck with gour portable.
 

riess

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Ofcourse they both have there own schematics in what kind of resistance they need.

I made a maybe better diagram on how to power de n64.
As i understand the n64 runs from 12v to 7.4v so 10v would be good right?

 

cheese

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You'll have to be careful about how you connect the cells, since the battery packs use boost converters they may have issues running in series like that.
 

riess

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So i went with my second design with the 5v source and 2 converters to 3.3v and boost to 8v instead of 7.4 as i noticed the 7.4v dipped to much when the n64 was turned on.
And succes... got it working from a 5v source Batterypowerbank/Phone charger.B|
The N64 and the 7inch screen both work at the same time from the 5v that i then convert to 8v and 3.3v.

The charging and using at the same time works great!:)
Best thing about this is i can charge the battery with a 5v micro usb<3

I will test the time the battery runs dry when i receive the ordered products.
After that I will decide which Battery pack i will buy 10000mah or 20000mah.


So now i'm waiting for a couple of things i ordered to continue:
* new resistors as i'm currently using 7 in series.
* speakers plus amp.
* some 22awg wire to connect everything
* some connectors for easy repair etc
* Heatsinks
* Allen head bolts and knurl nuts

Am i forgetting something?
 

riess

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I first want to thank you for this great forum and inspiring posts.

Some updates...
And some questions ofcourse...

I have a fully oparational working n64 running off a 5v battery pack with 7inch screen/ speakers/ amp/ controller with rumble pack/ extended game cardrige slot/
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So there is 1 problem with this setup and that is that when the powerbank gets charged while being used the power is cut off for a millisecond so the n64 is rebooted.
Charging and playing works but as soon as the power is cut from the powerbank the n64 reboots.
I still would like to use a common charger so my new plan is to use the so Called Red Board
with the 18650 cells that are inside the powerbank.
I would like to charge and use this with qualcomm quick charge that supports multiple voltages ranging from 5v to 12v.
You can force quick charge with this device





So do you guys think this will work if not why?
 

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riess

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I don't know a lot about capacitor as I'm guessing that you meant that.

How large(values) does this need to be and how would this be wired? on the + wire output I'm guessing?

I have 2 laying around from the PTH08080 with value 100UF 16V
 

YveltalGriffin

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100uF is in the right ballpark, but the necessary value will be experimentally determined. It'll be connected between the positive and negative of the power bank output, just like Cheese said. Make sure you have the polarity correct when you wire it up. (Look for the side with the stripe on the electrolytic cap- that's the negative terminal.)
 
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