Worklog N64 Desktop Arcade

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TL;DR was working on a similar Wii project, broke my first board and I won't be able to trim for a while (the maker space where I would is under renovation). So I did some smaller projects to improve my soldering. Word of advice if you're a beginner like me - use leaded solder and make sure you have the right thickness wire. Soldering got _dramatically_ easier when I wasn't trying to use lead-free solder to connect thick wire to a via.

After the magic of going on eBay after a few beers*, an N64 arrived on my doorstep and a new project started. In summary, the goal is to make a 6x6 battery powered arcade cabinet with an N64 inside. Not going for any size records, I just want to see this project from start to finish. It'll use controller ports rather than an integrated controller since a big goal of this is multiplayer. I hope to design the case such that I could swap out the arcade "faceplate" with an integrated controller eventually.

So far, was able to get the system and screen running on battery power, and finally got the cartridge reloaction working. If you're reading this, and you're considering your own N64 project, note that the catridge ports you want to connect to are NOT the through holes the cartridge holder pokes through. Found that one out the hard way only after wiring it all up and debugging for longer than I'd want to admit. But that doesn't matter because I got it all working today!

Attached a photo, forgive the cord mess - I plan on redoing some of the rougher soldering points now that I know everything works, and I'll finalize the cord placement once I have the case planned out. Probably not doing a relocation of the expansion pack, since the arcade design will actually let me hide this.

*I cannot endorse this as a smart idea

 

[Stitches]

It's so nice to see more arcade projects! Looking forward to seeing this play out

 

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Went back and forth on a couple iterations of more "arcadey" looking designs, but I realized it would be best to start real simple and figure out some more practical aspects of case design, since this is my first case.

Started a print for the case today, going to try and put a trial run together this weekend. Hoping that's at least successful enough to feel confident on a full arcade design. Attached some pictures of the case.

Pic 1: Top-left view of front. Shows cartridge port on top. Fan intake vent and space for an on/off switch on the side. Front has the controller ports and screen cutouts. Thought is that I would play the system standing upright on a desk.

Pic 2: Top-right view of back. Shows aux and charger ports. I'm going to do speakers eventually, but the ones I have on hand sound pretty bad tbh, so I'll figure that out for V2. In retrospect, putting wired connections at the top of the case seems like it'll be pretty inconvenient location if it's going to stand vertically, but at that point I didn't want to deal with updating it for a PoC.

Pic 3: Top-down view of inside of case. Shows mounting brackets for N64 PCB to mount the board via screws, with the bonus that I may be able to run some wires under the board for cleanliness. For the cartridge mount, I'm going to secure it via screws to the braces on the top of the case. I want to see how reinforced such a design is for putting in and taking out cartridges without having to be super delicate.

Pic 4: Bottom-up view of the frontplate. I lined the frontplate to fit flush with the case to make securing it a little easier, especially if the screwposts don't work perfectly. Also shows two plastic braces to keep the screen in place.

From the start of the print it looks like I'm guessing I already put the screwholes to conenct the case and the frontplate too close to the edge, but I'll see what it's like when it's done.

 

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And we have a working portable! Case worked out way better than I was expecting, although I didn't give enough space for the screen. I was able to scrape away enough 3d material on the screen brace to compensate for that though.

And a hidden bonus feature is that it glows in the dark for late night sessions.

Going to start working on a more final case design, but gonna spend quality time playing this first.