- Joined
- Sep 1, 2019
- Messages
- 15
- Likes
- 11
- Portables
- 1
Hello everyone! Remember me? I kind of hope you don't, I'm the guy that made that really horrible "portable" "Wii" with the GC+ using through-hole components instead of SMD ones. If you were wondering what happened to that project, I threw a Raspberry Pi in it and called it a day - though the wiring was still so bad that my IRL friends referred to it as the "C4." But, with slightly more experience and better tools, I return. This time with a different console, the Nintendo 64, and with a slightly more successful result. It's certainly not the prettiest N64 portable, and I want to make a few revisions to it, but it's my first ever completed portable using real hardware - and the most important part...it works. It does still look like a bomb, though, so I decided to embrace the name this time around and call it the NC4.
![20220722_214305[2].jpg](https://bitbuilt.net/forums/index.php?attachments/20220722_214305-2-jpg.23778/)
![20220722_214316[1].jpg](https://bitbuilt.net/forums/index.php?attachments/20220722_214316-1-jpg.23779/)
Some things I'd like to change for V2:
1. Have the cartridge slot mounted more internally: I actually did measure this out but forgot to account for the thickness and inflexibility of the wires I used to attach it.
2. Fix the microcontroller wiring for the right joystick: I actually tested it on my PC, and everything works, so it should be able to emulate the D-Pad or C-Buttons, even on real hardware...if it was wired up properly
3. Go with a full 3D printed case: This definitely has enough space for a Nintendo 64 motherboard, even with the relatively minimal trimming that I did, but the holes I cut out for everything are kind of ugly, and I didn't have a 3D printer until halfway through this project, so I only used it to print a screen bezel and that speaker cover (plus the things behind the buttons).
Biggest problems I ran into:
- Wires coming detached, even after fluxing and soldering multiple times, especially from the controller PCB
- Console seemingly randomly refusing to boot with a relatively easy fix (Expansion Pak was slightly crooked, cartridge slot was dirty, a single 3.3v wire shorted to ground, etc.)
The best part of this build has to be the metal buttons, though - even if they take a bit more pressure to click than the N64 originals. I ended up using the same model of power switch that I would have used on my previous portable if I had followed through with it.
Some things I'd like to change for V2:
1. Have the cartridge slot mounted more internally: I actually did measure this out but forgot to account for the thickness and inflexibility of the wires I used to attach it.
2. Fix the microcontroller wiring for the right joystick: I actually tested it on my PC, and everything works, so it should be able to emulate the D-Pad or C-Buttons, even on real hardware...if it was wired up properly
3. Go with a full 3D printed case: This definitely has enough space for a Nintendo 64 motherboard, even with the relatively minimal trimming that I did, but the holes I cut out for everything are kind of ugly, and I didn't have a 3D printer until halfway through this project, so I only used it to print a screen bezel and that speaker cover (plus the things behind the buttons).
Biggest problems I ran into:
- Wires coming detached, even after fluxing and soldering multiple times, especially from the controller PCB
- Console seemingly randomly refusing to boot with a relatively easy fix (Expansion Pak was slightly crooked, cartridge slot was dirty, a single 3.3v wire shorted to ground, etc.)
The best part of this build has to be the metal buttons, though - even if they take a bit more pressure to click than the N64 originals. I ended up using the same model of power switch that I would have used on my previous portable if I had followed through with it.
