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    Famicom (not Mini) build (WIP)

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Projects and Themes
    famicomfamicom minines
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    • edmaul69E
      edmaul69 @obsidianspider
      last edited by

      @obsidianspider for my pi the 3 and 6 button pc engine controllers, my snes and genesis controllers have a 15 pin cable on them. I would be able to just plug them right into that port. Then inside i would have it go to an adapter.

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • MadRikXIVM
        MadRikXIV @FlyingTomahawk
        last edited by

        @FlyingTomahawk Those controllers have me sold on doing this.

        Would like to keep the original controls hooked up, found USB Nes clone controllers for under £3 a go, so a cheap hack experiment, as the only over way I have found to clone them is to either use a real NES pad brains, and a USB convertor...getting pricier that way, or the iBuffalo clones, at £20 a go, that's more than what the case would cost me!

        Thanks Tomahawk, I was at a loss at what to do next, now you have me spending on parts :D

        FlyingTomahawkF 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
        • FlyingTomahawkF
          FlyingTomahawk @MadRikXIV
          last edited by

          @MadRikXIV said in Famicom (not Mini) build (WIP):

          Thanks Tomahawk, I was at a loss at what to do next, now you have me spending on parts :D

          lol I hope that is a good thing. I won't be responsible if you get any trouble about it. :-)

          I just got my shipping confirmation before for theses here
          It was important to me that it has the I and II stamped on the controllers for Player 1 and Player 2, as close to the original as possible.
          And looking at the specs they have the exact! same dimensions, meaning it should be possible to put them back on the side like the originals. THAT would be really great.
          I also will try to find a way to pull 2x microUSB cables out of the same holes on the rear where the original controllers come out so that I will be able to charge the 8Bitdo FC30s while they are put back on the side of the body.

          I am tearing it down as I write this and there is not much space in there if I leave the main board inside. I will have to remove it and keep only the rear piece that has the TV and AC stuff on it.
          I will also order a HDMI panel mount and a microUSB panel mount and probably mount them on the rear (top-left and top-right)
          Getting all excited about this rather simple build.

          MadRikXIVM 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • MadRikXIVM
            MadRikXIV @FlyingTomahawk
            last edited by

            @FlyingTomahawk Good idea with the controls, if I didn't already have the NES USBs ordered (Was going to have them an optional Mega Drive controller) having them as kinda 'Charge & Play' will look good.

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • FlyingTomahawkF
              FlyingTomahawk
              last edited by FlyingTomahawk

              Here some pics from the inside.
              I wanted to keep it as original as possible but it looks like I'll have to modify the case a bit. The motherboards have to be removed, both of them.
              I also need to probably cut some stuff away to make a bit more space. Not sure about the cartridge are piece though. Depends if I use the Pi 3 or Zero.
              The blue circles must stay.

              alt text
              alt text
              alt text

              @obsidianspider

              You used 2 different Mausberries for your projects? Which one would you recommend?

              direct-plug micro-USB?
              2pin spring header?
              USB port version?

              obsidianspiderO 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • obsidianspiderO
                obsidianspider @FlyingTomahawk
                last edited by obsidianspider

                @FlyingTomahawk I used the direct plug one on the Super Famicom as I had room for it. I used the Spring Header one on the Genesis Pi due to component placement. Both work the same way in terms of what they're doing with the Pi, it's just how they interface with the Pi for power.

                Here's the spring header one in my Genesis Pi.
                alt text

                Here's the direct plug version in my Super Famicom Pi.
                alt text

                You have TONS of room in that case.

                Keep the cartridge slot. even if you don't make it functional like I did (well, it was working before my software update last night, and now I need to figure out this weird Python error I'm getting) I think it'd be really cool to have a game plugged in. Even if it's just sitting there.

                Try turning the Pi 3 sideways in front of the cartridge slot. Looks like it'd fit there easily. You'd have to make the eject mechanism stationary, but I don't think that's a huge sacrifice, but I also don't know your ultimate goal with the project. If that's a show stopper, we may need to see how much room is under that white piece.

                You may end up having to remove some of the internal support posts, but I'm thinking that if you remove the cartridge slider (that big white piece) you should be fine.

                📷 @obsidianspider

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                • obsidianspiderO
                  obsidianspider
                  last edited by

                  Also, since you don't want to cut the case, what's the diameter like on those holes for the original controller wire pass throughs? Is it the same diameter as the width of a HDMI plug? Maybe you could put your HDMI port there, since you're going Bluetooth, and put a USB port in the other one.

                  I love figuring this stuff out.

                  📷 @obsidianspider

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • FlyingTomahawkF
                    FlyingTomahawk
                    last edited by

                    Hmm....that might be not a bad idea, removing the cartridge slider. I could glue the push switch and just remove the spring and that huge white plastic. No cutting would be necessary.
                    I though I'll go with panel mount plugs like these here:

                    HDMI panel mount
                    MicroUSB panel mount

                    And I am still thinking about using the Pi Zero. If I would use the Pi3 I would need access to the USB ports so that I can swap between FC30 and arcade sticks. With the Pi Zero I wouldn't have those issues since I don't have FBA and stuff installed there.

                    obsidianspiderO 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • obsidianspiderO
                      obsidianspider @FlyingTomahawk
                      last edited by

                      @FlyingTomahawk I never liked the panel mount stuff because of the visible screws, but they are convenient to work with.

                      📷 @obsidianspider

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • FlyingTomahawkF
                        FlyingTomahawk
                        last edited by

                        alt text

                        obsidianspiderO edmaul69E 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • obsidianspiderO
                          obsidianspider @FlyingTomahawk
                          last edited by

                          @FlyingTomahawk How big is the hole for the controller pass through? I'm not sure how big that rubber grommet is.

                          📷 @obsidianspider

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • FlyingTomahawkF
                            FlyingTomahawk
                            last edited by

                            Those are hard plastic grommets and they have the same size hole like the AC adapter hole. Square shaped.
                            There I want to pull out the power cables for the FC30 controllers if I can find a way to split/hub the power microUSB but that is another issue later in the build.
                            In the latest 3 pictures above you can see the square holes most left and right.

                            obsidianspiderO 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                            • obsidianspiderO
                              obsidianspider @FlyingTomahawk
                              last edited by

                              @FlyingTomahawk If that's the case, I would likely then file one of the two switch areas in the middle wider, since they're already rectangular, and you'd just make one about twice as wide. Maybe put the Micro USB in the AC Adapter hole since it's labeled as such, and then the TV <> Game hole for HDMI, since it's kind of the "TV Game" interface.

                              If it were my build I'd work on routing things internally and mocking it all up before I mod the case.

                              📷 @obsidianspider

                              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                              • MadRikXIVM
                                MadRikXIV
                                last edited by

                                If It was my build, or, when It's my build :D I would cut most of the internal plastic out for ease of access, it's never going to be a Fami again, and shhh, no one can see the inside, with the Mega Drive, I even cut back the depth of the cartridge slot to just the flaps and screw holes to re mount it, needed to with the Pi3 in a case inside.

                                So nice seeing the rectangle cut outs on the middle of the case, easier then making a square from a circle, can picture the my setup already, from left to right, HDMI, Power, single USB for a hub, Ethernet.

                                I did go with the panel mount fixings, but didn't use the screws, as they gave a little more to apply hot glue to inside, next time, I plan, if I need to, to trim the plastic back a bit, to sit it more flush in the hole.

                                If need be, a trip to the electrical store with grommit in hand, get some flexible ones if need be to push wires through.

                                I hate EBay timers.

                                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • edmaul69E
                                  edmaul69 @FlyingTomahawk
                                  last edited by edmaul69

                                  @FlyingTomahawk if you want to reuse the controller holes and want the back to stay original looking you could just use these. (These are for a pi zero. You would need a different one for pi 3) just click on the links.

                                  mini hdmi to hdmi female

                                  otg cable

                                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • spruce_m00seS
                                    spruce_m00se @FlyingTomahawk
                                    last edited by

                                    @FlyingTomahawk
                                    Could you get some games fairly cheap ?
                                    That shipping price is actually not bad,
                                    what other consoles do you see a lot of over there?

                                    I dont have a famicon in my collection so im definately thinking about that, but I would want some games i guess......

                                    FlyingTomahawkF 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • FlyingTomahawkF
                                      FlyingTomahawk @spruce_m00se
                                      last edited by

                                      @spruce_m00se

                                      They sell games here and pretty much any game console that was released here.

                                      obsidianspiderO 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • FlyingTomahawkF
                                        FlyingTomahawk
                                        last edited by

                                        I just placed orders for

                                        Bluetooth dongle
                                        HDMI panel mount cable
                                        Micro USB panel mount cable
                                        Mausberry direct input type

                                        It's gonna take 2-3 weeks for the stuff to arrive.
                                        During that time I will start to setup the Pi Zero with the new Famicom mini theme by ruckage.

                                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                        • obsidianspiderO
                                          obsidianspider @FlyingTomahawk
                                          last edited by

                                          @FlyingTomahawk Be careful or we're all going ot start asking you to buy us stuff. ;)

                                          📷 @obsidianspider

                                          FlyingTomahawkF 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                          • FlyingTomahawkF
                                            FlyingTomahawk @obsidianspider
                                            last edited by

                                            @obsidianspider

                                            Thanks for the warning. ;)
                                            I'm not gonna run around from store to store to search for certain game stuff. Those times are long gone.

                                            obsidianspiderO 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
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