Famicom (not Mini) build (WIP)
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You'll get it sorted out and we're here to help you. I'd come over and take a look, but you're a little far away. :)
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Finally got all build together.
Removed the Pi Zero since it was a disappointment performance-wise. Put in my RPi 3 even though I tried to avoid that but no choice I guess. The RPi3 is encased in a case with a fan build in running at 3.3V to keep the temps low and noise down.I needed to remove the microUSB adapter since it was giving my the lightning bolt constantly. With it removed and the USB cable plugged in directly to the Mausberry I still get the lightning bolt occasionally (mostly in the ES menu when videos are running) but not during game play.
Here some pics of me trying to test fit all.
If you wonder what the other PCB board is, that is a RF module from an old RRoD (red ring of death) Xbox360. That way I can use my wireless Dreamcast Arcade stick.
Now what is left to do is fine tune the looks of it all. (Boot screen, loading screen etc....) Theme will be mainly Famicom-mini by ruckage and as soon he releases the NeoGeo/Capcom theme I will create 2 system profiles and separate Arcade stuff from the rest.
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@FlyingTomahawk Looking good! I get lightning bolts from time to time as well. I'm convinced a recent software update made Raspbian more delicate with its power indicator. I just went into the
config.txtand disabled warnings after determining that things are stable. -
I was just setting up some stuff in ES when suddenly my FC30 Player 1 controller start to shine red and right after turned OFF. So I thought it is time to recharge it, the first time btw., and....it is just dead. It won't recharge, no lights shinning. Just great. Now that I finally got my Pi there where I wanted the controller start to cause trouble.
The 2nd player FC30 works just fine though and recharges if necessary, green recharge light shinning.
So I wrote the 8bitdo guys an e-mail but I don't put my hopes too high. That's what you get when you buy China stuff. 7 out of 10 are faulty or crap. For that they charge a high price for those controllers.I am jumping from one shit to the other with this whole project. I am close to take that thing and smash it to a wall and then drive over it with my car a couple of times.
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@FlyingTomahawk That sucks. 8bitdo have a really good reputation so hopefully they will stand by their stuff. Is there a warranty at all?
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Warranty? Well I bought that stuff in March 2017 through their eBay store and as far I know the usual warranty time is 1 year. So I hope they do something about it. If not, I'll just use the necessary steps through PayPal or eBay to get a solution to my satisfactory.
I mean that controller was not even really used yet. Never got through one single full charge cicle.
Some say it is firmware related but I doubt that since my 2nd player works just fine with the same, latest firmware. -
@FlyingTomahawk at least they seem to make more of the "Player 1" variant so they should be able to send another easily. Reading online seems to say that a red LED means low battery. Have you taken the battery out and tested the voltage? Or tried using the battery from the other controller? I don't own an 8bitdo controller so I'm not sure how feasible that is.
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No I havent yet.
I am waiting for their reply first before I open up the controller and loose my warranty.
If all fails I sure do that. -
@FlyingTomahawk Ah, so it's not a user-replaceable battery. That makes sense.
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Yeah, it doesn't seem to be a such a battery.
There are 6 tiny screws on the back but I never opened one up so can't say for sure.
Maybe there is a simple 480mAh Lipo battery inside? Not even sure it is a battery issue.Curious, in your SNES build you used a regular L angled micro USB extension cable (M/F).
Never had a lightning bolt issue? -
@FlyingTomahawk I had quite a few lightning bolts, typically when using the wifi. I tried different power cables, with and without the Mausberry, all sorts of things. I even got them from time to time with my Genesis Pi, and that doesn't have an extra TFT hooked up to it that would be drawing more current. I really think that Raspbian is being overly cautious, because I've not had stability issues with either of my "home console" builds.
Adding
avoid_warnings=1to/boot/config.txtmade the lightning bolt go away. It didn't solve the "problem", but I'm not convinced there was one to begin with. -
In my case, games like Street fighter 3rd strike started to run poorly and therefore I decided to get rid of it till I can find a replacement that can handle 2.5A current.
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@FlyingTomahawk I've never even heard of that game, but I can tell you this: I even found a 3.5A power supply and that didn't solve the lightning bolt issues. I believe it's more of a voltage issue than an amperage one. The Pi freaks out and displays a lightning bolt if it dips below 5V, even if it's otherwise working just fine. It seems that if you can find a power supply that puts out slightly more than 5V, that's the key. That way if the Pi starts taxing things and the voltage drops it only drops to 5V. Unfortunately, most power supplies are rated at 5V, and some will output slightly more or less, since most phones (after all, most of these power supplies are really phone chargers) aren't as worried about that minor difference in voltage.
I did see some power supplies advertised as 5.25V, but I haven't bothered to pick one up since I haven't had any crashing or corruption issues. When it comes to really taxing games like N64 or Dreamcast, if they don't run well I just chalk that up to the Pi 3 just not being powerful enough.
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Another key factor are the cables.
At first when I got my RPi3 new I bought a 5V 2.5A power supply (one that you can plug in a regular USB cable) but the cable they provided was not getting the necessary 2.4-2.5A to the RPi so all of my FBA arcade games run poorly and I blamed it on the Emulator or romset. Until I read somewhere here in the forum that the cable is also important to provide the necessary power. So I went to the store and got me that silver USB cable you saw on the pics. It was rated as 2.4A on the package. Not sure how it is over there but here in Japan they started to write the A rating on the packaging which is great. We got 1A, 1.5A, 2A or 2.4A cables here. I think those short adapter USB cables male/female are simply not made to handle such current unless they state it. I think normal or average is 1A?Anyways, besides having a cable coming out from the Famicom and a faulty Player 1 FC30 controller everything runs great. Tested various games with my Arcade stick and they run great without any loss in quality or speed.
Maybe one day I can get the last few bits and pieces sorted out and then I can call it done. -
@FlyingTomahawk Having an amperage rating on the cable would be really helpful. Here you really have no way to know what gauge the wire is inside the insulation.
You'll get there.
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@obsidianspider a 5V regulated power supply should be exactly that, it shoudl output 5V no matter what the amperage being used is. Unless of course its a poor quality power supply. if its rated to 2.5A at 5V then I would expect it to do 1.875A all day long with no issues. I would be warey of all but the best supplies if running at their max values all day.
if there is a voltage drop on such a system, then it is more likely caused by a voltage loss through conenctors and cables, as they heat then their resistance will increase and the voltage will drop, then more amperage is pulled at the lower votlage which heats it more, etc etc and you can get a cascade effect which makes things worse over time.
I havent seen the lightening bolt on my Pi (only once, the first time i plugged a Ipac2 in, and it went away instantly) I do get the overheating icon from time to time, but never the lightening bolt, neither do I on my KODI box, which also shows the temp icon everynow and then during a long time playing HD video.
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@FlyingTomahawk dont be afraid to solder two decent gauge cables to the mobo and use the original famicon connector for power, then you can buy literally any power supply capable of 5v 3A and just make up a cable. It may be a better option. I did it on my atari build. (although in that one I used the cannakit power supply and soldered a barrel jack to it)
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@obsidianspider the problem is, i am not sure if these are legitimate 8-bitdo controllers. They dont have a player 2 one on the normal 8-bitdo site and the decals dont match the one shown on their site.
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They are genuine 8bitdo controllers.
Bought them from 8bitdos official eBay store.
That 2 controller kit is a 30th anniversary thing and probably available for limited time only.
They used to have an extra page for it on their website but now its gone. They still sell that kit in their eBay store.Well I got 2 replies from them.
First they told me that something might have gone wrong during the firmware update and I should try to reset the controller by holding start for 8 seconds and then do the firmware update again.
Well, I told them I'd love to but the controller is dead, completely empty and cannot be recharged.
So I asked them if the build in battery can be just taken out and replaced and they said, unfortunately no.They didn't seem to be willing to offer me a replacement or anything the like so I don't have a good feeling about this.
Anyways, that didn't stop me so I said fuck it I'll just open both controllers and swap the battery since my 2nd player had still plenty of juice.
Controller opened, there is a slim, long 480mAh Li-po battery inside soldered to + and -
I swapped batteries and did the firmware upgrade again. Still not recharging. The controller only blinks blue when connecting the USB cable.
The 2nd player with the battery from player 1 recharges and works just fine.
So it is not a firmware issue nor a battery issue.
Simply said a faulty controller.
I told them that and asked them "Now what next?"
Still waiting for reply. I hope they do the right move since I'd hate to go hard on and use PayPal or eBay to file a claim. -
Need quick answer.
Can I run the Pi with a 5V 4A ac adaptor?
Never mind.
I went to DenDen town a part in Osaka where they sell a lot electronic stuff.
Boy was I excited. They have literally everything.
I bought5V 4A ac adaptor
male/female usbmicro cable
2.1 jack to solder
2.1 jack to microusb cable
Push button for reset button
male/female USB type A adaptor
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