Famicom (not Mini) build (WIP)
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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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You are a genius!
I used the previous microusb adaptor with the new ac adaptor (5V 4A) and now it runs just fine.
Saw the lighting bolt for a brief moment only.
Now I can use any theme with or without video and run any emulator without issues.
No lighting bolt and no temp sign. Temp sign won't show since I run a tiny fan at 3.3V over the main heatsink.Here the setup (not installed yet)
(AC adaptor, 2.1 jack to microUSB, microUSB male/female extension)
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you should consider soldering a barrel jack to the pi and connecting the power supply directly to it. that would be better.
I have read somewhere that the 3.3v GPIO pin on the Pi cannot handle the current draw of a fan, maybe its not the best idea to use that pin, I use it, but maybe mine will die.!! -
I actually just looked up the 3.3v issue, and I found info stating that the rail has at least 500ma capability and rund from a different voltage regulator on the board, I dont know if thats true as it was just in some posts and not backed up with evidence, I hope its true.
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Yeah, I will add a barrel jack later on my new Famicom case. This one is not the best looking work.
I still got 3 Famicoms around to bleach and mod. I broke not needed pieces out with a pench tool which doesn't look nice I should buy a Dremel or similar for better results.Regarding the fan, I haven't encountered any issues thus far. My RPi is nice and cool inside the Famicom.
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