Famicom (not Mini) build (WIP)
-
@MadRikXIV Haha. I have a few grey Gameboy Pockets that I'm watching, but I've not impulse bought anything yet.
-
I am not sure yet as to were I cut holes, if I have to cut. (HDMI and power)
I would love to keep the looks of it as original as possible even the rear part.
I want to use the FC30 Bluetooth controllers which might fit inside the current original controller slots on the side of the body, that would be awesome.
As theme I would go with the Famicom Mini Theme by ruckage, that one would be a perfect match.
It would be nice if I could use the original power slide/button to power up the Pi...need to do some reading regarding that. I saw a couple of PSX and SNES builds that included something like that.Man I can't wait to get started. Tomorrow I will try to teardown the Famicom and see what is inside.
-
@FlyingTomahawk Please post lots of photos of the teardown. You'll have no shortage of opinions on what you should do with the build around here…
-
@FlyingTomahawk Its a case ripe for keeping the look, the only slightly tricky altereation that would look out of place would be extra USB ports.
That could be remedied if just had a single one on the rear with a splitter when needed.
Added one to my watch list now, I enjoyed altering the Mega Drive case, I want another :D
Until I practice my soldering, squeezing a zero into a Gameboy is on hold for a while.
-
@FlyingTomahawk said in Famicom (not Mini) build (WIP):
Here pictures of the controllers.
I took one with flash so that you can see the scars better.
Think I've sold myself on getting one, the controllers, are they screwed or snapped together casing?
Tempted at 2 of these, if the original controllers are easy to crack open, and for my own lazyness, may be possible to open them up, and replace with these, without a mayflash hidden inside the famicom...
Looks like I can import a Famicom from Japan for about £20
-
They are srewed together. It would be no problem to open and close them.
20 pounds is a very good price if shipping is included. -
@obsidianspider do you know what place in colorado you got them? Asking because i live there.
-
@FlyingTomahawk those controllers look good enough for me. Sure i would like them to be minty but i can settle for those.
-
@edmaul69 It was via an eBay auction, but they also have a website. They seem to have decent prices and the controllers I bought, even though they were "C" quality were in very good shape. I recently put new membranes in them, but that was really only because I bought a 5-pack when I was redoing the one Super Famicom controller that I bought to put a USB converter inside.
-
@edmaul69 It's really hard to find just the Famicom controllers since they're built into the unit. I wonder how uncomfortable they are to hold with the wires coming out of the side instead of the top.
-
@obsidianspider yeah i played with some famicom clone nes controllers and it was awkward. I have all 4 style nintendo branded controllers that have a 9 pin cable so i can use them on my pi and i wanted to have those too. I have this thing for oem controllers. I have 5 pc engine controllers too. A blue normal controller, the korean turbografx16 (not pc engine) shuttle controller, the avenue 3, and the avenue 6, a turbo duo controller. I would love to eventually get all of the pc engine/ tg16 controllers but that is a lot of controllers. The korean controllers and the laseractive pc engine and sega genesis controllers are expensive. I have a lot of controllers i can use for the original console feel
-
Found a teardown site.
In this picture you can see that the controllers have some sort of plug that connect to the main board.
Also the power switch is visible, wonder if I could somehow use that. Any infos on connecting a switch to a Pi Zero? GPIO?
-
@FlyingTomahawk I'd use that power switch with a Mausberry (or if there's another variant that's easier to get in Japan). That's essentially the same switch that was in my Super Famicom.
-
@edmaul69 Wow, and I thought I was a little over the top for getting a Super Famicom and Genesis 6-button controller to convert to USB "just to have". ;)
I can't say I've ever even seen a TurboGrafx 16 in person, let alone played one.
-
I forgot about that funky 15-pin connector from the front of the Famicom. Wouldn't be a bad spot for a USB port if you can get the plastic to look right. I'm not sure if/how that whole assembly comes apart. Maybe you could even make a piece of plastic that has the 15-hole pattern on it like a cover for the port that would keep it stealth until you wanted to use the USB port.
-
@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.
-
@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
-
@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. -
@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.
-
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.
You used 2 different Mausberries for your projects? Which one would you recommend?
direct-plug micro-USB?
2pin spring header?
USB port version?
Contributions to the project are always appreciated, so if you would like to support us with a donation you can do so here.
Hosting provided by Mythic-Beasts. See the Hosting Information page for more information.