eetaylog Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 nice one. im keeping a sneaky eye on this project, could be interesting. when are you gonna crack on with the build? i dug out a few clips of mediaportal from facetube if you fancied a look at how you could get your front end to run if you decided to go down that route. the first one is a pretty good review of how the mediacentre side of things work (its a dutch setup but youll get the idea)... the second one is a quick clip of someone who has an n64 emulator plugin built in so you can launch the console side of things from within mediaportal. Hes using a different skin and its a pretty poor quality clip but you get the idea.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidrick Posted December 13, 2009 Author Share Posted December 13, 2009 (edited) Thanks for the clips. I'll look into that more once it's up and running. I've cracked on with the case today and yesterday but any progress has to fit around work and pub. I'm actually proud of today's work as it's not in any of the guides. As some of you may remember, on the bottom of the NES there is a removable plasic cover that appears to be completely pointless. Well, it is, but the original intention was to enable multi-linking systems for 4 player multiplayer! The connector is present on the bottom of the NES mainboard but was apparently never used. Circled:http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/adolftitler/CopyNES_step6.jpg Anyway, after it occuring to me that the motherboard will foul the power buttons and sit squint unless raised, I set about raising the board 1cm all round. This, I feel, is the genius part. I removed the cover underneath, turned it round and placed it in the same locating holes inside. It raises the board to the perfect height! http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/adolftitler/nespc200001-1.jpg The 6 lolly sticks glued together, cut in half, then glued to the case complete the platform:http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/adolftitler/nespc200002-1.jpg And with a mousemat providing some insulation, I test-fitted the motherboard. Perfect:http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/adolftitler/nespc20022.jpg I can't really crack on much more until my brother gets home on Thursday to do some electrical connections, and also until the power suppy arrives. Edited December 13, 2009 by sidrick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
escortjas Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 I've read all of this and whilst not all of it makes sense, i can appreciate how geekishly cool this is. So i will keep an eye on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eetaylog Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 lolly sticks?! youre using those just for test, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidrick Posted December 13, 2009 Author Share Posted December 13, 2009 lolly sticks?! youre using those just for test, right? No :-\ They're ideal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 Brilliant idea! I saw something similar on youtube the other day but the guy used an original xbox and modded the shiz out of it. How bored were you when you decided to do it? I'll keep an eye on this as to be fair, it's one of the most interesting threads on EVO at the mo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee_2f2f Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 Good Progress Scott. How much was that Dremel Tool? Did it have any bits to cut metal at all? Also, How often do you use Maplins online, I find they are slow at delivery myself fella. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidrick Posted December 16, 2009 Author Share Posted December 16, 2009 Brilliant idea! I saw something similar on youtube the other day but the guy used an original xbox and modded the shiz out of it. How bored were you when you decided to do it? I'll keep an eye on this as to be fair, it's one of the most interesting threads on EVO at the mo! Cheers. Pretty bored, to be honest, but it's something I wanted to do since the second I saw one. Good Progress Scott. How much was that Dremel Tool? Did it have any bits to cut metal at all? Also, How often do you use Maplins online, I find they are slow at delivery myself fella. £14.99 in store. £9.99 online. It's a health hazard though and I'm scared to use it. I haven't/won't have to cut any metal. Never bought anything from Maplin online. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidrick Posted December 22, 2009 Author Share Posted December 22, 2009 (edited) Well a couple of parts arrived recently. Enough to allow me to do a test run. Sorry for the gash pics; I'm a lover, not a photographer. A converter that allows me to use a slimline/laptop optical drive with a standard IDE connector:http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/adolftitler/nespc221209004.jpg Atrocious photos, but I soldered (badly) some salvaged power LED and power switch case cables to the original NES buttons:http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/adolftitler/nespc221209007.jpg http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/adolftitler/nespc221209010.jpg Reset button will remain dead as it's not really used nowadays and with the button being the same size as the power, it'd be too easy to knock. Set it all up with a regular ATX power supply, and what do you get?http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/adolftitler/nespc221209002.jpg A mess, but a mess with a working power button and LED that starts, posts and boots (currently to XP until the clean W7 install). The VGA>Scart was a fail, but I'll look into that once it's all neatly in it's case. After the test I disassembled and dremmelled the case top to allow the optical drive to open/close through the NES cartridge slot, and I'll attach that to the top of the case later this evening. Still to do:Source power brick for small-form-factor PSU I have.Think of how to change the front controller ports to USB slots neatly.Somehow cut the back of the case to allow access to the motherboard connections without making it look like a butchered mess.Receive my 2gb Kingston DDR that I ordered yesterday.Buy a wireless desktop.Learn to take decent photos. I'd imagine this will be finished this weekend - fingers crossed. Edited December 22, 2009 by sidrick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidrick Posted December 22, 2009 Author Share Posted December 22, 2009 Fitted the drive to the modded box lid. You were a fool to squirm at the lolly sticks eetaylog, they are fcuking genius. I have used them with uber-glue to suspend the multi-dvd drive. Looks fantastic rather than the duct tape solution most others have went for. Solid as a rock too. http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/adolftitler/nespc2212092001.jpg http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/adolftitler/nespc2212092002.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caled Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 my god, you bought super mario bros on DVD? WHY?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidrick Posted December 23, 2009 Author Share Posted December 23, 2009 my god, you bought super mario bros on DVD? WHY?! Because it's amazing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee_2f2f Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 (edited) Excellent work Sid, Looks great. What was the problem with the VGA to scart then? -------------------------- Would a low profile graphics card fit into this Sid? like one with a S-video out port (assuming your TV has an S-video port?) Or! have you researched an external graphics card? may not be perfect, but for what your using it for should suffice? http://www.notebookcheck.net/typo3temp/pics/9ed5146696.jpg This is one that plugs into a special laptop port, don't know if you can get any for a normal PC unit? Edited December 23, 2009 by Escort_2f2f Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidrick Posted December 23, 2009 Author Share Posted December 23, 2009 Spending a lot on a micro-PSU and various connenctors and converters to use small parts so it all fits in the case would be a little pointless if I had an external graphics unit sitting next to the NES :-\ As it stands, I don't know what was wrong with the VGA>Scart, I just know it didn't work. I'm sure it will though, once I look at it properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 You'll need a SCART tv/monitor capable of the resolution you're trying to feed it...... Look into Powerstrip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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