HOWTO | How to make a portable NES Part 1

[gamfrkI]

brightness mod (if you did the LED mod)

what you need:
a small piece of wire
soldering iron

this is for if you did the LED mod and noticed the screen isn't very bright.there is an easy fix to this, but the contrast is slightly affected

turn the PSone screen board over
find the chip in the very middle surrounded by a bunch of small surface mount components
find the one that is called "CV23"
this is the brightness control
what we want to do is jump that component
you could remove it and put a piece of solder in it's place, but it's better to jump it
in case it is too bright for you, you can just undo it
simply take a small section of wire with the ends stripped, and solder one end to the bottom side of CV23 and the other side to the top of it, so that it essentially isn't there


antiglare mod for the PSone screen (optional)

what you need:
paper towels
water
x-acto knife
patience

this is where you can remove what is called the "antiglare" layer on the PSone screen
this layer is a thin, diffused piece of plastic
it is used to keep the screen from reflecting a lot of light
removing it takes off any scratches, and makes the colors more vibrant and the screen brighter



well on the top of the lcd is a antiglare layer
it is a protective layer that is on top of the lcd that also serves the purpose of reducing glare
but it has the side effect of muting colors and reducing brightness
the solution.TAKE IT OFF

the easiest way to do this is called the Water Soak method
here's what you do.starting with the Ps1 screen stripped down to this



remove the metal bracket holding the lcd to the backlight
(note:this can be done without removing the metal bracket, it just will take more effort later)
remove the lcd from the backlight (by just lifting it off) and set it on a towel or similar surface
the pic shows leaving it on the backlight but I have changed this
if you take the lcd off the backlight then you don't have to wait as long to allow the backlight to dry after performing the mod



take a couple of paper towels and layer them in 3-4 layers
cut the paper towels where they cover the LCD precisely and lay them on the lcd
wet the paper towels by dripping water on them slowly
you want enough water on them for the paper towels to be soaked, but not so much that the water is dripping over the edges into the backlight
the paper towels can hang over the top edge but DO NOT let them hang over the bottom edge
you don't want the ffc's getting wet for a long time
also try to get most of the bubbles smoothed out of the paper towels
you want the wet paper towels to make a good contact with the Lcd



leave paper towels soaking for 4 hours
repeat 4 hours
do not soak for less than 4 hours
you want the antiglare to come up in one piece without any sticking or glue residue so it is imperative you wait for 4 hours
remove paper towels
on top of the lcd you will notice a thin layer that is covering it
this is the polarizer/antiglare layer
the polarizer is on top of the lcd and it is the thicker layer with a tinted look
the antiglare layer is on top of it
it is paper thin and is clear/slightly cloudy
we are going to use the razor and pick at the edge of this dual layer
the antiglare layer will be very thin and will look like a piece of clear but slightly cloudy saran wrap
it will peel off very easily
if the piece you are pulling up is tinted and stiff STOP, you are pulling up the polarizer layer and this will render the screen useless
once you get the edge of the antiglare up pull it off slowly in one motion
after the antiglare is removed you can wipe off the excess water with a lint free cloth like an eyeglass cleaning cloth



this is what the removed antiglare looks like



after removing the antiglare there is nothing else to do but make sure the lcd is totally dry and water free , remember water+electronics=BAD
reassemble and reconnect the panel after it is dry and enjoy a scratch-free screen with better brightness and colors




and here's a pic of before and after.it's hard to tell the differences when not holding it in your hands.but there is less of a dull look ,colors are more vibrant, and better focus



Also if you accidentally scratch or scuff your screen this mod will fix that

[gamfrkI]

build the controller

what you need:
perfboard
eight 47k resistors
eight tact switches (see 2nd and 4th paragraphs)
4 NES controller a/b buttons
NES controller D-Pad
4021 shift register
16-pin DIP socket
IDE cable (or other suitable wire)
hot glue gun
soldering iron
desoldering iron
NES controller plug (from NES case)
small screw
NES controller cable



how you should build the controller
----------------------------------------
once you have everything working, you need to build the controller for the NES
there are two ways you could go with this
building your own or using the original controller boards
there are pros and cons for both:


building your own is fun and helps you learn more about electronics
if you build your own, it is easier to mount in the case
the only problem is that if you use "clicky" tact switches, then the controller does not feel like the real thing

you can use the original controller board
this is a great option because it feels like an original controller,and it is a lot easier to put together than the first option
these are often difficult to mount in a case
if you want to do this, check the next step for a bit of information
OR
you can meet at the middle and combine method 1 and method 2
make your own controller(easy to mount)and use these "mushy" tact switches from mouser(feels like the original controller)

how the controller works
-----------------------------
its nice to understand a bit how the controller works.if you don't think so just skip this paragraph.the NES controller uses something called a shift register.this basically takes your button presses and converts them into signals.once they reach the NES the NES looks at them and figures out which buttons are being pressed then changes the game accordingly.thats how the NES controller can have 8 buttons and only use 5 pins.you also need to know that the shift register in the NES controller uses "pull-up resistors".these are resistors that connect each of the data pins to a small voltage so that each pin is in a "high" state.to send the signal, the register pulls the pin "low".
now aren't you glad you understand that?building the controller will be so much more fun now


general steps
----------------
take apart the NES controller
desolder the 4021 shift register chip from the controller
be careful not to overheat it
cut a piece of perfboard using an x-acto knife and pliers
score the perfboard many times where you want the board to come apart
take your pliers and grab right next to the score line
then bend the perfboard to snap it off
lay out all your pieces on the perfboard and find a configuration that is functional
try to make it so that the resistors are close to the tact switches
solder all your pieces in
make sure you use the 8-pin DIP connector
don't directly solder the chip in, or you risk burning it out
start building the circuit shown in the schematic
one side of the tact switch is connected to ground,the other side is connected to the correct pin on the 4021
each of those lines has a resistor connected to it, the other end going to +5v

testing the controller
-------------------------
once you get the d-pad half done, you might want to test it out
the Red,Orange,Yellow,White,and Brown are referring to the colors inside the NES controller's cable
just strip and solder the wires to the correct points, as shown on the schematic
one important thing to note is that BOTH pins labeled Brown on the schematic must be connected
you cannot connect only one, or it will not work
pop in the chip, making sure it is facing the right way
plug it in to your NES system,and test it out
once you confirm that it works,continue on and build the a/b and start/select board

build the other half
-------------------------
use the same procedure for the a/b start/select buttons with another piece of perfboard
connect the two boards with a piece of perfboard
again,one side of the tacts must go to ground,and the other side must go to the pins on the 4021,each with a pull-up resistor

attaching the controlling plug
-----------------------------------
once you finish the controller,take one of the sets of wires that connected the controller ports inside the NES and cut it off from the connector port
solder it to the controller
again, the colors match those shown in the schematic
you now have finished the controller



using the original controller board

what you need:
soldering iron
needle nose pliers
x-acto knife

to use the original controller boards,you need to cut off the board sections,then solder wires to them
you need to cut off the a/b buttons section,the start/select section,and the d-pad section
using your x-acto knife,score the spots shown in the picture


use your needle-nosed pliers to break off each section of the boards
scrape the light green traces off so you can see the copper underneath
solder your wires to these
you basically want to extend the controller board sections

making the controller buttons

what you need:
hot glue gun
some kind of light foam (optional)
4 NES controller a/b buttons
an NES controller D-Pad cross
plastic card (A gift card works well)
x-acto knife
a file

with the controller done,you need to make the buttons
for the a,b,start,and select buttons you will need 4 NES controller a/b buttons
you are free to use whatever buttons you like

take off old tabs
---------------------
to start,the tabs on the buttons were too thick
i had planned ahead what thickness of plastic I would use(1/8")and the buttons were almost flush with the acrylic
So first break off the tabs
you can use needle-nose pliers for this
quickly learned that this wasn't a good idea
So I used a combination of an x-acto knife and a file for the rest

adding a plastic card so the buttons dont fall out
-------------------------------------------------------------
now you're thinking,"how are the buttons going to stay in the acrylic?they'll fall right out
not to worry
get some kind of thin plastic or other rigid material
cut out small strips,and hot glue them to the bottom of the buttons
now the buttons won't fall out

padding
------------
since I didn't get to use those "mushy" tact switches in my controller,I wanted to add some padding so the buttons could be pressed a bit without actually pressing the tact switch
i found an old foam sheet that goes on top of your mattress,and cut some from that
i glued it to the bottom of the buttons
glue another piece of foam to the d-pad, and you're done with the buttons

[gamfrkI]

adding a charge port and a/v out

what you need:
some type of charge plug
some type of a/v plug with at least 3 contacts
a/v cable (home built or otherwise)
wire (IDE cable will work)
soldering iron
DPST switch

if you've got built in rechargeable batteries youll obviously need a charging port
you may want to add a/v out,where you can plug your portable into a larger tv(not necessary but it is a very nice feature to have)

using the charging port
------------------------------
the charging port can easily be bought at radioshack,or found in old electronics
i'm not sure what it is called,but it is a standard plug
you'll need the plug and the port, so find some
i got mine on an old board I had laying around
it had a headphone jack in it,and a charging port
its in picture
the soldering for the charging port is very simple
just solder a wire to ground and another to the middle pin of the port
you can tell which is which because the side connected to ground will also be connected to a lot of other contact points as well
the middle pin will usually be isolated

where to attach the wires
--------------------------------
the other side of the wires will go to the ground on the console
the positive wire,however,is a different story and will vary between people
it went to the power in line on my charge protection circuit for the Li-ion batteries,but there will be more on that later

charger
----------
for a charger, any will do
BUT ONLY IF YOU HAVE THE CHARGING CIRCUIT for the Li-ions
you CAN NOT just apply power to the batteries to charge them
if you do not how to properly use Li-ion batteries,PLEASE use NiCD
any charger will do as long as it supplies the correct voltage for the protection circuit and it is positive IN and negative OUT

making the a/v out port
-------------------------------
for the a/v out,you will need a headphone-type port with at least 3 contacts,which is the standard kind
you also need a headphone plug
you can use company-made stuff, you just have to find the pinout of it
to prepare the headphone jack
cut the traces on the PCB
because one of the contacts was connected to ground
after that,the ground terminal had to be re-connected to ground

headphone jack (optional)
------------------------------------
the right and left audio channels are connected,so you get sound in both headphones,even though the NES is mono
once the charging and a/v ports are set up,you'll need to add some wires
soldered a yellow one to the video terminal,a red one to the audio contact, a black one to ground, and a green one to the charging port

a/v switch
--------------
if you want to switch between the internal screen and the external screen
this means the picture and sound will be on either the PSone screen or the external screen,not both at once
or,you could have it so the picture will show up on both screens at once
to do that,just attach the cables that were included with the PSone screen and use the official cable
you need a DPST switch,which is double pole,single throw
in english,that means there are only 2 switch positions(left or right)but it's two switches in one

wiring the dpst switch
---------------------------
to use this switch,first solder the audio OUT wire from the NES to one of the middle pins
solder the video OUT wire from the NES to the other middle pin
it is important to get that right
now,on the audio side,there are two more contacts,both on either side
solder the audio wire from the screen(the audio in wire)to one of the outer pins
now take the audio wire from the a/v out port and solder it to the other outer pin
what you have here is a setup that takes the audio from the NES(middle pin)and switches it to either the left outer pin or the right one
in this case,one of those is the PSone screen and the other is the a/v out
now you need to do the same for the video,but you MUST MAKE SURE you solder the PSone screen video wire to the SAME SIDE as the PSone screen audio wire
same goes for the a/v out
otherwise,you'll have video to one screen and audio to the other or vise-versa
make sure you make all the wires relatively long
it made things a little more difficult afterwards,so don't be greedy with the wiring
add some hot glue and a zip tie so the wires don't come off from being bent too much
that's it for the charging port and the a/v jack
all that's left to do is make the case and mount everything
(the picture doesnt work :/)

[gamfrkI]

making the case

here it is...the biggest part of this project
this is where everything comes together
this step determines how your portable will look and feel in the end
we're going to discuss the different case options first
there are quite a few ways you could make a case.

stock casing - a basic box
-------------------------------
the "stock" option buying something basically pre-made,like a project box from Radioshack
all you have to do is cut holes

frankencasing - using bondo
-----------------------------------
you can do what we call "frankencasing"
this is where you use bondo(a car body filler)to kind of "paste" stuff into your case

how to make a frankencase (it was copied off a diff forum)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOOLS
these are the suggested tools for building a quality frankencase!

#1: dremel - dremels are a GODSEND! without dremel making a franken-case is possible but much more difficult to do, get a nice cheap one speed dremel and a lamp dimmer thingy to make it variable! cheap! also get lots of cutoff discs and some other attachments
#2: X-acto knives! - these are the next most important tool to a good frankencaser, good for shaving off stuff or shaping small parts and scoring bits that need busted off etc, you will use it a lot, be safe! stabbing yourself hurts, and bleeds all over your case its not fun
#3: Hot glue gun - very important, this is what holds your cases together in the mock-up stage and even the final produce will have this in it most likely, get a cheap big one, they work better than the little hobby ones, get hotter and adhere better, be careful not to burn yourself
#4: Sandpaper etc - you will need this for the finishing stages, get a few different grains, the lower the number the rougher the paper, 180 grit is good for rough sanding but for finish sanding get something 400 grit or above
#5: Spatulas, sticks etc - good for working with bondo etc, dont use em to cook with ever again !

MATERIALS
this is the stuff you will need to make the case itsself!

#1: A source case - this will be your raw material for the most part, the original case for the system or the systems controller shells or any other old case you have layin around is good material to use, its mostly ABS plastic and fairly easy to work with
#2: plastic - just sheet plastic is handy to have usually, polyproplyene is easy to get but doesnt like most kinds of adheasive, its what those big storage bins are made of, cheap but not the best, if you can get ABS or polystrene or other kinds of plastic use those instead (a good source is usplastics.com)
#3: Bondo! - no self respecting frankencaser would be caught dead without some type of bondo in their kit! bondo is used for gap filling and structural stuff, i use normal car bondo which is more difficult to work with having 2 seperate parts ( the bondo goo itsself and the hardener) dont use much hardener, mix it throughly and apply generously and try to shape it with your spatual or whatever to the shape you want, if its lumpy or the wrong shape dont worry, sand it later!
#4: Epoxys etc - epoxy is useful and comes in many forms and stuff, it can be use to hold your case together instead of hotglue and bondo and can be used to make parts and mounts for things, also in this catagory is fiberglass, i havent messed with fiberglass too much but it hardens fast and is VERY hard, would be good reinforcing but i think the resin eats away at plastic, fiberglass can be used to make cases too, i may experiment with that later

THE PROCESS
before you start cutting stuff up you should try and plan out what you want your case to look like! a well planned case will save you much trouble with how stuff fits, also remember CHECK THE SIZE OF THE STUFF YOU ARE GONNA PUT IN THE CASE BEFORE BUILDING ONE! becasue making the case too small would be stupid yes? yes it would!

so after you have a gameplan your ready to start cutting. its always good to have a straight edge (such as a ruler) to mark lines to cut along. straight edges make everything look nice and fit together better! there are 2 methods to cut parts off of your source case they are :

dremel it off this is good for internal bits and really big parts where it doesnt matter too much how it looks when your done so long as its gone, you can cut fine stuff with a dremel but take it slow and be careful, its gonna want to hang up or jerk sometimes and that can mess stuff up. the other method is
cut and score using your trusty x-acto knife you score a line into the plastic , a nice deep line then bust the piece off, it will usually break off on the line (point of least reisistance) or if its not a straight line or a small part you wanna remove you can just keep cutting it with the xacto knife or use a coping saw or something.

after you have what you want cut off of the source case or plastick next comes the mockup stage, where you make sure all your stuff will fit inside the case you are making, the easy and most temporary way to do this is with hotglue, you just glue the peices where they go and then test fit your parts


handy tools to know!

beyond the things I listed in part one there are a few other tools and things that i find VERY useful during the teardown and construction of your source and case.

#1 spot putty: spot putty is similar to bondo in many ways but there are 2 major differences. number one is its not a two part mix it comes in a tube and will harden when exposed to air. and number two its MUCH finer. it is perfect for filling in low spots and imperfections that you cant get with regular bondo and will give your finisned portable a much smoother cleaner look!
#2 desk vice: these are VERY handy to have. its a little vice that you can clamp on to the edge of a table or desk and use to hold things!. i mostly use mine when i have to cut something hard like a piece of metal or something
#3 blocks etc : not like toy block but pieces of wood or plastic of various sizes to use as sanding blocks. using just sandpaper is good for most applications but in parts where you need to sand a smooth flat surface or make a sharpe edge or angle you will need to use a block of some sort. i also use rounded things like a pen or pencil for small curves and a rounded end on one for indents etc or places with smooth slopes and corners that are rounded

TIPS OF THE TRADE

these are a few basic tips that i think every self respecting frankencaser should follow!

CUT SMALL this is a very good idea! say you are cutting a hole to place a part of a controller section in, cut the hole smaller than you need and then use your dremel or xacto knives to more accuratly shape the hole to fit your piece into, the better the fit the less spot putty and bondo you will need. which leads to the next tip...
BE DYNAMIC say you have a piece of controller shell you want to put in your case you have your hole in the case as big as you can get without risking the structure but it still wont fit, what do you do!? you start shaping the controller piece as much as you can to make it fit, get rid of that excess plastic. if that doesnt work you...
IMPROVISE! any self respecting frankencaser has tons of bits and pieces of plastic and old cases layin around, if what you want to use doesnt work use something else! i seldom throw away peices of plastic i cut off of cases or whatever because you never know when it might come in handy!

another suggestion i have is use flat or semi flat paint, high gloss paint has the tendancy to show off EVERY SINGLE little tiny flaw in a case down to the grooves made by 400 grit sandpaper on plastic. krylon semi flat is very nice and so is that generic color place flat paint

another thing i enjoy is challenging myself, on my snes portable case i wanted to see how much of the original snes case i could use and keep it looking like a snes still. its efficient and fun and makes pretty nice looking cases!

thats all for now!

LIQUID ABS PLASTIC its a very easy to make concoction that in the right ammounts works WONDERS on frankencases, the downsides:

#it smells horrible, its a mixture of acetone and plastic and smells very strongly
#it takes a VERY LONG TIME to set up properly, having a higher plastic to acetone ratio would help some but expect it to take several DAYS to fully set, its mostly hard after 4-6 hours tho
#until its set its pretty soft and flexable, best to have something reinforcing it from the back until its set, i used aluminum foil to do this, gives it something to stick on and hold it in place, other plastic and glues would work

the positive!
# it hardens VERY hard, and it basically fuses the plastic into one peice so no more stress fractures or hairline cracks on seams with bondo! because there are no more seams! its fantastic and will do WONDERS with the structural integrity of your case, makes it much sturdier than hotglue and epoxy alone!
======================================================================================

the original consoles case
-----------------------------------
you could use the game console's original case
for old systems,this is great because there is usually tons of room for extra stuff like a screen, battery, etc

Code: Select all

polycase.com

------------------
there are online ready-made solutions
not specifically for portables,but there are some nice cases online at

Code: Select all

http://www.polycase.com/

vacuum-forming
---------------------
vacuum-forming is a great option
you can make amazing portables this way

Code: Select all

http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a-good%2c-cheap%2c-upgradeable-sheet-plastic-vacu/

cases from scratch
-------------------------
lastly,you can make your own case from scratch
measure all parts
come up with plans
and have a local plastics company cut the acrylic sheets
glue them together with a special kind of plastics glue

[gamfrkI]

getting the plastic and creating button holes

what you need:
a dremel with a plastic cutting bit
tape (duck tape works great)
acrylic pieces for your case (see next paragraph)
a good set of files.get a square one,too,those are great for the right angles in the d-pad cross

getting the plastic
-------------------------
to make this type of case,you first have to measure all your parts to find out the width and height of them
then,stack all them and find the depth
you can then have a local plastics company cut out the pieces for you
the width of the front and back panels was 8.5" x 6",the top and bottom panels were 8.5" x 2", and the left and right panels were 5 3/4" x 2" (person that wrote this tut)
that gives a portable with the approximate dimensions of 8.5"x6"x2.5"
it could have been thinner,but the plastics company would only cut them to 2" because they were "afraid of cutting their fingers"
one note about the plastic that 1/8" was best,1/16" was too thin and flimsy and 1/4" was way too thick to work with
for those of you not using the english system 3mm acrylic is a good thickness

you could also order plastic online and cut it yourself
here is a good website that sells styrene
(styrene=acrylic=plastic)(order extra just in case)

making the d-pad hole
---------------------------
so you have your plastic,but now what?
here comes the scary part making the d-pad hole

use the right dremal bit
--------------------------------
get out your trusty dremel and a plastic cutting bit
take your NES controller case and tape it where you want the D-Pad to be
we are going to use the controller's original hole as a template for ours

raise the plastic
---------------------
prop up the plastic on something so that when you go through the plastic,you don't cut whatever is underneath the plastic
turn your dremel on to the speed appropriate for your plastic-cutting bit
slowly lower it onto the middle of the template,and drill all the way through,so you create a "starting hole"
it helps if you insert the bit at an angle

cut around the template
------------------------------
carefully start cutting around the inside of the D-Pad template
don't go all the way to the edge,go just inside it
we will file it down later

file it out
----------------
continue until you get all the way around the template and you cut out the rough shape
now,take the file and sand down the rough spots
make the acrylic flush with the template
try to get it the exact same size

test the fit
-----------------
once you are satisfied with the hole,take off your template and test the fit of the d-pad cross
if it fits, great.if it won't go in,have another go with the file
if it's too loose,you might have to re-do it on the extra piece of acrylic
once you get the D-Pad to fit correctly,you should cut out the a/b and start/select buttons

make the other button holes
------------------------------------
to cut the holes for the other buttons,you should take the controller board you build earlier and hold it in place under the acrylic
just like the d-pad,put it where you want the buttons to be
take a sharpie and make the center of the tact switches
take a drill bit just BARELY larger that your a/b buttons and drill the holes


putting together the case

what you need:
your pieces of acrylic (Including the one with the button holes cut in it)
acrylic glue
patience and a place for the glue to set

make sure you take off the protective sheet before you glue the pieces of acrylic together
lay your front piece face-down on a soft cloth
take one of your top/bottom pieces and spread glue on the bottom side of it
press it onto the front panel
before the glue hardens,take one of the left/right pieces and put glue on the bottom and side of it
press the bottom onto the front plate,and the side onto the other piece you just glued
this way,you can make sure the pieces are at right angles
glue the other two pieces in in the same fashion
DON'T GLUE ON THE BACK PANEL!
if you do this,you can't put stuff inside it. Duh
allow 24hrs for it to dry and cure before you do any more work on it

[gamfrkI]

installing the components

SCREEN

what you need:
the screen
4 small screws that fit in the PSone screen's holes
sharpie (any color)
drill with small bit

this is it!you're really close to being done now.aren't you excited?

make volume and brightness buttons
---------------------------------------------
you need to make buttons for the brightness control and the volume control
use old switches lying around
glue them to small pieces of gift card,then glued those to the screen

clean the plastic
----------------------
take a damp paper towel and wipe off the inside of the plastic where you are going to put the screen,then dry it off
you want this part to be completely free of dust and debris,or it will show up later
you might want to wipe down the actual screen also
of course,this is assuming you are using a transparent case
if you aren't,you'll have to cut a hole for the screen

place screen and mark holes
----------------------------------
measure with a ruler(or eyeball it)to find the center of your case and place the screen there
make sure it it's not at an angle
you don't want the screen to be crooked
using the sharpie,mark where each of the four holes are
try to get it as exact as you can
make sure you also mark where the button holes are

drill holes for screws and buttons
------------------------------------------
using the smallest drill bit you have,drill right where you marked with that sharpie
if the hole is too small,go to the next drill bit size
you only want to make the holes as big as your screws,maybe half a millimeter larger
then drill the holes for the screen buttons,in the same manner as above

screw in the screen
----------------------
screw your screen in
don't do it too tightly,other you'll cause unnecessary bending of the motherboard
just tighten all the screws in succession,and check that the board is flat
just hand tighten the screws

check for dust under the screen
---------------------------------------
flip the case over and check if there is anything(dust, plastic shards, etc)under the screen
if there is,and it's big enough to bother you,then take it back apart and clean the plastic
don't mistake debris on the outside for debris on the inside


CONTROLLER

what you need:
the controller board you made earlier
the buttons
screws (I used 6)
sharpie
drill with bit the size of your screws
spacers

you want to be able to PLAY the game,right?well,then you should probably put in a controller
the controller boards were just SLIGHTLY higher than the PSone screen
therefore,these go in after the screen
you want to position the board in the correct place and drill the holes,then use screws to hold it in
one thing's different with this,though
with the controller you have to space it away from the case in order for the controls to work correctly

mark and drill the holes
---------------------------
start by marking and drilling your holes
hold the d-pad section centered in the hole,and use a sharpie to mark the hole locations then drill them
same idea as the screen

installing the screws
-------------------------
Get your x# of screws and put them through the holes in the case
tape them down so they don't fall out when you flip the case over

install and adjust spacers
----------------------------------
turn over the case and put equal amounts of spacers on each screw
put the d-pad in the hole,and put your d-pad board on the screws
hold the d-pad board in place while you flip the case back over
check the fit of the d-pad
did you use too many spacers or too little?
does it take a lot of movement of the d-pad to press the button of almost none?
adjust the amount of spacers until you find a height that you like
also,try adjusting the screw you installed on the board earlier with needle-nosed pliers
once you have the d-pad how you like it,install the nuts for the screws
tighten them down,and give the d-pad another test
adjust the screw if need be
repeat the procedure for the other set of buttons


NES BOARD

what you need:
NES board
screws (and their nuts)
small right angle brackets
washers for your screws
drill with drill bits
dremel with plastic cutting bit
hot glue gun

install brackets to hold the board
--------------------------------------------
to hold in the NES board you need some kind of small right-angle bracket

mark right angle bracket holes
--------------------------------------
place a piece of cardboard over the existing components and place the NES board on top of that
mark where the holes on the right-angle brackets are,then drill those out to match the diameter of the screws you'll be using
the reason for the cardboard is to space the NES board away from the rest of the stuff
you don't want it too close or stuff might short,too far and you've got a lot of wasted space

temporarily install the nes board
----------------------------------------
using screws and nuts for spacers
install the NES board
it's a good idea to use washers for this,because there will be a LOT of pressure on these areas
you probably noticed that there is no hole for the cartridge slot
well,take an NES game(make sure the NES board is installed already.)and hold the bottom of it firmly to the top of the case,right on top of the cartridge slot
use a sharpie to trace around the NES cartridge
take off the cartridge and check where you marked your sharpie
is it centered RIGHT over the cart slot?
if not,use a pink school eraser to take off the sharpie,and do it again

disassemble the portable
-------------------------------
now, here comes the fun part
take apart your portable so far
take out the NES board,controller boards,and screen
you need the empty case again
get a piece of cardboard about the size of the inside of the case and shove it in there
you want to protect the screen area while you are dremeling and filing

cut the cartridge hole
-------------------------
get your dremel with the plastic cutting bit and start on the cartridge slot hole
use the same procedure as the d-pad hole
start in the middle,then go to the outside
dremel just inside the marks you made

file the hole down
-------------------------
once you have the plastic cut out,get your file and smooth out the hole
use a square file for the corners
constantly check the fit of the NES cartridge
once you think you are done,install the NES board but not anything else
plug in the cartridge(make sure it's facing the right way(label faces up, and so do all the components on the NES board))and make sure everything fits okay

install the switches
--------------------------
before you put everything back in,go and do the next step,which is installing the switches
once you get that done,you can then put the other components back in

install the speaker
-----------------------
drill a bunch of holes,and use a couple dabs of hot glue to hold it in


SWITCHES

what you need:
drill with plenty of bits

for both switches use a drill with various sized bits to make the holes
for the power switch all you had to do was drill a hole the size of the toggle switch
then drill a smaller hole off to the side to fit the extrusion on the ring around the switch... you know,the one that keeps it from rotating
for the a/v switch,drill a few holes in a row,and keep checking the fit and seeing if the switch movement would be hindered at all

Back Panel

what you need:
back plastic piece
drill and bits
hot glue
long screws and nuts
file

gluing everything down
------------------------------
put simply,in this step you glue everything else (the batteries,charge circuit,a/v board)to the bottom piece of the case
glue the batteries in the center,because they are the heaviest
you want your portable to be balanced
use six small blobs of hot glue to hold the battery in
glue the battery short protection board down,and the charge protection circuit
glue the a/v board to the bottom,right at the edge



you also need to glue down the NES's regulator
the most convenient place to put it was on the corner of the NES board
first glue down a piece of cardboard,then the board

the charge and a/v out ports
-------------------------------------
in between them is the charge indicator
when the battery is not fully charged,the light is yellow
when the battery is done,the LED turns green

make holes for the jacks
------------------------------
with everything glued in place,you need to make the holes for the A/V and charge ports
you need to set the back panel on top of the case,and see where the ports are
using a file(or your dremel)cut away a square hole big enough for the charge port
then you have to drill a hole for the a/v out port
it's a little difficult to do this accurately,but do the best you can

holes for the screws
-------------------------
now,flip your case over and drill holes in the corners,big enough for your long screws
you want the holes to be as much in the corners as possible
turn your case back over(so it's upside down)and put the back panel on
mark spots for the screws in the back
take the panel off and drill the holes

install the screws
-----------------------
take your screws and put them through the holes in the top and through the bottom
screw on the nuts,nice and tight

[gamfrkI]

you just finished your first (maybe) portable system

[Hot Trout]

An excellent howto. Well done. This is sticky forever.