Bacteria SNES tabletop commission project

Made a good start on the SNES commission for the guy who commissioned me for the N64 tabletop system.

Going the worklog on my webpage, for convenience; if anyone is interested.

http://bacman.co.uk/anthony-snes-commission/

 

I just went through your website, you are truly a master modder! awesome stuff!

 

That he is. You should see his Unity.

 

Thanks!
When i've no more commissions (no more left after this one i'm doing) i'll get back to the Unity 2 system to make more systems for it.

 

I did, amazing!

 

Thought i'd upload progress photos here as well as my site.
Cut out front of case

Only needed basic motherboard trimming, should be fine as is but can remove a bit more if needed

Case ready to paint, battery compartment completed (this is the holder part), game cartridge hole area for NTSC cartridges.




Applied first layer of paint. Need to apply 4 or 5 coats, then let it cure for a few days before handling. Making good progress, should have this system completed in probably a month.

 

Nice work there. I would go with a snes mini for best picture and safe space. Also a build in sd2snes. Than you dont need to riser the cart slot. Maybe put some stereo speaker in the case?

 

Certainly for a large screen however a small LCD screen the image quality is likely to be the same, and there is enough space for a normal size board. NTSC consoles are not easy to get in the UK and more expensive, so getting a less available model like the mini would be a lot more money without the benefit.

Yes, sd2snes would be ideal however expensive, the buyer can easily buy one if wanted and use that instead of original cartridges, as the cartridge is out at the back of the system it isn't visible anyway.

System will have stereo speakers, as with the N64 model I made recently, using quality Yamaha speakers from a TV soundsystem which died years ago when the capacitors and boards blew. (I salvaged the speakers, all 24 of them!).

Painting is completed, so can start the internals in a few days time when the paint is cured nicely.

 

doesn't that mobo support component or something like that?

 

Yeah they support rgb. But getting small rgb screens isn't that easy, but composite is.

At that size, composite doesn't look too bad anyway.

 

The N64, SNES and GameCube are considerably better with composite than many other consoles so the difference to RGB is far less IMO.

 

I disagree that composite on the snes, n64 or gamecube is ANYWHERE near as good as rgb on those systems. But on a small screen, it's far less noticeable.

 

Each to their own.

I compared RGB and composite on a PAL SNES a few years back, thought composite looked if anything slightly better as RGB was a bit darker; i've used RGB on N64 as well as composite and S-video, there is some difference but not big. Some systems there is a LOT of difference in improvement not just image clarity but more importantly, no colour bleeding or wrong colours which composite gives eg TurboGrafx. Still, as always, depends what screens you use I guess as to the differences; I saw larger differences when used an old CRT screen than smaller screens or large screen TV.

Anyway, on topic, painting is finished, varnishing is done, leaving it for a couple of days to cure before continuing the project. Discussed with the buyer about button colours as the NTSC console uses 2 shades of mauve for the controller buttons whereas the PAL uses 4 primary colours which I think will look nicer, he is fine with that do that's what i'll do. I'll also use a different d-pad too.

As the host controller, I had a controller from the RetroDuo left over from a few years back, it works great on the NTSC console, so i'll use that for the board. Better than using an original controller; the RetroDuo is only a Chinese controller after all so not important to collectors.

 

When one is looking at screen smaller than 7", RGB vs composite is a moot point. You really can't see the difference. On larger screen RGB does stand out better.

 

Battery compartment is installed, similar method to the N64 project. In process of connecting up the game cart, wired up the pins to pin headers (2 rows) so the idea is if a repair is needed, it can be detached from the motherboard. The spacing for the pin headers is almost a match to the pins on the motherboard so i've soldered the other connectors directly to it.

 

Making good progress indeed. Installed the audio amp, connected the game port to the motherboard by the pin headers, secured it in place and tested with the new screen which arrived yesterday - works great! More to do yet but project is coming along with good speed.

 

I was thinking more of a small scaler or converter

Also composhite on PAL n64's looks like crap for some reason

 

Wired up the battery connector packs, external power jack and system. Runs fine off the 7.2v battery packs, tested with one Li-ion battery pack inserted. Photo is a little out of focus, and too bright, but never mind.

 

Nearly completed the button area on the case, installed the d-pad; need to just do a couple of last layers of paint on the front to remove a few imperfections. The case closes nicely, I had to position the buttons slightly lower on the case due to the length of the motherboard however not by much so fine.

I am anticipating finishing this system in the next fortnight, all going well; maybe sooner.

When the buttons and controller are installed, i'll take some more photos and upload them in the next days.

 

Installed speakers, installed d-pad, completed almost all the wiring. Working on the controller button section. As you see, the case closes (just) and things have room all be it not a big amount. Case halves are only placed in place not secured so the gap isn't relevant where they meet in the photos. About 95% project completed now.