Project Nesticle.... Just cause I like the name

Hi peeps!!

having recently discovered that I have mental issues I have decided to try to rebuild the NES and combine it with a Famicom for ultimate compatibility across the board.

I would also like to state that i HATE the pal toaster... sooo big and bulky with the most ridiculous card slot!


These are the victims / donors.

You can see from the outside they're waaaay different in size... but i still want to go smaller!!!

And with 2 cart slots! (possibly a third just for the FDS... but I may not go that route... at least not yet!

Things to build/add:

• Dual slot - Famicom and separate slot like the toploaders so no toaster issues
• Wireless controllers - x4, using 4 score schematics
• 3D printed case
• 3d printed controllers with proper push buttons and not mini tactile switches
• Shrink board down to a minimum - separate psu
• use as many NEW parts as possible
• Full region switchable for max compatibility
• HDMI/RGB mod - depending if i can work out a solution for this - may just buy tim's rgb board

Why am I doing this?

Why not?

I've seen there's someone out there who has already revised the board and was selling them... not sure if he still is.. but i won't be... I'm planning on this for my own fun and enjoyment! plus i'd love to have a stack of tiny matching consoles by the tv!

I am a 3D modeler and have... umm.. some knowledge of electronics... I used to build working guitar pedals and audio can be a right bitch to get right!!!

The aim is to either have a board printed or a stack of wires together and squeezed into a tiny box... but we shall see where this goes... as i may try to go for a full stack and add a snes and n64 into the mix for the uber cart based console... but I'm definitely not cut out for that yet!!!

Expect lots of questions... i'm bald so there'll be no hair ripping but there will probably be plenty of self mutilation!!!

Keep watching.... or don't!

 

I'll be keeping watch. Ah Nesticle? Brings back memories of emulating NES on a Pentium in the 90s.

 

first off... rip the guts out!!!!



NES is on the left, Famicom on the right.

Look at the size difference!!! and the Famicom did more too!!!

Looking at the controllers, the 2nd player's had a Mic on it and volume switch... I've never experienced them as this was bought as faulty and i have no power supply to test it!!

I have to say there was a whole bar's worth of chocolate in there tho!

Looking at the NES board, this is the bottom... it sits in the case upside down so that when you put the cart in and push it down it doesn't clip anything... still... the RF and power seem to be locked in the metal box so I'll need to pull that a part!!

I need to get some schematics and compare them to the boards to work out how to do this and what the similarities are...

So far I'm thinking to follow the Famicom's design as it's much smaller... but i also need to work out what peripherals I need or want to include... off to research more!!

 

@BLUamnEsiac oh god!!! i totally forgot about that.... might need a name change!

 

Close up of the Famicom board

Looks pretty clean so I'm not sure what was up with it... it had definitely been pulled apart as the screws weren't in properly... other than the chocolate there's no leaking or anything on the main board...

I've noticed a couple of trim pots on both boards... any ideas what they could be??



The power / RF of the Famicom...

still looks pretty clean to me... although I'm not sure what the waxy looking blob is on that could... still doesn't look like anything has exploded to... all the caps are still flat...

Any Ideas?

All in all it looks like a much better built machine... specially cause it's from 1983!!!

I almost want to fix it but then I'd need to buy another one to mutilate anyway...

 

Close up of the NES board.

you can see the edge connector at the bottom... which is where the stupid thing connected to to make the connection for the games... still have no idea how it really worked... in this case it didn't which is why i got it cheap!!

May have to add a cost list to this project at some point!!

As I'm based in the UK I got the Toaster "Faulty" for £26 and the Famicom "Faulty" from japan for £23 delivered... I have been told you can get them cheaper but I'm Mr Impulse! still think i got at least a reasonable deal... the cases were pretty clean... could probably clean them up and sell them... if anyone wants em?

No electrical mayhem tonight... possibly some schematic research if there is one for the pal NES... haven't seen one so far...

 

Right... as I'm planning on rebuilding the controllers I thought I better take some pics of them....


I love these controllers much more than the standard grey affairs... but they ain't wireless!! Altho I may Base my new designed controllers on them...





Guts!!!!

Super simple design, 1 chip... single sided board... loads of room!!!

 

Was hoping to get similar pics for the player two controller... specially as it has a volume control a mic on it!!!

Skyway1985 I going to do me a massive favour and taking some pics of his controllers for me!!!

Cheers bud!

 

Hi peeps.... Long time no see!!!!

Massively apologetic for this... I suffer from depression and had a bad spell in Feb ( shortly after last post) to recover but to only have issues again recently... Fingers crossed I'm on the up so I should be able to start again with this.. Feel free to throw a brick at me or something.... I will finish this project!!!

 

At least show us the 3d printed case so we can get an idea how it'll look.

 

I'll get it started asap... ;p

Sorry!!!

 

quick knock up of potential design...

depends on how big/small the board ends up being

 

I don't get it, what exactly is going inside the case? A modded Famicom mobo, something new you're building from scratch, or what?

 

If you read the first post it says what I want to do...

This is just a personal project... Nothing commercial and just a sort of hobby thing... My mind works in mysterious ways... It started when I saw someone saying that the pal games didn't work on NTSC consoles properly as the "region" mod most people do doesn't give full compatibility.... Plus I wanted it to be a toploader that could take both carts...

 

any plans to incorporate a FDS? making it a famicom triplet

 

Its so confusing because he doesnt know himself.

 

Is it??? I didn't think it was.... I also thought I'd said in the first post what i was doing... The 3d thing is just a mock up and probably won't look anything like that...

I hate the toaster push to connect bollocks.... Didn't want to pay through the nose to get a pal toploader... Also wanted to run jap games without an adaptor.... I also wanted to build it with new bits n pieces.... I've also seen that NTSC games run slow or have slower music than if playing them on their native system...

I also wanted to incorporate the wireless control mod and see if I could squeeze a 4 player adapter in there

I know it's going to take a while... It's something I want to do for myself... If you want I can just do it and leave it off here... Not trying to sound snarky or anything or step on anyone's toes... I like messing with stuff and if I can make something to last a bit longer without taking a working console and chopping it up to make a PC out if it or turning classic controllers to usb just because you don't know how to clean some pins then I'm happy to give it a go...

The intention is to use all new parts and socket the CPU and ppu's so that I can replace them in the original machines is something else comes about...

Ive already paid less for 2 'faulty' consoles than for what I would have paid for a toploader at the time...

Bear in mind the other guy who did this is selling the last one he has left for $500...

As to the Famicom disc system... It may be an add-on later if I go down that route..

 

So, you dont know if you are making your own PCB (which is unlikely, as your experience doesnt sound enough) or you are going to stack boards.

He asked which of the 2 you are going to do, then say the answer is in the first post (it isnt). The answer is, you dont know yet as you have not started.

 

Firstly... Oops!!! I hadn't realised I'd put in the part about a stack if wires... My bad!

But I obvs mistook what he was asking as I thought he was just asking what I was doing... Not whether I was using wires or PCBs....

But I am going to use PCBs...

My initial idea was to build a series of stacking cases for all my consoles and have the cart based ones with the ports on the front so that I could fit more in one space... Then I realised that the nes and Famicom slots could be wired up easy enough... So decided to just focus on the nes rebuild... I also like the idea of portable consoles and this might help people with that sort of thing...

 

Looks great, looking forward to the finished result!