Downing's Basement

So it may have taken a great deal longer to complete than anticipated, but my latest N64 Portable Commission has been completed and is getting ready to make it’s trip to “The Land Down Under”. The Hesline 64 is by far the most complete unit I’ve done to date as far as N64p’s are concerned and I’m very pleased with the final outcome…I actually don’t want to part with it, but alas, it must go to the one who paid for it.

Of course, though I’ve done many of these at this point, there’s always at least one problem that I run into with every build and this one was no different. But of course, because this was an European PAL region system, I had to import the N64 itself to for the build and of course, it was going to be the one thing I fried during the process. That caused many hours of frustration and an extra expense due to having to import another board from the UK. Thankfully a modding buddy of mine under the lid of ElectroModder from the UK was kind enough to source a couple boards and tear them down so the shipping was minimal to get them over here.

As I said before though, this is the most complete unit I’ve done to date as it utilizes almost all the features that one can cram into a portable and applied a lot of new building techniques which include using all custom PCBs for the buttons as well as a custom controller board and audio amp. The inclusion of a Breakout Board that is connected via HDMI cable also allows for the user to both Play and Charge the system at the same time as well as incorporate full Multi-Player functionality which I’d never done before.

Technical Junk

Specs:
• Original PAL N64 Mother Board, Trimmed w/Expansion Pak
• 5″ 4:3 TFT Composite Display
• 2 – 25mm, 32Ohm Speakers
• 2 – 3.7V 5000mAh Li/Po Batteries in Series for 7.4V Output, 4 to 5hr Battery Life
• Hardwired Original Memory Card/Controller Pak
• Custom N64 Controller Board by RDC
• Custom Switchable Audio Amp for Speakers/Phones by RDC
• Custom 3.3V Regulator PCB by RDC
• Custom Tact Switch PCBs by RDC
• 5 Part 3D Printed Enclosure
• 1 – 5mm Barrel Pin Connector for Wall Power
• 1 – 2.5mm Barrel Pin Connector for Battery Charger
• HDMI Jack for Play/Charge and Multi-Player features using included Breakout Box.
• External Breakout Box includes a 12V, 2Ah DC Adapter for wall power and a 7.4v Smart Charger for the Li/Po batteries used in the handheld. It also houses the three other player ports so full multi-player gaming is possible. Lastly, there is an A/V output on the back of the box for standard RCA video out to a TV for full sized TV game play.

The A/V, Play&Charge and Multi-Player Breakout Box

I went with an HDMI connection because the number of pins they have by default in a small footprint. Also, the data speeds these cables are designed to handle are much faster than anything this will put out and the shielding provided in the cable makes interference very minimal for the travel length of the cord. I also used three lines each for the wall and battery power because a single line wouldn’t cut it for the amount of draw it’s pulling.

An example of the amazing work that RDC does, essentially this a full N64 control board on a 1″ x 1.5″ footprint. This makes the whole process of placement and wiring so much easier, even if the trade off is stripping an original controller and swapping the components to this board. Wiring is so much easier now and the space saving is huge.

But yes, the build process is shown in the video’s slide show as well as explained in full detail afterwards. It’s a pretty long video but there was a lot to cover on this and I like to be as detailed as possible. This will probably also be the last commission I do for awhile as I have a few other projects I’ve been working on for awhile now that I really want to get off my desk. Time is also super limited these days which has been pretty much the norm, but if things free up a bit, than I might start taking more.

Hope you enjoy, this has been a fun and challenging project but I think it came out beautifully!

Also, please check out the Build Log over on the Bit Build Forums!

It’s no real secret that since the beginning days of First Person Shooters like the original Wolfenstein 3D, I’ve been a fan and have watched them evolve over the years and see how they seemingly push the boundaries to our tech limits of the time. And my love for these games has exploited a consistent weakness of mine when it comes to wanting the full experience these games have to offer.

In 1993, at the ripe old age of 11, the original Doom came out to some extreme reviews that put it as a game changer for all First Person Shooters, and the hype was right. Nothing had ever been seen like this at the time and everyone wanted to get in on it. However, the age of personal computing and the full access to the Internet was still years away, even having a computer with enough power to run the game was asking quite a bit. For the longest time I had to resort to my friends, grandmother’s computer to play it. Eventually we did get a PC, but our first one wasn’t until 1997 (our first computer was a Mac) and by that time, the Doom glory had faded, though Doom II and Final Doom had made appearances and I think Doom II was the first game I played on our first PC. One could also argue that I was the reason we got the PC because of situations like this one, just wanting to play a game that I couldn’t anywhere else.

Then, in 2004, at the age of 22, the biggest remake to any video game franchise at the time was coming out! Doom 3 was promised to be the most advanced FPS of the past decade and for all accounts, Doom 3 remains to be one of my all time favorite games ever. But…all that excitement and next generation power required something that I yet again, did not have the ability to run. Starting college that year, I had bought myself a decent HP lap top for classes at the time, which only had integrated graphics and audio, which for the most part was fine. However, Doom 3’s specs for back in the day were astronomical, Requiring a P4 processor, a 256MB video card, 1 Gig of RAM and 2.2GB of Hard Disk Space, and also required Windows XP or 2000 to run. Cell phones from 4 years ago made those specs look archaic, but back then that required a beast of a machine to run. So again, I was going to have to resort to a friends machine or I could do something about it…and finally, at 22 years old, I could! This is where the trend started to get expensive and no other game can ever say it cost me over $2000 to play & own because the purchase of a copy of Doom 3 for $49.99 ended up tacking on a Dell P4 XPS Gen 3 tower with a Nvidia 6800 256MB Graphics card, and 19″ Flat Panel Display. I had finally found my “BEAST” of a machine, but the financial drain of a college student was tough and though I told no one, I actually bought most of this system with a student loan refund check…sorry mom.  The rest was paid for by selling my old laptop…

So fast forward another 12 years and Doom 2016 has shown it’s gritty teeth in an all new re-boot of the classic Doom experience. Shedding the skin of the 2004 Survival Horror take to the franchise, 2016 brings the whole run and gun of thousands against one game play into the 21st century. And so far, my experience has been very positive, but again at the time of purchase, my system was under powered and so begins the trend again of upgrading my gear just to be able to play the latest Doom title to the fullest. This is why I’m glad my wife doesn’t read my blog posts all the way through.

The Cost of Perfection

Though now almost 34 and being able to get higher quality and more powerful hardware has been easier, I still did not have the “beast” of a machine I needed to run Doom 2016 to the quality and frame rate it was meant to be played at. However, this time, the investment to get to this point was reduced from a full PC tower set-up to simply a new Graphics card and new 4K monitor.

The Nvidia GTX 1070

The little brother to Nvidia’s GTX 1080, the 1070 is a powerhouse in it’s own right, rocking 8GBs of DDR5 Memory and is the most power GPU I’ve ever owned. As you can see, this thing makes the 2GB Nvidia GTX 750TI that came stock with my XPS 8700 a couple years ago look like a babies toy. And for all accounts, as far as today’s demand for GPU power are concerned, it really is. I’m not going to do a full review or get into the detailed specs, but though the GTX 750TI would run Doom smoothly, you could certainly tell it was straining to keep above 30 frames while only on High Quality graphics settings. But after putting in the 1070 and updating the drivers, the difference was instantly clear. At 1080p, the frame rate was well above 60FPS with all options maxed. Things were going to get better though, as the final upgrade was the addition of a new 27″ 4K Monitor that took this experience right over the top!

The P2715Q 27″ Ultra 4K Monitor

Arriving last night, I hooked this bad boy up and once again felt like Christmas! This was my first monitor upgrade in 3 years and coupled with the new video card, my PC gaming and 3D Modeling capabilities have been given a huge boost! I was instantly amazed at the smooth quality the combination of the two provided, even for a game as demanding as Doom.

Actual game footage take with my cell phone.

All in all I’m very please with how these upgrades have taken the gaming experience up a a few levels and it’s that the release of a Doom game is the catalyst in taking the jump into higher, more powerful machines. Though it does cost me a bit of coin to experience, I think of them as capital improvements as well and for what this kind of tech would have cost just a couple years ago, patience has saved me a lot when getting me to a set-up I am happy with.

So it really didn’t take too long to find the short comings of my first A/V test box that I did a couple weeks ago. Though it worked well and had a lot of good features for using a variety of different input methods, what it didn’t do was what I needed it for with the project at hand. The system I’m currently working on is a PAL Nintendo 64, which means the system was made for a region that has a 50 hertz cycle. Well, we in the US use 60 hertz and if the screen that you are using is looking for 60, it’s not gonna work out too well. Basically, the screen didn’t have an auto switch from PAL to NTSC.

On top of this, the only input the first tester had for composite required an RCA jack, which meant you had to terminate the test leads to even use it. Again, another pain. So it seemed a new solution was needed, and this one is a great deal simpler than the original and is much more conducive to my work space and projects.

Utilizing a 3.5″ TFT display, this screen has an auto PAL/NTSC switch which recognizes what region mode it’s in and makes the change accordingly. This still uses RCA inputs for those situations that would benefit from having them, but the primary Input method is now a 4-pin screw terminal. This makes testing much easier and faster as there is no longer a need to terminate the leads. So less is a great deal more in this case and I’m happy with the second version as well!

As for my commission, this weekend was very productive, getting the back half of the cases painted and sealed and almost getting the breakout box’s design complete. As stated before, this is going to be the most complete N64 project I’ve ever done and most likely the most beautiful. The case work including the 3D print time is probably pushing 30 hours, but it looks sharp! Very happy with it so far and I’ll post some more pics as I get them. But for now, here’s a couple 3D renders of the BOB. More updates soon!

Wow, almost 3 months without a post! Sorry guys! On top of the usual “Life” excuse, I’ve been extremely busy at work in the basement on several projects and being slightly overwhelmed in the process if I must say so myself. But things are good. Last month I finished off the N64 Kit I’d been working on and sent it on its merry way to Dubai. This had been the project the furthest away I’d ever shipped, until last week when I took on a full N64p commission to a buyer in the Land Down Under. So yes, I’m now in the works of a portable commission that will be headed for Australia once completed. I know I’ve said it before, but the Internet is an amazing thing that allows people from all corners of the planet to see and even better, commission, my work and there’s a fair bit of pride a feel for these requests.

On the subject of pride, the very first STL (3D Model) that I made available for download a few months ago has turned itself into a finished project and I gotta say that I’m very impressed and excited by the outcome! A fellow modder under the cap of [The Mod Shop] asked me several months ago if I had shared the STL files for my latest N64p at the time. I’d never really shared any files before, not necessarily because I was worried about being ripped off, but mostly because every case I’ve ever done was designed specifically for certain components. Sharing a file meant that whoever downloaded it would have to find pretty much exactly what I used to make it work and to me that seemed like a headache of constant email inquires on how I did this, or what did I use for that. But with this one, I figured what the hell. Let’s see if it survives when thrown into the wolf pit.

Well, not only did it survive, but [Mod Shop] took it a step further, utilizing some of the same parts that I used [thanks to RDC] as well as adding some aesthetic qualities that I have yet to try, like vinyl decals. The results are impressive and I would recommend taking a look into his craftsmanship!

Anyway, check out the video below and in the near future, I’ll be making some pretty big updates and announcements, should I find the time to actually devote to completing them!

Recently there has been a great increase in requests for full blown console commissions. I mean, I’ve actually got waiting list is you’d believe that and with recent press on my latest finished portable, the requests have already increased more. Admittedly it’s been tough to have to say I’m booked out into summer time now, and progress is still slow and will be until my equipment is back in full working order.

But still, that’s not deterred people from asking and it’s gotten to the point that I have to organize things a bit better for the future. That being said, custom projects like this though have a lot of fine print that needs to be understood before the project begins to take place. It was the same way with case commissions before this so in the interests of not repeating the same thing over and over, I’ve set up a Commissions Policy page and a basic RFQ (Request for Quote) form that will help to keep consistency among buyers and keep the requests inline as they come in.

The hopes that this will save a bit of time having both buyer and seller being on the same page before the quoting process even begins. So if you’ve already contacted me about a project, I’ll steer you to the page to be my Beta testers and if you do have interest in getting a portable console or case mod done up, give the policy a read and fill out the RFQ. I’m sure things will be adjusted in the future, but this seems like a good place to start!

Let me know if you have any additional questions you’d like addressed and I’d be glad to answer.

So what seems like after months of down time and waiting, the first version of the new SG-N64 is complete! What is a SG-N64 you may ask? Well, it’s pretty simple actually. The SG-N64 is a Single Game Nintendo 64 Portable Console. Created by the desire to “Immortalize” some of the greatest games of all time, the SG-N64 takes the greatness of a timeless classic and preserves it in a body designed solely for the purpose of playing it.

Alright, that was the dramatic version, but basically, I love Legend of Zelda as a series but Ocarina of Time has always held a certain claim to my devotion to Nintendo and now retro gaming. I dare say that this game may even compete with my all time favorite game “Final Fantasy VII” but in the interest of comparing apples to apples, for Nintendo, this game is it.

So I decided I wanted to try something that could preserve the legacy in a way that I haven’t seen before. Yes, there have been single game N64’s made in the past for TV, but to my knowledge, this may be the first fully portable system dedicated to a single game, but it won’t be the last. I’ve got plans for two more that will take my top 3 favorite N64 games and turn them into their own portable shrines!

That being said, though I  love this system, I built it so I could…well…sell it. My CNC machines are still down and to make sure my now $2k investments don’t turn into a massive paperweight, I need to get them running again an this is the best way to do it! Check out the video below for more info!

System Specs:

1 – Original N64 Motherboard, Trimmed with trimmed jumper pak.
1 – Original copy of The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time Hardwired
2 – 3.7v Lithium/Polymer batteries w/protection circuit and 8.4V Smart Charger
1 – PTH08080WAZ 3.3v Step Down Regulator
1 – Custom Audio Amp by RDC
1 – Custom N64 Controller by RDC
1 – 5″ 16:9 or 3:4 Ratio Display
2 – 40mm Mylar Speakers
Custom Printed Casing, Buttons (exception C, B&A from a Super Pad)
1 – PS3 Joystick on Custom Breakout Board
1 – Charging Jack
1 – Head Phone Jack w/on-off kill switch
1 – Video output jack & Cable to TV.
Back-lit Tri Force Logo