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Hello Birders! 🐥🔧🎮🎉

I recently began learning about Arduino in my C programming class. I made the first project on the SparkFun Inventor’s Kit (SIK) Guide (Version 4.1). Using the Arduino IDE, I can change the number of milliseconds an LED blinks. 

Although it is a simple project, it means the world to me. I finally get to program hardware!

 

Thank you for your support!

-Pico

GameCube Japenese Region Switch

Hello Birders! 🐥🔧🎮🎉

Here is one of my first projects involving consoles. I was learning Japanese at the time and I had always wanted to play the Japanese version of Luigi's Mansion. My friend taught me how to modify this GameCube so that I could play my game. 
I soldered a switch to the motherboard, to switch between the region locks:
North America and South America (NTSC-U), and Japan and Asia (NTSC-J).  
I only took a few pictures, so here is a brief tear-down.

 

GameCube without the top shell: 

 

GameCube Motherboard: 

 

 I soldered the switch to these two points:

 

I used a hot glue gun to place the switch through the rear air vent:

Tada! 🎉

Professor E. Gadd: "Luigi, are you okay?"

I am so happy that I can play this now. It certainly added to my joy of learning another language!

Thank you!

-Pico

Sega Genesis Model 1 VA6 VA7 Region Mod

Hello Birders! 🐥🔧🎮🎉

Last week I worked on two different Sega Genesis Model 1 hardware revisions. While the shells of these consoles are very similar, the boards vary significantly. There was a lack of documentation for the VA7 variation, so I will be uploading my pictures. I know they are not the best pictures, but I think it will be good to get this information out there. 

Both consoles look like this, though I noticed the spacing is a little bit different between the ports on the back. 

VA6

(I apologize for the color selection of the cables, it would have made this guide a lot easier if I had three different colors, but I had to make do.) 

If I remember correctly, the JP2 contact should connect to the ground (middle) part of the rocker switch for both variations. The JP2 bridge must be cut, this is what the switch will replace.

VA7

 

I cut the JP2 line on the back on the VA7 board:

 Both variations required the cartridge slot to be trimmed for Japanese cartridges. I also carved a spot on the back of the consoles for the rocker switch

 The Dremel was tough for me to hold at first, so there is a little scrape. The switch fit nicely though, so it works. 

I went back and redid the solder points because I did not like them. I wish I would have taken pictures afterward. Hopefully, someone can post better photos of the VA7 but I run across it again, I hope to get some better ones. 

Thank you for following!

2017: NES Blinking Light Win

Hello Birders! 👋🐥🔧🎮

I am posting my Nintendo Entertainment System's (NES) Blinking Light Win install I did back in 2017. It was a simple install with no soldering required, though I did need some help unscrewing the NES case apart because the screws seemed like they were glued stuck. Here are some of the pictures I took from that day in 2017:
 

 

Blinking Light Win (BLW) replaced the old pin connectors that caused the NES to show a blinking light with no video output. BLW also improved the design of the cartridge slot to prevent the new pins from wearing out as fast. You would not need to push down on the cartridge anymore.

The design of the original NES was that you put in a game cartridge and press it down to make secure contact with the pins. Over time, the pin connectors would be bent past the point of returning to the position were they could make contact with the game cartridge's pins, causing video issues.

The Blinking Light Win came with the new pin connector cartridge slot and tray:

 

Pin connector plugs in where the old connector was before. No soldering needed.

Here is the NES with the tray installed, along with a game:

 

   

Tada! 🎉

 

  

The Blinking Light Win mod solved my NES's issue and now plays games. The only issue I found was when taking out the games from the console, the slot would really hold on to the game. It's tough to take them out now, but I'm sure with time it will get better. My concern with that is it may damage the games over time as well, but they don't seem to show that yet.

The picture above doesn't do it any justice, after all it is a CRT and I have learned better techniques since then about taking pictures from a CRT monitor. Looking back at these pictures, I will have to revisit the NES to clean the board up a bit. 

I realize how much I have learned since then, I remember being intimidated, thinking it was a risky process, but it was not bad at all!

Thank you!

-Pico

Blinking Light Win Kickstarter

BLW ArcadeWorks Shop