Author Topic: MOD - Homemade converters  (Read 5368 times)

chop5

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MOD - Homemade converters
« on: May 16, 2008, 05:01:53 PM »
         Howdy. As some of you know ive been working on a easy and cheap way to play japanese hucards on american systems without the need for a commercial converter or cutting our precious systems. And having as many systems as i have modding them would be expensive and no way in hades im spending $150 plus on some kisado or old worn out converter.
So i introduce to you the chopsado 2:

I took my old slot tester that i made from the older thread and cut another PCI connector from an old pc motherboard one side the pins are to american and the other to japanese. They were to connect to a bridgeboard made from a butchered thin ribbon cable taped on a credit card here:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/jetbue7/jetsado3.jpg
and then slid into the machine. The wires are curved so it can be fit easily on the back of a tg express.
I only got it working 1 time with fuzziness. No pictures of it in action cause soon after i pulled it out of the tg express a few wires popped off the connector so i had to touch it up.
When i was fixing it and trying to get the fuzziness out it dawned on me.

Why not make a sticker region mod that fits on the hucard itself. Thin and has adhesive so that you can remove it easy and place on another hucard or just leave it on forever without damaging it. Similar to a sim card on mobile phones.
So i started to make a rough proto and sacrificed the materials used on the chopsado2 for it.

Just some folding here and there and make it nice and compact. The ribbon is double sided just have to scrape away the insulation for contacts on each side for 1 piece to redirect and rest another over it. The force of the hu connector will make them have contact when slid in.
chopsado3 is born:


I was gonna solder the wires to the ribbon at first so it would be flat against the hucard cause you can solder onto those thin metal film:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/jetbue7/jetsado.jpg
but since this is a proto and i might have to change something and short on materials i went with a tiny cut of the pci connector




as as you can see reusable:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/jetbue7/chopsado13.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/jetbue7/chopsado11.jpg
peachboy!!!!!

Having the contacts go all the way to the edge of the card i think is a mistake and will adjust it so it barely covers the pins.

But you all get the idea. Someone should design a even thinner and smaller design and make them in china for like 25 cents a sticker.

Post your designs of home made converters here. Be creative maybe something better and easier can be made.
It can be designs on paper or a rough proto.
And remember always be careful with soldering and placing of pins. Don't want to short out your console. Triple check everything.



ps#  chopsado 1 is still being made but i ran out of materials :oops:
update june 5:
heres a pic of a chopsado#1 proto:

just a ribbon from a floppy drive. thats was the plan but with longer ribbon but i ran out of ribbon. This proto i never got to get working. the cuts on the ribbon end are too curved to make proper contact on the hucard slot and need to be cut or filed flat.  but you all get the idea :mrgreen:

others have used the PCI connector's as you can see in this mirai converter so it can be used on an express:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/jetbue7/9313_1.jpg

« Last Edit: March 05, 2009, 12:12:27 PM by Pcenginefx »
AKA jetblue
Gentlemen behold...The chopsado!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/jetbue7/prchopsado.jpg tg-16 region converter or some weird bow tie

guyjin

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Re: Home made converters
« Reply #1 on: May 16, 2008, 05:10:00 PM »
Not sure I'd trust my games to any of those, but definitely cool hacks!  :clap:
"Fun is a strong word." - SNK
"Today, people do all kind of shit." - Tatsujin

Turbo D

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Re: Home made converters
« Reply #2 on: May 16, 2008, 07:06:46 PM »
thats cool dude!  :)

the haze

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Re: Home made converters
« Reply #3 on: May 16, 2008, 10:54:12 PM »
Great photos man!

I want some chopsado stickers for sure!

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spenoza

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Re: Home made converters
« Reply #4 on: May 17, 2008, 08:11:06 AM »
I think that this is quite a creative endeavor. Sure, it makes MacGuyver look like a top quality manufacturer of polished goods, but who cares as long as it works.

And now I feel like a fool for not sitting down and playing with this stuff myself. Maybe I'll have to get off my ass and get to it.
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Michael Helgeson

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Re: Home made converters
« Reply #5 on: May 17, 2008, 08:36:29 AM »
This is a interesting idea that could be fabricated into something sold en-masse. Basically slap on labels that cover the data area and reverse the needed pins at the same time. This should seriously be looked into by someone with the right funds,and hot ladies to model/demo said product.

ceti alpha

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Re: Home made converters
« Reply #6 on: May 17, 2008, 12:33:48 PM »
This is a interesting idea that could be fabricated into something sold en-masse. Basically slap on labels that cover the data area and reverse the needed pins at the same time. This should seriously be looked into by someone with the right funds,and hot ladies to model/demo said product.

haha. I think you just uncovered NEC/TTI's marketing mistake - they didn't have hot models.  :P

Seriously though, nice work chop.  :clap:


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SignOfZeta

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Re: Home made converters
« Reply #7 on: May 17, 2008, 05:56:06 PM »
This is extraordinarily brilliant and totally ghetto at the same time. I love it.

Necromancer

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Re: Home made converters
« Reply #8 on: May 17, 2008, 06:02:20 PM »
This is pretty cool; primitive, but cool.  :clap:
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guyjin

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Re: Home made converters
« Reply #9 on: May 18, 2008, 09:12:59 AM »
Are you familiar with Hackaday.com? you might send this their way.
"Fun is a strong word." - SNK
"Today, people do all kind of shit." - Tatsujin

spenoza

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Re: Home made converters
« Reply #10 on: May 18, 2008, 01:01:34 PM »
So, I don't know if I'm using the wrong search terms or what, but apparently the thin film-style cables are not considered consumer parts of any variety, because I can't find a place to buy any. Anybody else have any thoughts?
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chop5

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Re: Home made converters
« Reply #11 on: May 18, 2008, 06:42:39 PM »
Thanks guys for the kind words  :D

Il give a rundown on materials for the chopsado 3.

The cable has many names,foil ribbon,flat cable,flex cable or just plain ribbon cable. But i think the technical name for it is ffc (flat flexible cable) or fcc (flat conductor cable)cable. I got mines from a old cd lens.

Theres also fpc ribbon cable (flexible printed circuit) but its made of different material and i suspect even thinner. Probably what the finished chopsado 3 will be made of.
www.avx.com/docs/Catalogs/ffchist.pdf

They go by pitch,the space between the pins. The one i use was slightly off pitch to the hucards pins but when cut up in pieces of 5 it was barely noticeable.
The pitch is so small i can barely measure it. I think the hucard pins are like 0.40 mm and the ribbon i used was maybe 0.35mm. I don't have accurate measuring equipment. If someone can measure the pitch of the hucard pins that would be great.

I took 4 pieces of the ribbon i had,two pieces of 5 and two of 4.
Taped them back to back with the contacts out. This particular ribbon had plastic mountings on its ends so it can slide off easy from its cd lens and its motherboard. I used that part to connect to the piece of pci connector. The other end of was cut off so it would be just thin bare cable and i scraped off its insulation with a razor blade. I could of done that with the other end but it saved some time.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/jetbue7/chopsado15.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/jetbue7/chopsado18.jpg
Theres only 8 pins that need redirecting on a hucard. I redirected 9 so there wouldn't be a space between them,make it even.

In this pic they look a bit raised but there not that protruding from the card. They get flatter if you press down with your finger. Like the thickness of 2 pieces of paper. I don't think it will effect the card slot at all. But i would like thinner ribbon if i can find it.
Held down with a piece of tape at the end:

Can barely even see the ribbon.

Its better to position the contacts on the pins instead of over the pins and around the card like i did at first:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/jetbue7/chopsado14.jpg
The way the tg-16 slot pins are made the ribbon cant get caught between them or raised out of place.
They would get raised up on the plastic part of the connector first but the would have to really be protruding.
But just in case a small piece of tape on the end keeps then down.


The pci connector has 2 rows of pins. To redirect the ribbons contacts from the side touching the card from jap to the side touching the slot usa. Lots of kynar wire to do this.
I could have soldered directly to the ribbon cable but wanted it this way in case i changed something.

The pci connector is really unnecessary.
I will probably make one with the pieces of ribbon cable i have left with the wires soldered on the ribbon cable making it even smaller. Probably a inch high with smaller wires connecting them. Not solder on the side of the ribbon with the plastic mountings. I would cut that off and scrape off the insulation then solder onto it. Then cover the wires with a smiley face sticker or just a piece of black electrical tape.

I think thats it. Just common stuff i had laying around the house. I'm cheap. If i had to order special stuff this project would of taken forever and be costly.
I just wanna play 8)










update,june 18

a more compact without the pc1 connection:



tried to glue it in place but glue wont hold for some reason so had to use tape again. also i need to get a thinner gauge of wire:



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/jetbue7/chopsado3portotypepics2.jpg

still not the way i want it. il scrap this one and try again. works good though
« Last Edit: June 18, 2008, 02:47:37 PM by chop5 »
AKA jetblue
Gentlemen behold...The chopsado!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/jetbue7/prchopsado.jpg tg-16 region converter or some weird bow tie

spenoza

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Re: Home made converters
« Reply #12 on: May 22, 2008, 11:41:50 AM »
Hmm... If I want 500 ft of that flexicable I'm OK. Otherwise I'm screwed short of pillaging other devices.
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chop5

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Re: Home made converters
« Reply #13 on: May 22, 2008, 06:26:03 PM »
I found out the hucards pitch. its 0.05 inch or 1.27mm.
same pitch as a pci 120 pin connector bus and an old floppy drive cable.
The ffc ribbons on ebay are really small pitch and some dont give the pitch in the description but look like they might be close. il buy a few and let you all know.
A ribbon of the same pitch would be ideal so i can make it from a 2 single pieces instead of 4 like i did with mine.
AKA jetblue
Gentlemen behold...The chopsado!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/jetbue7/prchopsado.jpg tg-16 region converter or some weird bow tie

Paisa49

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Re: Home made converters
« Reply #14 on: May 23, 2008, 09:38:53 AM »
I found out the hucards pitch. its 0.05 inch or 1.27mm.
same pitch as a pci 120 pin connector bus and an old floppy drive cable.
The ffc ribbons on ebay are really small pitch and some dont give the pitch in the description but look like they might be close. il buy a few and let you all know.
A ribbon of the same pitch would be ideal so i can make it from a 2 single pieces instead of 4 like i did with mine.

So, will you be able to make these converters not only functional but for sale to folks interested in purchasing? How much would you sell these things for?