PCEngineFans.com - The PC Engine and TurboGrafx-16 Community Forum
NEC TG-16/TE/TurboDuo => TG/PCE Repair/Mod Discussion => Topic started by: ATOM on April 13, 2007, 07:25:32 AM
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i plan on doing some serious mods to a tg16. but before i embark i need a couple of things. does anyone know what the motherboard dimensions are? ill start with that and go from there.
thanks.
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I can't help you there. But if you're modding it you're gonna have to open it up anyway, right? Be warned, there is a stainless steel case enclosing the entire guts of the tg, and it's soldered together, not screwed. so you're gonna have to get your hands dirty. You'll also need a Gamebit to get the special screws out. That's about all I know. hope that helps!
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well i plan on making a portable out of one and i want to get everything ordered as soon as possible. i dislike the commercial handheld version as the screens are horrid and small along with a multitude of other issues. but i want to see if its worth doing before i rip apart one. im no stranger to desoldering/soldering, modding, and anything else that would be required to do this project. i love the tg16 but i dont want to open one unless i have to.
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Since you're not afraid of doing some serious modding, you might want to look at using a PC Engine instead. They're a little more compact and can be made region free easily enough. Sorry, but I haven't measured the guts of a TG-16 before, so I'm no help there. Please keep us informed with your project as I'm sure many would like to see the outcome.
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Since you're not afraid of doing some serious modding, you might want to look at using a PC Engine instead. They're a little more compact and can be made region free easily enough. Sorry, but I haven't measured the guts of a TG-16 before, so I'm no help there. Please keep us informed with your project as I'm sure many would like to see the outcome.
i was unaware the pc engines could be made region free. that makes it alot easier then, as the core grafx system is tiny and would work perfectly. as thats more then small enough (smaller then the screen i plan on using), i can use a commercially available case for this instead of making my own. is there a link for the region free mod?
anyone who's interested this is what im planning:
pce core grafx system
case: http://www.polycase.com/item/ag-85.html
screen: http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Audiovox-EX50-add-onn-Monitor-for-VBP-Models-VBP700_W0QQitemZ230112900257QQcmdZViewItem (i plan on replacing the light source with white leds to save power)
batteries: http://thomasdistributing.com/shop/maha-aa-2000-mah-nimhbrrechargeable-battery-with-solder-tabs-p-445.html?SP_id= (i think 6 will do, ima have to really find out what the draw on the pce is before i really buy batteries)
this will include a player 2 controller port, tv out, headphone jack, ac/charging jack, and a few other options.
currently im doing a nes/snes combo system portable, this will be my next project.
a secondary question now is that, are there internal ics in the controllers or do they just run straight back to the console like atari and sega systems?
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a secondary question now is that, are there internal ics in the controllers or do they just run straight back to the console like atari and sega systems?
There are ICs in the controllers.
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bah more work then. oh well not a big deal.
still, is there a link for the region free mod? as the search function and interwebz is not giving anything useful yet.
hmm i guess this will also need to be moved as it now covers the pce and not the tg16.
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still, is there a link for the region free mod? as the search function and interwebz is not giving anything useful yet.
http://www.pcenginefx.com/forums/index.php?topic=2472.0
I believe the TG-16 motherboards are definitely bigger than the PC Engine. I never opened one up, but there's a picture of it here (http://nfggames.com/games/vistar/) (it actually for the Korean TG-16 -- Vistar -- but they apparently share the same motherboard with the TG-16).
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Basically, to render the region lockout code useless all you need to do is re-route pin 29 off the CPU to ground on a Japanese deck.
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Basically, to render the region lockout code useless all you need to do is re-route pin 29 off the CPU to ground on a Japanese deck.
But you'd still need a converter for switching pins 15-23 in that case. If he wants to play US cards, might as well switch the pins while he has the system open, or better yet, install a switch to play both region cards.
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As posted by nat and thumpin_termis - you need to ground pin 29 and rewire the HuCard socket. See http://www.gamesx.com/importmod/necjapmod.htm for more info. on grounding pin 29 and t_t's link for installing a switch on the slot. If you don't care about not being able to play PC Engine games, you could always hardwire the slot and save a little room (but where's the fun in that?).
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looks to be easy enough. desolder pin 29, solder a lead with a switch (or does the switch not matter if i want to play import games again as the lock out is bypassed anyway?) to a common ground and wire a 8 pole switch to flip the order of pins for pins 15-23 on the hucard slot.
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No switch required for pin 29. This would not be true if you were going to use a SuperGrafx. If I remember correctly, Aldynes doesn't work properly if pin 29 is grounded. I've never heard of any PC Engine games having a similar problem.
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No switch required for pin 29. This would not be true if you were going to use a SuperGrafx. If I remember correctly, Aldynes doesn't work properly if pin 29 is grounded. I've never heard of any PC Engine games having a similar problem.
very good to know.
but in some new stuff for my project.
with a little research i found some nice pics and a few other goodies for the controllers.
this is the page for the ic pinouts and connectors for controllers.
http://www.gamesx.com/controldata/turbocont.htm
you can purchase the ics oem without hacking a controller up.
http://froogle.google.com/froogle?hl=en&q=74HC157&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&um=1&sa=N&tab=wf
they are super cheap and plentiful.
you can rig up your own custom controllers via this info, some soldering and building skills, and some parts (and a little thinking).
you need in addition:
tact switches: http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/item/MPB-136/700325/TACTILE_PUSHBUTTON_SWITCH,_SURFACE-MOUNT_.html
or use arcade buttons
http://www.happcontrols.com/pushbuttons/5896xxl.htm
and 4 microswitch 8-way arcade joystick
http://www.happcontrols.com/joysticks/ultimate_joy.htm
you need one for each direction (or just the joy) and one for each button.
resistors: 10k-ohm (or something close), 1/4-watt resistors (4 for the d-pad/joystick and 4 more for each of the other buttons and maybe more depending on the overall function of the return pins to the console, this is to hold the high signal for the buttons) radio shack catalog #271-1335
im going to have to really look at this more and fool around so i can come up with a wiring diagram to do this.
or i guess you could solder the switches right over traces for the button contacts right on the controller board. and do it that way but would take up more space.
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This sounds really cool. I've often thought of this myself, but I know I don't have the technical know-how. Keep us posted with pics and stuff so we can see how this turns out!
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This sounds really cool. I've often thought of this myself, but I know I don't have the technical know-how. Keep us posted with pics and stuff so we can see how this turns out!
will do on the pics. this should be easier then the other portable im working on (relocating the cart slots is a huge pain). and as for the custom controllers, maybe ill make a super nice arcade stick since i dont really like the ones that were made for it.
ill do a how to and take pics of the steps i take for this. this isnt too hard.
pretty much this is it:
remove mobo from pce
remove screen from casing (you dont have to mod it for leds)
desolder power jacks on pce and screen. desolder av jacks on pce and screen. desolder controller ports.
solder leads from av on screen to av on pce mobo
solder batteries to the correct power points on screen and pce. connect also some leads to run to a power jack to allow charging without removing batteries.
the easy way to do a controller is to solder switchs to the traces on the button contacts on the controller board itself then mount the tact switch to a perf board and put a little hot glue on the bottom of the original plastic buttons and place those over the tacts. then solder the leads directly to the pce mobo.
mount inside a case (either store bought or homemade)
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If I remember correctly, Aldynes doesn't work properly if pin 29 is grounded.
Not that it's even relevant, but Aldynes technically still works with the pin 29 mod: it only crashes if you let it go into attract mode.
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If I remember correctly, Aldynes doesn't work properly if pin 29 is grounded.
Not that it's even relevant, but Aldynes technically still works with the pin 29 mod: it only crashes if you let it go into attract mode.
is the game worth including a switch to allow it to work properly?
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If I remember correctly, Aldynes doesn't work properly if pin 29 is grounded.
Not that it's even relevant, but Aldynes technically still works with the pin 29 mod: it only crashes if you let it go into attract mode.
is the game worth including a switch to allow it to work properly?
the game is f*cking awesome.
But Aldynes is a SuperGrafx game. So this is all a moot point unless you are building your portable out of a SuperGrafx. Which, too, would be f*cking awesome.
But I think you mentioned you're using a CoreGrafx so it doesn't matter. You can't play SuperGrafx games on a CoreGrafx no matter how hard you try.
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If I remember correctly, Aldynes doesn't work properly if pin 29 is grounded.
Not that it's even relevant, but Aldynes technically still works with the pin 29 mod: it only crashes if you let it go into attract mode.
is the game worth including a switch to allow it to work properly?
the game is f*cking awesome.
But Aldynes is a SuperGrafx game. So this is all a moot point unless you are building your portable out of a SuperGrafx. Which, too, would be f*cking awesome.
But I think you mentioned you're using a CoreGrafx so it doesn't matter. You can't play SuperGrafx games on a CoreGrafx no matter how hard you try.
yeah the core grafx is so tiny i cant afford not to use it. unless i want a laptop sized "portable".
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I know you're past this point already, but you could use the guts of a pce gt, which includes your controller and you could even rob the speakers out of it. you would want to replace all the caps, which has been discussed here recently, but that should be easy in light of the other stuff you're gonna do. Hell, you might even be able to use the card slot. At any rate, it would give you more room to work within the new shell you put it in. Just a thought.
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I know you're past this point already, but you could use the guts of a pce gt, which includes your controller and you could even rob the speakers out of it. you would want to replace all the caps, which has been discussed here recently, but that should be easy in light of the other stuff you're gonna do. Hell, you might even be able to use the card slot. At any rate, it would give you more room to work within the new shell you put it in. Just a thought.
power draw on it would be more then what i would make, the screen would still suck, and would defeat what i want to do. i want something completely custom. there really isnt anything hard about this except finding the time and the money to do it.
this would be something completly unique as ive seen most other mainstream systems portablized but never the pce or tg16 because of the express (eventhough i think for the time it was awesome but has soo many issues).
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Yeah, I wasn't suggesting using the screen (ueehg), I was mainly thinking of the smaller motherboard. but at any rate, I think it will be interesting to see what you come up with.
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Yeah, I wasn't suggesting using the screen (ueehg), I was mainly thinking of the smaller motherboard. but at any rate, I think it will be interesting to see what you come up with.
i could but i dont think i could pull a usable video signal off it. it might have rgb on it somewhere but im not sure if it has the same video encoder as the other systems in the turbo family.
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Yeah, I wasn't suggesting using the screen (ueehg), I was mainly thinking of the smaller motherboard. but at any rate, I think it will be interesting to see what you come up with.
i could but i dont think i could pull a usable video signal off it. it might have rgb on it somewhere but im not sure if it has the same video encoder as the other systems in the turbo family.
You can tap RGB from the video chip itself for any PCE/TG-16 family machines.
http://www.gamesx.com/rgbadd/duorgb.php
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well i ordered some of the parts. maybe ill fool around with this before i finish my other project. ill post pics and whatnot as it goes on.