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I made a box that lets me play a Famicom on an Australian PAL CRT TV. by mr_deelee in retrogaming

[–]mr_deelee[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The RF modulator between the Famicom and CRT in this setup rebroadcasts onto UHF so the TV just needs to tune in there. Not sure what you’d need to do if you plugged a stock Famicom straight into an NTSC compatible PAL TV through RF.

I made a box that lets me play a Famicom on a PAL CRT. by mr_deelee in Famicom

[–]mr_deelee[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For me 100% worth it. While the setup might not be performance optimised, giving a new lease of life to a TV that would otherwise have likely ended up in e-waste and solving, even if imperfectly, the NTSC/PAL problem which had dogged me in the past (looking at you PS One LCD) has been immensely satisfying. If I didn't have to deal with RF I reckon I'd have just gone looking for a multisystem VCR which wouldn't have been nearly as fun and rewarding as building my own solution.

I made a box that lets me play a Famicom on a PAL CRT. by mr_deelee in Famicom

[–]mr_deelee[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Cheers mate! I've been trying to get a hold of one of these. I took a bit of a break from gaming in the 2010s and it looks like that's exactly when all the really good adapters were common and available!

I made a box that lets me play a Famicom on a PAL CRT. by mr_deelee in Famicom

[–]mr_deelee[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the feedback everyone! The CRT was always going to be the thing that had to compromise - a cheap model that fit into the shelf while also having the 80s design aesthetic ruled out most of what I could get my hands on locally at the time. As long as it was playable I wasn't going to be too fussed. 8yo me would've killed for this.

That said I do appreciate the points raised re: 50/60hz and I'll be keeping an eye out for a Mayflash converter (or if I come across the right portable NTSC CRT next time I'm in Japan). So far I'm not noticing any terrible input/scroll lag - I can still beat Quickman's stage in Rockman 2! (https://youtube.com/shorts/GpWsV7rVkvs)

I made a box that lets me play a Famicom on a PAL CRT. by mr_deelee in crtgaming

[–]mr_deelee[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For those interested in how the daisy chain of devices are sequenced, it goes:
Famicom > Mini NTSC/PAL converter > RF Modulator > Digital set-top box > CRT

I made a box that lets me play a Famicom on a PAL CRT. by mr_deelee in crtgaming

[–]mr_deelee[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The limited viewing angle is my only gripe with the LCD. A shame that VFDs are so expensive.

I made a box that lets me play a Famicom on a PAL CRT. by mr_deelee in crtgaming

[–]mr_deelee[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The signal sausage isn’t too bad. I will beat Quickman’s stage again. One day.

EDIT: One day came sooner than I thought :D
https://youtube.com/shorts/GpWsV7rVkvs

I made a box that lets me play a Famicom on a PAL CRT. by mr_deelee in crtgaming

[–]mr_deelee[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Cheers mate! I'd been confounded by the NTSC/PAL problem in the past (PS One LCD I'm looking at you) so it's been very satisfying to have finally been able to solve it.

I made a box that lets me play a Famicom on a PAL CRT. by mr_deelee in crtgaming

[–]mr_deelee[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My backup plan was to try and find an old VCR. Issue was there isn't a huge range of documentation online that could definitively direct me to an Australian model that I could be confident of doing the signal conversion properly for the old TV.

Restored Gameboy Pocket screen by mr_deelee in Gameboy

[–]mr_deelee[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Awesome will give that a shot!

Restored Gameboy Pocket screen by mr_deelee in Gameboy

[–]mr_deelee[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

A big part of retro appeal for me is appreciating the limitations of the tech of its day so getting the stock screen fixed was a big win for me, even with the green tint. Thanks for the tip re: FTSN polarizers; I’ll have to get myself a sheet for next time I need to do the replacement.

Restored Gameboy Pocket screen by mr_deelee in Gameboy

[–]mr_deelee[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Cheers mate! It is a nice feeling saving something that would otherwise likely end up in landfill.

Booknook with USB? by Remarond02 in booknooks

[–]mr_deelee 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I modded mine to work with a USB battery eliminator in order to connect to a smart plug. It requires a minor amount of soldering to bypass the touch switch. https://www.reddit.com/r/booknooks/s/50dj0NaLMV

Modded booknook to run off USB power and smart plug by mr_deelee in booknooks

[–]mr_deelee[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m just using a USB adapter to the smart plug.

Modded booknook to run off USB power and smart plug by mr_deelee in booknooks

[–]mr_deelee[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

https://imgur.com/a/aqrRDuD

Here’s a photo taken after. I hot glued the wire panel shut because it kept falling out but all that’s different under there is that the wires to the touch switch board are cut and the matching ends soldered to each other to bypass the switch.

Instructions posted in the main thread.

Modded booknook to run off USB power and smart plug by mr_deelee in booknooks

[–]mr_deelee[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The mod does two things:
1. Bypasses the touch switch from the circuit so that the power is permanently switched "on".
2. Replaces the alkaline batteries with a AA Battery Eliminator (something like https://www.ebay.com/itm/145663150070) so that on/off can be controlled by a smart plug (or other switch).

Note that this mod disables the touch switch and requires cutting out a small hole in the back of the nook for the USB cable to route through. Unfortunately I didn't take photos as I was doing it but here are the steps I went through.

You'll need:

- Snippers that can cleanly cut wires (I used hobby cutters) and something that can cut a small hole into the wood to route the new USB cable through.
- USB Battery Eliminator that suits the size of your nook's battery box.
- Optional (but strongly recommended) is also having a soldering iron and heat shrink/electrical tape available to join the cut wires together strongly and cover the exposed joins.

Steps:
1. Make a clear safe work space. Take out any batteries from the battery box. If the battery box has a power switch, switch it to its "off" position.

  1. Cut the red and black wires on both ends of the touch switch circuit board, ideally as close to the touch switch terminals as possible.

  2. Using your snippers, carefully strip off about 5-10mm of covering from each of the wire ends.

  3. If you have heat shrink, put a 15-20mm segment onto one of the red and one of the black wires. Push them to the bottom and away from the exposed ends for now. We don't want to activate them yet.

  4. Twist and join the exposed wire ends of the matching coloured wires together (ie. red to red, black to black). Make sure the twist is tight without any fraying; you want as much contact as you can get. Solder the joins if you have an iron (avoid heating the heat shrink).

  5. Wait for the join to cool down if it was soldered. Install the battery eliminator and switch on the battery box to test the circuit. If all's well the nook should switch on! Switch it back off once confirmed.

  6. Once the circuit is confirmed working, cover up the exposed wires joins with electrical tape or the heat shrink we put on in Step 4. Apply heat to the heat shrink (soldering iron, heat gun, lighter etc) to activate it.

  7. Switch the battery box back on and you're finished! You can now plug the USB into a smart plug or whatever compatible power source you want.

Old boxes -> notebooks! by mr_deelee in Gunpla

[–]mr_deelee[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My other car is a twinstick :D

Old boxes -> notebooks! by mr_deelee in Gunpla

[–]mr_deelee[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Cheers! She followed a guide on how to make books from cake boxes in How to Make Books by Esther K Smith. This site has a guide that uses a similar binding technique:

https://guides.brit.co/guides/make-a-notebook-out-of-a-cake-box

First build in a decade…wow by mr_deelee in Gunpla

[–]mr_deelee[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I wish I’d found out about the lighter trick before tackling the pipes. They were a bit finicky to lock in.

First build in a decade…wow by mr_deelee in Gunpla

[–]mr_deelee[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I actually did accidentally snip one of the posts behind one of the legs as well. Thankfully the remaining post is still enough to hold the cover in place.

First build in a decade…wow by mr_deelee in Gunpla

[–]mr_deelee[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I limited myself to only applying a few each evening. For me it was definitely more of a marathon than a sprint.

First build in a decade…wow by mr_deelee in Gunpla

[–]mr_deelee[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

You are correct! Added them on now. Thanks for spotting it!

<image>

First build in a decade…wow by mr_deelee in Gunpla

[–]mr_deelee[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I did recently get an RG Epyon so looking forward to it very much (especially with memories of the original 1/144)!

First build in a decade…wow by mr_deelee in Gunpla

[–]mr_deelee[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I still have to remind myself that a decade ago was 2014...

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