tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53000170328310676432024-03-08T00:54:15.926-06:00Ruyor's Tech AdventuresI will be posting past and current modding/hacking projects along with collection updates and other things I feel like posting about :PRuyorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14772909702191988627noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5300017032831067643.post-14099382831149297562017-05-31T13:41:00.000-05:002017-05-31T14:09:29.306-05:008bitdo NES30 Pro Review (for Switch use)Wow, this blog still exists? I thought it'd be gone for sure after 4-5 years of inactivity. Looks like some of the old pictures didn't make it, though... Anyway, on to the new stuff!<br />
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After hearing that 8Bitdo pushed out a firmware update for most of their controllers to make them compatible with the Nintendo Switch and still not having a Switch Pro controller of my own, I decided to pick one up. It arrived today and now that I've played with it for a little bit, here's my review!<br />
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First impressions:</h3>
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I got this controller for $42, a Switch Pro controller is $70, that's a $28 difference (an extra game's worth of savings!) It came in a very nice box with a slipcover and a foam cutout inside holding the controller. The box also had a section under the foam that holds a manual sheet, the included USB cable, and a nice metal key chain in separate pull-out boxes.<br />
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The controller itself was much smaller than I was expecting and the sticks are tiny!<br />
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Usage:</h3>
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Updating the firmware (required for Switch use) was pretty easy, the PC app that comes with the firmware update tells you everything you need to know to get it done. Initial setup/pairing isn't terrible if you read up on it first, but can be overly complicated. You will need to download an updated manual to go along with the new firmware, the included sheet is for the base firmware only and doesn't have info on the Switch mode. The Switch OS identifies it as an official Pro controller once synced.<br />
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All of the face buttons and D-pad feel really good, they're almost identical to the ones found on the original NES controller. The shoulder buttons are side-by-side, but it's not as bad as it looks/sounds. My finger sits on them in a way that I can hit the inside one with the tip of my finger and the outside one with the middle of my finger without issue.<br />
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My Switch stopped responding to button presses a couple times after sleeping the console, might have to re-pair the controller after sleep mode for a proper connection if this happens. Also, DO NOT try to use Amiibo with it, it doesn't have the NFC reader and locked up Zelda when I accidentally triggered a scan. After the lockup, I couldn't get the NES30 Pro to reconnect or re-pair until I rebooted my Switch.<br />
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<br /><b>Overall:</b></h3>
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I feel like the 8Bitdo NES30 Pro isn't as good as a Pro controller if you're only getting it as a main docked controller for the Switch, but would make a great 2nd/3rd/4th controller for multiplayer games. It also has many more uses other than a Switch controller, including PC/MacOS, Android, and (with the right firmware) PS3, Wii/Wii U, and Retron5 connectivity.<br />
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If I had to rate it overall just on Switch usage, I'd give it a 3.5 out of 5 because of the setup/pairing ritual and no NFC.<br />
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🐺Ruyorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14772909702191988627noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5300017032831067643.post-83022936240297693072012-07-02T16:18:00.000-05:002012-07-02T16:18:30.450-05:00A Wild Post Has Appeared!Wow... almost six months since my last post here. I've been so busy with repairs lately that I haven't really done much that's post worthy :P I figured I'd go ahead and share my last little project, a laptop cooler built into a Xbox 360 shell. I'm sure your saying "Why a 360 shell?", I had tons of the things lying around, so that's why xD<br />
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It's simply my fan-in-a-box, except built to go under a laptop. The batteries died in 2-3 days, so I made an AC adapter for it and it's been humming ever since :PRuyorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14772909702191988627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5300017032831067643.post-91616583532730121052012-01-25T11:10:00.007-06:002012-01-25T11:33:07.525-06:00LolBatteriesIt's been a while since I've posted here O_O... Anyway, this is what happens when I get bored:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ruyor.comxa.com/Pics/Temp/lolbatteries.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 800px; height: 600px;" src="http://ruyor.comxa.com/Pics/Temp/lolbatteries.JPG" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />That's a PSOne w/ screen running on 6 AA batteries xD It lasted for about 3 minutes before the system reset from low power. I also tried it w/ 7 AAs (6 of them being the ones I already used), it lasted 7.5 minutes then. I'm seriously thinking about finding something that will last longer, a fully portable PSOne would be nice :PRuyorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14772909702191988627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5300017032831067643.post-35545014740685574942011-09-09T00:03:00.003-05:002011-09-09T00:23:24.653-05:00IDStorage Regeneration ProblemsIt has come to my attention that there is a major problem/side-effect with DCv8's IDStorage options, mainly the ones to rebuild IDStorage and to change region. This problem is the fact that a PSP that has had it's IDStorage rebuilt or had it's region changed using DCv8 is no longer able to activate on PSN. It simply gives a <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">80109D24 <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">error while activating. The only way to fix it is to restore a NAND backup made BEFORE the IDStorage changes, then everything is fine.<br /><br />My best guess is something is wrong with the way DCv8 generates the region IDStorage key, and Sony can see the difference when you try to activate. It's possible that a donor region key from a PSP of the same region and has the same motherboard could be used if a NAND dump isn't available, but I'm not a PSP dev and don't know enough to say for sure.<br /><br />I would do more testing on this, but the 1000 I was using to poke around is no longer able to activate even with the correct IDStorage, something to do with too many de/reactivations in a row (which is a bunch of crap if you ask me...).<br /><br />The point is, ALWAYS make a NAND dump before doing anything to your IDStorage, even if your using DCv8.<br /></span></span>Ruyorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14772909702191988627noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5300017032831067643.post-32339344003462023292011-07-05T18:16:00.006-05:002011-09-09T00:25:43.294-05:00Dualshock3 + PSP Batt. = WinI had finally got my hands on a decent PS3 controller a few weeks ago, a standard black Dualshock3. But like most of the stuff I post here about, it had a problem... It refused to charge the battery. I had changed the battery twice, the first was a brand new one from DealExtreme, but it still didn't charge. The second was a known working one from my crappy Sixaxis, the DS3 worked fine until the battery died, and the thing still wouldn't charge >_><br /><br />Well, I decided it had to be the board since that was the one constant thing that never changed during my tests, so I checked it out. The part of the board under the battery plug had some kind of black goo all over it, and since it was so close to the battery plug I'm guessing it was the charging circuit... I cleaned it up as best I could and hoped for the best, and it did charge after I reassembled it :D<br /><br />I tried to get on my PS3 last night using said controller, and the battery was dead. I didn't think it was a big deal, so I turned the PS3 on manually and hooked up the USB and let it sit for a while (I can't use wired PS3 controllers in my setup). I came back to it after 10 minutes and unplugged the USB... nothing. It once again refused to charge ~_~ I disassembled it and set it aside for tomorrow.<br /><br />The next day (today), I did a few tests to see if I could bring it back, but I couldn't. So I set about my last resort option. I had a few PSP Slim batteries laying around doing nothing, and a standalone PSP battery charger. The voltage was close enough (DS3 batt=3.7v, PSP batt=3.6v) so I decided to mod the DS3 to use a PSP Slim battery.<br /><br />The plan was simple enough, attach wires to the battery port on the DS3 board and route them thru the place the USB port was, then attach the battery to the underside of the DS3 using sticky tack. And I did just that.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ruyor.comxa.com/Pics/Blog/DS3+PSPBatt1.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 508px; height: 480px;" src="http://ruyor.comxa.com/Pics/Blog/DS3+PSPBatt1.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">The wires are attached to the back of the battery port</span></div><br /><br />After attaching the wires, I tried it out and it worked fine :D I reassembled it and sticky tacked the battery to the controller, and here's what I got:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ruyor.comxa.com/Pics/Blog/DS3+PSPBatt2.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 640px; height: 431px;" src="http://ruyor.comxa.com/Pics/Blog/DS3+PSPBatt2.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ruyor.comxa.com/Pics/Blog/DS3+PSPBatt3.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 640px; height: 360px;" src="http://ruyor.comxa.com/Pics/Blog/DS3+PSPBatt3.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ruyor.comxa.com/Pics/Blog/DS3+PSPBatt4.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 640px; height: 282px;" src="http://ruyor.comxa.com/Pics/Blog/DS3+PSPBatt4.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">See? It works! :D</span></div><br /><br />This mod does have some restrictions. I can't use the controller while charging the battery since I have to take the battery off to charge it, and the USB can't really be used while the PSP battery is connected (the wires are blocking it, and I wouldn't want it to magically start charging and damage something). But the first one doesn't bother me since I have 2 spare 1200mAh batts, and the second one doesn't matter as long as the DS3 stays paired with my PS3 :P I also should get more playtime with this battery as it's 2x the capacity of a standard Sixaxis battery :DRuyorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14772909702191988627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5300017032831067643.post-36550333251331739872011-06-30T12:41:00.011-05:002011-09-17T16:50:49.332-05:00Hand-Wiring a 32x to a Genesis1First of all, it's been a while. I haven't made a blog post in 5 months O_O. It's not that I quit, I just haven't done anything blog-worthy as of late. I originally wasn't going to post this one either since it's pretty simple to do, but I figured 5 months of silence was long enough ;).<br /><br />Now, on to the post. I recently got my hands on a "High Definition Graphics" model 1 Genesis, these are better than the normal model 1 and model 2 as they have better sound quality. But I had a problem, I wanted a 32x attached to it if I was going to use it as my main Genesis, but I didn't have the cable that converts the 32x A/V patch cable to work with the Genny1. I checked eBay, and the official ones are EXPENSIVE, like $25 expensive, for a small ~3 inch converter cable...<br /><br />I wasn't about to pay $25 for a little converter cable, so I started researching. I <a href="http://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=52&t=29220">found a tut on making your own cable</a>, but I wasn't about to buy something just to hack it up. But they did have a few pinout pics that were useful.<br /><br />By connecting red, blue, green, and sync from Genny1 to 32x using my solid wires, I was able to get it working. The wires I used were just wide enough to act as pins on the 32x, but I had to bend the Genny1 end over twice to fit good enough.<br /><br />After this, I tested it out and it worked beautifully... except sound ~_~. I tried to connect sound in the same way I did the others, by wiring mono audio from the Genny1 to left audio on 32x, but it didn't work. I also tried wiring it to right audio on 32x, but it still wouldn't work (now that I notice it, I should have tried the mono audio in on the 32x, but I didn't see it when working on it :P). This was a problem since I only had a RF adapter for my Genesisss (Genesies? Genesi? >_>). The only other way I could think to get audio is to use the headphone port on the front of the Genny1, but I didn't have a good way of wiring that audio to work with my RF video.<br /><br />My solution? Why, wiring a composite video out on the 32x of course xD. After I got the video working, I used a bunch of adapters I had lying around to go from 3.5mm headphone audio to 2x RCA audio and connected it to my A/V switchbox. Composite video is nice :P.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ruyor.comxa.com/Pics/Blog/Genny1B.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 640px; height: 456px;" src="http://ruyor.comxa.com/Pics/Blog/Genny1B.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">The finished product.<br /></span></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ruyor.comxa.com/Pics/Blog/Genny1F.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 631px; height: 480px;" src="http://ruyor.comxa.com/Pics/Blog/Genny1F.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">You'd never know all those wires were there :D<br /></span></div>Ruyorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14772909702191988627noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5300017032831067643.post-24997975395268463362011-01-14T23:29:00.002-06:002011-01-15T00:08:55.626-06:00Lynx Mobo SwapMost people have never heard of an Atari Lynx, it's an awesome gaming handheld from the original GameBoy era with some cool games. While the GameBoy was all black and green and impossible to see in a dark area, the Lynx had a nice backlit color screen.<br /><br />I got my first Lynx a few years ago at a yard sale and loved it, but one day I came home and the screen was shattered, I never did find out how it happened. It sat on a shelf for 2-3 years.<br /><br />A good friend of mine took me game shopping a little before Christmas, we went about 2-3 hrs away and visited a fellow collector, and we also went to a few retro game shops as well. At the last shop we went to, there it was, another Lynx :D My friend helped me buy it (they wanted $30, but I only had $15 left :P) and I was HAPPY!<br /><br />Well, I decided to play my new Lynx today, went to turn it on, and nothing happened. I was like "WTF? Well maybe the batts are dead."(The Lynx eats thru batts like crazy) So I changed the batts, same thing. Unplugged the game and plugged it back in, nothing. Tried a different game, nothing. (The Lynx doesn't turn on without a game in it) So I was like "WTF!? I just got this a few weeks ago!"<br /><br />Since I still had the Lynx with a broken screen in my game system graveyard, I decided to do a mobo swap.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj284/ruyor/Blog%20Pics/Lynx1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 800px; height: 225px;" src="http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj284/ruyor/Blog%20Pics/Lynx1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">My two Lynxes</span></div><br /><br />I started by disassembling the one with the bad screen, the screws are hidden under the rubber grips<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj284/ruyor/Blog%20Pics/Lynx2.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 800px; height: 312px;" src="http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj284/ruyor/Blog%20Pics/Lynx2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />I removed the good board for transplant<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj284/ruyor/Blog%20Pics/Lynx3.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 800px; height: 374px;" src="http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj284/ruyor/Blog%20Pics/Lynx3.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />I then disassembled the other Lynx. I noticed that the shielding had some kind of burn mark on it O_O<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj284/ruyor/Blog%20Pics/Lynx4.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 800px; height: 392px;" src="http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj284/ruyor/Blog%20Pics/Lynx4.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Do you see it?</span></div><br /><br />After putting the good board in the good screen Lynx, I re-assembled it and checked it out.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj284/ruyor/Blog%20Pics/Lynx5.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 800px; height: 500px;" src="http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj284/ruyor/Blog%20Pics/Lynx5.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">It Lives!! xD</span></div><br /><br />After I tested the working one, I re-assembled the broken one for storage. I threw the batteries in it, put a game in, and tried to turn it on for the lulz... It actually came on O_O I did a mobo transplant for nothing. What was actually wrong with the good screen one? I never found out...Ruyorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14772909702191988627noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5300017032831067643.post-59876124650396617442010-10-01T14:22:00.003-05:002010-10-01T14:29:43.859-05:00I'm Not Dead Yet!Yes, it's true. I am still alive, although I've been VERY busy lately :P I haven't forgotten about BGTP, AUGTP, my release site, or my blog, I've just been too busy to update them lately xD I will continue to update stuff when it's needed and I have time, until then, this small paragraph will have to do ya ;)Ruyorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14772909702191988627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5300017032831067643.post-38176607420755495342010-08-17T11:15:00.002-05:002010-08-17T11:48:36.937-05:00Xbox Controller Ports for PCWhen I got my first Xbox 1 I also picked up an extra controller breakaway piece, knowing I could use it to make adapters for Xbox>USB. Out of that breakaway cable and a USB extention I was able to make a Xbox cont. to USB adapter, and a USB to Xbox port adapter. That was a long time ago, and both adapters have developed shorts over the years, and both have been rewired.<br /><br />I decided about a week ago that it's time for a new adapter, and not just one for breakaway-compatible controllers, one for ALL Xbox 1 controllers :D<br /><br />I've had a busted Xbox in my "for parts" graveyard for a month now (bad power supply), so I pulled these out of it:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj284/ruyor/Blog%20Pics/ports.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 800px; height: 640px;" src="http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj284/ruyor/Blog%20Pics/ports.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">This is controller ports 3 and 4 out of an Xbox 1<br /></span></div><br />Perfect, nice access to wires, works w/ all Xbox controllers since it came out of an Xbox, time to make an adapter out of it :P<br /><br />My friend had given me 2 USB charge cables for a Sandisk Sansa MP3 player (he was going to throw them out :O), I hacked off the ends and had 2 perfect USB cables for my adapter (I needed 2 cables, there are 2 ports after all ;) ). I wired them up (after some trial and error, I left the original metal ends on the ports wires) and tested it out, it worked great!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj284/ruyor/Blog%20Pics/finished.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 747px; height: 800px;" src="http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj284/ruyor/Blog%20Pics/finished.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">The finished product</span></div><br /><br />I wired it up to the back of my PC and wedged it in a crack of my PC desk, all I have to do is plug in a Xbox controller and go :D<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj284/ruyor/Blog%20Pics/connected.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 720px; height: 800px;" src="http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj284/ruyor/Blog%20Pics/connected.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Ruyorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14772909702191988627noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5300017032831067643.post-50086797622702061182010-08-02T13:52:00.002-05:002010-08-02T14:36:32.856-05:00A Gamer FrameI get free stuff sometimes, most of the time something is wrong with the free stuff (which is why it was free xD). I'm usually able to fix the broken stuff, but sometimes something comes along that isn't worth the effort or is unfixable. Most people would throw things like this away, but me being the pack rat I am, I just can't throw some things away, I use them in different ways ;)<br /><br />I recently recieved a DMG Gameboy (you know, the big grey brick), it was down right nasty, junk all on it and in it. I opened it up to start the cleaning procedure, and the board looked like it had acid dripped on it, the board was peeling and stained. I decided right then that this is a parts system and threw the boards out.<br /><br />After getting all of the gunk out of the case, I started to wonder what could I do with a Gameboy that had no innards? Well, there's a window where the screen went, how about a frame?<br /><br />I wanted the buttons to look like the board was still there, but since the board wasn't there, the buttons would just fall out. My solution was to cut some cardboard to fit and screw it down just like it was the board:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj284/ruyor/Blog%20Pics/buttons.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 800px; height: 521px;" src="http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj284/ruyor/Blog%20Pics/buttons.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />After getting it back together, I noticed it wasn't very stable on it's own, so I made a kickstand. It's designed to snap in where the battery door normally snaps in:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj284/ruyor/Blog%20Pics/kickstand.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 799px; height: 327px;" src="http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj284/ruyor/Blog%20Pics/kickstand.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj284/ruyor/Blog%20Pics/back_shot.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 480px; height: 799px;" src="http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj284/ruyor/Blog%20Pics/back_shot.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />In the picture above, you can also see the picture replacing tool hidden where a battery goes (it's actually a failed attempt at a kickstand, but it works). The picture is sandwiched between the screen guard and casing using 2-sided roll-on tape, to change it, the screen guard has to be removed, below is the easiest way to do it:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj284/ruyor/Blog%20Pics/pic_replace_1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 798px; height: 446px;" src="http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj284/ruyor/Blog%20Pics/pic_replace_1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">^This is the EXT. Connector hole^</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj284/ruyor/Blog%20Pics/pic_replace_2.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 800px; height: 738px;" src="http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj284/ruyor/Blog%20Pics/pic_replace_2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Take something like a bent paper clip and insert it until you can touch the back of the picture</span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj284/ruyor/Blog%20Pics/pic_replace_3.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 800px; height: 414px;" src="http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj284/ruyor/Blog%20Pics/pic_replace_3.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">And apply pressure, the guard and picture should pop right out xD</span><br /><br /><br />After everything, this is what I ended up with:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj284/ruyor/Blog%20Pics/artsy_shot.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 557px; height: 800px;" src="http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj284/ruyor/Blog%20Pics/artsy_shot.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />It was a simple thing to do, but I got nice results from it :)Ruyorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14772909702191988627noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5300017032831067643.post-90612543701997018002010-07-11T20:08:00.002-05:002010-07-11T20:30:04.810-05:00Things To Keep AroundThere are a few things that everybody should keep in their repair kits that don't seem to go in one, but I've found these things to be useful multiple times.<br /><br />1: Twisty Ties<br />You may know them as bread ties or garbage ties, those little wires covered in plastic or paper that can be used to tie things up with just a twist. I've mostly used these to keep cables nice and tidy. I've also used them in computer repair to keep things in place, mostly fans, but I have used them to successfully mount a hard drive when there wasn't any screw holes :P<br /><br />2: A Needle<br />Yes, a needle, like the ones used for sewing. I use these in my cleaning process for gaming equipment to easily get the dirt out of the cracks without taking something apart. They also come in handy when you need to realign a pin in a tight space.<br /><br />3: Daily Pill Box<br />You know, the ones with SMTWTFS on them. They are great for holding screws, and keeping them separate for each stage of disassembly.<br /><br />These things will make a good repair kit great, trust me :)Ruyorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14772909702191988627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5300017032831067643.post-17544451403057215182010-06-30T13:20:00.002-05:002010-06-30T14:01:00.986-05:00Networking Switch + FanI found a 5-port Linksys networking switch in the garbage a long time ago. After testing it, I discovered the reason it was in the garbage is because it was half dead, only ports 1, 2, and 3 worked and it overheated BAD. I didn't have a reason to use it too much back then so it sat in storage for a few years.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.choice247.net/eshop/images/L48-1142P.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 300px;" src="http://www.choice247.net/eshop/images/L48-1142P.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />After reorganizing my room about 2 months ago, I decided to use it for my entertainment center so I'd only have one networking wire running to it. I knew it overheated and I wanted to do something about it so it would be less likely to die on me, so I put a fan on it xD<br /><br />I started by looking for a fan that would be a good size to attach to the top, and I found an old 12V PC fan that was about 1.25 inch diameter. I thought about powering it next, the AC adapter for the switch only put out 7.5V so I wasn't sure about using it. I knew from a previous experience that 12V fans need to be push-started at 6V, and I didn't want to worry about push-starting the fan. I did a test by connecting the wires of the fan to the AC adapter and it worked fine without push-starting!<br /><br />I decided to go ahead and power it from the same power supply by attaching the fan power to the power plug on the board of the switch, I wedged one wire between the plug and the strip that ran to the board, and wrapped the other wire around the start of a coil (since I couldn't wedge it like I did on the other one). I plugged it in for a test and everything worked fine, so I hot-glued everything in place and started on the case mod.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj284/ruyor/Blog%20Pics/Connections.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 800px; height: 742px;" src="http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj284/ruyor/Blog%20Pics/Connections.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I needed a good sized hole in the top for the fan to pump air into, and I also needed a well-placed outlet hole to make the air go over the tiny heat-sink on the overheating chip. I made the holes by drilling small holes close together and then rocking my razor blade knife back and forth until it went thru. I also drilled some screw holes to hold the fan down and made a notch for the fan wires.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj284/ruyor/Blog%20Pics/CaseMod.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 799px; height: 333px;" src="http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj284/ruyor/Blog%20Pics/CaseMod.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />After putting everything back together, this is what I ended up with:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj284/ruyor/Blog%20Pics/FinalProduct.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 800px; height: 521px;" src="http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj284/ruyor/Blog%20Pics/FinalProduct.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />It runs perfectly with no overheating whatsoever! And I played Halo 3 over Xbox Live thru it no problem.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ruyor.upsp.ws/Other%20Pics/offtopic/FanOnSwitchMod.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 1024px; height: 869px;" src="http://ruyor.upsp.ws/Other%20Pics/offtopic/FanOnSwitchMod.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The fan does work, see :P<br /><br />I have since retired it and started using a 8-port 3com switch my Dad brought home from work, they were throwing it out too, but there's nothing wrong with it xD I may need the Linksys again someday, but until then it will sit in storage waiting to be used as it did before it had a fan.Ruyorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14772909702191988627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5300017032831067643.post-12841968471959487012010-06-28T23:44:00.005-05:002010-06-29T00:46:28.764-05:00Necessity, The Mother Of InventionIt was a summer night about a year ago, the power was out and it was getting hot. We had battery-powered fans in the house somewhere, but we didn't remember where they were and didn't want to get hotter looking for them. That's when it hit me, I have tons of computer fans in a box, why not use one of those? I grabbed a good-sized one and my original Gameboy (the one that uses 4 AA batteries), I took the wires from the fan and stuck them between the main contacts (the ones that go to the board) and the batteries, and with a little push-start, the fan worked.<br /><br />Granted it was only 6 volts of power to a 12 volt fan, but it sure felt good to have it. A few months later, I decided to make my own battery-powered fan just in case this ever happened again. I started with a 7x7x2 inch flip-top cardboard box, a ~3 inch diameter PC fan, and two 6 volt batteries.<br /><br />The first time I built it, it was switched on by touching two wires together and the box had about five square holes cut into it for ventilation, and everything was held together by duct tape, cotton string, and bread ties (the wire ones). Since then, it's gone thru 4 revisions to improve air flow and safety.<br /><br />The first revision I did was a very simple one, I added a spring to keep the wires together. Next revision I added ducting and trimmed the box around the fan to improve airflow, and it REALLY made a difference (think low to medium speed on a normal fan). Then came a 3-way toggle switch for the power. Finally, I swapped out the toggle for a standard 2-way switch about 2 or 3 months ago.<br /><br />That's enough of all that explaining, it's time for pictures!:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj284/ruyor/Blog%20Pics/faninabox.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 600px; height: 720px;" src="http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj284/ruyor/Blog%20Pics/faninabox.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Here it is in it's current form<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj284/ruyor/Blog%20Pics/innards.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 600px; height: 641px;" src="http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj284/ruyor/Blog%20Pics/innards.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>All the insides, easily visible when open<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj284/ruyor/Blog%20Pics/running.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 690px; height: 600px;" src="http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj284/ruyor/Blog%20Pics/running.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Yes, it does run xD<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">This project was fun for me and functional too, I never have to worry about getting too hot during power outages in summer :P<br /></div></div>Ruyorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14772909702191988627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5300017032831067643.post-8568441526002481412010-06-27T23:15:00.002-05:002010-06-27T23:48:48.509-05:00My Custom GBASPThe first project I'm going to post is one I did earlier today, a part-swapped Gameboy Advance SP.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">What is a "part-swapped" mod?</span><br />It's a mod where you have two or more of the same thing but in different colors, you take them apart, mix the outside parts up, and put them back together to make better/cooler looking ones.<br /><br />I've had a plain blue GBASP (AGS-001) in my collection for at least 4 years, and I just recently received a limited edition Toys R Us Pikachu GBASP (AGS-101) from a friend. The problem is, the Pikachu SP is missing a screen, the face on the top is faded away, and it didn't come with a battery.<br /><br />I could have let it collect dust while I hoped to come across another AGS-101 with a bad board to steal the screen from, but I decided to use the outer bits and pieces to make my blue one look cooler :)<br /><br />I replaced the inside (when you flip it open), the battery cover, and the L/R buttons of my blue SP with parts from my Pikachu SP to create a cool blue/yellow SP, it reminds me of the first Pokemon Gameboy Color, this one to be exact:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm133/sephiroths-heartless/game-boy-color_439307.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 333px; height: 400px;" src="http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm133/sephiroths-heartless/game-boy-color_439307.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">It's blue on the back</span><br /></div><br />But anyway, this is my result:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj284/ruyor/Game%20Collection/Systems/Custom%20GBASP/Bottom.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 600px; height: 611px;" src="http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj284/ruyor/Game%20Collection/Systems/Custom%20GBASP/Bottom.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj284/ruyor/Game%20Collection/Systems/Custom%20GBASP/Open.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 456px; height: 800px;" src="http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj284/ruyor/Game%20Collection/Systems/Custom%20GBASP/Open.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj284/ruyor/Game%20Collection/Systems/Custom%20GBASP/Display2.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 800px; height: 794px;" src="http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj284/ruyor/Game%20Collection/Systems/Custom%20GBASP/Display2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj284/ruyor/Game%20Collection/Systems/Custom%20GBASP/Display1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 800px; height: 741px;" src="http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj284/ruyor/Game%20Collection/Systems/Custom%20GBASP/Display1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Cool? I think so. It's better than a plain blue SP and an unusable Pikachu SP, that's for sure ;)Ruyorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14772909702191988627noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5300017032831067643.post-3955484853613192672010-06-27T22:44:00.002-05:002010-06-27T22:49:04.817-05:00OMG I made a blog?!?Yep, I decided to make a blog. I didn't think I ever would want to, but I was wrong. I figure I might as well share some of the fun/cool/functional things I do so other people might be able to do the same, and my PSP guide release website wasn't functional enough to adapt so here I am :PRuyorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14772909702191988627noreply@blogger.com0