Discussion N64 Noob Thread

[GingerOfOz]

Most people use these cells. They're high quality and work really well as long as you buy them from Panasonic and not China. You will need a protection circuit with them to keep them from dying early or exploding and destroying hours of your hard work.

 

[Kevin Price]

I thought that the protection circuits that come with the are okay if you wire in parallel?

This guy on top (sorry for poor quality)

 

[GingerOfOz]

The cells I linked don't come with a protection circuit, so you'd have to get your own for ~$10. If you do buy protected cells, just make sure that the protection module covers all of them. Don't wire individually protected cells together, because that will cause problems!

 

[Kevin Price]

Ah okay. I think the batteries I got come with a protection circuit. Whenever ive had a short in my board, they shut off and I need to plug them in to reset the circuit.

I did email bacteria directly and asked him about this at one point. he said it was cool to wire in parallel and he actually wires two protection circuits in parallel (the ones on the camcorder batteries) on his into64 (thats the popular orange one all over the internet)

That being said, you have a really good point. It kinda sketchy wiring two protection circuits in parallel...
Ill probably heed your warning and take them off and wire up my own protection circuit

also, your link doesnt work.. lol

I noticed a lot of people using 2x 3.7v 5000mah batteries for their portables.. it seems like those would be a better option than the camcorder lion batteries because of the extended life? no?

 

[Matthew]

I have a link for the go to batteries for N64 that are 2 x 3.7v 5000mah but it's on my work computer. I can send it to you later today.

 

[Kevin Price]

Thank you very much!

 

[Matthew]

Here ya go!

Forgot to mention that you will definitely need a protection circuit with this, but they are definitely not $10 unless you are buying in bulk. The BOM has some but iirc they ship from china which can take a while. Otherwise, you could do amazon or you could just follow this guide.

 

[Noah]

Here ya go!

Can attest, these are the best. They'll power a portable 64 for around 5 hours.

 

[fibbef]

That being said, you have a really good point. It kinda sketchy wiring two protection circuits in parallel...
Ill probably heed your warning and take them off and wire up my own protection circuit

Now, just because I did something doesn't mean it's a good idea. But for the record, neither me nor my batteries are dead yet.

 

[Stitches]

As of right this second and while the supply lasts the best source for 18650 batteries is this eBay seller:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-LG-36V-...688902?hash=item2831974486:g:nKUAAOSwuspY9YNZ

He is selling genuine LG and Samsung batteries that are leftover from the hoverboard fad. I've already bought 4 packs from this guy for various projects. They test right around 2300mah per cell and are $1.75 per cell. You have to break the packs apart but its worth it for the price.

The price is okay, but the Panasonic cells from the BOM are 3400mAh. You'd be sacrificing almost a third of the possible battery life for a few dollars saved.

 

[Stitches]

Is that whats printed on the side of the battery or the actual tested capacity? The only cells Ive tested anywhere near that are LG 3000mah cells. They range from 2930mah to 3080mah per cell. And those cells cost $8 per cell. 90% of the knock offs claim outrageous capacities all they way up to 9000mah and they test around 300mah to 700mah.

The leading manufacturers make two kinds of cells. Power cells that are around 2000-2500mah and can deliver 5 amps per cell. And storage cells that are around 3000mah that deliver around 1-2 amps per cell.

Both I would assume. The oldies use them nearly exclusively because they work well and hold the charge they claim to.

 

[Kevin Price]

Just got my speakers and audio amp

problem is I have no idea how to wire up these speakers.. Can someone help me out?

Theres no marks indicating + or - so im not sure where to put that.. and there are 4 solder points so that confusing to me as well

Heres a picture:

 

[GingerOfOz]

I'd look up the datasheet for them. We can make guesses, but you're better off finding the information yoirself. Usually the place that you bought them from will have a datasheet in the description.

 

[DeoNaught]

Just got my speakers and audio amp

problem is I have no idea how to wire up these speakers.. Can someone help me out?

Theres no marks indicating + or - so im not sure where to put that.. and there are 4 solder points so that confusing to me as well

Heres a picture:

View attachment 3184

The four solder points, are only two.
Ask the seller for which is witch

 

[Stitches]

Just got my speakers and audio amp

problem is I have no idea how to wire up these speakers.. Can someone help me out?

Theres no marks indicating + or - so im not sure where to put that.. and there are 4 solder points so that confusing to me as well

Heres a picture:

View attachment 3184

The two outermost pads are positive and negative. Orientation doesn't matter, so you can just wire it.

 

[Kevin Price]

Thanks for all the answers guys, its really informative! Ill wire them up and see if they work.

Another question:

How can I secure my heatsinks to the CPU? they fall off with thermal paste on them...
Can I use hotglue? 2 part epoxy?

thanks!!

 

[Matthew]

I just used regular super glue. It's maybe not the best but it works like a charm. Don't use Hotglue because that will become a mess and won't hold at all.

 

[Stitches]

Thanks for all the answers guys, its really informative! Ill wire them up and see if they work.

Another question:

How can I secure my heatsinks to the CPU? they fall off with thermal paste on them...
Can I use hotglue? 2 part epoxy?

thanks!!

There are two methods I know of.

First is double sided thermal tape, which works exactly as its name implies. Roll it out, snip, stick, stick done.

The second is called Thermal Adhesive. It works like Thermal Paste, but it's a two part epoxy. Once it sets, it generally has better heat transferal than regular thermal paste. The downside is it's a molecular bond, so the sinks can almost never be separated from the chip's plate once it cures. Just be aware that some "Thermal Adhesive" listings are really just regular paste, so if you go that route be sure to double check with the seller that it's the epoxy kind.

 

[link270]

So I've tested those cells. My testing methodology is what is generally accepted in the E-Bike and EV communities. Which is to use this inexpensive LiPro Balance Charger / Discharger:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Imax-B6-LCD-Screen-RC-Lipo-NiMh-Li-io-n-LiFe-Battery-LiPro-Balance-Charger/350782413357?_trksid=p2045573.c100505.m3226&_trkparms=aid=555014&algo=PL.DEFAULT&ao=1&asc=44941&meid=75c77cf0df84417d8ddc675e954db692&pid=100505&rk=1&rkt=1&

First I charge all the cells at 1C. In the case of unknown C rates I usually charge at .5C of what is printed on the cells. So for these Panasonic 3400mah my charge rate was 1.7amps. I smart charged each cell individually to max capacity (4.2v). Then I discharge at 1amp to empty (3.0v). Record the measured mah and then charge at the newly found C rate. Then I check the measured mah going back into the battery to verify the margin of error.

This is a video of a guy testing random batteries to show you how the tool works:


So these Panasonic 3400mah NCR18650B MH12210 Made in Japan batteries are as follows:
Cell 1 - Discharge mah = 1998, Charge mah = 1961
Cell 2 - Discharge mah = 1998, Charge mah = 1959
Cell 3 - Discharge mah = 1998, Charge mah = 1958
Cell 4 - Discharge mah = 1998, Charge mah = 1967

My sample size was small (4 cells) but I'd say they consistently test 1998mah. These are holding 59% of what they claim. At $5.75 per cell I'd say this is a bad value. You could argue the legitimacy of the batteries I bought or the quality of the LiPro tool but I urge everybody on this forum to at least question the "rated" capacity of the cells they are buying.

There are some LG that are rated at 3000mah that people show tests anywhere between 2800mah-2950mah. I'd consider looking into those before these Panasonics even though they are in this BOM thing. I will track some of these down and test them as well. I will probably start a thread in the Battery section to record a variety of the cells I've tested.

That’s great information! I would love to read through a nice battery thread with some more information like this. As a noob to this whole thing it’s easy to take something someone said (like the info in the BOM) as gospel. It’s much better to get some solid evidence on why a certain part is good to get. What are the LG batteries you’re referencing that I can look into?

 

[gamemasterlink]

Hello, this is a dumb question, but I've been trying to figure this out for a while.

What kind of wire would you use for relocating the cartridge slot?
I previously tried some 30awg wire, but the wire I got is too stiff, so I can't move the slot around that much, otherwise it falls off easily.
Some people used wire that looks very flexible, but I can't seem to find the right wire.


If someone has a link to some, please post it.

Thanks,

gamemasterlink