Mod work hints and tips for the new guys

[PCEngineHell]

First off I would like to start by saying if you plan to do these sorts of projects, a power drill and dremel kit and plenty of bits etc are needed to make sure you turn out good work. Also, a small and large glue gun both come in handy, for both small tight space jobs and spots where you just need to lay down glue like a wall of cement as fast as possible. A 30 to 40 watt soldering iron and a solid desoldering iron are a must. A roll of electrical tape is also very handy if you dont feel like messing with heatshrink. Needle nose pliers, and a small toe nail clipper can save the day when it comes to stripping wires on the fly, or holding wires in place that you need to add solder to the ends of before using. Also a magnifying glass so you can check your work easier.

If you are just in the market to pay someone for mod work, be sure to look over previous projects by said person to make sure they are doing quality work. How do you judge quality work from subpar you ask? Below are some examples of bad work, and why it is bad. Below that will be some examples of what good work should look like (taken from projects/work I have done for people prior, etc).

First lets start with the bad:

BREADBOARDS


INSULATION


WIRING



SPACING


CUSTOM WIRING AND CONNECTIONS


DREMEL, DRILL WORK AND LABEL WORK




PANEL MOUNT JACKS AND WHY IT IS BEST TO USE THEM




SWITCHES IN GENERAL


SUPERGUN WORK

Needless to say, If someone proposes to sell you a Jamma supergun kit that appears like either of these things posted below, dont buy them:




Soldering video links:

EXAMPLES OF HOW SOLID CONSOLE AND SUPERGUN WORK SHOULD LOOK:
(if anyone has any examples to add to this I would be more then happy to do so, these pics are from my own work, and it would be cool to post others as well)

[Tatsujin]

lot of cowboy work up there.







nice thread, hope there's coming more soon to watch at

[thesteve]

the non panel mount jacks can be used, if supported well.
some have a support frame with screw holes (which also sets spacing)

[PCEngineHell]

the non panel mount jacks can be used, if supported well.
some have a support frame with screw holes (which also sets spacing)

Yeah the non-panel mounts can be if put in tight spots and reinforced extremely well, both on the sides and the back of the jack.
Per the 6th pic from the top:

Proper panel mount jacks will have a screw spot, or nut/bolt method of locking the jack into place

The ones with screw holes are called panel mounts also, by most companies that make them anyway. The ones without screw holes (or with one screw hole) are specifically surface mount components and labeled as such, like the ones used in that pic up top stating why its bad to use the non-panel mounts on panel mount projects.

[Drakon]

Haha that plastic supergun is the very first one I built and no I never tried to sell it.  I later redid the whole thing in a proper black case like the ones below.  I have a friend who spent 400+$ on one of those "SOLID SUPERGUN WORK" looking superguns and it didn't work with a number of pcbs.  His ketsui arcade board was outputting completely messed up colours even from the rgb connections on the supergun.  He plugged the ketsui board into his new astro city and it looked fine on the cab.  Here's what ketsui looks like from my "bad modwork" supergun:

Also plenty of people hire me so I must be doing something right.  I'd like to see you build a proper working true s-video nes.  The guy I built that nes 2 for he's on my windows live, he's had the system for years and never complained about any issues with the jacks.  I'm always sure to use enough glue so stuff won't come out.  My capture device and a lot of stuff I built for myself has jacks simply glued in place and they've held for years and never even came close to getting loose in any way.  My capture device I'm constantly unplugging and re-inserting cables, all the ports are solid as a rock.  I always test out ideas on my own hardware before offering it for sale.  Also lately I've improved on my s-video hole drilling:



I didn't make that rgb / s-video toaster nes have as nice of a s-video jack because 1: I didn't have the time I'm way backed up on my commission work and 2: it's at the back of the console so the client didn't care.  Once I found the time to improve my hole drilling I did like in the picture above which is a system I built afterwards.  That 32x again is my personal system I don't sell stuff like that.  You posted a lot of my personal / early mods which were never offered for sale.  If people want to judge my work for some quick thing I built for myself then go right ahead.  I suggest you do your homework first and if you post something that was never intended for sale as "bad modwork" then you should mention that the example was never intended for sale and it was meant to be built as quickly and cheaply as possible just for proof of concept.  That example of "sloppy dremel and label work" was done by someone who used to be my friend.  He installed those switches as cheaply and quickly as he could on his 10$ snes just so he could test his amazingly professional looking superfx reproduction carts (he had a lot of pal customers so he needed to test that the lockout chips were functioning).

What bothers me the most is that you consider "quality work" only by how well the jacks are installed.  It's not like there isn't already enough jack installation nazis roaming around the internet already.  Circuit design, build quality, and proper installation make a huge different too.  You like to use a toaster I built as an example of "bad work" because one jack on the back of the console looks ugly.  Of course you never take into consideration that clients come to me because my systems have better video and audio quality than other people who do / did this mod.

The truth of the matter is that you wouldn't know what good modwork is if it were sitting right infront of you simply because it has one ugly looking jack installation somewhere on the back of the console.

*edit*

For the record this early supergun which was never for sale:



Got a new case and built into this:



Even the current case I know I could do better but since this was only meant for personal use I didn't feel the need to make it look pretty so professornomoddingskills would approve.

I'm making this post so "new guys" won't be mislead by PCEngineHell into thinking that good modwork is 100% judged by how pretty the case and ports look.  Obviously in PCEngineHell's world functionality has nothing to do with good modwork.

[DejahThoris]

Even the current case I know I could do better but since this was only meant for personal use I didn't feel the need to make it look pretty so professornomoddingskills would approve.

I'm making this post so "new guys" won't be mislead by PCEngineHell into thinking that good modwork is 100% judged by how pretty the case and ports look.  Obviously in PCEngineHell's world functionality has nothing to do with good modwork.

90% of the professor's post was unquestionably quality info, you're focused in on one point he made, and it looks more like it's over your bruised ego because it happened to be one of your pictures than because you're helping "new guys" not be "mislead".

And really, as a dude looking to drum up business you resort to name-calling?  Def professional, yo.

[PCEngineHell]

Because in some fit of rage you keep editing this post, so I am just going to quote two versions of it:

Haha that plastic supergun is the very first one I built and no I never tried to sell it.  I later redid the whole thing in a proper black case like the ones below.  I have a friend who spent 400+$ on one of those "SOLID SUPERGUN WORK" looking superguns and it didn't work with a number of pcbs.  His ketsui arcade board was outputting completely messed up colours even from the rgb connections on the supergun.  He plugged the ketsui board into his new astro city and it looked fine on the cab.  Here's what ketsui looks like from my "bad modwork" supergun:

Also plenty of people hire me so I must be doing something right.  I'd like to see you build a proper working true s-video nes.  The guy I built that nes 2 for he's on my windows live, he's had the system for years and never complained about any issues with the jacks.  I'm always sure to use enough glue so stuff won't come out.  My capture device and a lot of stuff I built for myself has jacks simply glued in place and they've held for years and never even came close to getting loose in any way.  My capture device I'm constantly unplugging and re-inserting cables, all the ports are solid as a rock.  I always test out ideas on my own hardware before offering it for sale.  Also lately I've improved on my s-video hole drilling:



I didn't make that rgb / s-video toaster nes have as nice of a s-video jack because 1: I didn't have the time I'm way backed up on my commission work and 2: it's at the back of the console so the client didn't care.  Once I found the time to improve my hole drilling I did like in the picture above which is a system I built afterwards.  That 32x again is my personal system I don't sell stuff like that.  You posted a lot of my personal / early mods which were never offered for sale.  If people want to judge my work for some quick thing I built for myself then go right ahead.  I suggest you do your homework first and if you post something that was never intended for sale as "bad modwork" then you should mention that the example was never intended for sale and it was meant to be built as quickly and cheaply as possible just for proof of concept.  That example of "sloppy dremel and label work" was done by someone who used to be my friend.  He installed those switches as cheaply and quickly as he could on his 10$ snes just so he could test his amazingly professional looking superfx reproduction carts (he had a lot of pal customers so he needed to test that the lockout chips were functioning).

What bothers me the most is that you consider "quality work" only by how well the jacks are installed.  It's not like there isn't already enough jack installation nazis roaming around the internet already.  Circuit design, build quality, and proper installation make a huge different too.  You like to use a toaster I built as an example of "bad work" because one jack on the back of the console looks ugly.  Of course you never take into consideration that clients come to me because my systems have better video and audio quality than other people who do / did this mod.

The truth of the matter is that you wouldn't know what good modwork is if it were sitting right infront of you simply because it has one ugly looking jack installation somewhere on the back of the console.

*edit*

For the record this early supergun which was never for sale:



Got a new case and built into this:



Even the current case I know I could do better but since this was only meant for personal use I didn't feel the need to make it look pretty so professornomoddingskills would approve.

I'm making this post so "new guys" won't be mislead by PCEngineHell into thinking that good modwork is 100% judged by how pretty the case and ports look.  Obviously in PCEngineHell's world functionality has nothing to do with good modwork.

AND

Haha that plastic supergun is the very first one I built and no I never tried to sell it.  I later redid the whole thing in a proper black case like the ones below.  I have a friend who spent 400+$ on one of those "SOLID SUPERGUN WORK" looking superguns and it didn't work with a number of pcbs.  His ketsui arcade board was outputting completely messed up colours even from the rgb connections on the supergun.  He plugged the ketsui board into his new astro city and it looked fine on the cab.  Here's what ketsui looks like from my "bad modwork" supergun:

Also plenty of people hire me so I must be doing something right.  I'd like to see you build a proper working true s-video nes.  The guy I built that nes 2 for he's on my windows live, he's had the system for years and never complained about any issues with the jacks.  I'm always sure to use enough glue so stuff won't come out.  My capture device and a lot of stuff I built for myself has jacks simply glued in place and they've held for years and never even came close to getting loose in any way.  My capture device I'm constantly unplugging and re-inserting cables, all the ports are solid as a rock.  I always test out ideas on my own hardware before offering it for sale.  Also lately I've improved on my s-video hole drilling:



I didn't make that rgb / s-video toaster nes have as nice of a s-video jack because 1: I didn't have the time I'm way backed up on my commission work and 2: it's at the back of the console so the client didn't care.  Once I found the time to improve my hole drilling I did like in the picture above which is a system I built afterwards.  That 32x again is my personal system I don't sell stuff like that.  You posted a lot of my personal / early mods which were never offered for sale.  If people want to judge my work for some quick thing I built for myself then go right ahead.  I suggest you do your homework first and if you post something that was never intended for sale as "bad modwork" then you should mention that the example was never intended for sale and it was meant to be built as quickly and cheaply as possible just for proof of concept.  That example of "sloppy dremel and label work" was done by someone who used to be my friend.  He installed those switches as cheaply and quickly as he could on his 10$ snes just so he could test his amazingly professional looking superfx reproduction carts (he had a lot of pal customers so he needed to test that the lockout chips were functioning).

What bothers me the most is that you consider "quality work" only by how well the jacks are installed.  It's not like there isn't already enough jack installation nazis roaming around the internet already.  Circuit design, build quality, and proper installation make a huge different too.  You like to use a toaster I built as an example of "bad work" because one jack on the back of the console looks ugly.  Of course you never take into consideration that clients come to me because my systems have better video and audio quality than other people who do / did this mod.

The truth of the matter is that you wouldn't know what good modwork is if it were sitting right infront of you simply because it has one ugly looking jack installation somewhere on the back of the console.

I'm not sure what all you are implying here. Are you saying a lot of the bad work examples are from your own work? Which ones? All of them but Deans Supergun I fixed? A lot of it shows up on google images during searches. If so then I'm sorry, but shoddy work is shoddy work. I did not say that all of the work on said system was shoddy, but pointed out specific shoddy parts, and I went into detail as to why. Even if its for your own personal use, I am not discriminating, nor did I mention you by name in the examples. I needed pics of bad work to use as a example, and searched google.  The images above were pulled off of Google. If you have pics of shoddy circuit boards you'd like to contribute along with pics of good ones to compare to, please be my guest, however, this thread is not for a pissing match so that you can feel you saved face somehow. If you'd paid any kind of attention to the original post, you'd see its been edited, because it is a WIP to share information. Also, I would like to address this:

What bothers me the most is that you consider "quality work" only by how well the jacks are installed.  Circuit design, build quality, and proper installation make a huge different too.  You like to use a toaster I built as an example of "bad work" because one jack on the back of the console looks ugly.  Of course you never take into consideration that clients come to me because my systems have better video and audio quality than other people who do / did this mod.

and

The truth of the matter is that you wouldn't know what good modwork is if it were sitting right infront of you simply because it has one ugly looking jack installation somewhere on the back of the console.

and

I'm making this post so "new guys" won't be mislead by PCEngineHell into thinking that good modwork is 100% judged by how pretty the case and ports look.  Obviously in PCEngineHell's world functionality has nothing to do with good modwork.

As stated above, the original post is a WIP for hints and tips for people STARTING OUT. Circuit board work needs to be addressed, as does proper ways to line out wiring, though to be frank people just starting out are not likely to just start doing circuit board work, on breadboards or otherwise. One thing at a time. Also,  I'm one person here, people are more then free to contribute, so instead of feeling like you were put on the spot, when you weren't, and bitching about it like a hurt little girl doing a massive rant, help out maybe? Instead of taking a giant shit on this thread, simply stfu then if you have nothing to contribute. I already tried to coax you once into doing when you were bitching on the s-video thread, and your reply to that was:

I don't feel the need you can just google it.

To be perfectly blunt, if you did want to get to the brass tacks of it, the exterior look of a mod can be reflective on the work done on the inside. I NEVER EVER SAID IT WAS THE DEFINING FACTOR IN TOTAL QUALITY, SO STOP SAYING I SAID SHIT I NEVER SAID. Clean work tends to show ones pride in what he/she does. Sloppy work usually is not something someone wants to go around bragging about. If one cant seem to get the jacks and switches right, the simple shit in other words, can he be expected to do other solid work on the much harder things? In most cases the work in general would just be bad. If someone is paying me good money to do a job, I would be concerned about doing a solid job all the way around, not just on certain parts, then throwing my hands up in the air near the end and saying "oh fucking well, almost done, doesn't have to be perfect, can look like crap as long as its done and out the door.". And don't get me wrong, started out on this stuff long ago, I made mistakes and screw ups too, its called learning, and due to that when I do work now its quality work. Were talking about 16+ years worth of experience built up here. Everyone learns as they go.

Also I am not sure why you'd imply I couldn't pull off a Nes s-video mod, taking another personal jab at my mod ability simply because I posted pics of some bad work that happened to be yours. I have done a lot harder work then Nes modding over the years. Not just system mods, but I repair computer parts, reflow motherboards, etc, built countless superguns (no I didn't cheap out and use that Vogatek Supergun shit as my basis). Replacing the Nes PPU itself would be the only task, and not because of the work, I have desoldered and resolderd chips and surface mount stuff a lot, and also have built plenty of circuit boards for repairs and mods. The issue rather would be due to the cost of finding a Playchoice board to scrap, and I don't scrap arcade equipment like that. Consider it a moral choice if you will, but all the same I don't do things like that, just like how I don't sack AES and MVS carts to do cart conversions. I would rather repair then sack rare arcade equipment. Coming from someone who used to collect and repair arcade equipment, I frown on that sort of thing.

I am not going to get into a pissing match about who has what customer base, etc. I turn down peoples inquiries (just turned down Bernie and Firebombers latest inquire). I no longer do work for people because I barely have enough free time for my kids and myself after handling computer sales restoring classic computers (which I might add pays a lot more then mod work  ). You are over reacting over stupid shit, taking things personally when you were not even mentioned on this thread. Basically no one would have known said bad work was yours except for the fact you exposed yourself by admitting it was yours and having a hissyfit because it was used as a example. Like I said, either help, or gtfo. You got fighting street, you want to go bitch about how you feel you were insulted somehow, go do it there. Dont try to make this thread about you, because its not, and dont try to drag it down because you somehow feel humiliated.

[DejahThoris]

I forgot in the last post that I wanted to say thank you, Professor for the cool mini-guide.  Lots of nice info.

[Frank_fjs]

Great thread, thanks for taking the time to put it all together.

I'd like to add that modders should be mindful of where they situate external switches/video/audio jacks, they should be placed in a way that does not interferes with add-on devices. E.g. putting something on the middle rear of a Mega Drive 1 console in a way that blocks the Power Base Converter from docking on.

[PCEngineHell]

I'd like to add that modders should be mindful of where they situate external switches/video/audio jacks, they should be placed in a way that does not interferes with add-on devices. E.g. putting something on the middle rear of a Mega Drive 1 console in a way that blocks the Power Base Converter from docking on.

That is a great point to make. I definitely know I myself did not put much consideration into the PB prior. I mean, I always take into account the 32X may be used, sure, that's a given, and why I don't alter the original AV out port, but the Power Base converter seems to get over looked concerning this stuff.

[PunkCryborg]

In my opinion side mounted AV jacks or any switches anywhere other then the back or where the other wiring is is extremely tacky.

[PCEngineHell]

In my opinion side mounted AV jacks or any switches anywhere other then the back or where the other wiring is is extremely tacky.

Yeah, some people are cool with it and prefer it, some do not. Taste varies concerning that. Back when I did work for people I usually asked what they wanted to make sure. Personally I dont have any qualms about it, but Im so used to seeing factory stock AV ports and wires running out the side of normal systems that I am like meh whatever.

EDIT:
Off the top of my head, these systems use side mounted AV or power cable ports:
Original Nes
TG-16
Genesis 3
Supergrafx
TurboDuo
Coregrafx 1/2
Pc Engine
Super Cd Rom 2 unit
Pc Engine CD-Rom briefcase unit

Probably others out there too, these were just the ones I could think of off the top of my head.

[PCEngineHell]

Updated original post with more content.

[Game-Tech.US]

HAHA! I made the 'bad' list!
The top loader with the 'too close' jacks is mine, but it was done that way on purpose. The reason is there are plastic ribs that strengthen the shell and i've never cared to cut them off like some ppl do and i've never had anyone tell me they couldn't use their AV cables because the jacks were too close, but I guess it could happen.

[futureman2000]

Nice thread! My consoles are pretty chaotic inside, nice too see some tips.

[goombakid]

In my opinion side mounted AV jacks or any switches anywhere other then the back or where the other wiring is is extremely tacky.

I agree, but sometimes in some situations, there is no way to have that happen. Case in point, the TG16 and that EXP cover. It just worked better (at least, for my mod) going in from the side.

Otherwise, Really great thread.

[ApolloBoy]

I was reading through this thread and I'm surprised I haven't posted this doozy of an N64 RGB mod yet:

[NightWolve]

Damn, dude "killed" that poor chip... ;)

[CGQuarterly]

That looks amazingly awful.  Even my earliest mod work didn't look THAT bad.

Chris

[goombakid]

I was reading through this thread and I'm surprised I haven't posted this doozy of an N64 RGB mod yet:

THAT mod, by far, hurts my feelings. Not even my first mod where I had to solder on to small point on an IC came out that bad.

[thesteve]

the super glue residue is noticeable too

[tggodfrey]

wow, lot of realy hack job pictures posted here.

One thing I would liek to add, sorry if its already mentioned and I missed it.  When putting holes in cases.......Use a drill and proper bit.  I see so many that look like a knife was used to create some disaster of a hole.  

Remember......Neatness counts.

[thesteve]

when cutting round holes in plastic, a step drill (unibit) works best
also i dont use a drill, i turn the bit by hand

[HercTNT]

if the plastic is not to thick i do the same thing. feel safer making the hole that way.

[PCEngineHell]

The trick for me is to start with small bits and go up in steps. It takes longer, but I get precise results and more control over the drill because the larger bits are guided by the prior bits smaller hole that was made. I have the exact size bits I need for things liek RCA jacks and holes for switches set aside in a baggie that I pull out just for that task.

[esteban]

I simply take an awl and push it through the plastic casing to make clean holes. Just let your kiln get the awl "glowing orange hot" and you'll be fine.

[thesteve]

that makes a great start hole, but using a bit for the final hole is much cleaner