Power Supply For Portable Gamecube

[Jord911]

Hey Guys, so I just wanted a little confirmation/information concerning the power supply for my portable GC. So for starters, these are the components I'm using (in addition to the essential components):

PSone LCD (5'')
.065W Speaker
Wiikey Fusion (no disk drive)

I was considering using these components as my power supply:

Protection Circuit Module (PCB) for 11.1V Li-Ion Battery Pack (10A +/-1A limit )
http://www.batteryspace.com/pcbfor111vl ... ocket.aspx

Polymer Li-Ion Cell: 3.7V 5000 mAh (896474-2C, 18.5Wh, 10A rate) X3
http://www.batteryspace.com/polymerli-i ... AID=389818

Edit:

And this charger

https://www.batteryspace.com/smartcharg ... isted.aspx

As far as i can tell, this combination should be sufficient to supply me with at least a couple of hours of gameplay.

Can this set up work?

[Spiicyice]

Looks good!

[megalomaniac]

Polymer Li-Ion Cell: 3.7V 5000 mAh (896474-2C, 18.5Wh, 10A rate) X3
http://www.batteryspace.com/polymerli-i ... AID=389818

x3 ???

[Ashen]

x3 ???

He's building an 11.1v pack

I take it you're using the original GC regulator. An 11.1v pack will work, BUT The original GC regulator will not power on with anything less than around 10.5v. The cutoff (dropout) voltage of an 11.1v li-ion/poly pack is something like 9.6v I think. So if you turn the system off, and the voltage level of the batteries is below what the GC regulator will power on at you will not get the full "duration" of your battery packs life. So yes, while this will work. Its not really optimal.

You're really better off building a custom regulator. For numerous reasons.

http://forums.modretro.com/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=2844

[Jord911]

x3 ???

He's building an 11.1v pack

I take it you're using the original GC regulator. An 11.1v pack will work, BUT The original GC regulator will not power on with anything less than around 10.5v. The cutoff (dropout) voltage of an 11.1v li-ion/poly pack is something like 9.6v I think. So if you turn the system off, and the voltage level of the batteries is below what the GC regulator will power on at you will not get the full "duration" of your battery packs life. So yes, while this will work. Its not really optimal.

You're really better off building a custom regulator. For numerous reasons.

http://forums.modretro.com/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=2844

My initial intent was to do just that, but i found some of the components to be rather tricky (and costly) to find. Using the regulators you linked me, i found that the cost would be rather high, for what it yielded at least. The regulators alone would cost me upwards of 100$. If i use the stock one, I feel the only thing I'm losing is a) space in my case b) minor amounts of battery life. Correct me if Im wrong, but that's not worth a 100$+ investement. If i get 2 hours instead of 2.5 hours battery life, it's not significant enough a value for me to spend the extra cash.

If anyone can supply me with a canadian distributor, I'll gladly reconsider.

On another note, if i do use the stock regulator, could you maybe suggest a better battery pack? Would you recommend using 3, 4.8V cells and stepping down the voltage a bit? or will 14.6v be safe?

[Ashen]

If you have an official looking email address (not gmail, hotmail, etc) you can register on TI.com and have them send you free samples of the regulators you need. Other than the regulators, all that is needed is a couple of resistors and capacitors.

If that's not an option you can try either Mouser or Digikey for suppliers. There are also alternatives to the TI regs that I've used in the past to save some cash. They are nearly as efficient if I remember correctly:

http://www.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch ... 15&cur=USD

http://www.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch ... =0&cur=USD

The stock GC regulator can take upwards of 30v input IIRC. So a 14.8v Li-ion/poly pack will work fine, and you'll get the full duration of battery life.

[Jord911]

If you have an official looking email address (not gmail, hotmail, etc) you can register on TI.com and have them send you free samples of the regulators you need. Other than the regulators, all that is needed is a couple of resistors and capacitors.

If that's not an option you can try either Mouser or Digikey for suppliers. There are also alternatives to the TI regs that I've used in the past to save some cash. They are nearly as efficient if I remember correctly:

http://www.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch ... 15&cur=USD

http://www.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch ... =0&cur=USD

The stock GC regulator can take upwards of 30v input IIRC. So a 14.8v Li-ion/poly pack will work fine, and you'll get the full duration of battery life.

Wow that site looks awesome, I guess i'll look into ordering some.

According to a diagram from ShockSlayer, I would need 1 PTR08100 and 2 PTR08080 correct?

[Ashen]

Yes, its actually a PTH08080 though. Make sure you run the "1.9v" reg at 1.65-1.7v. it'll net you a substantial increase in battery life.

[detonatorinf]

Nice thread. I have a gamecube that died during a pot tweak (removed the optical drive while the cube was on). The multimeter showed that the power regulator was only sending 12v.
What you guys think about these converters for testing the motherboard?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/50W-DC-DC-Conve ... 5d367ccf11

[megalomaniac]

Nice thread. I have a gamecube that died during a pot tweak (removed the optical drive while the cube was on). The multimeter showed that the power regulator was only sending 12v.
What you guys think about these converters for testing the motherboard?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/50W-DC-DC-Conve ... 5d367ccf11

you measured the testpoints on the power regulator to make sure you were not getting 3v, 5v, 1.9v?
if you are not even getting 12v to the mainboard, then you might have only blown a fuse....that can be repaired...

[detonatorinf]

you measured the testpoints on the power regulator to make sure you were not getting 3v, 5v, 1.9v?
if you are not even getting 12v to the mainboard, then you might have only blown a fuse....that can be repaired...

Yeah. Replaced the fuse but nothing changed. When i turned on the console the only thing working was the fan. First i thought that i had fried the mobo when i removed the optical drive but now i think i only screwed the power regulator.

Also: Tested the optical drive from the damaged console DOL-001 on a DOL-101 Gamecube and apart a weird warm up time before the laser focus everything was fine.

[megalomaniac]

sounds like you might only need a new power board...should be able to find one ~5$ maybe??

[detonatorinf]

sounds like you might only need a new power board...should be able to find one ~5$ maybe??

Could not find something at the moment. Only power switchs, fans and sometimes controller ports. Any risk in using a power converter?