NES stereo mod!! Update w/stencil 11-15

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My NES needed something. So I have a mod schedule for it. Today I did the stereo sound mod. No more mono sound for my NES, she deserves nothing less than beautiful stereo sound coming out of her. So I tapped the stereo sound while it was split, before the RF modulator near the CPU. Hooked them up to two electrolytic capacitors, then to two 47K Ohm micropotentiometers. Then I tapped mono sound from just before it gets to the rf modulator, and connected it to the other ends of the pots so I can mix all of the audio channels to get perfect sound.

Then I took off the rf shield so I could solder into the video feed so I could have both audio channels and video in the same place in the back of the NES. I had some phono jacks, solder, wire, and the rest as they say is history. Oh, I also gave this sucker the universal NES mod so I can play PAL games as well on my USA NES. All you have to do is clip leg 4 on the lockout chip, then ground it. No more blinkies either because the blinks are caused by the lockout chip which resets itself when it doesnt read it's own region. I still have to fiddle with the game to get it to work, but it doesnt blink.

Pics to explain and show off:








Next on my list for my NES are making an SNES stick work in the NES controller ports. They work on the same chip so I can get it to work. I am also going to mod an original NES controller with LEDs. Then Im either going to give it a clear window on top so you can see what game is in it, or I am going to stencil paint on a big mario, goomba, bomb-omb, or some other nintendo franchise character. Would you guys rather see a clear window, or a painted NES character?

Here are some stencil examples of what I mean. I am better at stenciling now than when I did these so they will be better.

Mario and bomb omb


mushroom


I have others too that i havent cut or sprayed yet. Feedback on this matter please. Thanks.

[BlueCrab]

Then Im either going to give it a clear window on top so you can see what game is in it, or I am going to stencil paint on a big mario, goomba, bomb-omb, or some other nintendo franchise character. Would you guys rather see a clear window, or a painted NES character?

I personally think that windows are stupid on consoles, and would myself prefer the stenciled things to a window any day.

[jemsic]

The bob-omb looks awesome

[Matt]

The stencils look sweet

Did you use the guide on gamesx? I think they had one for this. Maybe it was the text based NES/SNES modding site

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I have no idea where i got the mod info. I had it saved in a folder on my desktop from years ago and I never got around to doing it. I had the parts, time, and desire to do it yesterday so I did.

So everyone is in favor of the stencils rather than a viewing window huh? What stencil or NES character do you think would be the best.

[BlueCrab]

The Bob-omb or the Mushroom, I like them a lot

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Cut up and modded a controller this morning. Made the "nintendo" logo backlit. one 100 ohm resistor, 2 red LEDs and an exactoknife.

Big picture so you can see how bright it is. My digicam is old and cant take close ups.


And these are from my phone cam, takes a clearer close up so you can see how sharp it looks

[not just souLLy now]

that looks freaking awesome man, great job.

[Matt]

That has to be the best controller mod that involves an LED i've ever seen

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Thanks for all the kind words and suggestions. While I was screwing around with a couple of pictures for stencil ideas I decided to try a controller instead of mario or a bomb omb. I think I should have tested it on a carboard box or something because now that it is done Im wishing I would have decided on the bombomb. The stencil is nice, but in my head a character would have been better. What do you guys think? I could spray the whole top black and do a character in white or something. Anyway, here it is:

[Skynet]

Awesome. Great stuff! Just a question though, is that top bit of the controller smudged or is it just the picture that makes it look like it?

Regardless, it's freakin sweet.

[arrowhead]

a small bit of underspray can make a stencil look weird. It was on there, but I hit it with an eraser and its better now.

[DCFan2004]

I like it it, looks graffati-ish/cartoony something you don't see everyday.

[ptr.exe]

That controller is fudging amazing.

[Dreamcast ?]

One small tip about stencils:

If you're using a paper cut-out, use a spray bottle to spray the underside of the stencil with just enough water to get it evenly damp. Place it and it will stick, and rest snug up against whatever material you want to paint, making sure no spray gets under the stencil.

When you're done, you can either leave it on there until the paint drys, or pull it off right away, but whatever you do, don't add more water to it if it starts to lift off. You have to remove the stencil, wet it, then re-apply. Also, don't try to wipe any excess water off if you remove the stencil right away. Just leave it on there so you don't accidently smudge the stencil.

[arrowhead]

One small tip about stencils:

If you're using a paper cut-out, use a spray bottle to spray the underside of the stencil with just enough water to get it evenly damp. Place it and it will stick, and rest snug up against whatever material you want to paint, making sure no spray gets under the stencil.

When you're done, you can either leave it on there until the paint drys, or pull it off right away, but whatever you do, don't add more water to it if it starts to lift off. You have to remove the stencil, wet it, then re-apply. Also, don't try to wipe any excess water off if you remove the stencil right away. Just leave it on there so you don't accidently smudge the stencil.

Thanks for the tip, but I was using a spray adhesive. I have a cheap can of black paint and the propellant is very strong and uneven. And if you are doing stencils too, if you are using a printer paper cutout it is bad to leave the stencil on your surface because the wetness from the paint leaks through the paper and you get sick uneven lines and swirls. It is best to pull the paper off as fast as possible after full paint coverage unless you have laminated the stencil before you cut it.

Thanks for the kind words ptr.lynch

[PromoGuy]

Impressive! Where can we get those 'mazing stencil patterns?

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Well, what I do is google or yahoo image search the picture I want to make a stencil with, then open it with photoshop, desaturate it, then mess with the brightness and contrast sliders until I get an image I can cut into a stencil. If there is a particular picture you want a stencil of that I have already made I can post the stencil image here so you can cut it yourself.

[Smurph]

Cut up and modded a controller this morning. Made the "nintendo" logo backlit. one 100 ohm resistor, 2 red LEDs and an exactoknife.

Big picture so you can see how bright it is. My digicam is old and cant take close ups.


And these are from my phone cam, takes a clearer close up so you can see how sharp it looks

I am SO doing that mod.