Play anything from NES to Xbox with the Skittlespider A.T.S aka "The Contraption"

Step 9 Wire it up

This was mostly the easy part. I took an extension cord that I had laying around and glued it onto the back of the monitor case. I ran the power cord out of a small hole in the side of the case. Then I just started plugging things in. I went with the NES and SNES first, because their power cords are huge. Next was the N64, because it has a large power cord too. After that, I plugged in the rest of the power cords and put the video cords in too. I hooked the N64, Gamecube, PS1, and Xbox into the video switcher. I plugged the NES and SNES in through the cable via RF switch.

I also made sure to plug in any parts of the PS1 and Xbox that I had forgotten to plug in before.

IMPORTANT: Make sure that you do not have the extension cord plugged in while wiring things up. Not only can you potentially ruin your systems, but also hurt yourself. I was testing one part and forgot to unplug it. Then I accidentally touched the bottom of the PS1 power supply board and got a nasty shock. It even burned my thumb a little, so be very careful.

During this step, I would recommend have some cable ties or rubber bands. Even keeping the cables short and organized, things will be getting messy and confusing.

I did encounter one problem while plugging the parts in. I did not allow enough space between the back of the SNES and the bottom of the N64 board. To fix this, I carefully cut the rubbery plastic protective covering off of the ends of the power and video connectors. I then slowly bent the wires down to fit between the two systems. Then I put some hot glue to hold the cords in place. That way it won't scratch the N64 board in the places where they touch.

Comments

[crazydog75]

 I love the way you just took the stuff apart and put it in there! instead of mounting every piece in a certain way and soldering the wires to the switchbox circuit board and all that. so DIY'ish lol

[skittlespider]

Thanks, I'm glad you like it! 

I just recently started learning how to solder, so I may try something like that later.  But it sounds like more work than is needed to me.  I think the "take it apart and put the stuff in there" method works the best for me.  (That is a great way to describe it, thanks)

[crazydog75]

 Yeah, it is a pretty easy way of doing things. I tried building a pc inside of a milk crate once. I seperated everything with some cheap rubber car floor mats and used the holes on the side to put the connectors in. The PS1 Disk drive thing seems really dangerous on that though, the laser might shoot you in the eye by accident, and you go blind 8( but still good job!!

[skittlespider]

That milk crate PC sounds pretty cool!  I bet that thing would be a pretty easy solution to airflow and heat problems.

As for the PS1 laser, if playing video games makes me go blind, then so be it!

[crazydog75]

 Yeah, no fans and it runs fairly cool. I upgraded it recently to run Win7 and i play video games on it all the time!! Its sweet, and no temp diff. when im playing

[skittlespider]

Wow, no fans?  That's both crazy and impressive, especially with games and Windows 7 on it.

[crazydog75]

 well, unfortunately, i had to add a fan recently, if i didnt, my CPU would have melted, almost to like 60c or something like that. so 1 fan, but still cool

[skittlespider]

Well, 1 fan isn't too bad.  I have four in my PC.  But it is in a more traditional case than your crate.

[crazydog75]

 true, i got an idea, put a pc, in a gamecube!!!!! i can do it!! but i need $$ :(

[skittlespider]

Well, if you need an empty Gamecube shell, I've got one!  I think it is silver, but it could be black.

I kept all the parts from the systems I took apart, but they take up so much room in my closet.  I know the Gamecube won't free up much space, but every little bit helps.

I have been thinking about putting a pc in the old Xbox case.  So I'll hang on to that one, but you can have the rest if you want them.

[crazydog75]

 really? sweet! could you send it via FedEX or UPS? whats your email address? i can give you my address by email, i'll send you money for postage and for the case.