Ultra Awesome: NES coffee table update 6: wiring and final construction

Friday, May 2, 2008

NES coffee table update 6: wiring and final construction

While I was giving the coffee table its final paint job, I managed to get my hands on a spare NES controller PCB from a friend (The rubber contacts for the controller it was from were knackered, so I didn't ruin a perfectly good NES controller)

So I got some more coloured wires from Dick Smith and soldered them on to the NES PCB.
This is pretty easy because all of the button contacts ran back to a solder point on the board.

I soldered the other end of the wires to a female 9-pin plug I also got from Dick Smith, so that I could plug it in and unplug it from the wiring on the coffee table.

Meanwhile, I had to put the hinges on the lid and bottom part of the table so it could open and close.
I Had to chisel out the area where the hinges sat, so that they didn't protrude from the surface, creating a gap between the lid and the base.
I also needed to glue screw another piece of wood to the edge that the hinges would sit on, to thicken it up (the 18mm MDF wasn't thick enough to screw the hinges into).

Here is what the hinges looked like once they were screwed in. The pin also comes out, so I can take the lid off whenever I want, like if I needed to repair it or something.

Here is all the wiring for the buttons from the back. The wires there lead into the male side of the 9-pin plug.
Here is how I made the button contacts. The big piece of the underside of the button is a piece of copper, which is connected to the ground wire.
I used a piece of brass for the other side of the contact because it is more springy than copper, thus it won't just bend flat if the button is pressed all the way down.

And here are the final pictures of how the coffee table looks, all finished and awesome-like!
Well it's not quite finished yet; my sister stole the piece of glass that I had designed this for (which sits on top, so you can use it as a table), so I had to order a new one from mitre10 (130 fookin' bucks! That's more than this whole thing cost to make!).


May awesomely daggy 60s styled futon.

Here you can see I have already filled it with crap. It's good though, my room is now a whole lot cleaner.
p.s. that's not my n-gage, is swear...... it's my spare one...

And here's a picture of my girlfriend having enormous amounts of retarded-looking fun playing Super Mario bros. 3;



Okay, I got one more post for the coffee table, even though it's finished.
I'll post a picture of what it looks like with the piece of glass on, and I'll post a video of us having
mega-awesome fun playing it together (and me kind of cracking the shits at Emily for not jumping at the right time.)
And I think I'll also post links to all of the NES coffee table posts, so it's easier to view the progress.

35 comments:

Isaac said...

Awesome! Great to see it finished. It looks just like a giant controller!

Anonymous said...

Cute girlfriend!

Anonymous said...

Awesome! Great to see it finished. It looks just like a giant controller!

Or it's just a normal sized controller, but he has an incredibly tiny girlfriend.

Excellent work, btw.

leong soon said...

Awesome! Top-notch job, I admire your patience, planning and skills!

Anonymous said...

WOoooOW, nice job!! I so want one!!

Hong said...

dude! you are extraordinary awesome!

Anonymous said...

Jasen wondering what he will do with his 4 day weekend, comes across this freaking awesome project and decides to copy it and devote all his energy to it during his time off!

VitorGGA said...

Wii evolution?

Anonymous said...

wow, incredibly tiny girlfriend, i want one!

how did you make her shrink?

cheers! xD

Anonymous said...

hey can you post a wiring diagram that would be amazing

Anonymous said...

wow i feel stupid.
that must be how regular controllers work as well then?
just completing a circuit...
wow, i can't believe i only just got that....
That table is so cool...i wish i had the time, or money...or necessity to do something like that.

Murray said...

You are my newest hero. You remind me of me, except you actually finish the projects that you start.

I'm currently working on rack-mounting an NES with MIDI controls so I can play the music circuit like an instrument. We'll see if that ever gets done. It's functional now but the finishing touches are sometimes the toughest part.

Anonymous said...

hey man this is really nice, i know it might be a bad idea, but if you sold that, you would make loads of money...

Anonymous said...

how long did it take to make? like in time actually working

Anonymous said...

IT WOULD BE pretty awesome of u to go into a bit more detail of the wiring...u no...4 us normal non educated ppl. thank a bunch!!!!!



AWESOME WORK!!!!!

Anonymous said...

i would like to build one to, it si just to awesome! :D

Anonymous said...

I would like to build one of this to, it is awesome :D

Anonymous said...

can u plzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz send me a wire digram of the controller plzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz?

splintercellbob@hotmail.com

ty

Anonymous said...

2 questions
first, how did u make the d-pad contacts
second can u post a wire diagram please!

Anonymous said...

Nice coffee table, bro. It would be great craftsmanship and presetation even if it didn't actually work.

continued success.

D. Jezik said...

That's awesome!

Anonymous said...

Dude, that is amazing. I want one... and would attempt it IF I knew how you wired the thing. I mean, I still don't get what is the function of the female plug. Wiring Diagram PLEASE!!!

Forkeeps said...

You should totally sell these!

Anonymous said...

Wow that is just Amazing.. now why would you give blueprints of this and tell people how to make it.. lol .. Dang.. Patent that thing and sell it!

said...

Love it! I want one!

Anonymous said...

My god I now know what to get my boyfriend for his birthday! I say get but kill myself trying to make will be the more accurate description!

Any more info on the wiring? I think that's where I'll have the most trouble!

Any help would be seriously appreciated!

e-mail Annie_Weasley @
spacegirl3001@hotmail.com

Jesslyn said...

The copper and such is decent enough... but the wiring, people?
The male plug and female plug fit together-- it's like plugging something into your wall. The lamp is the female plug, the socket is the male; they fit together. The sole purpose of that was so if Kyle wants to, he can unplug the controller and make it non-functioning, and just a plain, awesomesauce coffee table. Get an old NES controller. Open it up. Look inside. COPY.
Go to your local store as well, they'll help you find all the parts once you explain exactly what you are doing.

I'm going to make this, if I can find glass cheaper... I don't have 130$ to throw around lol! Or maybe I'll make it non-functioning, and use a high-gloss laquer of some sort, to make the wood extremely durable so I can scrub it.. I'm prone to spilling juice and dripping jam onto our current mirror-table.

Jarrad said...

You Sir, are my hero.

This is amazing. I think when i move out, i'll make one of these, but not functional.

Thank you very much for sharing this.

Monkey Boy said...

I dont know if you will reply to this but its worth asking.

could you go a little more into detail on how you wired together the DPad and the Buttons to the PCB.

I want to make a smaller version with my dad as a bonding session as we've grown apart over the years and this would be perfect for both of us.

instead of making it hook up to a NES Console i want to make it USB using a retro kit.....im just struggling to see how to hook the buttons up to the PCB.

Unknown said...

@Monkey Boy

Hey, there's really not much more I can say about the wiring. The nes controller was easy to wire to, I just traced back the tracks leading to each of the buttons, and effectively bypass the buttons, so instead of the button on the controller closing the circuit, the button on the giant controller closes the circuit.

You don't need any special kit to make a USB version (I made one myself, so I can plug an actual NES/SNES/megadrive controller into my PC to play emulators), just buy the cheapest generic USB controller you can find I got a double set for 5-10 bucks.
It would by pretty much the same as the NES controller; just pull the board out of the controller and solder wires onto the two sides of the button contacts for each button, and rewire them to the button contacts of the controller you make.

hondabones said...

I don't know what to say. It's very good. and to think I'm trying to get money together to buy a Nintendo because I'm such a fan. lol, you went and built a giant controller. Awesomesauce! (as one poster put it)

Jim said...

@Jessyln The lamp's male and the socket's female. You got the right idea, though.

Anonymous said...

oh my god!! that is not possible!!! this is awesome!! you are some kind of Electrical Engineer?? :D

Riku said...

Instead of wiring the buttons like you did with the copper and brass how else could you do it? just curious. it looks awesome

Anonymous said...

Going to make something like this, except for the N64.

Wondering how to do it since surfaces are round, protruding joystick, and an under-trigger. Also "M" or "W" shaped controller.