OK, so after doing the Lithium Ion mod for the Nomad, decided to do the same for the Turbo Express. I have a set of NIMH AA batteries that I normally use for the express, but at most I get 3 hours out of those batteries.
The goal: to find a better rechargeable battery source that weighs less than the 6 AA batteries, and has a much longer charge.
So what I did is I took this: /lirebaforson.jpg
cracked it open and got this: /imag017211.jpg
Hooked it up to the Turbo Express and powered it up: /imag01721.jpg
These batteries in the stock form are too large to fit in the Turbo Express battery compartment. However, when the batteries are separated from the casing it is possible to fit. What needs to be done to make this work is the tabs in the battery tray, and tabs on the battery door need to be trimmed. It isn't a "perfect" solution yet since the door is able to lock, but you can tell that it is a tight fit by the slight gap between the battery door and the case. More to come on that one.
Here is an example of what tabs need to be removed:
/imag0167j.jpg
/imag0167q.jpg
The Lithium ion mod is a long time favorite for portable modders, the good news is these days the batteries are very cheap. I got a charger and two batteries for $20 on ebay. The battery is rated at 2500Mah and should provide a huge increase in playtime compared to my NIMH AA batteries. Benchmark test coming soon.
/imag0176b.jpg
Want to thank Bacteria for his website and tutorial on taking apart the batteries
http://youtu.be/prAZU2iOqO8
ooOOOOoooo.... Looks awesome.
This is awesome. I've been thinking about this myself. Wonder if it possible to charge this battery in the TE thru the existing power jack without disabling the ability for it to run with ac. Although I doubt it. Might be best to bypass the ac and hook the jack directly to the battery to enable charging.
Nice mod.. but to me, it's still like giving Elle Macpherson cosmetic surgery...
That's awesome, I hate short lived battery life.
I think it's a fantastic idea. I can't wait to read about the long term test results. I'm very interested to know how long this extends the battery life.
I will do a benchmark test soon, similar to the one i did for the Nomad. I estimate that it should get at least 5 hours with this battery and more with a more efficient LCD.
Turbokon - yes it would be ideal to keep battery and AC adapter capability. Got a couple ways i can do that just need to try a few things out.
Wow great job - I'm running an LCD screen on mine and get good battery life with alkaline AAs, I wonder what LiOn would be like :D
Probably a couple more hours, maybe 3 more
Quote from: c0ldb33r on 07/10/2012, 05:39 PMWow great job - I'm running an LCD screen on mine and get good battery life with alkaline AAs, I wonder what LiOn would be like :D
Quote/imag0176b.jpg
That, comrade, looks pretty good.
Curious: Does the battery cover fit easily on the Express and keep the battery pack from shifting around ?
Thanks in advance. :pcds:
door does shut but you can tell it is pretty crowded in there.
i have considered something like this, only cutting the stock holder and installing a battery clip for the new.
that would allow for external charging as li batterys need a precision charger.
getting 5 hours+ on my NiMh now so not too enthused to upgrade them.
Quote from: Duo_R on 07/20/2012, 02:04 AMdoor does shut but you can tell it is pretty crowded in there.
Thanks for the info. :pcgs:
You bet working on a way to make it more of a stock fit
Quote from: esteban on 07/20/2012, 12:19 PMQuote from: Duo_R on 07/20/2012, 02:04 AMdoor does shut but you can tell it is pretty crowded in there.
Thanks for the info. :pcgs:
Please share whatever you come up with. recharchables are ok with me. but lipo would be better if i could work it into the system. I already have Thesteves screen mod and that alone as increased my battery life by atleast one hour. more would be icing on the cake.
Will do, here are the batteries I used:
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=250634408743
I will put together a tutorial on how to wire up / charge etc.
Quote from: HercTNT on 07/21/2012, 10:11 PMPlease share whatever you come up with. recharchables are OK with me. but lipo would be better if i could work it into the system. I already have Thesteves screen mod and that alone as increased my battery life by at least one hour. more would be icing on the cake.
Thanks duo :)
Made a battery pack, it's one piece now:
/imagevaa.jpg
And after a little dremel work it has a stock fit now:
/imageoop.jpg
Will add a charging port, battery will need to be removed to charge (similar to my old Gameboy Advance chargepack). Charging port wont be visible externally. Also a quick disconnect will be added so battery can be removed when charging. I just need to get more battery covers now!
I'm really wanting a lowdown on total battery life on this after the mod is done. This is really slick.
lol that is a 2000mAh battery.
my NiMh are 2300mAh and should give about 1 more hour then your LI battery.
my interest comes from the fact that i need 6 batteries for my gt, but my charger can only handle 4 at a time. Obviously the immediate solution would be to get a better charger. there is something sexy though about a removable battery pack.
i just have multiple chargers.
the beauty of LI is the charge rate.
those can be charged fast.
yea i got the same energizers you do and it takes 8 hours. not to bad if i pop them in over night. I"m currently using 8 batteries though in between three machines. i have my gameaxe, a game gear, and my gt. according to sanyo, nimh batteries can be rapid charged but it lowers there mAh rating. the eneloops say not to rapid charge them at all.
12 batterys 3 chargers 2 or 3 expresses 0 or 1 gamegear
Quote from: thesteve on 07/24/2012, 01:49 AMlol that is a 2000mAh battery.
my NiMh are 2300mAh and should give about 1 more hour then your LI battery.
it is actually a 2200mah...so that's pretty close man.
Quote from: HercTNT on 07/24/2012, 02:10 AMyea i got the same energizers you do and it takes 8 hours. not to bad if i pop them in over night. I"m currently using 8 batteries though in between three machines. i have my gameaxe, a game gear, and my gt. according to sanyo, nimh batteries can be rapid charged but it lowers there mAh rating. the eneloops say not to rapid charge them at all.
That's the beauty of these batteries, I can fully charge in about 3 hours. The pack is all set, she is charging right now and going to do bench test with a stock screen later today.
Quote from: thesteve on 07/24/2012, 03:28 AM12 batterys 3 chargers 2 or 3 expresses 0 or 1 gamegear
I have an assload of Eneloops too - because they retain their charge so well, I can stuff 6 of them in the GT, and cycle them easy. I use them in the Wii, my wireless keyboard, Nomad, GT Gameboys, yada yada yada
eventually i will upgrade to eneloops.
Battery in testing: stock screen with Li-ion
/img20120724114822.jpg
OK got just over 5 hours gametime on stock screen. A more energy efficient screen the like the one that TheSteve installs should add a few more hours to that hopefully bringing 7-8 hours game time.
Here is a fun little time lapse video: http://youtu.be/4y_RV2JdEfo
wow, my energizers give me about 4 and a half hours and i need 6 of them. So duo, when you wanna do this mod for me :)?
Shoot me a PM, I would be happy to do revision 2 on yours. Revision 1 turned out pretty nice, will post some pics.
You are getting 5 hours with a new LCD? You should get more playtime with these and it is also a little lighter compared to 6 AA batteries.
Quote from: HercTNT on 07/24/2012, 11:00 PMwow, my energizers give me about 4 and a half hours and i need 6 of them. So duo, when you wanna do this mod for me :)?
Quote from: Duo_R on 07/25/2012, 01:27 AMYou are getting 5 hours with a new LCD? You should get more playtime with these and it is also a little lighter compared to 6 AA batteries.
He's been playing Gunboat and Falcon. Pumping out polygons is so taxing for TE, he's lucky to get more than an hour. :pcgs:
it makes a huge difference what cart you run as well.
running the neoflash64 i get 4-5 hours, but running the gameofyou flash cart gets me 6-7
official carts get me 5-6
that's interesting, yeah already an improvement with more energy efficient screen on the battery time. I will also do a test on normal AA's and some NIMH batteries that I have.
Also side note - if you are doing a test for time on a single charge, you have to have a button active or the screen will timeout. I used a small object and electrical tape on button I (with turbo switch on) similar to the Ys III cheat.
lol, i walk around and play the system till the picture dropps out (about 4.5V)
Quote from: Duo_R on 07/25/2012, 11:09 AMAlso side note - if you are doing a test for time on a single charge, you have to have a button active or the screen will timeout. I used a small object and electrical tape on button I (with turbo switch on) similar to the Ys III cheat.
That will probably adversely affect the battery life too, but as long as you do the same for each test, we'll at least know the difference.
Behold....the Duo-Pack-01 Turbo Express battery pack:
/powerpackphoto.jpg
And here it is installed, fits like stock door.
/photoinstalled.jpg
You can see the internal charging port on the first photo, and there is a quick disconnect that can allow it to be removed from the Turbo Express.
Also another benefit of the mod is weight reduction, just weighed 6 AA batteries - came in at 5.2 ounces, the new lithium ion pack weighs 3.5. Unit doesn't feel weightless now, but you can tell the difference.
That is pretty fantastic. This would be a great mod to get a little more out of the little fellow.
Quote from: BlackandBlue on 07/25/2012, 05:30 PMThat is pretty fantastic. This would be a great mod to get a little more out of the little fellow.
Absolutely. I am really diggin' this. :pcgs:
Yea, me and a friend of mine are having duo-r do revision two on our gt's. Not having to hassle with 6 batteries and faster charging times will really improve my gaming. Thanks Duo :) when we get them back we will post pics for everyone.
:D
=D> Job well done!
Very nice!
Awesome!! This will be my next project for my TE.
http://youtu.be/prAZU2iOqO8&t=1m17s Video of the battery in action if you haven't seen it (and the last part is the controller mod)
New batch of battery packs
/img20120818142006edit0.jpg
Very nice!
Quote from: Duo_R on 08/18/2012, 05:59 PMNew batch of battery packs
/img20120818142006edit0.jpg
PM sent :pcgs:
Nice, still haven't done mine yet.
Bumping to say i recieved my modded gt from duo-r and it works great. Thank you duo!!!
=D> =D> =D>
What are the voltages for the Pc Engine, just standard 3.7
the system runs on 7-9V
the li cells are 3.7 (requires 2)
OK, thanks!
Quote from: Duo_R on 07/31/2012, 03:19 PMhttp://youtu.be/prAZU2iOqO8&t=1m17s
Video of the battery in action if you haven't seen it (and the last part is the controller mod)
The new battery packs look great Duo_R!
Console Repair/Mod Center => Topic started by: Duo_R on 07/09/2012, 08:05 AM