Nintendo
This is a modified Nintendo video game console. It is a very simple bend and is a lot of fun to play with. To bend this unit I simply added a patch bay to a handful of points on the video processing chips. The Display can be tweaked by either connecting points together or by feeding in external signals, like audio or voltages from my modular synthesizer. the video shown above is an example of how the visuals can be controlled using clock signals from my modular synth.
I connected the patch bay to the circuit using a connection terminal and ribbon cable. This allowed me to wire up the lid and board separately and plug them together when I was done. It made the whole job a lot easier. It also allows me to remove the lid completely from the unit if it needs to be serviced.
Above is a picture of the control panel.
- On the left is a 21 point patch bay. Each point is simply wired to a pin on one of the ICs on the nintendo circuit board.
- To the right of the patch bay are 3 green points. These are connected to ground. Most of the points on the patchbay respond well when attached to ground.
- In the center of the control panel are a few patchable potentiometers with activation switches and buttons. This allows you to patch points together through adjustments which will vary the amount of video glitching as they are adjusted. I used two 500ohm pots and two 10 turn 100ohm pots.
- On the right are three external signal input jacks. Audio signals or voltages from analog synths or micro controllers can be used. Really cool effects can be achieved by feeding high frequency wave forms (like the output of a 555 timer) into some patch points. It gets interesting when the frequency of the incoming wave matches up with the scan frequency of the display. You can get some cool scrolling patterns by doing this.
I imagine there is some danger involved in plugging random voltages into the nintendo circuit board….. but so far there haven’t been any problems. I suspect that running each input through some sort of op amp buffer would be a good idea.
Each input goes through a potentiometer for limiting the signal as well as a switch and pushbutton for turning the signal on and off.
The row of pins boxed in RED above are where most of the interesting effects are. There is one point below the others also boxed in RED. When this point is connected to ground, the graphics are dramatically simplified and become colorful block patterns. This is my favorite effect so far.
There are many more points that can be patched together, but I’ve found that the general range of effects can be achieved using the points shown above.
Web News Site » Blog Archive » NES patchbay for versatile bending said:
September 8th, 2009 at 7:31am #
[…] Edwards of Casper Electronics shares his method for modding the classic NES console to generate synth-synced visuals and more -It is a very simple bend and is a lot of fun to play […]
Nintendo Circuit Bending - today and tomorrow said:
September 8th, 2009 at 6:35pm #
[…] is what you get when Casper Electronics does some circuit bending on a Nintendo […]
circuit bent nes makes a fun video synthesizer | nexgengadget.info said:
September 8th, 2009 at 10:47pm #
[…] You can also achieve similar effects from your NES by smashing it with a hammer while plugged in – for at least 10 seconds. Check out the complete worklog here. […]
circuit bent nes makes a fun video synthesizer | Tamasindo Secret & Technology said:
September 8th, 2009 at 10:53pm #
[…] You can also achieve similar effects from your NES by smashing it with a hammer while plugged in – for at least 10 seconds. Check out the complete worklog here. […]
zs said:
October 29th, 2009 at 7:44pm #
i think i may try do do something similar with a PsOne
BirdFLU said:
December 3rd, 2009 at 2:24am #
Does it make any difference what game cartridge you have inserted?
Matt said:
January 17th, 2010 at 4:16am #
I’m a bit of an amateur circuit bender and have wanted to try and bend a nintendo system but haven’t wanted to try and bend anything that I have to plug into a wall. Is there a way to get around this or should I just not tackle it if my knowledge of what I’m doing is still limited?
Dave Johnson said:
February 3rd, 2010 at 8:03am #
Hey (to Matt) You don’t need to worry about any danger as long as there is a power pack between you and the wall socket.
In other words, if there is a separate power pack which plugs into the wall (you know the sort of things I mean - AKA ‘wall wart’) and if this power pack feeds the main circuitry via a power lead, then there’s no actual mains anywhere in the main circuit at all and you can’t get hurt. The worst that can happen is something goes POP.
Dave J.
casper said:
February 18th, 2010 at 12:58am #
@ZS: Please let me know how bending a PS1 works. I hope you don’t break it!
@BirdFlu: It will work no matter what game you use. Changing the cartridge changes the color palette and gives you a different range of shapes to glitch out. It’s really cool. I’ve found some games to be nicer looking then others, but they all work.
@Matt: I agree with DaveJ
@DaveJ: Thanks
princess dan said:
March 17th, 2010 at 12:11pm #
Hey, advice for all, hook up wire works wonders on the row of points that are holes. Slip it on in and set the helping hand. Ends up less elegant, but easy soldering for someone ham handed like me.
ed said:
March 25th, 2010 at 7:49pm #
very interesting project…
Im experimenting with a nes clone, interconecting points in the cartridge circuit, with very good results, but i want to plug an audio source, where and how do you ercomend to do it?
princess dan said:
April 16th, 2010 at 12:08pm #
Anybody tried hooking 2 together? Duck hunt v. Punch out? Does anyone with more electronics knowhow than me know any portion of the patchbay that it is inadvisable to try this with? Don’t want to kill two at once. Also, galaga, rc pro am, and dr mario kick butt. Any game suggestions?
Dude said:
June 8th, 2010 at 3:05am #
The spinning high score screen on Captain Skyhawk is a good one for visuals I think. Metroid has very cool alien tiles, but they are somewhat hard to get at.