Pandora modding!

[Dunny]

Hmm. I assume it's not 3.5mm jack-socketed, but an open-mic similar to the DS mic? In which case, no, it would definitely not do fine.

guess we will find out when its released. there is no other information at the microphone at the moment.

There'll be a microphone in the case itself, yes. There's also a 3.5mm jack which will take a microphone, although it's a 4-band jack so you'd need the right connector and wiring.

And yes, for loading Speccy games from tape, the jack would indeed be preferable ;-)

If I'm gonna be porting my current speccy projects, then I'd like to be able to offer the same sorts of features as the windows builds. This includes loading from tape (among other things). Having controllers and keyboard built in is a real bonus

D.

 

[cosam]

If I'm gonna be porting my current speccy projects, then I'd like to be able to offer the same sorts of features as the windows builds. This includes loading from tape (among other things). Having controllers and keyboard built in is a real bonus

Yep, I'm looking forward to a portable Speccy! What is it you're planning to port?

 

[Dunny]

If I'm gonna be porting my current speccy projects, then I'd like to be able to offer the same sorts of features as the windows builds. This includes loading from tape (among other things). Having controllers and keyboard built in is a real bonus

Yep, I'm looking forward to a portable Speccy! What is it you're planning to port?

Rather than port ZXSpin, which contains an obscene amount of x86 asm, I'll likely grab the FUSE sources (FUSE is not my emulator, btw, that's ZXSpin) - and port those, with a nicer UI designed for the panda. Features from ZXSpin such as real tape loading, flashloading, MIDI etc. will likely get added to the mix.

There are two other projects of mine I wouldn't mind trying - SpecOS and BASin. They will be a lot easier to port, being mostly HLL code rather than asm. Well, except for BASin's core, that is

D.

 

[cosam]

Rather than port ZXSpin, which contains an obscene amount of x86 asm, I'll likely grab the FUSE sources (FUSE is not my emulator, btw, that's ZXSpin) - and port those, with a nicer UI designed for the panda.

Cool. I started looking at FUSE myself, even tried cross-compiling libspectrum, which seemed to go OK. The real work will of course be in the interface, which I know nothing about, but let me know if you'd like to share any of the other work. (Although, if you're set on going it alone that's fine too - wouldn't want to hijack your project ;-)

 

[Dunny]

Rather than port ZXSpin, which contains an obscene amount of x86 asm, I'll likely grab the FUSE sources (FUSE is not my emulator, btw, that's ZXSpin) - and port those, with a nicer UI designed for the panda.

Cool. I started looking at FUSE myself, even tried cross-compiling libspectrum, which seemed to go OK. The real work will of course be in the interface, which I know nothing about, but let me know if you'd like to share any of the other work. (Although, if you're set on going it alone that's fine too - wouldn't want to hijack your project ;-)

Not at all

I've already written an emulator (or three) and it's ranked as among the most accurate speccy emulators ever. I'm pleased with that. This will be just a bit of fun, to get me into porting/creating stuff for the Panda.

D.

 

[jdh2550_1]

ryan0 -

The hardware mod I would be most interested in is having the p&|a screen open to lay flat against the back of the unit - for ebook or websurfing use. That's a mod I'd actually pay for to have someone do well.

The next mod I'd like is a p&|a logo embossed on the case.

But no flashing LEDs thanks.

edit: Hmm, i didn't mean for my "p & | a" text string to be turned into a "smiley" those are the symbols I want embossed.

 

[kin]

I think I'm gonna paint it white (color of freedom)
^_^

and paste some funny "www.defectivebydesign.org" labels to annoy DRM portables.

 

[Gautama]

It is said that you can add more ram(or a better stick) to the pandora, but requires a lot of experience...

Unless you have some serious equipment it isn't feasible in the slightest.

 

[ryan0]

Well my 1st mods will be a keyboard backlight and a neon green paintjob,then I might get the case etched with the pandora logo
The 360 degree sounds pretty damn cool.
But instead of having it just turn 360 degrees it should be taken a step further,you twist the screen around and then push it back,like some phones have.This would mean that the keyboard wouldn't be on your lap and interfering by having it's buttons pressed whenever you move in the slightest.
I will certainly see if this is possible when I get my hands on a pandora and hoepfully complete these mods.
Thanks for the feedback,you guys rock!
ryan0

 

[iain.dalton]

I'm just a wannabee, but I would love to see someone mod their Pandora fully, like the Steampunk laptop mod.

 

[kingkholera]

Is there any realistic potential for adding two more face buttons to the Pandora? That way, you could have six face buttons for Genesis, N64, Mame, etc. You could also wire them to the same point as the two extra shoulder buttons, allowing you to accurately emulate PSX games (two sets of shoulder buttons but only four face buttons) and N64 games (six face buttons but only two shoulder buttons used at a time.) As a huge Street Fighter fan, I see this a great extra for those times when you don't want to or can't at all use an arcade stick to play.

 

[Pleng]

Is there any realistic potential for adding two more face buttons to the Pandora? That way, you could have six face buttons for Genesis, N64, Mame, etc. You could also wire them to the same point as the two extra shoulder buttons, allowing you to accurately emulate PSX games (two sets of shoulder buttons but only four face buttons) and N64 games (six face buttons but only two shoulder buttons used at a time.) As a huge Street Fighter fan, I see this a great extra for those times when you don't want to or can't at all use an arcade stick to play.

Well there's an additional two shoulder button solder pads on the unit, so they could conceivably be used for any type of button. Not sure you'd find room to run some wires down the front of the unit to where the rest of the face buttons are, though.

Alternatively, you have a selection of 46 keyboard buttons which could be assigned to do the task.

 

[kingkholera]

Well there's an additional two shoulder button solder pads on the unit, so they could conceivably be used for any type of button. Not sure you'd find room to run some wires down the front of the unit to where the rest of the face buttons are, though.

Alternatively, you have a selection of 46 keyboard buttons which could be assigned to do the task.

I realize that there are keyboard keys which could do the trick, but I doubt that they would perform well for games like Street Fighter unless you used only keys to play, and then the feel would probably be really weird. I just don't think that it would work well for that kind of game. Perhaps do what one poster in this topic suggested, and try to find companies that would manufacture new, more mod-friendly cases for the Pandora hardware hackers, something that could accommodate a larger screen, extra set of shoulder buttons, six face buttons, etc.

 

[nikkopt]

....
please let me highlight that the RAM the pandora uses is not humanly solderable,the pitch between each pin is too tight.The only way we could solder on a new ram chip is with a 80,000$+ cnc guided robotic soldering machine....

I think it's the term "soldered" that is throwing you off. To say something has been soldered implies that it might be unsoldered, which is not the case here. The connections that have been soldered in this PoP configuration are too small and delicate to be done by hand, and they cannot be undone without destroying the chip. Once the parts are attached, they should be considered a single piece. The final answer is that for all intents and purposes, you cannot upgrade the RAM on the Pandora.

you guys know that BGA's need to be soldered with reflow soldering right? Hot-air stations aren't that expensive..
i'm not saying it's possible to increase the RAM on pandora, it's not like you change a chip and you're done.. i'm just saying it is possible to do rework on PoP packages,
anyway, it's not possible on pandora.. and it has 256MB now


a mod i would like to see: rotating camera on lid

 

[Chip]

you guys know that BGA's need to be soldered with reflow soldering right? Hot-air stations aren't that expensive..

The entire package is attached to the PCB via a BGA interface. True, it's not impossible to remove it, but it's not a DIY type of project either.

What I was talking about though is the process that attaches the RAM and NAND packages to the SoC package. That process is not simple or reversible.

 

[RichiH]

Two mods I would be interested in:

1) Adding a Cree Q5, Luxeon P4/P7 or even a Osram Ostar 1000 so you have a flashlight. The Ostar 1000 will be too large & too warm, I fear. Ideally, the LED would be regulated, i.e. I would be able to control the current to it via software.

2) Adding a bi-directional IR diode with loads of power.

Both mods would need to be made in a way that ensures durability is not affected in the least. This prolly means a clear-plastic faceplate. Dremel & SMD soldering are a given, no problem with that.

If you post tutorials in this direction, please send a PN to me.

Richard

PS: Hey, you asked..

 

[Frenchman]

hey so i was thinking a web cam would be a pretty cool mod. would it be possible?

 

[mkinzler]

Thr pandora got a usb port on which you can plug a web cam

 

[Frenchman]

I was thinking intergrated

 

[Frenchman]

like on the newer macs and windows laptop. would that be possible?