Hardware CPPro mod. Does it exist?

[codezer0]

Okay, so I have that Nyko extended battery installed on my standard 3DS, and one of my big hang-ups with getting some more games meant-for-3DS, has been that many of the games I am interested in support/work with the Circle Pad Pro. And after very clumsily trying to play these games (where demos were available) with just the standard controls, I pretty much am sure I would want/need a Circle Pad Pro if I am going to be able to enjoy them.

However, that would bring me to the paradox/conundrum of basically deciding between having a proper amount of battery life, or having the necessary controls to play these games. Also, if I had to switch, I'd have to try to find my original 3DS box for the battery and back panel, somewhere.

That said, I'd been made aware of a possible mod that could be done to the Circle Pad Pro so that it would have room to accommodate the extended battery. While not as ideal as if Nyko had just released their combination setup, this currently sounds as good as it's going to get, so that I could have the battery life and the ability to play these games I'd been putting off because of how awful they control (for me) with just the bone-stock 3DS. Does anyone know if this is true? and what all has to be done? Or maybe even would someone consider selling one "modded" for the purpose?

 

[geishroy]

the quick answer is no you cannot use one with the other. you can try modding everything to fit together but if the IR on the 3ds cannot sit flush with the cpp then it will not work at all. the battery from nyko puts too much bulk on the 3ds. you should consider getting a different extended battery that is more easily removed when you want to play cpp games.

 

[The Milkman]

the quick answer is no you cannot use one with the other. you can try modding everything to fit together but if the IR on the 3ds cannot sit flush with the cpp then it will not work at all. the battery from nyko puts too much bulk on the 3ds. you should consider getting a different extended battery that is more easily removed when you want to play cpp games.

Hes talking about actually modifying the Circle Pad Pro so it can fit the battery pack. I believe he already knows he cant fit both on at once.

 

[codezer0]

the quick answer is no you cannot use one with the other. you can try modding everything to fit together but if the IR on the 3ds cannot sit flush with the cpp then it will not work at all. the battery from nyko puts too much bulk on the 3ds. you should consider getting a different extended battery that is more easily removed when you want to play cpp games.

None of those batteries actually work that well. not to mention they put the internal battery at a constant charge rate, which will ruin its life. Replacing the internal battery is the ideal way to go for an extended battery.

 

[The Milkman]

Im pretty sure you can accomplish this, while I dont know the technical details, the CPP does have quite a bit of room to spare in the casing. You may have to go through a couple CPPs but if you could figure out how to lower the board by a bit (maybe only a few centimeters) while keeping the IR in place. This is all just my guess though, if I get the change I will actually give it a try just for you though

 

[Sicklyboy]

I've been thinking about the same thing. I don't have one to play with but I am seriously contemplating ordering one to give it a shot. I don't think it's anything a few minutes with a dremel can't solve.

 

[codezer0]

I really wish that Nyko had just released their own CPP+Battery hybrid shell thing that they were showing off. It looked better and allowed for better overall battery life, and the price was just about right for everything they were giving you, too.

This mod would be ugly, I know, but it would beat basically not being able to play the games as they were intended, and/or having to deal with worse-than-PSP battery life, LOL.

 

[The Milkman]

Yeah, I was looking forward to that case too, I didnt really have any games that used the CPP nor did I have problems with the 3DS battery, but it just looked so fucking cool

 

[geishroy]

Hes talking about actually modifying the Circle Pad Pro so it can fit the battery pack. I believe he already knows he cant fit both on at once.

you can try modding everything to fit together but if the IR on the 3ds cannot sit flush with the cpp then it will not work at all.

forgot i mentioned that, i will repost though just in case you forgot to read.

also OP if you want to replace with a larger battery you will have to get a third party china battery. That would be even less than ideal. Your best bet is CPP when you need it. and to use an extender when you are on trips.

 

[Foxi4]

None of those batteries actually work that well. not to mention they put the internal battery at a constant charge rate, which will ruin its life. Replacing the internal battery is the ideal way to go for an extended battery.

If you're willing to do a little modding, you could connect the internal battery of your external power pack with the internal battery of the 3DS in a parallel connection (positive with positive, negative with negative) - that way total capacities will merge (with slight loss due to wiring resistance etc., but at the end of the day it will still last longer than charging one battery with another) without changing the voltage. You can then hide the contraption within your Circle Pad Pro and bam, you're done.

In fact, you could even use rechargable batteries instead if you so please (but that of course complicates the circuit as you'd have to do some extra serial connections on them to achieve the desired voltage). If you're feeling a little adventurous, you could also carve out a hole where the cartridges go so that you won't have to take the thing off, ever and put it together for good.

All you need is some miscellaneous wiring, a soldering kit, some insulation (preferably heat-shrink tubing, but you can also use insulation tape), a multimeter (to confirm the voltages of both batteries as well as the polarity) and some spare time.

 

[Sicklyboy]

I haven't taken any readings yet, nor have I looked inside a CPP to see what's where (I'm bidding on one on eBay that I hope I'll win), but what I am thinking about doing is seeing if there's a way of nixing the battery compartment from the CPP and running it via contact off of the PowerPak+ contacts or the 3DS contacts, if either output current. But hell if I know where my voltmeter went, I'll probably just buy another one tomorrow or something, lol.

Edit - that is, of course, in addition to seeing if one can modify the CPP to fit the PowerPak+

Edit 2 - I am assuming it is very doable, even if you have to desolder the IR LED off of the CPP PCB and move the PCB somewhere else and just run wires to the LED and glue it in place.

 

[The Milkman]

I haven't taken any readings yet, nor have I looked inside a CPP to see what's where (I'm bidding on one on eBay that I hope I'll win), but what I am thinking about doing is seeing if there's a way of nixing the battery compartment from the CPP and running it via contact off of the PowerPak+ contacts or the 3DS contacts, if either output current. But hell if I know where my voltmeter went, I'll probably just buy another one tomorrow or something, lol.

Edit - that is, of course, in addition to seeing if one can modify the CPP to fit the PowerPak+

Edit 2 - I am assuming it is very doable, even if you have to desolder the IR LED off of the CPP PCB and move the PCB somewhere else and just run wires to the LED and glue it in place.

Why wire the CPP to the PowerPak? Wouldnt that just drain the battery and risk shorting it out?

 

[Sicklyboy]

Why wire the CPP to the PowerPak? Wouldnt that just drain the battery and risk shorting it out?

Wouldn't short it out unless you do something wrong. Yeah, it would drain the battery a little... - a little-. It already runs off of... a single AAA battery, right? I'd be aiming to drop in the 3DS and just play right away without having to switch anything on. I also don't know how much room/how feasible it would be to completely move the battery clip of the CPP.

Edit - and note that I'm not wiring anything to the CPP, I'm going to see about how the contacts on the system and the CPP work, if either of them output current. If so, I'll use that to power it.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

None of those batteries actually work that well. not to mention they put the internal battery at a constant charge rate, which will ruin its life. Replacing the internal battery is the ideal way to go for an extended battery.

If you're willing to do a little modding, you could connect the internal battery of your external power pack with the internal battery of the 3DS in a parallel connection (positive with positive, negative with negative) - that way total capacities will merge (with slight loss due to wiring resistance etc., but at the end of the day it will still last longer than charging one battery with another) without changing the voltage. You can then hide the contraption within your Circle Pad Pro and bam, you're done.

In fact, you could even use rechargable batteries instead if you so please (but that of course complicates the circuit as you'd have to do some extra serial connections on them to achieve the desired voltage). If you're feeling a little adventurous, you could also carve out a hole where the cartridges go so that you won't have to take the thing off, ever and put it together for good.

All you need is some miscellaneous wiring, a soldering kit, some insulation (preferably heat-shrink tubing, but you can also use insulation tape), a multimeter (to confirm the voltages of both batteries as well as the polarity) and some spare time.

I wouldn't recommend connecting the internal and external battery in series.
The difference in capacity will cause them to charge/discharge unevenly and may wear out the batteries faster.
You may never get a full charge because the 3DS thinks it's fully charged when one of the batteries is only halfway charged. Similarly, the 3DS might think the battery is depleted when there's still a lot of juice left in one of the batteries.

 

[Foxi4]

I wouldn't recommend connecting the internal and external battery in series.
The difference in capacity will cause them to charge/discharge unevenly and may wear out the batteries faster.

That is somewhat true, but unless there's a huge difference, the loss is negligable. Connecting battery cells is something people do everyday without even knowing about it (any electronic device that takes more than one battery? ) and since they're rechargables, differences in voltages will even out when charged.

You may never get a full charge because the 3DS thinks it's fully charged when one of the batteries is only halfway charged. Similarly, the 3DS might think the battery is depleted when there's still a lot of juice left in one of the batteries.

That is not true - the level of charge is derrived from the slight differences in the current itself via a circuit and since the batteries are in a parallel connection, no confusion will take place as there's only one output. In fact, if you connect it correctly, it should show the level of charge of both batteries in the circuit since they'll be evenly discharged when used.

 

[The Milkman]

That is somewhat true, but unless there's a huge difference, the loss is negligable. Connecting battery cells is something people do everyday without even knowing about it (any electronic device that takes more than one battery? ) and since they're rechargables, differences in voltages will even out when charged.

That is not true - the level of charge is derrived from the slight differences in the current itself via a circuit and since the batteries are in a parallel connection, no confusion will take place as there's only one output.

Wow this turned from a question about a mod into a circuitry lesson

 

[The Real Jdbye]

That is somewhat true, but unless there's a huge difference, the loss is negligable. Connecting battery cells is something people do everyday without even knowing about it (any electronic device that takes more than one battery? ) and since they're rechargables, differences in voltages will even out when charged.

That is not true - the level of charge is derrived from the slight differences in the current itself via a circuit and since the batteries are in a parallel connection, no confusion will take place as there's only one output. In fact, if you connect it correctly, it should show the level of charge of both batteries in the circuit since they'll be evenly discharged when used.

They will discharge at an even rate, but since the capacities are different it doesn't matter. Once the combined voltage gets below or above a certain level, it will turn off, or stop charging, and if one battery is fully charged, the 3DS will keep trying to charge it until the combined voltage reaches the threshold, which could damage the battery.
Connecting battery cells in itself is no problem, the problem arises when they're of different capacity. That's why you never see electronics using multiple kinds of batteries at once

 

[Foxi4]

They will discharge at an even rate, but once the combined voltage gets below or above a certain level, it will turn off, or stop charging, and if one battery is fully charged, the 3DS will keep trying to charge it until the combined voltage reaches the threshold, which could damage the battery.

The batteries have the exact same voltage, it will never go "above the threshold" and since they're connected, once they reach the "charged" status, both will be evenly "charged".

Connecting battery cells in itself is no problem, the problem arises when they're of different capacity. That's why you never see electronics using multiple kinds of batteries at once

Well, d'uh - both batteries will be "charged" to the point of the smallest battery, but it's still a better solution than perpetually charging one battery with another, which was my whole point. Even normal double-A batteries vary in capacity, sometimes substantially and they're still used in succession.

The best solution would be to create a second circuit with normal rechargables, match the real capacity of the 3DS and then connect, but oh well. What I was saying was that you slightly overdramatized - the batteries will not be damaged in any way.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

The batteries have the exact same voltage, it will never go "above the threshold" and since they're connected, once they reach the "charged" status, both will be evenly "charged".


Well, d'uh - both batteries will be "charged" to the point of the smallest battery, but it's still a better solution than perpetually charging one battery with another, which was my whole point. Even normal double-A batteries vary in capacity, sometimes substantially and they're still used in succession.

The best solution would be to create a second circuit with normal rechargables, match the real capacity of the 3DS and then connect, but oh well. What I was saying was that you slightly overdramatized - the batteries will not be damaged in any way.

What you don't seem to get is that the voltage varies depending on how much charge is stored in the battery. The way electronics measure battery level is by measuring the voltage and comparing them to known ranges.

That's why they won't just be charged to the point of the smallest battery, it will keep charging because the voltage hasn't reached the threshold yet.

Damage can mean many things, in this case I primarily mean a shortened battery life, but it could also cause the battery to stop working altogether.

 

[Foxi4]

What you don't seem to get is that the voltage varies depending on how much charge is stored in the battery. The way electronics measure battery level is by measuring the voltage and comparing them to known ranges.

That's entirely correct.

That's why they won't just be charged to the point of the smallest battery, it will keep charging because the voltage hasn't reached the threshold yet.

That's entirely incorrect. The threshold will be reached because the checking mechanism is connected to the 3DS's battery - the whole circuit will stop charging once that battery returns an acceptable value of charge. The 3DS's battery physically cannot be overcharged as it disables the charging mechanism and the larger battery cannot be overcharged as well since it's higher capacity than the 3DS's - at worst it can be undercharged which will not damage it.

Damage can mean many things, in this case I primarily mean a shortened battery life, but it could also cause the battery to stop working altogether.

This will not shorten the battery's life - battery life is determined by charge cycles, there's a fixed amount of charges before the battery starts deteriorating.

You're completely forgetting about the fact that the 3DS's battery checks its own charge - the signal goes to an internal circuit, checks whether the battery is charged or not and returns the value to the 3DS so that the system knows if charging is completed or not. The contraption will charge until the value returned is accepted and the batteries are parralel so their capacities do merge and they will charge until the voltage is correct.