SUPER NINTENDO CONTROLER BELT BUCKLE WITH SOUND

long story short a friend i know through shadow casting rocky horror and repo the genetic opera at a theater i volunteer at, mentioned  getting an snes belt buckle for her husband. I volunteered myself to make it for her and suggested adding a lil sound / recorder to it for the hell of it instead of just gutting the controller.

so this is my instructable on how i went about doing this and i must say it was pretty easy and cheap, but before going any further i must say DO NOT DESTROY ANY WORKING OFFICIAL OR OLD THIRD PARTY CONTROLLER, ONLY USE DEAD CONTROLLERS OR NEWER REPRODUCTIONS/ BOOTLEGS. the controller i used was both broken and a knock off so i had no problems ripping into it.

NOW FEATURED ON HACK A DAY http://hackaday.com/2011/02/14/recordable-snes-belt-buckle/

Step 1: Gather Your Materials

you'll need the following

1 nonworking snes controller  or working/dead reproduction controller

some sort of sound playback unit, i grabbed mine from a balloon that let you record a message but you can use w/e you think will fit

1 belt buckle thats is slightly smaller than the controller and flat, if it's slightly bigger make sure you can cut or grind it to size.

headphone port (optional if you want to record line in instead of through the microphone)

Step 2: Grab Some Tools

glue gun
metal file
dremal with cutting wheel
power drill with drill bits
Phillips screw driver small
soldering iron
de-soldering sucker or solder wick
high strength epoxy
hot glue
super glue (i used quick grab)
sand paper
solder

Step 3: Tearing Down the Controller

this is pretty self explanatory, unscrew all the screws pull the back case off and just remove the circuit board , collect the screw and remove the shoulder buttons. then desolder the wires from the shoulder buttons contact boards and save the wires for a little later. glue the 2 little shoulder button boards in place with either hot glue or super glue, just make sure you remove those wires first.

also cut off the d-pad portion off of the d-pad but make sure yo don't cut into the select button. I just snapped off the board in a rush but i suggest using a dremal cut off disc.

Step 4: Prep the Sound Board

depending on what you use for a sound board, you may have to trim the board, extend wires or remove some components.

i got mine from a greeting card balloon thing, so first blow it up (if its not already)then record a test message play it back and pop the balloon. as you take it apart be very careful to not rip any wires or damage the speaker.

the only prep i needed to do was to disable the movement/ shake sensor. to disable it just take your preheated soldering iron and desolder the spring and if you can desolder the little piece of metal it taps against so you have 2 nice contacts to solder to. then solder one wire to each contact (if you couldn't save the shoulder wire button you'll need about and inch for one wire 2 inches for the other)

to make sure every thing works still, just bridge the 2 contacts for a second and it will play what ever you recorded.

OPTIONAL you can wire a headphone jack to the microphone if you want to record using line in.

Step 5: Conect Ever Thing and Test

first thing i did was solder the 2 contacts to the start button traces, just make sure the wires are long enough once you put the boards inside the case.

once you solder the wires to the boards press the start button bottom to the contact on the board and see if it works.... if not make sure you soldered to the right contacts and there's no crossed wires.

just to save time i say glue the sound chip to the case and let it dry while you do the next step, i used my super glue but hot glue will work too.

Step 6: Prep the Case

the main modifications you must make are hole for the speaker and trimming some unnecessary plastic bits.

first step, grind down the ring on the back case , once that is grinned smooth use a power drill and drill a circle pattern like i did where your speaker will fit. then grind the post on the right that help support the circuitboard that helps make room for the record button then drill a hole where you would like to mount the reset button.

now on the front pannel grind down the tabs on the d-pad and glue the d-pad in place let dry.

Step 7: Cram Every Thing Back In

first thing i did was glue the speaker onto the d-pad and let dry.

then i mounted the microphone where the controller wire once was, this is where you can mount the headphone jack if you go that route.

now place whats lect of the controller board in place, i used a few dabs of hot glue to keep it in place, but before you do press the start button to make sure it still plays.

now mount the record button where you drilled your hole with some super glue.

let this all dry and screw it back together making sure you leave any out if the buckle covers those screw holes or you'll never be able to open it again.

Step 8: Make the Buckle Fit and Attach

you may not even need to do this step depending on the buckle you have. how ever my $1 buckle needed to be cut down to size on the top and bottom. so i cut the bottom point off with a dremal tool then took off the rest on the top and bottom with a good metal file.\

note of warning do not clean your glasses with your shirt when its covered in metal shavings

once your buckle is to size take some sand paper and scuff up the face of the buckle so the epoxy has something to stick to.  now mix up a good amount of epoxy but not to much on the front of the buckle making sure not to glue down the part you slide your belt in. stick the buckle to the controller and try avoiding any screw holes if possible, let it dry for a few hours

Step 9: Button It Up

now make sure the buckle fits every thing works and record the sound you want

AND YOUR DONE

NOW FEATURED ON HACK A DAY http://hackaday.com/2011/02/14/recordable-snes-belt-buckle/

PLEASE LET ME KNOW HOW YOU LIKED THIS AND IF I MADE ANY MISTAKES HELP ME MAKE MY PAGE BETTER

I just added new pictures of the buckle in action worn by its new owner