Pimping Pac Man | Let's make it rechargeable!

I recently fixed up the My Arcade Pac Man thing. It's great, I really like it, but I feel like it would benefit from being able to be recharged and not use 4 AA batteries.
Since I have plenty of old 3.7 Li-Po's knocking around, and some charging boards, let's give it a go!
Hope you enjoy!
Steve

[@Ea-Nasir_Copper_Co]

I love mods like this. You made the device more functional and cheaper to operate, and with a minimum of fuss.

[@jonahweinshenker]

Pimp my Pac-Man! Mission accomplished… excellent work, sir!

[@DerekWilsonProgrammer]

I appreciate you doing the little puff of air before wiping the screen, so many people forget that - you can have a piece of metal dust on the screen that you'll scratch it all up if you smear the wipe on your screen with that. A little puff of air is all it takes to remove those particles before wiping, and you can save so many scratches from happening.

[@blubcremeluver6276]

That was a nice little departure from the usual, and it had the perfect amount of singing in it, too! Nice!

[@RandyFortier]

For a demonstration of abilities and courage, and for performance beyond the call of duty, I hereby promote you to Major Bodge.

[@TheFrankyg88]

🫡

[@mortensteen]

Excellent work! And dare I say... solid?

[@adventureoflinkmk2]

Solid first name... metal, and middle name... gear? 😏

[@steveakka]

Cracking game 👍👍​@@adventureoflinkmk2

[@NoJusticeNoPeace]

I would just use a small piece of fiber optic cable for the charge light, and you can lead it anywhere you like that way.

[@SchlegFace765]

Another win for the Artful Bodger! Nice project Steve!!

[@spooktasticaparanormal]

Wow Steve, you are a genius. My friend. You put me so much in mind of my nephew. He's a lighthearted guy just like you. I've been ill for a while. But your videos always put a smile on my face and give me a warm feeling in my heart. Keep up the fabulous work brother. Love and light. Paul. ❤🥰😇

[@minmogrovingstrongandhealthy]

I collected up some broken toys that have electronic parts, one day I plan on using them up on projects like these. I cannot be bothered anymore with charging regular batteries. Rather have everything packed and ready in one device then one USB cable and that is it.

[@SmoothEmJay]

Steve, casually demelling right next to the other side of his hand.

[@DavidPlass]

And drilling... that freaked me out a little bit too.

[@minmogrovingstrongandhealthy]

I would do it outside wearing metal gloves, protective overalls and full protection mask XD I just dont trust any tools or materials, especially today.

[@TheBrokenPast]

Well done, Steve! Solid soldering on a solid solution. Now you just need to add a second battery underneath the charging board in the left cavity in parallel with the other battery, and give yourself ages of runtime! 😁

[@shinigami146]

What a fun project to watch!! Very well done, Steve!! You too, Dave.

[@StuartHicks01]

Nice little upgrade, just a thought on the light, maybe look at a 2 colour LED on legs to stand up and poke out or rest just near the hole.

[@JamsterJules]

The charge light was genius !

[@TechBrewGamer]

I really enjoy watching you fix stuff. thanks.

[@MikeB_UK]

Definitely not a bodge but a well thought out upgrade to something you use. Well done. For bodges you should watch some of Electronics Repair School laptop repairs. Capacitors often get ripped out (literally) and mostly not replaced, failed protection mosfets often just bypassed, and blown SMD fuses replaced by bits of wire - all for paying customers!

[@ibrahimkocaalioglu]

Loved it. You should make more upgrade videos. ❤

[@castlecodersltd]

Nice one. I've got a number of battery powered gadgets that I want to convert, I'm feeling inspired after watching this, thanks 🙂

[@dtharmo]

Cool mod video ! Need more of this kind, love it !

[@PollokPoochesDogWalking]

Looking good! You should look into Dremel spiral cutting tools tho. It looks like a drill bit, but it's for cutting plastic. I use them when modifying consoles. Much easier to do corners than with those cutting disks.

[@chrisj2848]

Like a glove! 😂 👍

[@StezStixMix]

🤣

[@knightnevermore]

awesome upgrade! Well done! I love it

[@michaelmllerhansen663]

brilliant brilliant work and you say you don't know very much, you just proved that you do. 👍👍👍

[@brianpipa9397]

One of your best ones yet! I may use this in the future. Thanks!

[@andbuh6990]

Exelent video Steve! And a perfect amount of beeps from the multimeter ;-)

[@Zobbster]

Fantastic work their Steve! There's a few things laying about here that could do with this operation to make them better.

[@shadanzar]

Solid ! Excelent video ! Everyone should midefy their appliance and learn electrinics

[@tomkat7323]

As previously commented ....solid.! It's the only way to applaud this work!! Again.....solid !😅

[@simonharding1572]

nice little upgrade well done

[@YvesS-lq5ul]

Nice job Steve 👍 but I guess the battery life was reduced several times compared to using 4 x AA batteries.

[@rwilcox_71]

Loved this one Stevie! Maybe snatch a small transparent button or something off of scrap to cover the hole? It's so perfect but that open hole gives me the jitters!

[@Skyspace187]

Hot Glue and TPU filament. Works amazingly well with my projects for light pipe replacements.

[@TAGMedia7]

Awesome mod! The only thing I would add is a counterweight to the vacant battery compartment to even it out a bit.

[@thomasainsworth6553]

solid work, i would take the hotsnot off and put it on the plastic instead for water proofing but thats me

[@ajsikkepit]

Ooh, yeah! That is the elegant solution that would make this great mod that last 5% better. A blob of glue under the hole would pick up the LED light nicely and would also seal it off.

[@yotoprules9361]

This device definitely ain't waterproof anyway

[@MizuhoChan]

Nice one, always good to have it rechargable instead. I was thinking about trying to do this with a Wiimote, but I don't wanna dremel mine haha, need a new one to play around with.

[@garymucher4082]

Uh oh, the first stages to designing your own circuity and making new games... I can see it all coming now. lol Thumbs Up!

[@wisher21uk]

Brilliantly done Steve, loved the modifications you made I’m guessing this was a while ago as your melted plastic count has gone down by quite a lot 😊

[@boredwithusernames]

Fantastic video Steve, great mod and great presentation as usual, I stand in awe of your modding skills ;) Any more like this would be very welcome :)

[@vonderdornburg]

Cool little project! I wonder if a piece of thick clear fishing line would work to direct the light where you want it?

[@mikepanchaud1]

You could have used a couple of reclaimed lipo batteries from disposable ecigarettes (vapes), they have perfectly re useable lipo batteries of around 500 mAh capacity and can be found dumped in most streets. 2 in parallel will fit in the space of 2 AA batteries, so no Dremeling is required. The cell protection against over discharge is provided by the TP4056 module. I've done this a couple of times to Poundland flashlights and head torches. If you need a stable 5V from the lipo, DC to DC converters are available from the usual suppliers, they are very small and efficient.

[@retro_black421]

Oh man I'm so glad KZbin recommend you your a perfect teacher for all sorts of bodg job projects I love to do but never usually succeed in ooo looks like my next tool ill need to get is a Dremel heaps of love this is amazing

[@krahwinkel9503]

From repair-pro to product designer. Well done.

[@carlschmitz7909]

I had the exact same idea with the hot glue to transmist the light of the charging LED. Still watching and looking forward to see if it works out...

[@blockbuster8154]

well done, Steve!

[@shadymaint1]

I did the same thing to my sons metal detector. Got a lipo cell, charging module, and voltage regulator from ebay. Works fabtastic.

[@Sevy77]

Great video, loved the part where you vacuum the button up 😂

[@quilleymemory]

9:15 I really thought you'd got it right. There was just something about the timing of this moment, that gave me a good chuckle.

[@AbeM.]

I love this. Though I think I’ll stick to rechargeable AA’s myself 😅

[@mick0905]

I enjoyed this more than a fix. 👍

[@chriskaprys]

That was neat, watching you work that out. I'd really like to see a company like PCBWay or one of those that does custom circuit boards and 3D prints able to offer custom rechargeable battery forms... hopefully one day. Then hobbyists like yourself and many others could retrofit more rechargeables into all kinds of setups!

[@chongtak]

I have done the same thing with a couple of devices. The most difficult is to find the best quality battery with the biggest capacity to fit into the case.

[@PyroX792]

Hey Steve! Quick tip for cutting plastic with a rotary tool: the slower the better. It seems counter intuitive but going too fast causes the plastic to melt and get sticky which makes cutting more difficult and the finished product look worse. Hope that helps! Have a wonderful weekend!

[@quarteratom]

You're saying he technically melted plastic. RESET THE COUNTER!

[@pepethefrog7193]

I normally use 2 lifepo4 AA and two blank AA for such things. The lifepo4 have nominal 3.2V. You need a special lifepo4 charger for them.

[@devttyUSB0]

Very nice mod! :D

[@ShaunNuzzo]

One word; SOLID! Good job!

[@ralphj4012]

At a guess, the diode is probably an OR and a reverse protection function, when using both USB and battery power. It may be worth checking whether the USB port has power on it (shouldn't have) when just powering by battery.

[@quarteratom]

This belongs on the main channel. Great mod. Would love to see battery life comparison.

[@spindreams]

Great stuff, only thing I would have done different is to swap around the battery and charger to save a wire run across the top, also keep the battery away from the hottest chip on the board which i am assuming is the big rectangular one or the blob chip. Actually thinking about it you could forgo the wires and use the old battery circuit that joins the 4 AA cells as the charging circuit instead linking the charger and battery.

[@Marine5D]

Couple more options for that LED indicator light placement. You could run LED to one of the buttons on top or use fiber wire to a new self made hole next to those buttons. Maybe even replace one of the buttons with clear material..

[@OniBojan]

I have done couple of these rechargable mods myself, and I would strongly suggest you get yourself light guide. It will be much more visible and efficient for charging light. I use them and they are awesome :)

[@glovelock]

I love these mod videos! The first video of yours that got me hooked was adding an echo to an old radio.

[@wesleybilly8097]

Not the usual style of your videos but absolutely excellent. Who does NOT love a good mod? There should be more mods.

[@ABikerLife]

I like this one even better that repair vids.. Mod vids might be good to mix in.. Good job.

[@steelcityreseller8170]

That was great! Great job.

[@Synthematix]

Use 4xAA rechargeables, doesnt require any butchering, will last 3 times longer than a 3.6v cell

[@ReclusiveAshta]

What kind of board would you use to charge them? Because afaik they are Li-Ion chemistry instead of Li-Po, (also it might need to be able to balance all 4 of the cells, though unsure).

[@emrah6993]

​@@ReclusiveAshta rechargable AA batteries are NiMH. no need for any board. 10.000mAh total...

[@ReclusiveAshta]

@@emrah6993 but you'd have to take them out to recharge them because connecting them straight up to a usb charging port would overcharge and potentially blow them up.

[@Ea-Nasir_Copper_Co]

@@ReclusiveAshtaIt takes five seconds to take them out and put them in a recharger. We’ve had rechargeables for thirty years.

[@Ea-Nasir_Copper_Co]

@@ReclusiveAshtaThat said, there's no doubt that having an internal battery is an upgrade to removable rechargeables. Steve did a solid upgrade.

[@mikebowers7161]

You are definitely improving… wish I was!

[@pimpedoutstereos9747]

Nice clean mod. I like it and I was surprised how well the charge light hole was visible

[@EliosMoonElios]

You can drill a hole in the front and use a mirror to redirect the light to the front.

[@Jesselovespinball]

Excellent work Steve !

[@Doc_Fartens]

Nice job Steve. I've done basically the same mod for my Gameboy Color, is it's great to see it can be done for other devices also.

[@f1technologies]

You should definitely consider more mod videos. That was good!

[@ro63rto]

Hot snot to hold a short piece of acrylic rod that butts up to the underside of the lid acting as a light pipe would be a cleaner/pro install.

[@gentle285]

Very nice work!

[@CallumFaulds1]

This is a neat concept. I've seen it done before but you did a really decent job here ;)

[@griloleatherface]

Making a hole on the back totally worked but couldn´t you direct that charging light to a nicer place using optical fiber? I´ve never seen that done actually, just had the idea.

[@darkknight145]

I often use holes for the lights on these little modules, but I drill the hole then put a bit of tape on the outside and fill the hole from the inside with a bit of epoxy glue, then remove the tape after the epoxy has cured. Have never needed to make a light guide as these little LED's have quiet a focused bright light which shines nicely on/through the epoxy glue.

[@edfletcher2404]

Another awesome video! Great idea and as usual, you had me laughing!

[@JonnyFix]

I did something similar with a high voltage fly killing tennis racket.

[@jeffdewe]

I would of moved the light to front of the game under 1pl 2pl in the middle or lite up pac-man eyes :), Awesome job on this and does it shut off properly once the voltage /battery drops, I've done this to radio made in India, with a 18650 but the once the voltage drops, it kept draining the battery basically killing it. Like the voltage protection wasn't working right.

[@superduperman7202]

If you need to make a nice LED diffuser then drill a little hole in the plastic, put a small blob of hot glue on the reverse side over the hole, flip it over quickly and push the hot glue through very gently until you have a nice amount filling the hole or bulging out a little. It always looks better than having a bare hole.

[@RetroSaviour]

Nice work mate 👍

[@lacika_dnb]

Why you didn't switch sides for converter and battery. You can use shorter cable for positive, and find nearest ground for converter. For LED indicator fiber glass will work like charm.

[@CiaranCoffey]

really nice mod. you've clarified some thoughts I had.

[@willrobinson7599]

Great job fella

[@why_wait]

If it's at all possible are you able to retro fit rechargeable batteries to pretty much anything? Plenty of old toys and games using old single use batteries that could be swapped out

[@danielross868]

Nice Thinking. Just double check that the BMS and the way you have wired it protects the battery from being OVERDISCHARGED. The way you have wired it (parallel to battery), probably not. Overcharged Lithium batteries will fail prematurely- also very unsafe...

[@MrDrokkul]

Steve...you gotta get a corded Dremel. The lack of power on those rechargeable ones is horrendous.

[@hugegamer5988]

I just buy NiMh batteries cheap, about the same price as good alkaline but recharge hundreds of times. They are 1.2V/cell and not 1.5V like alkaline and have about 1/3 the energy density but its not a problem because I just switch them out with charged ones and put the discharged ones on the charger.

[@mokkorista]

Four rechargeable batteries, job done.😂

[@Tim_3100]

great idea love it

[@gearamihai2782]

If the regulator drops the voltage to 3.3 then if the battery reaches near 3.4.3.5v the regulator stops working and it will stop working before the battery is discharged I recommend a voltage booster for 5v to keep constant voltage for the device

[@imaginitivity7853]

I thought we were in for a Bruce Forsyth impression at the top there. Good game, good game, unnnnhhhh

[@gnasherred3847]

I really wish you and Vince and Tronics and all the others would buy some anti reflective film for your testers... Great video btw.

[@laszlokalo1839]

Why don't you use elf bar battery? I have some of them in various capcity and size and i'm using them instead of non rechargeable batterys and some of them fit in AA battery space. Oh and there are much more smaller bms on ali.

[@IVsLI]

Done this with att my multimeters and whatnot, so much better ^^ Unless you forget to charge em ofc... :P

[@chrishiggins7102]

Do you risk the LED overheating, now that you've given it a cozy blanket ? most other devices use a light pipe to solve this problem.

[@brettgas2787]

well done love your work do you do twitch aswell

[@SpikeXtreme]

Why not use NiMH batteries and wire in a charging circuit ?.

[@DecibelAlex]

wonder if there's hidden games on it like on other my arcade thingymajigs