GameCube portable help

Mustang72

Member
so I'm going to keep this short and then expand if needed. The only thing I've done to the GameCube is removed ports on the bottom and taken off the display port. It's. rev c board. For some reason, the GameCube will now power on for approx. 1/2 a second and then appears to shut off, but I'm only basing this on the led sttached to the controller ports.

Does anyone have any ideas? Any insight is welcome.
 
My best advice is ditch the gamecube and go with a Wii. You are so early into the project that it won't be difficult to change over. The information in guides on Modretro is very, very outdated. GameCube portables are obsolete, and the only people making them now are only doing so because they are not properly informed.

Here are a few of the reasons why everybody makes wii portables instead

-WIIS DO NOT NEED REMOTES TO BOOT GAMES. PortablizeMii makes that easy.
-Wiis have essentially perfect compatibility with gamecube games
-Wiis can be trimmed smaller with less effort
-Wii portables cost less to make
-Wii portables are much easier to wire up
-Wii portables do not require you to wire a wiikey fusion or a memory card
-Emulators run better on wii
-Wiis play Wii games, virtual console, wiiware, emulators, and homebrew
-Wiis use MUCH less power, so the battery lasts longer
-Wiis create less heat, making cooling them easier with smaller fans/heatsinks
-Wiis use usb drives, and are not limited to 32gb sd cards like gamecube portables
-Wiis have more documentation than gamecubes for portablizing

There are many more reasons to build a wii. The only 2 reasons to build a gamecube portable are bing misinformed, or "because I want to." Yes, GameCubes have the BBA adapter and GameBoy player, but the utility of those in a portable is negligible.

Here's a guide to get you started
 
My best advice is ditch the gamecube and go with a Wii. You are so early into the project that it won't be difficult to change over. The information in guides on Modretro is very, very outdated. GameCube portables are obsolete, and the only people making them now are only doing so because they are not properly informed.

Here are a few of the reasons why everybody makes wii portables instead

-WIIS DO NOT NEED REMOTES TO BOOT GAMES. PortablizeMii makes that easy.
-Wiis have essentially perfect compatibility with gamecube games
-Wiis can be trimmed smaller with less effort
-Wii portables cost less to make
-Wii portables are much easier to wire up
-Wii portables do not require you to wire a wiikey fusion or a memory card
-Emulators run better on wii
-Wiis play Wii games, virtual console, wiiware, emulators, and homebrew
-Wiis use MUCH less power, so the battery lasts longer
-Wiis create less heat, making cooling them easier with smaller fans/heatsinks
-Wiis use usb drives, and are not limited to 32gb sd cards like gamecube portables
-Wiis have more documentation than gamecubes for portablizing

There are many more reasons to build a wii. The only 2 reasons to build a gamecube portable are bing misinformed, or "because I want to." Yes, GameCubes have the BBA adapter and GameBoy player, but the utility of those in a portable is negligible.

Here's a guide to get you started
Wii looks much more efficient but reading that guide it looks much harder compared to Kasar's guide
 
Wii looks much more efficient but reading that guide it looks much harder compared to Kasar's guide
Not true.

The OMGWTF wii has no concave cuts like a trimmed gamecube motherboard has. The wii has 5 straight-line cuts. Sanding down the cut board is a breeze. And since we have complete documentation of the inner layers, if you get a short, we know exactly where it would be. Wiis are also rugged as Heck, and don't break spontaneously like gamecubes do.

This is everything you will need to wire to your wii:
GND
1v
1.15v
3.3v
Composite video
Left audio
Right audio
Gamecube controller line
U10
x2 USB lines
x2 bluetooth lines (not needed if you only want to play gamecube games)

Thats EVERYTHING that will connect to your wii. No memory card. No wiikey fusion. No mega drive. 11 wires total for full gamecube compatibility, 2 more if you want to play wii games too. Its much easier to wire up than a gamecube.
 
I love the idea of a wii portable, but I'd also like to figure out what's going on for learnings sake. (Sorry it took so long to get back. Been pretty busy.) I decided to cut the AV output and sand it just incase there was a short I couldn't see. No matter where I wore the composite video on the posted outputs, it won't show a picture
IMG_0672.jpg
IMG_0671.jpg
I
 
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Do you get the correct voltages at the various points shown on the trimming guide? And make sure the edges you have cut are sanded A LOT.
 
The 1.9v is good, but the spot that should be 3.3v is reading at only .3. Is that being caused by a short?

That could definitely be the result of a short. I would desolder the 3.3v regulator and test it on it's own to see if it is putting out the correct voltage to eliminate the possibility that the regulator is the issue. If it is a short, sand the edges on the trimmed motherboard well. The easiest way to tell if there is a short caused by the trim and where on the trim is heat. The board will get very hot in the place that the short is. The safest bet is to just sand the edges first.
 
I've sanded the board excessively and the 3.3 still only outputs .3v. I plan on using a megadrive v3, which has a component on it that outputs 3.3v could I just run a wire from that to the relocation point?
 
I'm not sure if I'm reading at the wrong points.. if I read from the point in the first picture, I get .3v. But reading from the megadrive shows 5v, 3.3v, and what seems to be ground.
image.jpg
 
Nope, the megadrive gets 3.3V from your busted line...
Do you get continuity between 3.3V and gnd?

^This. Quickest way to know for sure if there is a short is to test for continuity between ground and voltage. By what you are describing though, it is definitely a short.
 
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