Hacking a GC With an Arduino?

Discussion in 'General Modding & Electronics Information' started by NateGC, Dec 18, 2017.

  1. NateGC

    NateGC Newb

    Hello! I am new to this community and have really wanted to start making a GameCube portable. I have a motherboard that I can use as well as many of the other components, but sadly, though I've already spent a lot on it, I will never be able to my hands on a Wiki/Wasp Fusion or other $50+ modchip that has gone extinct. So my question to you is: How do these chips work to hack a gamecube and can it be recreated as a program in an arduino?
     
  2. Blargaman91

    Blargaman91 Well-Known Member

    The Wiikey uses an FPGA, so Arduino is out of the question. Whoever designed it reverse engineered the Wii/GC DVD interface and did not share any of their information. I'm sorry, but no one is going to be recreating that because there is little to no demand and very few people have the skill and knowledge to do it. You may still be able to find one if you ask on forums like this or BitBuilt.
     
    ttsgeb likes this.
  3. ttsgeb

    ttsgeb Breaker of Everything Staff Member

    Well, if you ask on BB, you'll just get "omg, just use a Wii, lol" which may or may not actually be helpful to you.
    But yeah, the basic idea for the WiiKey is that it's a drive emulator. It plugs into the connector that the disk drive uses and pretends to be the disk drive. An Arduino is probably not up to the task.
     
    Blargaman91 likes this.
  4. MasterNate

    MasterNate Member

    The reason they would say to use a wii is because it is easier to work with for beginners. You dont have to worry as much about your cooling setup and battery setup. It is also just cheaper.
     
  5. ttsgeb

    ttsgeb Breaker of Everything Staff Member

    Not quite, dude. It's because the Wii can be used without a modchip. Sure it has a ton of potential you can get out of it, but to actually use most of that potential, you need to move far past things that are easy for beginners.
     
  6. MasterNate

    MasterNate Member

    I said it was cheaper because you dont need to buy a modchip. I guess i have to be more specific.
     
  7. Shank

    Shank Formerly Known As Dyxlesci

    Except thats not true at all. Wiis are so much easier to wire up. So many less wires without the modchip, memory card, and other stuff. Just wire up your power, U10, USB, AV, and controller and you are good to go. Thats like 11 wires to the board total, including the U10 wire. All the other stuff is optional to add features like RTC, Wii remotes, and wifi. A wiikey alone is like double the number of wires, and a memory card is 6 wires plus power rails.


    As for the extinct modchip being the only reason people don't make gamecube's anymore, here are a few more off the top of my head:

    Runs all GC games natively
    Plays other games and homebrew
    Easier to trim and wire up
    Biggest wii trim is smaller than smallest gc trim
    Less likely to fail for no reason
    Less expensive
    Uses substantially less power (longer battery life)
    Creates substantially less heat
    Doesn't need an extinct modchip
    Doesn't need memory card
    480p without $300 cable
    Supports media larger than 32gb
     
  8. ttsgeb

    ttsgeb Breaker of Everything Staff Member

    Oh, flax, I didn't even have to actively summon Shank. I knew you'd show up if we talked about the wii.
    I've been waiting.
     
  9. NateGC

    NateGC Newb

    I am hellbent on using a gamecube because that it what I have access to and nostalgic reasons. Plus, I already have an extra gamecube motherboard and controllers. I want to make a portable without use of the disk drive.
     
  10. MasterNate

    MasterNate Member

    Ok bud. Best of luck to you.
     
  11. Diminuendo

    Diminuendo Well-Known Member

  12. Shank

    Shank Formerly Known As Dyxlesci

    I could sense it. Im sure if I said "xbox" 3 times on any thread BB you would show up too :)
     
    ttsgeb likes this.