First GameCube Portable

[WadeBrody]

So first things first. I have no experience with any soldering or anything like that. This isn't going to be a full I'm building it right now thing. These are just questions I have for when I eventually build one, when I have the future experience. My first question is, does it really matter what model GameCube you use? Like the Rev A, B, or C. I looked at Ashen's post that says when you trim the Rev C motherboard you trim off the the on-board regulator stuff? Would I have to build one, or can you buy one on eBay or something. And I somewhat understand the WKF/Wasp but not fully. Like how does one flash swiss onto it? And SD Gecko I barely know anything about that, so explaining this to me would be helpful... And the screen. I here about being able to produce 480p instead of 480i using a VGA thing or whatever, what do you do to improve the picture quality? I probably have a ton more questions that I could ask but I can't think of them at the moment, so I will include them later. Thanks for responding to my questions! And just remember, I am a complete beginner, I have only read posts about these, watched videos of soldering. So please don't get frustrated with me when I don't understand it fully. I am also only 14, but I saw somewhere that someone who was also 14 or 13 made some amazing portables! So thanks for taking the time to stop and respond!

 

[Blargaman91]

The GameCube mega sticky (http://forums.modretro.com/index.php?threads/the-gamecube-mega-sticky.793/) may contain most of the info you need. If not, there are many guides and posts about all of these things lingering around the internet. You could try other forums as well.

Which GameCube version you use depends on whether you want to use custom regulators (this is something you must build yourself). Using custom regulators has two main advantages: It is smaller, and it can run on lower voltages. It is better suited for portables with batteries. If you are going to use custom regulators, the DOL-001 (Rev. A and B) GameCube is better because it has no built-in regulator and thus is easier to trim.
If the system is only running on wall-power (12 volts, generally), a DOL-101 (Rev. C) GameCube would probably be much better. You could just leave the built-in regulator on the board and use it. You could still use batteries with this setup, but they must be higher voltage (usually 14.8v) in order to work with the built-in regulator.

The GameCube is very well documented, so , like I said, I think you can find most of the answers to your other questions by searching more. I researched and experimented for about year before I made my first full GC portable at 14; age certainly doesn't matter as long as you have the drive to do it.

On a side note, there are new developments on the Wii as it is becoming a great choice for portables. It can function even as a GameCube, but draws much less power. It is not exactly one for a beginner, but I am just throwing it out there for those who see this post and might want to go in a different direction.

 

[WadeBrody]

The GameCube mega sticky (http://forums.modretro.com/index.php?threads/the-gamecube-mega-sticky.793/) may contain most of the info you need. If not, there are many guides and posts about all of these things lingering around the internet. You could try other forums as well.

Which GameCube version you use depends on whether you want to use custom regulators (this is something you must build yourself). Using custom regulators has two main advantages: It is smaller, and it can run on lower voltages. It is better suited for portables with batteries. If you are going to use custom regulators, the DOL-001 (Rev. A and B) GameCube is better because it has no built-in regulator and thus is easier to trim.
If the system is only running on wall-power (12 volts, generally), a DOL-101 (Rev. C) GameCube would probably be much better. You could just leave the built-in regulator on the board and use it. You could still use batteries with this setup, but they must be higher voltage (usually 14.8v) in order to work with the built-in regulator.

The GameCube is very well documented, so , like I said, I think you can find most of the answers to your other questions by searching more. I researched and experimented for about year before I made my first full GC portable at 14; age certainly doesn't matter as long as you have the drive to do it.

On a side note, there are new developments on the Wii as it is becoming a great choice for portables. It can function even as a GameCube, but draws much less power. It is not exactly one for a beginner, but I am just throwing it out there for those who see this post and might want to go in a different direction.

Thanks for the help! If I don't go straight into making a portable, I wanted to fiddle around with a Wasp fusion with a $15 Gamecube I found on eBay, but BadAssConsoles is sold out with both the Wasp and Megadrive V5. Is there anywhere else I could buy these. Preferably a legit site.

 

[Blargaman91]

Is there anywhere else I could buy these. Preferably a legit site.

Unfortunately I don't know. I haven't seen any. It has been out of stock for quite a while, so you might have better luck asking for one in the junkyard on these forums.

 

[WadeBrody]

Unfortunately I don't know. I haven't seen any. It has been out of stock for quite a while, so you might have better luck asking for one in the junkyard on these forums.

Alright... Thanks for the advice