Absolute Beginner Recommendations

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Hi everyone, sorry if this is in the wrong place, maybe you can redirect me if this has already been asked 100 times before :)

You probably get a lot of people like me, I saw Shank's portables on YouTube and I thought I could try that.

My biggest question is: what console do you recommend as a first project for a complete beginner to electronics?

Which one requires the most simple soldering? Which one requires fewest cuts?

When I say beginner, the most I have ever soldered was a few replacement batteries for GBC cartridges. But I do have access to soldering irons, heat guns, dremel tools, etc. Only thing I don't have is a 3D printer.

So what is the most 'unambitious' portable project?

I've been looking through the beginner electronics and console modding pages on the site too, which are quite helpful. But does anyone recommend any further reading? Starting this project seems really overwhelming to me, I'd like to have a better grasp on some of these principles and jargon.
 

Timo43

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Hi everyone, sorry if this is in the wrong place, maybe you can redirect me if this has already been asked 100 times before :)

You probably get a lot of people like me, I saw Shank's portables on YouTube and I thought I could try that.

My biggest question is: what console do you recommend as a first project for a complete beginner to electronics?

Which one requires the most simple soldering? Which one requires fewest cuts?

When I say beginner, the most I have ever soldered was a few replacement batteries for GBC cartridges. But I do have access to soldering irons, heat guns, dremel tools, etc. Only thing I don't have is a 3D printer.

So what is the most 'unambitious' portable project?

I've been looking through the beginner electronics and console modding pages on the site too, which are quite helpful. But does anyone recommend any further reading? Starting this project seems really overwhelming to me, I'd like to have a better grasp on some of these principles and jargon.
Most people who want a wii portable start with a G-Wii (in cutting edge) but if you want something simple some people do a rasberry pi emulator portable.
A 3D Printer definitely isn’t required there are people here who will print anything you need for you or you can use some 3D printing service near you. P.S. it’s good that you have a soldering + hot air station + dremel already :) that’s more than most people! (Including me)
 
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Most people who want a wii portable start with a G-Wii (in cutting edge) but if you want something simple some people do a rasberry pi emulator portable.
A 3D Printer definitely isn’t required there are people here who will print anything you need for you or you can use some 3D printing service near you. P.S. it’s good that you have a soldering + hot air station + dremel already :) that’s more than most people! (Including me)
Thanks for the encouragement, it helps.

A G-Wii looks like an awesome device, but I imagine it requires lots of cutting down to fit in that tiny housing. I'm scared to relocate NAND or move traces or anything like that, since my finesse with solder is 0.

Also, both of my Wiis that I am willing to sacrifice are the 6 layer kind. I'm not sure if the G-Wii suits those boards very well, since it's so small and might over-heat easily. I'll check examples of 6-layer boards in a G-Wii. Or I can buy a 4-layer Wii. My friend works in a pawn shop specialising in gaming, so I have a pretty decent supply of untested Wiis for like £4 each.

My end goal (maybe years from now, I work a lot) is to build a PS2 portable. Do you know if that's easier, or harder? I'm kind of bad at navigating these forums, but if that kind of info is out there, I'll probably find it eventually.

Do you know if anyone has recorded video of their entire process? I've seen YouTube videos with mostly pictures in, which I don't find very useful because I'm such a noob with this stuff.

Sorry for all the sporadic questions, I'm excited to start, but I don't know exactly where.

Additionally, I'm not that interested in Pi-based portables, unless you think that's a good place to start learning about electronics regardless. I defer to anyone's experience here
 

cheese

the tallest memer in town
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For info on different consoles check out the Guide Hub. The PS2 and Wii are similar in difficulty, as long as you don't do any of the super advanced stuff. I wouldn't recommend putting a 6 layer in a portable unit, if you'd like to use those, I'd suggest making a mini console or something like that.

There are videos of Noah making some portables on stream which is fairly close to the whole process, but the best suggestion I would have is to look at people's worklogs as they generally document the entire process of building their units.

I would suggest you start with whatever interests you the most, though it may take a while to get where you want to be if you set your goals high.
 
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Wow, those are some good tips. Idk where all you people get the patience for us noobs waltzing in here all the time.

A mini-console sounds pretty awesome actually. Or maybe a portable, plug-in (mains powered) box that still has a screen, with the GC ports on the front. So many options! I'll have to make some designs.

I'll take a look at those videos, since that's how I get the most detailed view of how someone makes these things. Thanks for the link.

Since Timo mentioned the Pi, I've given it some thought and I might try make a tiny Gameboy emulator from a Pi Zero. I'll be sure to document it as much as possible, though I imagine Bitbuilt isn't exactly the place for that kind of content, so I'll look elsewhere for that kind of help.

I'll be back and I think I'll try a PS2 portable in a couple of months. (the quality of GC emulation is good enough for me, to be completely honest) Don't want to dive in the deep end before I can swim, since I know it'll discourage me.

I just thought I'd let you guys know that us lay people are simply amazed by the work done on forums like this. The PortablizeMii project is especially important.
 
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