1stage
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A quick introduction...
My son got his first console, a GameCube, back in mid-2002, just before he started kindergarten. My wife and I had agreed that our kids would share video game consoles and play them in the family room, but we broke this rule when my son got injured, and had to spend time alone in his room for about a month... hence, the GameCube. He and I would play Windwaker, Four Swords, and other titles together, and he still holds fond memories of his first console.
So back in 2014, when he was in high school, he asked what it would take to make a portable version of the GameCube. The only examples I'd seen involved using a PSOne screen, and some serious hacking. I bought an old GC, removed the unnecessary parts from the mass, cut a GC controller in half, and worked to figure out how to miniaturize the unit. I even got it ALL working with rechargeable lithium ion batteries. But our hang-up was always on the GC optical drive. No decent replacement options had been developed (yet), and although we had an EXTENSIVE library of GC discs (legit, not copies), we had no way to get them onto/into this "luggable" unit. So, sadly, I put all the parts into a large, stackable, sealed plastic bin, and put it into the garage, hoping I could get back to it before he graduated high school.
Now, he's graduated college with a degree in game development and screen writing, developing his own games, and I thought it might be a good time to circle back and see what had become of GC portability since I shelved our version six years earlier. I watched the videos on the G-Boy (and precursors) and figured it was a good time to get back on the project. Since 2014, my skills as an electronic engineer and system designer have flourished. I developed a VIC-II NTSC/PAL switcher for the C64 which Perifractic sells through his online store. I developed a composite video adapter for both NTSC & PAL versions of the Aquarius Computer (the stock unit only has RF out). I've reverse-engineered a handful of legacy PCBs from computers and consumer electronics from the 1980's (my era!). And I also repair, refurbish, and develop new versions of classic arcade games.
We got our G-Boy kit about a week ago. Even though the included 3D printed case is GREAT (no complaints), we wanted a smoother finish with a different color than what was offered. I've already acquired a RED Wii, Homebrew'd it, and gotten BBLoader installed. I've imaged about half of our GC discs using CleanRip, and I'll be moving onto the "yellow sleeve" (GameStop) stack of discs that makes up the second half of our collection this coming weekend. Other than sand down the case and put primer on it, there's nothing yet to look at, but as I get more into the build this week, I'll start adding pictures.
- Sean
My son got his first console, a GameCube, back in mid-2002, just before he started kindergarten. My wife and I had agreed that our kids would share video game consoles and play them in the family room, but we broke this rule when my son got injured, and had to spend time alone in his room for about a month... hence, the GameCube. He and I would play Windwaker, Four Swords, and other titles together, and he still holds fond memories of his first console.
So back in 2014, when he was in high school, he asked what it would take to make a portable version of the GameCube. The only examples I'd seen involved using a PSOne screen, and some serious hacking. I bought an old GC, removed the unnecessary parts from the mass, cut a GC controller in half, and worked to figure out how to miniaturize the unit. I even got it ALL working with rechargeable lithium ion batteries. But our hang-up was always on the GC optical drive. No decent replacement options had been developed (yet), and although we had an EXTENSIVE library of GC discs (legit, not copies), we had no way to get them onto/into this "luggable" unit. So, sadly, I put all the parts into a large, stackable, sealed plastic bin, and put it into the garage, hoping I could get back to it before he graduated high school.
Now, he's graduated college with a degree in game development and screen writing, developing his own games, and I thought it might be a good time to circle back and see what had become of GC portability since I shelved our version six years earlier. I watched the videos on the G-Boy (and precursors) and figured it was a good time to get back on the project. Since 2014, my skills as an electronic engineer and system designer have flourished. I developed a VIC-II NTSC/PAL switcher for the C64 which Perifractic sells through his online store. I developed a composite video adapter for both NTSC & PAL versions of the Aquarius Computer (the stock unit only has RF out). I've reverse-engineered a handful of legacy PCBs from computers and consumer electronics from the 1980's (my era!). And I also repair, refurbish, and develop new versions of classic arcade games.
We got our G-Boy kit about a week ago. Even though the included 3D printed case is GREAT (no complaints), we wanted a smoother finish with a different color than what was offered. I've already acquired a RED Wii, Homebrew'd it, and gotten BBLoader installed. I've imaged about half of our GC discs using CleanRip, and I'll be moving onto the "yellow sleeve" (GameStop) stack of discs that makes up the second half of our collection this coming weekend. Other than sand down the case and put primer on it, there's nothing yet to look at, but as I get more into the build this week, I'll start adding pictures.
- Sean
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