BitBuilt Welcome Thread!

[Bamboo]

Hello all!

Lurker turned noobie here. Started an n64 project almost 3 years ago, worked on it a couple weeks and then put it in a box until just last week. Lots of life stuff happened in between but I'm happy to jump back in this!

Sad to see the bac forums are gone but glad to see it resurrected here! The guides and tech have really come a long way. So much to learn!

 

[Matthew]

Hello all!

Lurker turned noobie here. Started an n64 project almost 3 years ago, worked on it a couple weeks and then put it in a box until just last week. Lots of life stuff happened in between but I'm happy to jump back in this!

Sad to see the bac forums are gone but glad to see it resurrected here! The guides and tech have really come a long way. So much to learn!

And we are just getting started. Welcome

 

[Nold]

I noticed, i've never really said "hello" ^^ ...

... so, I'm Gerrit aka Nold, 27 years old by now & living in germany. I'm a Linux SysAdmin, doing a lot of configuration management, automation & customizing stuff mostly. I love free software (as in freedom, not beer ) and so I'm trying to only use free software in my personal time & share the stuff I work out & create on my Website/github/forums... (Yea, I'm quite ideological.. I think that "human knowledge belongs to the world" & should be free). I think the only proprietary software in my home, is running on my consoles (except for bios/firmware stuff -.-')..

I've been lurking around the portable community for years. Since I saw the first portable console, i was fascinated by the skill, knowledge & craftmanship put into this little devices. I was always dreaming of maybe creating my own portable(s) some time.
So after doing a lot of different stuff on the Gamecube (Modding & GC-Linux hacking mostly), some Xbox360/DC hacking, soldering radio transmitteres, sound generators, microcontroller stuff, .... I finally had the skill to start working on a portable! That's how my PortaCube-Project started.. then life went on & my GCp was lying around for nealy 5 years until I finished it...

But now, since I'm haning around in discord, I already have meet a lot of nice people and I feel like I'm finally arriving in this community!

I normally tend to do a lot "project hopping" & get easily bored by doing the same stuff for a long time, like I do some console stuff and a day later maybe something totally different (like i will build some speakers again, next week). But I hope that portablizing will stay a part of my life, since it has so many different aspects & so many talented & nice people around it

So, thanks a lot guys, for this nice community!

 

[hbarudi]

I just made an account to sign in to this website. I want to know where to get parts and build portable versions of non portable consoles such as N64 and gamecube.

 

[jefflongo]

I just made an account to sign in to this website. I want to know where to get parts and build portable versions of non portable consoles such as N64 and gamecube.

You might want to check out the BOM, a collection of reputable parts many people have used. There are plenty of guides on this site for portablizing the N64 and Wii (GC is pretty much obsolete because the Wii can do everything the GC can but more efficiently).

 

[Charjame]

Hey guys. After weeks of looking and researching in these forums, I have truly fallen in love with this website and your guys' mentality on the hobby. I've been wanting to make a portable for years, and I will begin my work-log soon on a killer wii portable. I can't wait to interact with you guys on this experience. My portable will be dedicated to Fiskers and his vague, plagiarizing, and meme-worthy ways. Look for a worklog in the future!

 

[ShockSlayer]

My portable will be dedicated to Fiskers and his vague, plagiarizing, and meme-worthy ways.

don't do that

 

[Doom]

henlo this is doom

 

[BlueShadow]

Yo...so I started a n64p back in september 2016, i worked on it off and on, but mostly off...but just started working on it again in earnest.
this is my 1st time posting anywhere, but yeah i want to finish my n64p and maybe do a wiip, but we'll see. i've been reading through the forums, packing my tiny brain with wisdom and knowledge. this is really a great site, you guys did a awesome job on it!

 

[fibbef]

Hey BlueShadow! Welcome! There’s a lot of Wii activity going on here but I’m working on my 64p currently as well so hit me up if you need someone to bounce ideas off of.

 

[BlueShadow]

ok thanks, so i'm new to posting/forums in general...so by hit you up you mean pm you? sorry i'm a newb...

 

[fibbef]

so by hit you up you mean pm you?

I just mean in general. PM, tag me in a post, or just random musings in your worklog (since I end up reading most new content on the forums anyway). Tbh I don’t even know how much help I could provide. Sometimes it’s just nice working through something when you know someone else is doing the same.

 

[Nytician]

Hi everyone! Stumbled across this site through a YouTube link connected to Wii modding, immediately registered as love this kind of stuff haha! See you around!

 

[Noah]

Hi everyone! Stumbled across this site through a YouTube link connected to Wii modding, immediately registered as love this kind of stuff haha! See you around!

Welcome!

 

[OptimismPrime]

Hey, been a fan of this place for awhile. Can't wait to get some projects done.

 

[Jonny]

Hey! Brand new to The portablizing scene, but its all right up my alley. Video games, a cool project, goes anywhere, just what I want to get into. I want to start out with a ps2 portable, any advice for me?

 

[GingerOfOz]

Hey, been a fan of this place for awhile. Can't wait to get some projects done.

Hey! Brand new to The portablizing scene, but its all right up my alley. Video games, a cool project, goes anywhere, just what I want to get into. I want to start out with a ps2 portable, any advice for me?

Welcome to both of you!

As for advice, I'd say the best advice I can give is to tell you to not cheap out on anything, especially tools. Almost everyone here has gone through a couple of crappy sobering irons before actually getting a nicer one, and they never regret it. I wish you luck!

 

[hbarudi]

A few comments since my last one,
1. What is this BOM thing that is supposed to list most commonly used parts for making the N64 and gamecube portable.
2. some people are like make a wii instead of gamecube portable, but I intend to skip the wii since the gamecube is mostly for those amazing pokemon titles I haven't been able to play before and pokemon is best played portable, the gamecube motherboard is small and then the optical drive and all other parts with lots of empty space inside gamecube can be reduced to something while still thick, but like the size of a (4:3) switch with much longer (joycons side) sort of thing.
3. First I want to portablize the N64, then the gamecube, also the N64 is also for its pokemon titles and both N64 and gamecube have those connections that connect to the gameboy line in one way or another. The N64 has the transfer pak that plugs into the controller and provide gameboy color slot. For my portables, I am going for maximum features. More features = better. So I will make more comments as to how I need suggestions for parts to make those portable devices.
4. For the gamecube, even though there exists gameboy advance sp, I still want to include the gameboy player and possibly the ethernet cable slot maybe make it into a wifi capable thing, but I don't know if those online games still function or not.
5. Skipping the wii, comes the easiest system to convert, the wiiu. If wireless hdmi exists and a rechargable battery for powering the main unit, only need an lcd display and a ds/3ds like hinge on the wiiu gamepad. The gamepad will have another screen on it to make it look like a nintendo 2ds XXL.
Last for this comment, just more information about those commonly used parts and where to find that pdf or word document with the list.
I do not want to use the ps1 portable display due to their number in existence going down and the thing getting more rare as people make such mods from it, I need an lcd and speakers for each mod and need battery with charger for each mod, battery safety is important.

 

[jefflongo]

A few comments since my last one,
1. What is this BOM thing that is supposed to list most commonly used parts for making the N64 and gamecube portable.

Yes, it's just commonly used parts we trust for any portable.

2. some people are like make a wii instead of gamecube portable, but I intend to skip the wii since the gamecube is mostly for those amazing pokemon titles I haven't been able to play before and pokemon is best played portable, the gamecube motherboard is small and then the optical drive and all other parts with lots of empty space inside gamecube can be reduced to something while still thick, but like the size of a (4:3) switch with much longer (joycons side) sort of thing.

Bad idea. The Wii motherboard can be made much smaller, is much easier to work with, and can load games off of a USB stick so you don't need a disc drive at all. In addition, you'll get roughly twice the battery life with a Wii and you can play any GC game on a Wii that you can on a GC natively. Take this advice from someone who was building a GC portable, they are also prone to random failures.

3. First I want to portablize the N64, then the gamecube, also the N64 is also for its pokemon titles and both N64 and gamecube have those connections that connect to the gameboy line in one way or another. The N64 has the transfer pak that plugs into the controller and provide gameboy color slot. For my portables, I am going for maximum features. More features = better. So I will make more comments as to how I need suggestions for parts to make those portable devices.

I think you will have trouble trying to keep a Gameboy slot, but I don't know enough to speak on that. BTW a wii can do a gameboy emulator anyway.

4. For the gamecube, even though there exists gameboy advance sp, I still want to include the gameboy player and possibly the ethernet cable slot maybe make it into a wifi capable thing, but I don't know if those online games still function or not.

Again, I don't think this is a good idea. The Gameboy player is going to be huge and take up a ton of space. The Ethernet port is useless, no games can be played "online", it's used for LAN which only works for a very few amount of titles.

5. Skipping the wii, comes the easiest system to convert, the wiiu. If wireless hdmi exists and a rechargable battery for powering the main unit, only need an lcd display and a ds/3ds like hinge on the wiiu gamepad. The gamepad will have another screen on it to make it look like a nintendo 2ds XXL.

You probably won't be able to find "wireless HDMI" and I think you're underestimating what a Wii u portable entails. It will use a large amount of power, which means bad battery life. The motherboard can't be trimmed a reasonable amount, so it will be huge and not much of a "portable". Portables with hinges are very hard to make, take it from the members here who have made one. They will all recommend you do not make a clamshell.

Last for this comment, just more information about those commonly used parts and where to find that pdf or word document with the list.
I do not want to use the ps1 portable display due to their number in existence going down and the thing getting more rare as people make such mods from it, I need an lcd and speakers for each mod and need battery with charger for each mod, battery safety is important.

Just search the forums for portablizing BOM, you should be able to find it. You're correct that ps1 displays are not worth using, as they are becoming both expensive and rare. Plus they have a huge driver board which makes them no longer great for portablizing. You'll have much better luck with a car backup monitor from eBay or a Dalian good display.

I don't mean to shoot down your goals, but I (and I think many will agree with me) believe you should reevaluate your goals. There is a reason the Wii is the most popular portable on this forum. It is the easiest, the smallest, most reliable to work with, and gives some of the best results. Including so many features won't give you a portable but more of a laptop that will be uncomfortable to hold and HEAVY.

 

[TodorSauce]

Hrmf...Well shit, its been a while.... What did I miss?