I've recently become interested in the prospect of portable consoles...

[Epixauce]

The deeper I look into this the more complicated it seems to be. (Mind you I have absolutely zero experience with hardware mods). Does everyone here have a background in electronics or did they just learn online?

 

[ShockSlayer]

learn online?

Bingo. Granted some of us have been doing this for a really long time, but there are a lot of people here who're just starting out. We're hoping to get a lot more information written down in the guide hub and wiki to help people learn how we do what we do.

 

[Geliot0406]

For some reason, for me, it is the opposite. The deeper i look into it, the easier it looks. You just need to understant the basics, after that, working time! The bad part is how much naking a portable costs, let alone buying a fully made one. It is a good hobby to look into.

 

[Epixauce]

My biggest concern actually lies with batteries and display compatibilities. I don't really mind the size at this moment, I am content with keeping the full motherboard, the disk drive, and all other parts cut to slim down the device. I'm really looking to make a battery powered Wii with a screen on it. I need a battery that is rechargeable and to know if there is a certain type of screen I need. Perhaps I could spend a few hours on Google finding all this information myself but I really believe that you guys know what you are doing and could benefit me better at this stage.

 

[ShockSlayer]

If you don't want to mess with custom regulators, then you'll need a 14.8v pack. Look for something around 5000mah on batteryspace.

Any screen that runs off of 12v and takes composite will work in this case. If you can find one that takes component or svideo, even better.

 

[Epixauce]

f you can find one that takes component or svideo, even better.

What kind of connection does say, a laptop screen take?

 

[cheese]

What kind of connection does say, a laptop screen take?

Usually they use LVDS pairs, so you'd need to get a driver board off ebay that takes component or composite. Thankfully, most any laptop screen out there has one made for it.

 

[JacksonS]

With this portablizing stuff, you get to choose how complex you want each part to be. As you've probably found from research, a lot of people have their own way of putting a system together. Some may have a backgrounds that allow them to excel in casing or wiring or other things, while others may not. I think the key is experimenting with all aspects while learning online to find out what things you're really good at, and focusing your efforts on that.

 

[Epixauce]

a driver board off ebay that takes component or composite.

So this would basically convert it to a signal the wii can recognize?

a lot of people have their own way of putting a system together

And yeah, this is kind of why I'm starting where I am. So I can really start figuring out how this all works without going all out.

 

[trevor403]

So this would basically convert it to a signal the wii can recognize?

Yes you need something that converts the Wii video output (component or composite) to the wire the screen uses, which is too complicated to take an analog video signal alone.

Lots of screens used in the portable community are taken from all in one car backup cameras.

Also look out for you fingers, burning yourself on a soldering iron is very annoying.

 

[Epixauce]

While I have this thread, I think I'll go ahead and ask if this is the right place to talk about base level portable concepts. I noticed in the Wii thread it's mostly finished products/ build logs. Is this the best place to ask for help/ suggestions?

 

[cheese]

Yeah, the Wii forum is for Wii questions, worklogs, etc... Just anything related to Wii goes there. Also, if you have questions for a project, you can put em in a worklog if you have one.

 

[Epixauce]

Really appreciate everyone's help, for an up and coming forum, this has proven to be a great resource! @ShockSlayer @Geliot0406 @cheese @JacksonS @trevor403