Planning GCp, basic questions

[JC118899]

I am new to this forum as I saw an article in Gameinformer about Ben Heck. I thought the portable mods were AWESOME! When I thought about what I had and what would be smallest to make I decided the Gamecube was the cheapest and smallest console to tear up since I have a Wii. I have done many repairs in computers and my xbox and friends 360s so I feel confident I can't screw too much up. I don't have much money, which appears to be a problem. With every portable noob there are basic questions, but since things quickly change in the electronic world I decided I would ask more questions.

I am planning on making a GCp, as I saw it in this months Gameinformer magazine. I have some basic questions.

Can I...
load games off and sd card without the DD?
keep the av out and still have an attached screen and speakers with and audio jack?
make it about the size of the sega gamegear?
make a different L/R trigger setup instead of the large sliding mechanism?

What...
is the cost?
is the best battery setup?
is the overall difficulty?
is the best way to make the case?
is the best screen, but not over $40?
do I need in terms of knowledge, not gear?
is the length of time when you are a noob?
would be the reason for adding a mod chip if you don't use homebrew?
risks am I taking?
speakers are the smallest, but have an audio jack support?

I do NOT want to have a DD because it is just bulky and with my huge supply of sd cards I decided that would be for more portable then dvds and it would take less power. Is this heard of, as I haven't seen it.

I want to be able to use not just power from an outlet, but power from a battery that you could find at a store when you are on the road. I don't really want a laptop battery because you can't charge it on the go in your car or switch them out. If this compromises the slimness however, then I will use the recommended batteries.

I really want to make this quite slim and not just the size of a gamecube with a screen on top and a controller. Like this
http://forums.benheck.com/viewtopic.php?t=11154" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


I want something that looks like a mix of

http://forums.benheck.com/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=34490" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

with the fliptop feature of this

http://hackaday.com/2010/03/14/flip-top ... -portable/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

EDIT: I found the GCp I want to emulate
http://forums.modretro.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5835" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

it appears to have most of what I am looking for.

I know I can't make a body anywhere near that good looking, but what advice do you have on making a functional, nonboxy case. I have a bad thumb and would like something that won't stress it extremely. The gameboys and ds aren't that bad for my thumb, but I haven't played them long enough to be sure. The xbox controller is what kills me I am not sure why.

Where can I get detailed tuts besides the sticky of all the portables?
Would this really be worth the money in the end if you are a casual gamer? (I just like building stuff)

I hope SS and HailRazer will reply along with whoever made the fliptop GCp as that was awesome and looked to save a ton of space.

[Biased]

What...
1.is the best battery setup?
2. is the overall difficulty?
3. is the best way to make the case?
4. do I need in terms of knowledge, not gear?
5. would be the reason for adding a mod chip if you don't use homebrew?
6. risks am I taking?

7. Where can I get detailed tuts besides the sticky of all the portables?
8. Would this really be worth the money in the end if you are a casual gamer? (I just like building stuff)

Good to see you've got the questions for all of the details and you're obviously figuring stuff out. I hope I can answer a few here:

1. People on the forums usually like to recommend batteries and related supplies from http://www.batteryspace.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, I believe there are stickies in the reference section pertaining to how to set up the batteries and recharge circuits
2. I'm not sure how difficult it is, I've only taken my gamecube apart and desoldered a few things on the boards before having to give up and move to college
3. Look into making or using a vacuum former for cases. It's how you get a case that doesn't have 90 degree-angled sides without going down the road of having a case made by CNC
5. You've gotta know how electronic circuits work, perhaps how to make a speaker amp if you make your own for the case, learn about the rewiring of things, etc
6. You're taking the risk of losing electronics parts if they get ruined by short circuits, overloads, or being burned by your soldering iron. Be prepared to have a backup cube for parts or replacement.
7. Check the reference section of the forums, look for stickies in the Gamecube/PS2/XBOX forum
8. You've gotta decide how much money is worth it to you. I've put almost a few hundred into just making my SNESp and it's not even done yet. More experienced people can make them for less and faster, but that's because of their experience.

Hope I'm a help, good luck!

[0uttake]

Can I...
load games off and sd card without the DD?

Unfortunately not yet, these forums have been trying to make a loader that won't need the DD for years. However, over at gc-forever there have been recent breakthroughs, being able to load from sd/cf/hd etc doesn't seem possible but Ashen has managed to get the game cube to load disks from a Wii drive which is considerably thinner than the Gamecubes.

keep the av out and still have an attached screen and speakers with and audio jack?

This is possible yeah, I believe you can just split the signal and have an "off" switch.

make it about the size of the sega gamegear?

Very Possible, especially if you use a Wii disk drive.

make a different L/R trigger setup instead of the large sliding mechanism?

Yes but you have to remember that it needs to slide AND click.

What...
is the cost?

This depends, firstly on how good you are as an electrician (I broke 5 Gamecubes building mine and I am not finished yet). Secondly on how good you want it to look, if you have a lot of money to spend you can buy the best paint/Batteries etc.

is the best battery setup?

A lot of people use this setup...
4 of these... http://www.batteryspace.com/polymerli-i" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... AID=314743

with this pcb as seen in diagram... http://www.batteryspace.com/pcbfor148vl" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... AID=314743

and this charger... http://www.batteryspace.com/smartcharge" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... AID=314743

I am going to use this setup...
4 of these... http://www.batteryspace.com/polymerli-i" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... AID=314743 (same bats)

With this...http://www.batteryspace.com/CMBfor14.8V ... mited.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And an 18v DC adapter.

My way should mean I only need one power supply but it hasn't been tested yet so its up to you.

is the overall difficulty?

Again this depends on skill level, it is more time consuming than hard. It also depends on whether or not you are going to slim/trim the Gamecube's motherboard to make it smaller.

is the best way to make the case?

The best way is to build a vac forming box like this... http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a- ... stic-vacu/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Many people have used this site... http://www.polycase.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; . the zn series is popular... http://www.polycase.com/zn-45" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; . ShockSlayer used this case for his gcp... http://forums.benheck.com/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=28696" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; . NOTE: Shockslayer's Gcp is quite large I am confident that the a gcp could fit entirely within this case.

is the best screen, but not over $40?

Either the PS1 screen or a Joytech 5.6" gamecube. They both have outstanding picture quality. You would want to do an LED mod on them though, they are backlit by an inefficient light that will drain your power. Link to LED mod... http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2 ... 353,00.asp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

do I need in terms of knowledge, not gear?

You need to know basic electronics and how circuits work. You will learn a lot as you progress.

is the length of time when you are a noob?

Again this depends, I have spent 3 months on mine and I am not even half way there (Although I do not work on it every day)

would be the reason for adding a mod chip if you don't use homebrew?

No

risks am I taking?

Could lose money and your Gamecube

speakers are the smallest, but have an audio jack support?

Yes easily, the screen will usually have amp/speakers/audio jack that you can just put in your gcp.

I do NOT want to have a DD because it is just bulky and with my huge supply of sd cards I decided that would be for more portable then dvds and it would take less power. Is this heard of, as I haven't seen it.

Sure I have already answered this ; ]

I want to be able to use not just power from an outlet, but power from a battery that you could find at a store when you are on the road. I don't really want a laptop battery because you can't charge it on the go in your car or switch them out. If this compromises the slimness however, then I will use the recommended batteries.

Covered this in another answer

I know I can't make a body anywhere near that good looking, but what advice do you have on making a functional, nonboxy case. I have a bad thumb and would like something that won't stress it extremely. The gameboys and ds aren't that bad for my thumb, but I haven't played them long enough to be sure. The xbox controller is what kills me I am not sure why.

The beauty of building your own gcp is that you can have the buttons wherever and however you like I opted for Wii classic controller buttons.

Where can I get detailed tuts besides the sticky of all the portables?

Try my worklog, I have a trimming and wiring guide http://forums.benheck.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=41023" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Would this really be worth the money in the end if you are a casual gamer? (I just like building stuff)

If you preferred building with LEGO than playing with it then I suggest this is a good project for you. It will be an achievement when you're finished and its good to do something productive.

I hope SS and HailRazer will reply along with whoever made the fliptop GCp as that was awesome and looked to save a ton of space.

This was the Gcp that made me want to make one.

Hope you do build one, Remember you don't need everything all in one go, just buy things when you can afford to.

NOTE: If you don't own a Dremel or some other sort of rotary tool I suggest you get one, I would have given up already if I didn't have one.

GOOD LUCK!