I wish to be a modder

[what]

Ok, I am working on becoming a modder, but I do not yet have the skills for something complicated(some simple stuff too). I need some ideas of projects that I can practice on that are relatively simple and cheap, before I try to do the real thing. Does anybody have any suggestions?

[snowpenguin]

I believe the easiest way to learn about this sort of thing is to start with a simple project and work up.

The easiest things you can do don't have anything to do with modding necessarily, they can be anything. Go browse the tech section on instructables.com, there are many guides to build simple circuits like LED circuits that will help you learn about electronics, then you can attempt something a bit more difficult.

At least that's how I started off.

[argelfraster]

I started with a failed GCP
But by practicing soldering on it and asking questions here I became much better at modding.

[joeyjoe9876]

start out with LED mods, like changing LED's in consoles then work your way up to bigger things like a GBA frontlite maybe?

[nightwheel]

start out with LED mods, like changing LED's in consoles then work your way up to bigger things like a GBA frontlite maybe?

My first mod was a One handed Genesis Controller. It was fairly simple.

[bentendo64]

start with something to do with the gameboy their fairly simple to mod. i once put a reset button in one. it worked great, but hten i took it out.

[Sparkfist]

A simple and cheap way to work on your skills would be an A/V mod. Take something like an SNES, Genesis, Playstation, ect., and modify it so that you can use a regular A/V cable to connect it. So instead of having the proprietary cable, you have the video and stereo jacks in the back. It's a nice mod to do, cause if you forget the A/V cable, just run into any electronics department in a store and grab on, cheap!

If you are feeling Adventurous! (lol), try making an NOAC NES portable. Their very easy to build, cheap, and small. You could put one together for maybe $150 to $200 if you use a brand new screen.

Also to get supplies like tact switches and work on your skill of soldering and de-soldering, I would suggest picking up some broken VCRs. They have tons of tact switches in the front, easy to find, and give you practice without sacrifice. So have at it with any of those broken electronics you might have lying around.

-Sparkfist

[Tchay]

A simple and cheap way to work on your skills would be an A/V mod. Take something like an SNES, Genesis, Playstation, ect., and modify it so that you can use a regular A/V cable to connect it. So instead of having the proprietary cable, you have the video and stereo jacks in the back. It's a nice mod to do, cause if you forget the A/V cable, just run into any electronics department in a store and grab on, cheap!

If you are feeling Adventurous! (lol), try making an NOAC NES portable. Their very easy to build, cheap, and small. You could put one together for maybe $150 to $200 if you use a brand new screen.

Also to get supplies like tact switches and work on your skill of soldering and de-soldering, I would suggest picking up some broken VCRs. They have tons of tact switches in the front, easy to find, and give you practice without sacrifice. So have at it with any of those broken electronics you might have lying around.

-Sparkfist

Yeah, that is excellent advice by Sparkfist. Also, just taking apart random devices and trying to put them back together can be a huge learning experience. Although you may be overwhelmed when you first take devices like boom boxes and what not apart, eventually you will begin to understand what the heck is going on. Soon enough you will be able to recognize capacitors, resistors, diodes, etc.

The first hack I ever did was making a joy stick for my PSP via Ben Heck's instructions. I just went out to radio shack and bought a soldering iron and went to work - it took me over 7 hours to do something as simple as that, but I knew I loved doing it and wanted more. Also google is a great tool for this kind of hobby

[what]

Thanks, all of these are great ideas, although it will take me forever to get the money as I dont have a job

[palmertech]

If you lack the ability to get $5 for parts for simple mods, scavenge from old electronics.

If you are unable to do that, I suggest that you wait till you have some sort of income, however small or sporadic. Nothing sucks more than putting a lot of money into a project, then finding out you need a tiny bit more, but are unable to get it.

[what]

Yeah, true. On a completely unrelated note, has anybody been watching what Kibble is doing?

[snowpenguin]

There is a thread about this... kibble's thread.

[what]

Yeah, what he's doing with his t64 is amazing.