Questions from a newbie...

[thejellydude]

Okay, first of all,I'm thinking of getting Ben's book over the summer, but I have a few questions first.
1. How many hours a day do you think it will take me? Granted this is my FIRST time with portablising.
2. What system is recomended?
3. Should I use tact switches, or try to use an actual controller? I know tact switches are useful, but games that have the "Harder push = Farther jump," won't work from what I've heard.
4. How much will this cost me? Just saying, at my local gamestop they have PSONE (Minis) + Screen for $50.
I might have more questions later. Thanks for any help!

*Edit*
Okay, I just thought of 1 more question, what If I can't get a SONY ps1 screen? Are there any that work just as well?

[vskid]

Okay, first of all,I'm thinking of getting Ben's book over the summer, but I have a few questions first.
1. How many hours a day do you think it will take me? Granted this is my FIRST time with portablising.
2. What system is recomended?
3. Should I use tact switches, or try to use an actual controller? I know tact switches are useful, but games that have the "Harder push = Farther jump," won't work from what I've heard.
4. How much will this cost me? Just saying, at my local gamestop they have PSONE (Minis) + Screen for $50.
I might have more questions later. Thanks for any help!

*Edit*
Okay, I just thought of 1 more question, what If I can't get a SONY ps1 screen? Are there any that work just as well?

Answers
1. Depends on how hard you work and experience in electronics, case making, etc. Also depends on how good you want it to be.
2. I don't know, post a few that you would like to portablize, you don't want to waste time making something you won't use.
3. I think it depends on the system, some else will have to answer this.
4. It depends on if you are careful or not. It also depends on what system. From what I've heard, $100-$250 is about average.
5. PSone screen is the most desireable, I think hip gears are good, too.

[Klefmung]

Okay, first of all,I'm thinking of getting Ben's book over the summer, but I have a few questions first.
1. How many hours a day do you think it will take me? Granted this is my FIRST time with portablising.
2. What system is recomended?
3. Should I use tact switches, or try to use an actual controller? I know tact switches are useful, but games that have the "Harder push = Farther jump," won't work from what I've heard.
4. How much will this cost me? Just saying, at my local gamestop they have PSONE (Minis) + Screen for $50.
I might have more questions later. Thanks for any help!

*Edit*
Okay, I just thought of 1 more question, what If I can't get a SONY ps1 screen? Are there any that work just as well?

1. About 2 hours a day, maybe a month will give you a book style portable.
2. I suggest NES handbuilt. Great system, great games, not too hard to do, or the PSOne handbuilt. This one is easy to work with too, and still great games
3. Use tact switches unless you want to do some major pcb cutting. (Really hard to do accurately)
4. The book gives you a general idea of that. Reference it.
5. For strict by the book projects, I say do the screen recommended.




For custom projects, that is your own descision on all of the above counts. As a rule of thumb, the first portable is the most expensive, so get it out of the way.

[thejellydude]

Thanks for all the help. How long would the battery on this thing PROBABLY last? I don't want to spend forever building something that lasts under 1 hour. Also, what is the cheapest place to get Ben's book? I'm not trying to rip him off or anything, but I'm under 16 and can't get a job, and with the prices for these things, I need to save all the money I can .
Also, for on the board, I'm kinda new to this, (Parents finally took off all there blocks and crap) so how do I make an avatar, and put pics. in my sig?

[gamemasterAS]

Also, for on the board, I'm kinda new to this, (Parents finally took off all there blocks and crap) so how do I make an avatar, and put pics. in my sig?

for your avatar and sig you nead to find a photo hoasting website host the images.

Http://photobucket.com
http://imageshack.us

Then for the avatar use the dirsct url link.

and for a photo annyware else use the Img link.

[Klefmung]

Thanks for all the help. How long would the battery on this thing PROBABLY last? I don't want to spend forever building something that lasts under 1 hour. Also, what is the cheapest place to get Ben's book? I'm not trying to rip him off or anything, but I'm under 16 and can't get a job, and with the prices for these things, I need to save all the money I can .
Also, for on the board, I'm kinda new to this, (Parents finally took off all there blocks and crap) so how do I make an avatar, and put pics. in my sig?

If you don't like the battery life, parallel wire two of them.

[Life of Brian]

Look for batteries with very high mAh. It would probably be in your best interest to sink some money into getting some energizer rechargeables that have something like 2500 mAh. I just use those for everything. For a typical system (atari, snes, etc.) that'll last at least a couple of hours, if not more.

Honestly - and this goes to everyone who is looking into starting up on portabilizing - I've noticed that the cost per portable goes down the longer you do this. The first system I tried was a super nintendo, which didn't work and still doesn't, but probably cost me the most because I had to buy all the tools to make it. Once you've done this long enough, you eventually build up enough spare parts that you can save some money instead of having to run to RadioShack every five minutes for one dinky little part. I'd guess that starting from scratch, the average person will spend around $200+ on their first portable, and after that the price would go down quite a bit depending on what you're making.

Also, since no one's mentioned it yet, the 5" Zenith screen for GameCube, XBox, and Playstation2 are all the exact same as the Sony PSOne screen. I know from experience, and they work great. Plus, they're easier to find on eBay for a good price. I've seen a couple of used ones for $25 before.

[thejellydude]

Also, about Ben's kitsn his website. Do they include everything needed to make the portable other than the system and screen, or just the case for it all?
*Edit*
Is there any way to delete a double post?

[thejellydude]

Also, about Ben's kitsn his website. Do they include everything needed to make the portable other than the system and screen, or just the case for it all?

[Klefmung]

Just the case, but it is the worst part.

[thejellydude]

Hmm... Is a case really that hard to make? Is it worth $55-100 for Ben to make it?

[Klefmung]

It depends whether you do a CNC or handbuilt project. I really hate cutting engraving plastic with a X-Acto.

[Life of Brian]

Ben's cases "by hand" are pretty difficult to get "perfect". I'd suggest making a couple of your own design first using bent aluminum and engraving plastic or plexiglass to get an idea of how it all works.