Newbie looking to make a GCp, need guidance badly

[CairnisReed]

Hey everyone, I've never done anything in the realm of console modding (I'm more of a PC gamer) but I've got a GameCube lying around (safely taken apart) and have been wanting to make it portable for a while.

I've been going through posts and guides on GCForever, BenHeck, and modRetro; and am feeling a bit overwhelmed by all of the new information.

First off I'm wondering if what I want to do is even doable, so here is my ideal GCp 'design'
-Fits in briefcase
-No CD drive, has a wiikey (or whatever you use to run games from an SD card)
-Briefcase has screen + speakers in it (in the upper part of the briefcase, like a laptop)
-4 ports for controllers in front, slot inside briefcase for memory card (or outside)
-Optional battery power, power cord plug in through 'back' of case
-Optional AV cable in back (so you can use a cord, plug it into a larger TV and play it from there instead)

I have a fairly decent sized (18x12x4in) briefcase which I've been using for placement reference, ultimately I would hope that it would have enough space left in the bottom area to stow away 4 GC Controllers, the AV cord (if the AV plug back thing is possible), and power cord.

Here's my basic visual representation


I'd like to (if it works), slap a cover over the left half which is either flush or lower than the rim of the briefcase.

So is any of this possible?

Past that stage of thinking, I'm going to need to buy a screen, speakers, the wiikey...and what else?
I'd like a nice sized screen (larger than the PS1 screens.), any recommendations?

So it's:
-Would it work
-What parts do I need

And then I would like to, beyond that, ask questions about what to wire, where to wire it, etc. The sites I've been on have had some pretty useful diagrams but being as I'm extremely new to the terminology and whatnot; it's very confusing to look at and defeating to only hope I know what I'm doing.

Basically I'm looking for guidance, and any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks for reading!
CairnisReed

[megalomaniac]

Plenty of room in there to do what you want...
Just keep reading until you understand what needs to be done

...and with that much room, you won't need to trim the mobo
Basically all you need to do is relocate and wire up the original power supply and monitor...done!!


Or save yourself the trouble and ditch the briefcase...just get a GC screen if you can find one...

[emu_kidid]

With something so big it should be pretty straight forward - let us know if you need help. I wouldn't go briefcase as it's not going to be the sturdiest thing in the world.

[Diminuendo]

Read this.

If it doesn't make sense read it again.

[CairnisReed]

Ok so after some more reading, including that guide, I figured I should wire the regulator board to the motherboard as my first step.

Now, I've never used serial ports 1 & 2 (At least I think that's what they are called, it's the two red boxes on the right side of the following picture)



Can I trim those down and make them flush with the mobo? From what I can tell in the guide's pictures, all the wiring is soldered to the top of the mobo, so am I allowed to trim all of those 'pins' on the bottom to be flush with the mobo?

Also, I overestimated the strength of the connectors on the regulator board, a couple came off during remove of the plastic part, taking with them that rectangular section that is attached to the regulator board; is it ok to have them missing/with the solder negate the effects of any missing 'rectangular parts'?

[megalomaniac]

You might want to consider desoldering those pins off the mobo instead of cutting

[CairnisReed]

^Alright, obviously I'm pretty new to soldering motherboards. After desoldering the pins, I would just solder the wires into their respective holes to connect the regulator to the mobo?

What gauge wire is recommended for this? Am I going to use different sizes on different parts of this project?

[HomelandReloaded]

It depends on how well you can remove the solder. If you take one pin out you will get an idea.

[CairnisReed]

Yep, I got the pins from the two serial ports out. Should I look into getting a solder remover/pump?

It almost seems that (if solder is still in the mobo holes), I could heat the solder to melting point, and quickly stick a wire in, then add solder to it afterwards, removing the need to completely clean away all solder.

In the guide I'm reading, it looks like he just snapped off the pins on the regulator board (see below), having completely removed them (including the rectangular part which he seems to have left on) would it still work correctly when solder a wire in its' place?

[HomelandReloaded]

Yes, if you can stick the wire in while the solder is molten, it will work. It isn't easy to remove the last tiny drop of solder from the hole if you didn't get it all at the first attempt (pump or braid).

[megalomaniac]

Snapped off?
hell no....do not even attempt to think you can snap off a connector...

[Ashen]

I snap them off all the time... >.>

[CairnisReed]

Yea I snapped off the left row of connectors on the regulator board :/ (Hastily/Irresponsibly)

Here's a picture of the comparison, I think the snapped ones look more similar to the picture from the guide.

[megalomaniac]

Well look at that....hot damn

[CairnisReed]

So does the gauge of wire matter? Thicker is better from what I've read here, but is there a preferred size?

Edit: I read 24-28 gauge wire is preferred for this, but is there any advantages/noticeable differences in performance between 24 and 28?
Is this an acceptable type of wire to use?
http://www.amazon.com/NTE-Stranded-AWG- ... 65&sr=1-10

[Diminuendo]

use a thin wire for everything accept for power and ground, go to you local electronics store and say you need a wire that can handle 12 volts, they should steer you in the right direction

[CairnisReed]

So, I tried making a diagram based on the guides I've read, does this look correct?

[megalomaniac]

Dont forget to wire up 12v, its missing from your diagram (pin 10)

[CairnisReed]

Ah, the guide I was reading said the 12v was just used for the audio and therefore unneeded.; I'll wire it anyway, pin 21 regulator to pin 10 mobo, 'blue wire' (probably like 24 gauge)?

I'm thinking the red wire will be 16 gauge, 24 gauge for blue wire.

[Diminuendo]

it is needed for better quality audio than using 5v (which you'd have to wire up instead.

basically the closer to 12v you get, the better the audio will sound. 7.2v is good enough for most people though if thats what your batterys come to

[megalomaniac]

Just to be clear, pin 10 based on your drawing...
Take another look at the motherboard and you will see the pinout is labeled differently...

[CairnisReed]

Yeah I copied the pin labels from the guide I was using since it was rattling off like 'pin 7 here to pin 19 there' and it was just too confusing for me to convert those numbers to what they actually are >.<.

So I would use a thicker wire for the audio?

I have a few more miscellaneous questions:
-If I am getting a wiikey, can I discard my CD drive and the board which sits under it?
-I want good sound quality, assuming the room to put speaks in (shared with the screen) is 18x12x1in, where can I buy some that would fit and sound great?
-What's the best place to buy a screen for this?

[CairnisReed]

Used 16awg wire for the red wire, 24awg wire for the blue wire (and audio), turning it on, it works fine, sound and picture are the same, but I get a no disk read error.

The disc thing is understandable, I havent been gentle with this game cube, so now I am going to look into buying a wiikey; I want to buy the wiikey fusion correct?

And I should use this guide to install the wiikey?
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=416

[megalomaniac]

fyi, 16awg is thicker than 24awg


you might want to hang on to the dvd drive instead of discarding it....( you never know )
as for screen and speakers, i guess that would also depend on how you plan to power this setup and battery voltage / available battery amps..
since you want to use the original regulator i guess your stuck with 12v batteries....have you considered that already?

foundmy price seems a little to expensive....try to find one closer to 30$ with free shipping

[hailrazer]

you might want to hang on to the dvd drive instead of discarding it....( you never know )

I have 16 working Gamecube drives in a box. I swear they are going to be worth something someday