Need help developing a progression plan

xarkorrn · Post by **xarkorrn** » Fri Jul 06, 2007 10:44 am

Hello all,

I've been poking around the site/forums for a couple weeks now, after having seen an article on one of Ben's amazing 360 laptops. Wow, I couldn't believe the amazing community built up around this hobby/art! I was blown away and definitely became instantly interested.

So, here I am, starting another complete n00b thread.

I apologize for that, and I have been reading and doing as much research as possible into how to get started, but I thought I might offer a little information regarding my plan and experience and try to get a little more specific feedback from the veterans.

I'll start by saying that I'm a software developer (Rails/.NET) and technically minded enough to program (obviously) as well as building PCs (I've built all of my machines for the last 13 years or so). However, I do NOT in anyway claim to be a hardware expert, simply comfortable enough to match up the parts, put them together, and do enough troubleshooting to keep them maintained.

I have absolutely zero real electronic experience. Really... none. So, I'm sure you can see my problem.

I would very much like to be able to get into this hobby, but I am a bit lost as to how I should prepare myself.

Which brings me to my "plan". By plan, I mean that I know that I may be coming in with very little knowledge, but I do believe that with patience , practice, and determination I can get there, it's just a matter of following the right path to the requisite knowledge and experience.

I would like to start out VERY small. I'm talking, not even touching a console (though I have several sitting around that I can work with) until I have the necessary basic electrical skills at my disposal. So, while I would like to eventually end up in a position where I might be able to make more advanced systems (PS2, 360, etc), I am perfectly comfortable with working my way up from much, much smaller projects. With that said, I was wondering if I could get some input on books, references, sites, etc that can start me down the right path. I thought smaller, non-console related projects might be a good start. Radioshack type stuff. I saw a post about a speaker built into an Altoid can somewhere, and I thought that might be the kind of thing I should start out with. But if there are smaller steps/projects, I'm all ears! Does anyone have any specific projects like this that they can recommend? Or tell me if my logic is flawed and if I should just crack open this SNES here and go to town?!

As a side note, the systems that I have available that I can work with (ie mangle without regret) include a couple GBAs, an SNES (original boxy one, not the slimmer, smaller model), an N64, a GameCube, and an XBOX. I OWN all major, post-PS1 consoles save a PS3, but those aren't for destroying senselessly (... yet).

Also, I've seen mention of building custom, smaller PCs using mini MBs, and I'm also very interested in this. It seems that many of those projects ended with folks deciding that the effort wasn't worth it, but it also seemed that they had very high hopes for them (replacing laptops, being able to run 3D applications, etc), but I was wondering if there were any thoughts were on PCps(?) that were meant for very minimal hardware needs. For example, my friends and I often do tabletop gaming (Roleplaying, wargaming, etc) and I've always wanted to be able to make little devices to automate certain tasks such as character creation/army building, dice-rolling, character sheets, rules, etc that require very little beyond Linux with a development tool or two. If required I could even live without X or a windows system (though access to one and an even a local browser would be nice). Thoughts?

Well, I appreciate your time and I apologize once again for yet another "n00b" thread, and I hope to hear any opinions or advice!

bmire1985 · Post by **bmire1985** » Fri Jul 06, 2007 6:55 pm

I suggest grabbing a copy of ben's book. It is a good start and very informative for consoles anyway.

holycrapareallylonglink

edit by mod: Please make sure you shorten long links.

-bic

Post by **CronoTriggerfan** » Fri Jul 06, 2007 8:15 pm

As bmire stated, Ben's book is a really good place to start, it's got a great breakdown of how to solder, working with motherboards, basic electronic components, etc. Another great place to start is with the book Electronics for Dummies. It's probably the best book to get if you want an in-depth breakdown of hardware, components, and the like.

As for where to start, practice makes perfect. Find scrap motherboards from old electronics and just start taking things off, relocating them, putting them back on, etc. You don't even necessarily have to keep the thing working, it's more to sharpen your soldering skills. This site has a good number of books, including the one I mentioned, as well as a TON of DIY soldering kits for just about everything. If you like gaming, I say go for the Pong one, not too difficult, and it's good practice as well.

When you finally decide to start a portable, give an NOAC a swing first. They're small Nintendo Entertainment System boards that are super easy to work with, common, and cheap. Not to mention the NES kicks ass!

You'll probably hear that (the NOAC bit) a lot, and rightfully so. They really are the best place to start for portables, laying down the basics for pretty much every other portablizing project you may have later on. It is nice to see that you're thinking logically and you're willing to prepare before taking the dive, which is very commendable. Good luck!

CTFan

ghosstt · Post by **ghosstt** » Fri Jul 06, 2007 9:01 pm

first. WELCOME!

my advice, take the non noobs advice, and dont take noobs advice. and go to the wiki page, it has tons of info.

http://wiki.benheck.com/index.php/Main_Page

xarkorrn · Post by **xarkorrn** » Sat Jul 07, 2007 8:21 am

Thanks for the welcome, guys!

This was exactly the kind of response I was looking for.

bmire1985: Yeah, I had definitely already planned on picking up Ben's book, but I just realized that the inventory search at a Border's nearby has a copy so I think I'll be picking it up this weekend!

CTFan: Thank you very, very much... the electronic site that you linked was PERFECT. I'll definitely be ordering a few things from there to get some experience and learning. Also, it's a great resource for beginner projects that I can introduce to my oldest son when he's a tad bit older so that we might explore the hobby together.

Also, I've heard several people mention the Electronics For Dummies book, so I'll likely pick that up as well. The Pong game does look like a good beginner project and I'll likely pick that up as well as some others that I saw.

ghosstt: Hehe, I shall certainly follow this sage-like (non-noob) advice!

I did see the Wiki, but giving it another look, I'm certain it will be a great resource. And thanks again for the welcome!

In general, I definitely have enough old electronics sitting around that no one uses that I should be able to pop them open and perform surgery on.

Hopefully, with some practice I'll actually be able to produce something that works! Thanks again for the responses and the sound advice. Perhaps I'll be soon posting about my progress.

timmeh87 · Post by **timmeh87** » Sat Jul 07, 2007 8:58 am

the wiki is currently more of a 'work in progress'... we just started it like two weeks ago.

I challenge you to build an AM radio only with parts you have lying around. hint: use google.

xarkorrn · Post by **xarkorrn** » Sat Jul 07, 2007 9:29 am

Haha, thanks timmeh.

That's just the kind of motivation I need! I believe I'll accept your challenge and see what I can come up with.

THE QUEST BEGINS!

Website · Post by **Life of Brian** » Sat Jul 07, 2007 8:05 pm

Something small but non-console, eh? How about a digital picture frame? (Written by me of course!) I really suggest checking out the Instructables website for all sorts of cool small electronics projects.

gamemasterAS · Post by **gamemasterAS** » Sat Jul 07, 2007 8:55 pm

Wow xarkorrn I love you in a totally non gay way. You are a new but you seem already like you are going to to be a great member. for one you don't spam, or make random stupid posts and you don't act like your 10. The problem is many of the newer folk are beginning to get on my nerves and the nerves of a few other members ( some have left due to them ) because they make senseless post about nothing and the have horrible skills in the English department.

You just don't know how refreshing this is.

project_failure · Post by **project_failure** » Sun Jul 08, 2007 12:08 am

Wow xarkorrn I love you in a totally non gay way. You are a new but you seem already like you are going to to be a great member. for one you don't spam, or make random stupid posts and you don't act like your 10. The problem is many of the newer folk are beginning to get on my nerves and the nerves of a few other members ( some have left due to them ) because they make senseless post about nothing and the have horrible skills in the English department.

You just don't know how refreshing this is.

I agree (just change love to respect). You are already on the way to becoming a respected member of the community.

schmellyfart · Post by **schmellyfart** » Sun Jul 08, 2007 3:04 am

Why dont you check out the "Soldering 101" Thread? The videos have great tips on soldering.

If you are into emulating, (no pun intended

) try wiring up a NES, SNES, or Playstation controller up to a parallel port. Its quite simple, seeing as it was my first electronics project 2 years ago. And here I am now repairing tiny traces.

xarkorrn · Post by **xarkorrn** » Sun Jul 08, 2007 7:33 am

Wow xarkorrn I love you in a totally non gay way. You are a new but you seem already like you are going to to be a great member. for one you don't spam, or make random stupid posts and you don't act like your 10. The problem is many of the newer folk are beginning to get on my nerves and the nerves of a few other members ( some have left due to them ) because they make senseless post about nothing and the have horrible skills in the English department.

You just don't know how refreshing this is.

I agree (just change love to respect). You are already on the way to becoming a respected member of the community.

Wow, thanks again guys for the warm welcomes.

I certainly hope that I can become an accepted and productive member of the community! I completely understand what you mean about some of the posts, as I've seen a few around, but I've also seen the good posts and noticed all the great members, and I must say that my initial experience (i.e. this post

) has been terrific. So, I'm hoping all the great veterans stick around and can help walk me through the insanity of soldering, gluing, and blatant warranty voiding!

Something small but non-console, eh? How about a digital picture frame? (Written by me of course!) I really suggest checking out the Instructables website for all sorts of cool small electronics projects.

That... is truly awesome. I actually just got back from my father's wedding last week and we thought of getting him one of these as a wedding present, but it would be so much better to send him one made by myself, with wedding pictures on it to boot. Once I've worked on my soldering and picked up some tools (I actually need a Dremel for a few other projects/hobbies, and this will help justify it

), I will be sure to give one of these a shot. It's funny, when you started to describe the effect of the white paint with the clear top layer, I knew exactly what you meant, and thought that it was some crazy machine produced effect, so it was very cool to see you get that effect so easily. It also made me think that using plexiglass with that sort of effect would make nice casing for portable systems, or other projects, but I haven't seen too much of that. Is there something wrong with plexiglass in general? I know it looked hard to cut from your tutorial, so maybe that's it?

[EDIT] Looked around, and searched for plexiglass and noticed that there was a lot more of it around than I previously noticed.

[/EDIT]

In any event, great suggestion, great project and I would love to start making these for myself and my family.

Why dont you check out the "Soldering 101" Thread? The videos have great tips on soldering.

If you are into emulating, (no pun intended Laughing) try wiring up a NES, SNES, or Playstation controller up to a parallel port. Its quite simple, seeing as it was my first electronics project 2 years ago. And here I am now repairing tiny traces.

Yeah, it's been a bit of a busy weekend, but once I finish up doing a little work today I'm gonna run out and pick up a couple books and perhaps a few project items, and I'll definitely been looking at the soldering guide before I sit down and start doing anything myself.

The controller idea is great. I never even thought of this until you mentioned it and I went and looked into the parallel port after reading your response and although I still have learning to do, from what I read, it has a lot of possibilities. Thanks for the suggestion, I'll look up some information on doing this as I surely have a LOT of old controllers lying around that I can mess with.

Once again, thanks to everyone. This is great information and lots of helpful suggestsions.

Website · Post by **Life of Brian** » Sun Jul 08, 2007 7:33 pm

xarkorrn wrote:It also made me think that using plexiglass with that sort of effect would make nice casing for portable systems, or other projects, but I haven't seen too much of that. Is there something wrong with plexiglass in general? I know it looked hard to cut from your tutorial, so maybe that's it?

Yes indeed it would make a really cool portable - I've wanted to make a portable Atari using that method for some time, I just haven't gotten around to it yet. It would be easy - just use some aluminum for the sides (like I did for my first SNESp) and do the plexiglass thing for the front and back. Very iPod-ish

Yes plexiglass is difficult to cut, but it's not bad. It just takes a little more effort, and I'm sure there are methods to do it quicker than attacking it with a Dremel.

As for using it for the picture frame, I highly recommend trying to find a shadow box to use like I did for my second picture frame. It was WAY easier and is more durable than my first one. However, if you can't find one deep enough then you might have to build your own backing. If you find some decent auctions on eBay the total project shouldn't cost more than $80. It amazes me how much the retail price of digital picture frames has dropped. Last summer they cost around $200 (which is why I built my own, and because it was fun) and now I've seen some decent ones on sale for as low as $60 for Mother's Day and whatnot.

xarkorrn · Post by **xarkorrn** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 7:10 pm

Hmmm.... I noticed that in your tutorial you mentioned that you picked up the piece of plexiglass that you used in your project from Lowes, but searching their website I couldn't find anything. Do they usually carry it? Or am I missing something?

Just wondering. I found a few sites online that you can order it from, but it would be nice to be able to run out and pick up a few pieces to mess around with without having to wait or pay for shipping!

If I'm down near the Lowes tomorrow, I might take a look.

vskid · Post by **vskid** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 7:16 pm

Websites for places like Lowes and Walmart hardly have anything on them compared to their stores. You should be able to get plexiglass at Lowes, unless yours is super small and/or crappy.