TheOnlyOneHeFears' Gamecube Worklog! (56k killer!)

TheOnlyOneHeFears · Post by **TheOnlyOneHeFears** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 2:29 pm

EDIT: Check page 4 for some pics of the new, better port LEDs

I've decided, after modding my NES, giving it the ol' iPod treatment (look out for that soon!), that I would mod my old Gamecube. Even though I have a Wii, I've always liked the GC, and this gives the added bonus of not mattering too much if I mess it up. I thought I'd do a worklog/tutorial kind of thing, because it might be interesting, and it could help some other people wanting to do the same thing.

Stuff I want to do

-Mod chip -Qoob Pro
-Replacement Case - IcedCube Transparent Green (hopefully)
-Power Light LED mod
-Vent LED mod
-Controller port LED mod
-Internal Wavebird receiver (I just need to get a Wavebird now

)
-Controller Mods

So far, I've only done the Power Light LED mod, because I've had too much work. Plus my Gamebit screwdriver only arrived today

Pics:

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y261/T ... G_0002.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a>

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y261/T ... G_0004.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a>

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y261/T ... G_0005.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a>

The last one is in the dark in my garage.

Major apologies for the state of the pics, my brother has lost his camera, and I had to take these with a webcam. The LED is green, although it looks white in the pics, and the case is the stock GC Black one for now, I'll order my replacement one soon. The LED is BRIGHT, and I mean bright! I was originally going to change the LED resistor (the LED is measured at 4.1V and the resistor is like 330 ohms, which is majorly too high, and *should* have made it dimmer, but trust me, I was almost blinded when I did a test turn on with the case off!

)

That's it for now! Hopefully I'll be able to add to this when I have more time and I can do more mods! Comments are welcome!

ghosstt · Post by **ghosstt** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 3:26 pm

really nice. i might pick up an old gcube and do some mods to it. the internal wavebird sounds awsome.

khaag · Post by **khaag** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 6:22 pm

How to take a photo

Jongamer · Post by **Jongamer** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 6:28 pm

He said he had to take it with a WEBcam.

khaag · Post by **khaag** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 6:33 pm

Ooops..

didn't see that part. sorry...

TheOnlyOneHeFears · Post by **TheOnlyOneHeFears** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 12:47 am

Smooth, khagg...

Yeah, I know the pictures are terrible, I'll try to retake some better when I've done some more. Hopefully I'll have time to build the LED arrays for the controller port light ups tonight! Plus, I also want to do memory card LED as well.

Electric Rain · Post by **Electric Rain** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 11:59 pm

Huh... it seems awesome when it looks white!

Like the internal WaveBird thing... I'll be doing that if I ever have the money to build my Gamecube laptop. The memory card and controller port LEDs should look cool too... can't wait to see them!

TheOnlyOneHeFears · Post by **TheOnlyOneHeFears** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 7:08 am

Just a quick update, no pics because I'm at school

I did the vent light up yesterday, with 4 standard green LEDs, it looks pretty good. I also build the arrays for the controller port light ups.
Pics hopefully this evening
Thanks for everyone's positive comments!

TheOnlyOneHeFears · Post by **TheOnlyOneHeFears** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 3:03 pm

More Updates!
I started off happy, then very angry, then happy again.
After doing the vent light up yesterday, I tried to fit the lid back on today, and I discovered that I couldn't, which annoyed me lots. Then I remembered that I was getting a replacement case, so the vent light up was pointless

. Still, it was good to get some practise with the hot glue gun.

What I did to:
One half of the controller port light up.
I was VERY pleased with this, it turned out better than I expected. I've done the top row so far, I'll do the bottom tomorrow, hopefully. I'm using 3mm green LEDs, which look awesome. Plus, I didn't spill any hot glue into the ports themselves, which is always a plus.
Again, I had to use a webcam for the pics

. My brother is getting massive beats

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y261/T ... G_0007.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a>

Close up on the ports. You can just about see the green LEDs shining through

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y261/T ... G_0008.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a>

Overall view so far. Trust me, it looks better in real life

Finally, I did a very quick and easy memory card mod. I drilled a 3mm hole, and hooked up a 3mm red LED. All I had to do was find a voltage rail, and I was set. I was still pleased though, because I had to solder to an SMC for the 3.3V, which was hard.

More to come!

TheOnlyOneHeFears · Post by **TheOnlyOneHeFears** » Sat Mar 10, 2007 2:39 pm

More Updates! Sorry about the multiple posts, but very few people look at edits

Got quite a lot done. Finished the controller ports, which look very good. I also managed to do the memory card ports as well, which look awesome. Overall, they're my fav mod so far. I've used 4 3mm green LEDs to light up the top. I would have done the bottom, but there's no room.

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y261/T ... G_0009.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y261/T ... G_0010.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a>

I didn't bother with a darkened pic, as it looked crap, even when put next to my other webcam pics

I'm pretty much done with cosmetic mods for the time being. I tried to put LEDs in the fan, but my dremel slipped, and I nearly destroyed the fan PCB, so I abandoned that idea pretty sharpish

. Plus, I was having trouble figuring out where to put the LEDs in the first place without having them obstruct the fan.

I need to wait until next allowance to get money for the Wavebird mod. I can't wait for that

Comments/criticisms welcome as always!

~TheOnlyOneHeFears

Jongamer · Post by **Jongamer** » Sat Mar 10, 2007 4:24 pm

Nice, did you use the Guide on Modthatcube for the LED Controller ports?

Because If you want more light to shine through the Controller ports, you will need to removed the Metal Tabs on the tops and bottoms of all four controller ports.

And are you leeching all this power off the 12v line by the Power Switch Assembly?

TheOnlyOneHeFears · Post by **TheOnlyOneHeFears** » Sun Mar 11, 2007 2:40 am

Jongamer wrote:Nice, did you use the Guide on Modthatcube for the LED Controller ports?

Because If you want more light to shine through the Controller ports, you will need to removed the Metal Tabs on the tops and bottoms of all four controller ports.

And are you leeching all this power off the 12v line by the Power Switch Assembly?

Yeah, I've removed the metal tabs from the top and the bottom, and hot glued the LEDs in place. They shine really nicely!

Um...yeah, its all from the 12V line. It that a problem? I thought that the power supply gave 3.25A, and the GC only needs 1.75A to run, plus controllers and memory cards, so I would have enough amperage to power these LEDs. Am I wrong? Have I missed something? I don't want to mess this up after I've done so much.

Electric Rain · Post by **Electric Rain** » Sun Mar 11, 2007 3:48 am

TheOnlyOneHeFears wrote:
Jongamer wrote:Nice, did you use the Guide on Modthatcube for the LED Controller ports?

Because If you want more light to shine through the Controller ports, you will need to removed the Metal Tabs on the tops and bottoms of all four controller ports.

And are you leeching all this power off the 12v line by the Power Switch Assembly?
Yeah, I've removed the metal tabs from the top and the bottom, and hot glued the LEDs in place. They shine really nicely!

Um...yeah, its all from the 12V line. It that a problem? I thought that the power supply gave 3.25A, and the GC only needs 1.75A to run, plus controllers and memory cards, so I would have enough amperage to power these LEDs. Am I wrong? Have I missed something? I don't want to mess this up after I've done so much.

I think you're fine man... don't freak out.

I'm pretty sure he was just asking out of curiosity.

TheOnlyOneHeFears · Post by **TheOnlyOneHeFears** » Sun Mar 11, 2007 4:18 am

Heh goooood

I'm still only a rookie in the field of modding, so excuse my anxiety

. Just founf out that memory card slot A is sticking, so I need to go and shave off some hot glue. I might go and have another look at the fan assembly, see if I can figure something out with more LEDs.

Jongamer · Post by **Jongamer** » Sun Mar 11, 2007 5:05 pm

TheOnlyOneHeFears wrote:
Jongamer wrote:Nice, did you use the Guide on Modthatcube for the LED Controller ports?

Because If you want more light to shine through the Controller ports, you will need to removed the Metal Tabs on the tops and bottoms of all four controller ports.

And are you leeching all this power off the 12v line by the Power Switch Assembly?
Yeah, I've removed the metal tabs from the top and the bottom, and hot glued the LEDs in place. They shine really nicely!

Um...yeah, its all from the 12V line. It that a problem? I thought that the power supply gave 3.25A, and the GC only needs 1.75A to run, plus controllers and memory cards, so I would have enough amperage to power these LEDs. Am I wrong? Have I missed something? I don't want to mess this up after I've done so much.

no no, your good with the 12v line, I just thought you might have found somewhere else to leech power off.