( Sorry if any of my points aren't valid anymore, I spent a lot of time writing this. Also apologies for the essay y’all are about to read)
A_s6 and
CrazyGadget are right, you don't have to know any prior experience or history to still get into portaibilzing. Believe or not but most the pro's we now deem as
"GODS"in these forums weren't always the soldering pro's they are now today. They all started in a similar place just like you, It wasn't until years and years of research and dedication, have they now mastered their craft and honed their skills.
Edit: As someone who is 14 themselves, age is not very intimidating when it goes towards making one of these.
(Which shows how streamlined the pros made this for us) Age matters very little on the internet, but maturity, actions, and experience
matters more here than it does in the rest of the world. When first joining this website 2 months ago, concepts like batteries, resistors and
capacity were very daunting at the time. Especially with the possibility of failure, likely leading to burning your whole house down.
But once I came in grips with those concepts, it all became clear on what I needed to avoid or not. However it wasn't easy, it took lots of time reading, researching and was very time consuming.
The toughest challenge when making portable consoles, can all be boiled down to researching. Its very hard most of the time, to find the will
power to start building these. And im also sorry to hear you have trouble getting into hobbies your not good at, but your going to need to spend
time researching, and spending lots of money on something you may or may not even enjoy. And most importantly your going to have to be patient,
just like raising a baby. You can't expect the baby immediately after birth to end up exactly how you want it instantly, instead you care for it,
nurture it, and spend time on it. Then finally, after all the time and effort spent helping it grow. Thats when your awarded with something your proud of.
However, thats exactly what makes this community, so wholesome. Many other users in this community are ready with open arms whenever
your in demoralizing times. Seriously though, most of the people on this website are really cool. They will always be there ready to correct you in
times when your unsure, while cracking jokes, and generally being pleasant to be around. As well as spending hours upon hours making guides and putting up with answering questions they've probably heard a million times. For, no other reason sides from just helping people from the bottom of their hearts.
TL;DR this website is awesome, and the members who contribute here are also awesome too.
I won't repeat much since CrashBash and A_s6 have already dwelled deeper on the topic above than I do, but I'd also highly recommend switching over to a wii. As a wise Shank once said, gamecube portables aren't all that relevant anymore. Leading to most information and documentation on gamecube portables being very outdated, furthermore essential parts needed to make one like a Wiikey Fusion are very hard or almost impossible to find these days. Switching over to a console like the Wii (That already plays Gamecube games smoother on Virtual Console), but will also save you the money and the hassle. Edit: You might be moving onto raspberry pi
As, for "least challenging" builds I pretty much recommend you do about any projects your interested in. Though as cliche as it sounds,
it really is the best approach when starting portabilizing for the first time. As like I said portabilizing takes patience, so choosing
something your passionate about to fuel you towards your goal is the best way I believe to go towards making these.
And if your doing something like a Wii, you can go even simpler If you do a build of
GingerOfOz
and
Gman's build of the Loui and the Gwii. The CAD files ( files to 3d print) are already
opened source, meaning all you have to do is buy the necessary parts, solder them up and your ready to go!
However, if you want to know what the most "least challenging" build is in my opinion. Then I'd definably go for a Wii macro,
Wesk has already made his build of it open sourced. And it is a project highly recommended here in the community,
for brand new modders such as yourself.
So I hope we can all share some laughs, not feel as lonely inside and strive towards our mutual goals of infinite knowledge.
( Happy portabilizing, and the community wishes you well)