Leapfrog Didj For Newb Hacker Or Not?

[modred11]

I saw a blog post where a leapfrog didj was being hacked, since it's only like $39 I figured it'd be a good way to learn some hacking skills (soldering / software stuff). But I've been looking around and I haven't really seen much in the way of finished hacks for it, just like that one blog post and an embedded Linux wiki article and a thread on here that didn't seem to have gotten anywhere (yet).

Is there work being done to hack it still?

Or, is there some other portable that would be easier to hack for a newbie? One with online tutorials would be nice.

 

[Atomic Man]

Im not sure that buying a handheld to chop apart is the best way to learn about homebrewing your own hardware/software.

What is your goal exactly? Learning to solder? Learning electronics? The latter will require college level courses for you to learn anything useful.

Do you want to learn to program? Do you want to learn how to backwards engineer a closed system? Again, you will need to take college level courses to accomplish the latter.

If youre looking for hardware to DIY, google Uzebox.

If youre looking to program... right now were inbetween the GP2X generation and the Pandora/Wiz/A320 generation (if A320 homebrew takes off). Of course you could always get a DS or PSP.

 

[modred11]

Im on my second semester of C++ in college, but Ive been programming (in higher level languages, Blitz Basic mostly, a little Python though) for quite awhile. Going for a Computer Science (or similar) degree. Ive never done any of the electronics type stuff before, soldering and whatnot, and I guess I really don't know much about it (certainly not enough to start doing it on my own).

I guess I dont really have a clear goal in mind, hacking just sounds fun... And I am hoping that having a Pandora would help me get the skills I need. If nothing else I always need a higher nerd score
CODE
http://www.nerdtests.com/ft_nq.php


Thanks for pointing me to the Uzebox, that should be good for me to learn the electronics stuff. And I imagine that should do well for a few fun programming projects too.


there, I think I got the message formatted properly for the forums now... It only took me two edits!

 

[Firefox]

I'd recommend getting a cheap second-hand Gameboy Advance/SP/Micro off ebay.

It's a very nice system to program for. There's tons and tons of documentation and example code on the web, you can download all of the tools you need for free, and flash carts for it are very cheap now.

For soldering practice you could hack together a little RS232 serial adaptor using a MAX232 or similar chip. Use it for debugging output, or see if you can write a simple bootloader that'll let you upload and run code from your PC.

 

[modred11]

I'd recommend getting a cheap second-hand Gameboy Advance/SP/Micro off ebay.

It's a very nice system to program for. There's tons and tons of documentation and example code on the web, you can download all of the tools you need for free, and flash carts for it are very cheap now.

For soldering practice you could hack together a little RS232 serial adaptor using a MAX232 or similar chip. Use it for debugging output, or see if you can write a simple bootloader that'll let you upload and run code from your PC.

I have a gameboy advance and a color, never used em. I looked around though, and I can't find any flash cards for them for sale, not even on ebay. <_<

I'll keep watching out for them. There does seem to be a fair amount of software stuff for GBA hacking. And it would be nice to have something more portable then a Uzebox (although I suppose it wouldn't be that hard to power an Uzebox with batteries, and presumably a screen).

Plus I imagine the capabilities of the GBA would severely limit any programming on it to simple stuff (making it easier to do *crosses fingers*).

 

[palmertech]

Go to Dealextreme.com, GBA flashcards for under $20 with free shipping.

 

[Firefox]

The GBA's an ARM-based system and has quite a nice 2D graphics accelerator (does tiled backgrounds, sprites etc, so you don't have to write your own routines for that) and a decent sound chip. Plenty for a first foray into handheld console hacking!

Go to Dealextreme.com, GBA flashcards for under $20 with free shipping.

Actually, I think I saw a basic one on DX the other day for $8 delivered!

If you just want to try the programming side to start with then you can always compile your game and then run it in an emulator (no$gba, Visual Boy Advance, etc). You don't have to faff about rewriting the card/cartridge then, either. You can see your work running instantly.

 

[modred11]

The GBA's an ARM-based system and has quite a nice 2D graphics accelerator (does tiled backgrounds, sprites etc, so you don't have to write your own routines for that) and a decent sound chip. Plenty for a first foray into handheld console hacking!

...

If you just want to try the programming side to start with then you can always compile your game and then run it in an emulator (no$gba, Visual Boy Advance, etc). You don't have to faff about rewriting the card/cartridge then, either. You can see your work running instantly.

Thanks for all your help guys, this is quite cool really. I haven't gotten to code games much recently, and not at all in C++ yet. I'm excited. I'll be getting one of those flash cards as soon as possible.

I want to get an Uzebox too, but not at the same time. I wanna get like a soldering kit and stuff and get the one that you put together yourself so I can learn that.

Thanks again. I have to go off to dinner now.

 

[Segata Sanshiro]

There's this console... what was it called... GP32 I think. It's one of the most versatile gadgets you'll find out there and it lends itself to hacking very easily. There's tons of software, documentation, voltage mods, GPS receivers, chatboards, MIDI cables, music trackers, RAM upgrades, and many, many other things that have been, or could be done.

But yeah, a Game Boy SP might be easier to get a hold of these days.