Hacking Hardware Misc How can I step up my console modding / maintenance skills?

[BrainImpediment]

HOPEFULLY this is the right place to ask this, but I’m just looking for advice. LMK where I should put this if this isn’t the right place. I barely use GBAtemp, so I’m not well accustomed here,,, I probably posted this wrong. My bad.
I’m 16, turning 17 in two months, and I’ve been obsessed with game consoles since I could walk. I got hooked on 3DS modding when I was like, 12, and I had been following the scene idly even before then. Now, I have a huge collection of awesome retro consoles, but I feel like I’ve taken in a bunch of sick puppies without even knowing how to take care of them. I’ve got an Xbox One, Xbox 360 E, PS4, PS2 slim. Wii U, Wii, GameCube, N64, and who knows what else I may find in the future. The most I’ve done in terms of repairs is fixing my 3DSes (I think my only other posts on here are about that) and replacing the laser lens on my ps2 (with my mom’s help to solder off the static guard, but she works in cybersecurity, not hardware, so she’s not THAT experienced with it. At least not enough to properly teach me,,) So far I’ve modded multiple 3DSes (and have helped other people do it too,) my WiiU (It has Aroma on it I think? Haven’t used it in a while,,) and my Wii (I used Letterbomb, to appease my younger self who was too afraid to do it years ago.) I feel like I’ve become well accustomed to softmodding, and I’d like to push myself to develop my skills further. And, of course, having taken in these aging consoles, I need to be able to service them properly, but I just have no idea where to begin. I’ve got a really nice IFixit kit and our super old soldering kit, but I can’t really do anything without.. Y’know, actually knowing what to do. I’ve gotten the itch to just crack open my stuff and look around and figure it out on my own, but that’s actually a Very stupid idea and I should Not let myself do that, so, like,, what I’m basically asking is, where can I go to learn about console hardware and repair? How can I learn to diagnose issues with specific consoles and know how to fix them? How can I learn to Not be terrified to use a soldering iron? Are there any free resources like websites, YouTube channels, classes, books, etc that I should look into? I’ve been taking some programming classes learning Python and Swift/Xcode recently (not interested in app development, but it’s been a useful learning experience!) and I’m teaching myself HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, so I’m at least a bit confident when it comes to coding, but I don’t have much experience in hardware,, I’ve got the 3DS’ boards and all its little pieces almost memorized, but I can’t say I know how anything actually WORKS… that’s my biggest issue. And, I mean, I did recently acquire a ton of PDFs of various stem related textbooks including computer architecture stuff ($35 on humble bundle for 19 textbooks ohhh yea,,,) but I’m just curious if there’s somewhere I should be looking or if there’s anything I should know. Thanks so much, any advice is appreciated!
If you want to know, I’ve been looking into stuff like FMCB and that one burnt CD method I can’t remember for modding my PS2, and potentially RGH 3 for my Xbox. I doubt I’ll get anywhere near RGH for a while, but I feel like FMCB may be a good place to start? Or maybe modchipping the GameCube… I’m unfamiliar with that though. I just want to break myself out of the safety of softmodding and learn some stuff. Again, thanks for reading everything! I think I should also show my current console setup because it’s pretty jank looking (and I’m worried it may or may not be harmful for my consoles? I dunno.)

 

[BigOnYa]

Welcome to Gbatemp! There are plenty of guides and helpful forums here to help you skill up on your knowledge. From your home page, select any section as shown below, to enter that area.

I'd also recommend, to learn more about the functions of electronics, and coding of microcontrollers, an Arduino Starter Kit.
Plenty different kits available online, or in stores. Good luck and have fun!

 

[SylverReZ]

-snip-

Never seen such a lengthy and enthusiastic welcome in such a long time. Welcome abroad to GBAtemp, you'll learn what there is to know here.

If you want to know, I’ve been looking into stuff like FMCB and that one burnt CD method I can’t remember for modding my PS2

FreeDVDBoot? CDs do not support this method. If you're looking to do this on a PS2 slim, make sure you use better-quality DVD-R media; I recommend using Verbatim, anything other than Verbatim may cause irreversible damage to the laser (not without a PIC fix).

 

[RAHelllord]

The easiest way to learn soldering is to watch tutorials on the internet, and practice it on things you don't mind breaking. Buy a proper iron and also some practice kits from Amazon or similar. Follow the instructions given and go from there. There are also beginners courses for soldering and things like that available at colleges or maybe even at your local high school. If there's a museum in your city that focuses on electronics stuff you could also always see if they organize anything into that direction.
Last but not least, libraries. Ask a librarian if they have any beginner books on soldering and tinkering with electronics, and read those. Might especially be interesting if they include some easy projects to follow along.

Edit: If it helps, my soldering skills are basically self taught from YouTube and reading literature on it. I mostly only follow along guides for my repairs / and did some research into the materials I would need as well as how to do it safely. Good iron, decent flux, isopropyl alcohol to clean things up, some helping hands to hold things, fire proof work mat, some grounding straps, a multimeter, two gauges of solder, some solder wick, and eye protection (very important) basically covers 99% of everything you might encounter. Hot air rework stations are more advanced but you don't actually need to do that very often.

 

[frozencat]

HOPEFULLY this is the right place to ask this, but I’m just looking for advice. LMK where I should put this if this isn’t the right place. I barely use GBAtemp, so I’m not well accustomed here,,, I probably posted this wrong. My bad.
I’m 16, turning 17 in two months, and I’ve been obsessed with game consoles since I could walk. I got hooked on 3DS modding when I was like, 12, and I had been following the scene idly even before then. Now, I have a huge collection of awesome retro consoles, but I feel like I’ve taken in a bunch of sick puppies without even knowing how to take care of them. I’ve got an Xbox One, Xbox 360 E, PS4, PS2 slim. Wii U, Wii, GameCube, N64, and who knows what else I may find in the future. The most I’ve done in terms of repairs is fixing my 3DSes (I think my only other posts on here are about that) and replacing the laser lens on my ps2 (with my mom’s help to solder off the static guard, but she works in cybersecurity, not hardware, so she’s not THAT experienced with it. At least not enough to properly teach me,,) So far I’ve modded multiple 3DSes (and have helped other people do it too,) my WiiU (It has Aroma on it I think? Haven’t used it in a while,,) and my Wii (I used Letterbomb, to appease my younger self who was too afraid to do it years ago.) I feel like I’ve become well accustomed to softmodding, and I’d like to push myself to develop my skills further. And, of course, having taken in these aging consoles, I need to be able to service them properly, but I just have no idea where to begin. I’ve got a really nice IFixit kit and our super old soldering kit, but I can’t really do anything without.. Y’know, actually knowing what to do. I’ve gotten the itch to just crack open my stuff and look around and figure it out on my own, but that’s actually a Very stupid idea and I should Not let myself do that, so, like,, what I’m basically asking is, where can I go to learn about console hardware and repair? How can I learn to diagnose issues with specific consoles and know how to fix them? How can I learn to Not be terrified to use a soldering iron? Are there any free resources like websites, YouTube channels, classes, books, etc that I should look into? I’ve been taking some programming classes learning Python and Swift/Xcode recently (not interested in app development, but it’s been a useful learning experience!) and I’m teaching myself HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, so I’m at least a bit confident when it comes to coding, but I don’t have much experience in hardware,, I’ve got the 3DS’ boards and all its little pieces almost memorized, but I can’t say I know how anything actually WORKS… that’s my biggest issue. And, I mean, I did recently acquire a ton of PDFs of various stem related textbooks including computer architecture stuff ($35 on humble bundle for 19 textbooks ohhh yea,,,) but I’m just curious if there’s somewhere I should be looking or if there’s anything I should know. Thanks so much, any advice is appreciated!
If you want to know, I’ve been looking into stuff like FMCB and that one burnt CD method I can’t remember for modding my PS2, and potentially RGH 3 for my Xbox. I doubt I’ll get anywhere near RGH for a while, but I feel like FMCB may be a good place to start? Or maybe modchipping the GameCube… I’m unfamiliar with that though. I just want to break myself out of the safety of softmodding and learn some stuff. Again, thanks for reading everything! I think I should also show my current console setup because it’s pretty jank looking (and I’m worried it may or may not be harmful for my consoles? I dunno.)

just do random shit