Easiest, Simplest Console Mods?

[Broken]

Hi I know not necessarily the hardest mod from what I've heard but I was going to attempt an Rgb Pc Engine Duo mod. However I have very little modding experience and could mess up these more expensive consoles.

It was suggested to me that I should try some easier and simpler mods on some cheaper and more available consoles, perhaps on the Snes, Megadrive etc. Some of these may still be hard for me but I could try the more simple ones if there are some.

In terms of modding here's my extensive CV;

Opened up Nes and did region free mod (stupidly easy).

Opened up X68000 and replaced floppy drive (harder than it sounds).

Opened up Snes I think and made region free (really easy).

Opened up a Saturn and tried soldering a chip in with a normal size soldering iron and my Mum's stitching magnifier (this was a long time ago and also busted the Saturn).

Opening up a Nes cart I think.

Modding a VGA cable to X68000 monitor output (I had quite a lot of help with that).

Not much here but a little.

I knew a guy who knackered a Sega Nomad trying to do the region free mod which I guess isn't an essential mod in a few ways with that system.

I've found one or two good mod sites but does anyone know of some of the easier ones to start with for Snes, Megadrive etc?

Anything would be cool.

[bigsanta]

http://www.mmmonkey.co.uk/

[Drakon]

seriously.....if you can't mod....you might be able to hire someone here who knows what they're doing.  Or you can do what I did and do easier mods first and gain experience and then go after the more difficult stuff once you get some practice.  Heck I even did an annoying mod on a 15$ genesis 2 to set it to japanese region out of boredom for the fun of the challenge.  It's always good to buy something cheap at a store and see what you can do to it until you break something.  And yes the mmmmmonkey site is probably the greatest place to start out

[Broken]

Again excellent stuff. From what you've said, it's what I'm also looking to do. If I wanted only one or two things done I could just perhaps pay someone but I'm looking to get into it a bit if you know what I mean. I already checked the mmmmonkey site out that I found. It looked pretty cool info wise.

[Drakon]

Again excellent stuff. From what you've said, it's what I'm also looking to do. If I wanted only one or two things done I could just perhaps pay someone but I'm looking to get into it a bit if you know what I mean. I already checked the mmmmonkey site out that I found. It looked pretty cool info wise.

sorry I read the topic wrong.  If you look through the gamesx wiki there's lots of great mods in there too and some are pretty simple.  Although lacking the detailed pictures you get from the mmmmmonkey site

[Broken]

Hi round 2 excellent and thanks again. The gamesx seems quite good and I've seen it previously. Again the main issue for me at the moment seems to be to get the right soldering iron.

[Drakon]

Hi round 2 excellent and thanks again. The gamesx seems quite good and I've seen it previously. Again the main issue for me at the moment seems to be to get the right soldering iron.

ironically the worst soldering iron I ever picked up was from an electronics hobby store.  I would suspect that more expensive ones usually are better.

[Fwirt]

A good soldering iron is a great investment if you're going to be doing a lot of modding.  If you don't want to shell out ~$100 for a Hakko or a Weller I highly recommend an Aoyue.  (I even hear Weller is just riding on their reputation and putting out cheap irons these days.)  When I started modding I used a 'Shack fire starter.  I got sick of botched solder jobs and not being able to heat up ground pads so I plunked down $50 for an Aoyue 937+, and have absolutely no regrets.  It's a great iron for the price, it even comes with a spare heating element!  I'm still using the stock tip, but I hear it takes Hakko or Weller tips.  The one caveat I have is that if you stress the tip of the iron too much, you'll break the plastic screw band which holds the iron together.  It's a common problem, but I just fixed mine with a ziptie and it seems to be holding.

If you're interested, they're available on Amazon here:
http://www.amazon.com/Aoyue-937-Digital-Soldering-Station/dp/B000I30QBW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1297984982&sr=8-1