Well operation "salvage the case" is probably a *nice meme* at this point.
Played around with some case arrangements, and I think I've found one I like (i.e. one that might actually work). Here's a picture of layer one:
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Layer one consists of the screen, which takes up very little room, as well as my buttons, joysticks, LEDs, GC+, audio amp, speakers, two batteries, and one of my regulators. I'll probably put my start button in that little area between the batteries. I still need a spot to put my volume buttons and my sync button, so I think I'll try to cram them in up top with my LEDs.
@MasterNate was kind enough to put up a board with some tiny tact switches for free, so I'm hoping that those will be the right fit. Obviously, the stuff that's tilted in this picture won't actually be tilted in the final product, but I didn't feel like taking the time to arrange everything prettily. One solution for my 3DS slider problem would be to flip them upside down, but I'm not sure if there's a way to get my GC+ to flip the signal. I feel like I saw that option somewhere in the config app, but I'd have to take a look to see if that's actually possible. Another part I'm fitting on this layer is my PCB, which is currently in the middle of being harvested. It'll go just to the right of the ribbon cable. It just has some annoying glue on the back of it, so I'll probably hair-dryer it later to try to pry it out.
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Layer two just adds the screen control board. And the ribbon cable. I hate that ribbon cable. The ribbon cable has to be folded over itself four times, which takes up almost as much space as the physical board does. That's why I've tried to cram so many components right on top of my screen. The batteries seen here are just to hold the screen down, because the stupid ribbon cable springs it up.
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Layer three is basically everything else. The Wii motherboard is at the very top so that the fan gets the ventilation it needs. The other two batteries line up just over the buttons, which means that the back of my case will need to stick out along the edges on the back, like a Wii U Gamepad. This means that my controller will be comfortable to hold, but I'm worried about how this will affect my L/R triggers. The change in the grip means that my hands will roll forward from an upright position, to a slightly downward position, which means that hitting the triggers might be a stretch. That might have only made sense to me. Moving on, my other regulators will likely sit on top of the motherboard. I'll be sure to trim the nubs off of the bottom of the regulators and put down electrical tape to avoid shorts, but this is really the only spot in my case that they'll fit. I could fit all four on the motherboard if I needed to. As you can also see in this picture, I've moved the charging port to the bottom right corner. I probably won't have room for it along the top, so I'll probably move it down there. This means that charge and play would be awkward, so that is not its final position at all.
Speaking of which, I was having a problem with charge and play. The diagram worked fine, but when I wired everything up my screen brutally flickered, my fan slowed down, and the board didn't even boot. Is this a current issue? (As in like V=IR current problem, not as in the fact that Russia could decimate the entire East Coast with 3 nukes current problem) Literally everything I've got is wired in parallel, so I could probably wire some of my non-Wii components in series, if my voltage drops aren't too severe. Assuming that's even my problem.
The plan at this point is to wait on my tact switches (the stupid squishy ones from China) before altering my case design. I'm not entirely sure of the extra thickness that that'll add, as well as the space that those will take up. Because of this, progress might be stagnant for a while.
If you guys have any suggestion for other changes in layout or case, feel free to tell me.
Thanks for the suggestions and support!