Worklog My first GC Portable!

jefflongo

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Are you sure it's okay to hot glue them to the protection circuit board like that?
The protection circuit isn't hot glued to the batteries, it's only held with electrical tape. The hot glue on the protection circuits is to cover/secure the wiring and prevent any shorts. I wouldn't see the harm in it anyway, it's not like that would make any electrical connections.
 
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The protection circuit isn't hot glued to the batteries, it's only held with electrical tape. The hot glue on the protection circuits is to cover/secure the wiring and prevent any shorts. I wouldn't see the harm in it anyway, it's not like that would make any electrical connections.
Oh okay:) just making sure
 

ShockSlayer

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A hot air station will allow you a bit more workability with hotglue at the cost of keeping the adhesive strong. The best removal method is definitely isopropyl alcohol. Even just a tiny bit with a q-tip will remove almost anything.
 

Shank

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jefflongo

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Been quite some time since my last update, finals are over now and I've been having more time to work on this.

After testing for some time I've been noticing some issues with the controller ports. I've had issues with ports 1, 2, and 4. Readjusting wires and removing hot glue was fixing it but I haven't been confident that the issue is truly resolved. So I went ahead and removed all the hot glue (hindsight, don't hot glue over the solder points but just on the wire before it, wow that was a pain in the ass to get it all off). Rewired each data line with 32g magnet wire as opposed to 24g magnet wire. Made the wiring cleaner this time and I feel a lot more confident about those. This is the last time I'll probably be wiring to the bottom of the board so here's a pic of that plus the current setup right now.

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My original plans for shoulder buttons was to use a Wii classic controller shoulder buttons because I needed buttons that were thin enough to fit on the thin side of the case. However, they're pretty long so it would be a tight fit next to the video connector on one side and the SD card slot on the other. After being inspired by @Redmagnusx 's custom shoulder buttons on his newest portable, I decided to try to create ones like that. So I picked up those pushbutton switches from digikey, disassembled them, shaved down the insides, and created a double tact setup on some perfboard to hot glue to the bottom. The end result is fantastic. The buttons feel amazing and they're the perfect size for this portable. So huge shout out to @Redmagnusx ! Here are some pics of the process of making them.

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In terms of casework I'm nearly finished cutting out the thin side of the case. The cutouts aren't the prettiest, but the best I could do by hand. The connectors fit well which is all I care about. I made a fan grill (didn't want to compromise the strength of the case sides too much) and put some fan filter mesh over the grill so hopefully the airflow works well. The grills aren't aligned quite right but I had to make that compromise in order to fit the things I needed to fit into the case sides. Here's a pic of the sides so far. I just need to make cutouts for the shoulder buttons, SD card slot, and AV port.

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My audio amp (from the BOM) will arrive tomorrow and I picked up some 1W 8 ohm speakers that I was recommended. So I will wire those up tomorrow hopefully pretty easily. After that I will frankencase the controller shell into the case (the part I'm most nervous about tbh). Then I can finally work on the internal controller. Hoping to finish this portable by the end of June!
 
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My original plans for shoulder buttons was to use a Wii classic controller shoulder buttons because I needed buttons that were thin enough to fit on the thin side of the case. However, they're pretty long so it would be a tight fit next to the video connector on one side and the SD card slot on the other. After being inspired by @Redmagnusx 's custom shoulder buttons on his newest portable, I decided to try to create ones like that. So I picked up those pushbutton switches from digikey, disassembled them, shaved down the insides, and created a double tact setup on some perfboard to hot glue to the bottom. The end result is fantastic. The buttons feel amazing and they're the perfect size for this portable. So huge shout out to @Redmagnusx ! Here are some pics of the process of making them.

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I'm glad you were able to make the shoulder buttons. I have to say that after having tried a few different methods, these shoulder buttons feel the best by a large margin. I'm also glad that someone else gave them a try.
 

jefflongo

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Okay another update coming. Got the audio amp in the mail today! Wired that up as well as two tact switches for volume adjustment and hooked up the speakers. The quality of the speakers are pretty good for how small they are. Here's some pics of the wiring and a little demo video of the audio quality. All that's left is the casework and internal controller then we're done!

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Okay another update coming. Got the audio amp in the mail today! Wired that up as well as two tact switches for volume adjustment and hooked up the speakers. The quality of the speakers are pretty good for how small they are. Here's some pics of the wiring and a little demo video of the audio quality. All that's left is the casework and internal controller then we're done!

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Hey man, do you mind providing a link to where you bought that audio amp from? I'm looking for something exactly like that for my next project.
 
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jefflongo

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Guess I'll throw in a quick update since it's been awhile. @Shank generously agreed to laser cut the top of my case for me which saves me a lot of hassle/frankencasing! After spending some time with him discussing different layouts and button/switch arrangements, we constructed the perfect one for me. The end result looks great! He's currently selling laser printed ZN 40's so definitely check that out if you go this route.

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I'm expecting to get that back this weekend then I can work in the top half of the case. In the mean time, I've been trying to work on the bottom half of the case. I mounted the WASP and SD card reader and I think it turned out pretty well. I dremmeled out two screw posts from an empty Wii shell and epoxied/hot glued them into the case. I think I got the alignment pretty much exactly where I wanted.

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I promise I'm working on the mess of cables and it wont look AS bad once everything is mounted and done. :) Over the next few days while I'm waiting for the top half of the case to arrive I'm going to create the cutouts on the side piece for the SD card, AV out connector, and shoulder/Z button. Due to lack of space, I've decided to use a tact switch for the Z button. I will also epoxy in the controller ports and plugs to the side piece of the case. When the top half of the case arrives, I'm going to mount the screen (probably using small angled brackets to create a frame), buttons/sticks (probably with GC shell screwposts), switches, speakers, then wire up and mount the GC+. We're on the home stretch!!
 
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Bakuku

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@jefflongo
No space for Z button? Do not disappoint me!
I've done all Original Gamecube buttons on smaller cases!

Just do it!
 
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