Question Casual attempt at pWii, various questions

[Wulf]

Making extremely slow but steady progress. Haven't done much that would be of interest to you guys, but I've tapped into power and composite on the mobo instead of using the ports, so that's something.

Not sure if I'll attempt a trim at some point, or just leave it as a giant-ass "portable". I'll probably go the giant-ass route and then trim it down when the novelty wears off.

http://wulf2k.ca/portable-wii-rough.jpg

As a side note, I'll need to pick up a smaller soldering iron whenever I start considering trimming. Was just about the limit of my skills to tap into composite with that thing and not just solder-ball everything nearby.

....Or is the iron fine, and my skills the thing that needs improving? Either way, got it done.

 

[The_Smeags]

Pics?

 

[Wulf]

Just the one I posted above. For some reason it won't inline it.

http://wulf2k.ca/portable-wii-rough.jpg

I'll take some more pics when I get into the more complex stuff, but right now it's really just a stripped down Wii with a screen resting on top.

 

[Noah]

You have to use the image inserter on the toolbar or the

 

[Aurelio]

You have to use the image inserter on the toolbar or the

The suspense is killing me

 

[Noah]

LMAO WTF

 

[cheese]

It's looking for








closing image tags [ / I M G ] after the [ I M G ]
Also, the image may not show up if you do it that way since it's not using HTTPS. You can upload it to an image sharing website like imgur to get a HTTPS link quick and easy.

 

[Wulf]

I'm assuming the image thing was a result of either flashblock or noscript. Both seem to be blocking some things here. Either way, no biggy.

Is there any sort of in-depth documentation on the wiimotes, like there is for the wii itself? I've got a broken Wii-mote that doesn't power on. If there's any sort of easy fix that can be identified by replacing a component or two that would be handy.

 

[Wulf]

Also, question category number two....

NiMH batteries. One 5000 mAh 7.4v, one 3300 mAh 7.4v in series.

Is this the functional equivalent of one 4150 mAh 14.8v battery? How would I do the measurements to test the draw of the Wii & screen to figure out the theoretical runtime?

Do I need to rig up a protection circuit to prevent overdraining them, or once the batteries stop providing the minimum voltage required by the regulators will all draw stop? (Within reason, assuming I don't leave everything connected and toss it in a drawer for months)

Is there any reasonable method of charging these batteries in place, or do the two different capacities combined with them being in series make that a non-starter?

If I accept that they can't be charged, Is it still possible to rig up the circuit so that I can have it plugged into both wall power and batteries simultaneously? Not for an extended period, but merely to provide continuous power while I remove the batteries to charge. I doubt it's a feature I'll ever "need", but being able to do it would be a neat feature.

I know theoretically I'd need some sort of diode-equivalent (for unidirectional power flow) but know nothing about the logistics of implementing it.

Edit: And finally, I've been trying to find a decent balance point for where to place the controls... The damn heatsink is making that nearly impossible. What do you guys normally do with the heatsink? Grind it down? Replace it? Liquid nitrogon cooling in a handheld?

I'm also toying with the idea of making it a two-parter. Just rig up my screen and controller as one part, then string video/power a few feet to the wii/batteries. Possibly attached to a belt-clip. For maximum cool-factor.

Disclaimer: The above is more stream-of-consciousness than coherent plan.

 

[cheese]

That's a hard one since they're nimh instead of lipo... Probably could get away with no protection circuit, however, the console will continue pulling power until the voltage drops too low, in which case it may cause issues if you don't have extra circuitry to cut the power. As for the different amp hour rated batteries, don't do it.
For charging, just apply the charging voltage to the batteries with the console disconnected.

Wii remote documentation is pretty slim, and it's almost all surface mount components which make it pretty hard to diagnose and fix.

 

[Wulf]

What's the power draw of a regulator below its minimum voltage?

Would the weaker battery ever drop below 3.4v if in series with a 7.4v battery, with a regulator drawing from them that drops out at 10.8v?

 

[Wulf]

Is the 12v regulator on all models of wii a linear (non-switching) one?

I just realised that supplying 14.8v to it is probably pretty wasteful.

Edit: ...is there even a 12v regulator? Trim guides don't show it. Is 12v really just whatever vIn is?

 

[cheese]

AFAIK there is a buck/boost 12v regulator onboard, as there is a separate trace and label for vin vs 12v.

 

[Shank]

Yes, that is correct @cheese . On most wiis there are 2 separate 12v lines, one of which is the main 12v power in, the other is the 12v regulated line.

The power in accepts anything above a certain voltage (10.1v minimum iirc) and can boost or buck it to 12v, creating a voltage line that is regulated at 12v. This regulated 12v line is where all the other regulators are powered from.

But IIRC, there was at least one board that did not have this 12v, or at least had all its regulators powered from the voltage in line. I do not remember which revision(s) this applies to, but I know it was an earlier one, and not any of the 4 layer boards.

 

[Wulf]

Since I have an uncontrollable urge to overcomplicate everything I do, I'm considering slipping a Pi into my build as a custom controller. Or maybe just doing it for the sake of having done it and then ripping it out. Who knows?

I found the link below which seems like it would answer pretty much everything I'd need to recreate the controller communications.

http://www.int03.co.uk/crema/hardware/gamecube/gc-control.html

Has anybody else here done anything simliar to this?

In some of my reading somewhere, I came across a picture of a dev-wiimote that looked like it was connected via the gamecube ports. Is there any information on that setup that could possibly be recreated?

Does anybody have any documentation on the "maintenance port" that sits where the GC memcards used to on the newer Wii mobos?

 

[Aurelio]

Since I have an uncontrollable urge to overcomplicate everything I do, I'm considering slipping a Pi into my build as a custom controller. Or maybe just doing it for the sake of having done it and then ripping it out. Who knows?

I found the link below which seems like it would answer pretty much everything I'd need to recreate the controller communications.

http://www.int03.co.uk/crema/hardware/gamecube/gc-control.html

Has anybody else here done anything simliar to this?

In some of my reading somewhere, I came across a picture of a dev-wiimote that looked like it was connected via the gamecube ports. Is there any information on that setup that could possibly be recreated?

Does anybody have any documentation on the "maintenance port" that sits where the GC memcards used to on the newer Wii mobos?

Uhm... https://bitbuilt.net/forums/index.php?threads/custom-gc-controller-board-interest-check.572/
Also good luck doing that with a raspberry pi

 

[Shank]

Does anybody have any documentation on the "maintenance port" that sits where the GC memcards used to on the newer Wii mobos?

They run to the gamecube memory card lines and gamecube controller lines. Nothin fancy or interesting. I believe debugging/programing/factory-stuff on gamecube was done through the gamecube ports, so that port is used to test/program the board instead of the gamecube ports.

I can personally vouch and say that Aurelio's controller board is damn good, and much better than using a even a first party controller. He put quite a bit of effort into making it suit the average portablizer's needs.

 

[Wulf]

I'd skimmed that thread but hadn't seriously considered it due to what I assume would be high demand/low supply, and rather outrageous shipping costs.

Is there stock sitting around collecting dust somewhere on the north american continent for a reasonable price?

 

[Aurelio]

I'd skimmed that thread but hadn't seriously considered it due to what I assume would be high demand/low supply, and rather outrageous shipping costs.

Is there stock sitting around collecting dust somewhere on the north american continent for a reasonable price?

It's available on the store: https://bitbuilt.net/store/index.php?route=product/product&path=60&product_id=59

 

[Wulf]

Also good luck doing that with a raspberry pi

Bah, killjoy =]

I just looked up some benchmarks and it looks like 4 µs accuracy is the best anybody's managed to get out of the GPIO ports. For some reason I had it in my head that it could do better. I suppose I could pull out that Arduino I've been meaning to play with for a while, but learning that's likely a separate project of its own.

Ah well, I'll leave that off the table for now.