Danse Manatee Cube -Refurbished

Gman

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I built this handheld GC 3 years ago for my sister. Now that I'm basically repulsed by GC motherboards, I decided to turn it into a Wii portable. The new and improved unit is something I can truly be proud of.

First I opened er up and it wasy pretty bad
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Then I removed every last thing in the case except for the screen. The controller wiring was pretty bad so I removed all the wires too. I remounted the buttons and redid the wiring. Still not my neatest wiring but atleast everything is flat now which is really what matters most.
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I cut this skinny Wii trim so that way I didn't have to relocate the MX chip or U10. The Wifi relocation was giving me trouble so I wired it to the vias. I find it so much easier doing it that way actually.
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I replaced the transistor shoulder buttons for the double tact method. I'm proud of how I mounted them. It was incredibly easy, simple, and rock solid.
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I even used a new audio amp because the old one was horrible and required a button to turn the speakers on. I used a heatsink from a ps2 I had been hoarding for a very long time. This thing stays very cool.
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Improvements:
-Wii
-Batteries -2x 3400mah Panasonic cells
-Double tact shoulder buttons
-New ipod stereo
-Added Headphone jack
-Internal fan and new plastic sheet for the back
-3DS sliders -I actually prefer them over the old modified analog sticks I had in there. Plus it makes the unit slimmer
-2 regulators. 1v and 1.15v shorted.

Pics:
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Gman

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Yeah man I've got like 5 or 6 GCs on me that I don't know what to do with..

This unit is pretty lightweight compared to my other portables with just 2 cells. It's pretty nice. I am going to wait a few more days before heavily playing it to let the clear coat on the back cure, but then I will be doing a battery life test. Should get around 2.5 hours with just 2 cells. I also put in a GC power adapter and I will test the current too.
 
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Why do you guys hate working with gcn's? Nice job btw, looks pretty cool, and i also prefer the 3DS sliders
 

Gman

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Why do you guys hate working with gcn's? Nice job btw, looks pretty cool, and i also prefer the 3DS sliders
Well for starters the GameCube is just an old console now. The Wii is easier in the fact that it doesn't need a modchip. It makes up the work by having to do wifi/bluetooth but it's not nearly as bad as wiring a wiikey fusion. Also the Wii uses half the power consumption which is awesome because now we can get away with using 2 cells and still have a good battery life. Also the Wii can play emulators pretty well. Wii is love.
 
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Well for starters the GameCube is just an old console now. The Wii is easier in the fact that it doesn't need a modchip. It makes up the work by having to do wifi/bluetooth but it's not nearly as bad as wiring a wiikey fusion. Also the Wii uses half the power consumption which is awesome because now we can get away with using 2 cells and still have a good battery life. Also the Wii can play emulators pretty well. Wii is love.
Good point. I still prefer gamecube though, its my fav console of all time, but wii can emulate gcn, so i think i may even stop my gcn project and move to a wii project. Question about that actually, is it necessary to keep the wifi chip? I mean, wifi services are dead for the wii.
 

Gman

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Good point. I still prefer gamecube though, its my fav console of all time, but wii can emulate gcn, so i think i may even stop my gcn project and move to a wii project. Question about that actually, is it necessary to keep the wifi chip? I mean, wifi services are dead for the wii.
As far as I know, the Wii cannot play games without the Wifi module present. It will not boot to the system menu without it too. It can boot to HB channel but still cannot play games. Wifi relocation is only 8 wires, still not as dreadful as the Wiikey fusion
 

cheese

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Question about that actually, is it necessary to keep the wifi chip? I mean, wifi services are dead for the wii.
Unfortunately, it seems there are some checks in software that ensures the WiFi board is attached (and will black screen if it is not found). There is potentially a way around this in the form of a software patch (there is some research going into this), but as of right now, (as gman has said) the board is still required.
 
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If you want I'll take those GC off your hands :D

Anyway awesome build. I might want to learn how to make a cut like that for myself when I make a Wii portable some day.
 

cheese

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This is a pretty old thread (May 2nd, over 3 months), make sure to check newer threads for updated information.
 
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