Worklog gcGO: Faradyne's First Portable

[Dannyfaradyne]

Hello everyone! I'm excited to be officially starting my very first portable! Before I begin with the details of this portable, I'd like to just thank this community and this forum for the wealth of knowledge and support I've been able to glean. I've been thoroughly researching (lurking) this project for this past couple weeks and this forum has provided answers to almost every question I had as well as VERY useful guides on getting started. This being my first major electronics project (outside of school projects), I'm very excited to be able to start this with enough knowledge to theoretically complete what I envision. Anyways, without further ado, here is my mission statement for gcGO!

Motherboard:
This being my first portable, gcGO will be a very basic portable. I will be using a Wii motherboard (given the usual OMGWTF trim) with portablizemii installed. Everything not critical to a gc portable will be cut except for the MX chip simply for the fact that I would like to preserve rtc for the most immersive gc experience.

Batteries:
It will run on 4 18650 li-ion batteries in 2s2p layout to produce 7.4v with 6800mAH. I will be using this board as a battery protection as well as for Plug n' Play pleasure. This will be recharged by a 12v 5a charger.

Controller:
GC+ is an elegant board for a more civilized age. I have a busted Gamecube controller that I will tear apart for buttons and 3ds sliders for joysticks.

Video and audio:
I will be using a 7" display found in the BOM. I've considered using a dalian good display at first but I'd rather use something maybe a little more familiar to this forum in case I run into some issues. The audio amplifier used will be the PAM8803...... Well, maybe. I'd like to have speaker to headphone switching and while I've seen some mentions of possible circuits for this, I've also heard that headphones require a different class of amplifier. If need be I may just break down and pay the extra for a wiihud.

Case:
This is where I've spent the least research. Eh, I'll cross this bridge when I get there. I'd like to use autocad to design something completely from scratch. I only have very basic knowledge of autocad however and may just resort to one of the cases in the BOM.

As of now, I've only begun to order the ti regulators and the battery components. I am waiting to receive a broken Wii from a buddy of mine. Once I do, I'll immediately begin installing portablizemii and trimming. If there's any concerns, errors, or recommendations in any of the sections I would much appreciate hearing about it. I'm very excited to officially start this project and I'll update my work here to prevent myself from getting lazy.

 

[DeoNaught]

Do you plan to use the Texas Instrument regulators or the Powermii?

 

[Dannyfaradyne]

I plan to be using the TI regulators.

 

[GingerOfOz]

You're off to a great start! I can tell you've done a lot of research, which is great to see.

You are correct that you would need an amp other than the 8803 for headphones. Trying to use headphones with that can cause the headphones to blow out if something goes wrong.

I'd recommend getting a second opinion on that PCB charging board. I'm inclined to say that it's too good to be true, mostly because it seems like something we would use if it worked as advertised .

Case wise, putting it off is perfectly fine. Making a decision on one before you've actually got a working prototype will often get you stuck and force you to buy a new case or make unwanted compromises. I personally love the 3D printed route, but you also have to have access to a printer and understand how to use the software. So frankencasing with a premade case is definitely a valid option.

Other than that, my advice would be to keep following worklogs and doing research! It's better to learn from other people's mistakes rather than make them yourself.

And expect to use more than one motherboard. Everyone botches at least their first trim, and some people go through almost a dozen before they get one working. I'm not trying to sound discouraging: if you follow the guide carefully then you will get a working one fairly quickly! But just be ready to spend a bit of money to buy a couple others.

Good luck! I'm looking forward to seeing progress on this!

 

[link270]

There’s been a bit of talk regarding that PCB in the N64 noob thread. It supposedly works pretty well, at least for the N64. Im ordering one (for $5, why not?) to mess around with but hopefully if it’s a solid solution we will get some more feedback from some additional experienced users.

If you can spare some time and a little patience learning a little CAD then I heard for most it’s quite a bit easier than a full on complex frankencase. If you’re a student you can get a few programs for free, which is awesome! There are also lots of way to print if you don’t have access to a printer, check out somewhere like 3Dhubs.

Adding to @GingerOfOz, if you want to get moderately serious about these types of projects then don’t shy away from picking up another cheap wii off of eBay. When I started I ended up with three Wii’s in case I damaged by first, but I followed the guides and took it slow and everything works pretty great after my first attempt! Also, don’t get cheap tools, especially regarding an iron, and when you go to buy some resistors and other components, it’s never a bad thing to have a few hundred laying around.

 

[fibbef]

GC+ is an elegant board for a more civilized age.

+1 for that meme alone. I like your plan. Proceed.

 

[Aurelio]

+1 for that meme alone. I like your plan. Proceed.

Couldn't agree more!

 

[Dannyfaradyne]

- @GingerOfOz Thanks of the clarification! I guess that means I'll have to consider a different audio amp. Kind of interesting that there isn't a board out in the eBay market that readily supports this...
- To be honest, I've had my doubts about the battery pcb too. If not for the fact that there's been positive results so far in the N64 noob thread I wouldn't have bothered ordering one. If it does do what it claims to do, then this will be an amazing solution to a single port plug 'n play setup.
- Thanks for the vote of confidence guys about my trimming capabilities. . In all honesty It's for the best that I order another Wii in case I do botch my first one.
- I have various CAD software at my disposal from school as well as multiple options on where I can 3D print. I guess now's the best time to learn how to CAD!

Anyways, a bit of a weekly update:

- Most of the supplies I need for powering the portable have arrived. I've received the 18650 batteries, the 12v charger, and a spare Wii. I'm still waiting for the battery protector pcb and the IT regulators.
- I've already installed PortablizeMii and played around with it a little bit. Hopefully by next week I'll start on actually trimming the board. Wish me luck!

 

[Dannyfaradyne]

UPDATE:
Ok so I began U10 relocation. Aaaaand it went pretty rocky. I spent a good 30 minutes working at the U5

Hopefully I haven't done too much damage. After cleaning it up a bit it didn't look to bad.

Then came working on the U10 IC. As it was coming off, on of the legs decided to stay behind.

Now my question is, can I still use it? I noticed that when it's remounted, all three legs are re-soldered together. Do these legs matter? Also, any recommendation on unsoldering ICs like these in the future? I used a solder wick and any iron, but damn, I need to practice soldering if it'll take this much work to reroute everything!

 

[GingerOfOz]

Not sure on whether the chip can be salvaged. It sounds odd, but the best way to remove the U10 is to cover the whole thing in a big blob of solder, and then it will fall right off and you would just have to get the excess solder off of it. The U10 is tough, and should be just fine so long as you don't hear it for a really long time.

Also, you can use the U9 rather than the U10 if your U10 goes badly. They are the same chip.

 

[cheese]

Go ahead and use U9, that U10 looks done for

 

[Matthew]

Not sure on whether the chip can be salvaged. It sounds odd, but the best way to remove the U10 is to cover the whole thing in a big blob of solder, and then it will fall right off and you would just have to get the excess solder off of it. The U10 is tough, and should be just fine so long as you don't hear it for a really long time.

Also, you can use the U9 rather than the U10 if your U10 goes badly. They are the same chip.

I disagree, I've found the best way to remove it is with hot air gun. It comes off nice and clean. While of course you can use solder on it, it's easy to remove a leg or two.

@Dannyfaradyne, you can also use the U9 chip (its right next to the U10) as they are the same one.


Dang, @cheese beat me to it.

 

[jefflongo]

My method of choice for removing the IC is putting a solder blob on both sides then continuously heating both blobs back and forth while pushing horizontally with tweezers. Works like a charm

 

[GC64]

Can confirm what @jefflongo said; this is the only way I've been able to do it successfully given that I don't own a hot air station

 

[Dannyfaradyne]

Weekly Update
Thanks for everyone's tips! Using @jefflongo and @GC64 's method, U9 relocation went a TON smoother.

I was also able to route the wire to the GPU. My question now is, can I still run the wii now to make sure everything is ok before trimming or will the fact that the board is missing a U9 and U10 prevent it from starting up before trimming?
I'm going to begin work on regulators and hopefully have everything trimmed up and powered up by next week.

 

[cheese]

I was also able to route the wire to the GPU. My question now is, can I still run the wii now to make sure everything is ok before trimming or will the fact that the board is missing a U9 and U10 prevent it from starting up before trimming?
I'm going to begin work on regulators and hopefully have everything trimmed up and powered up by next week.

Looks good! You can still boot the wii if you cut the trace that is coming from the pin where you have the wire. If the system doesn't react when you push the power button, short these two pins on the pads where U9 was.

 

[Dannyfaradyne]

Well the LED turns on and powers to green, but no output. I probably need to short the pads, but unfortunately one of the resistors came off on top of one of the pads. I assume it'll be too dangerous to short straight from pad to the pad of the resistor.

 

[cheese]

Well the LED turns on and powers to green, but no output. I probably need to short the pads, but unfortunately one of the resistors came off on top of one of the pads. I assume it'll be too dangerous to short straight from pad to the pad of the resistor.

If the led powers to green then you don't need to mess with the U9 stuff. Double check you cut the trace on the u5 relocation and check your soldering on the via.

 

[Dannyfaradyne]

This is very weird. I've tested continuity on the gpu wire and I have a connection from the chip all the way to the other end Of the Via trace. I tested the trace that was cut and I have no connection. I don't seem to have any shorts with the solder on the Via. Or on the chip. Any recommendations? It does power on and have a green light but I don't think it's reading the usb since the usb light doesn't flash.

 

[jefflongo]

This is very weird. I've tested continuity on the gpu wire and I have a connection from the chip all the way to the other end Of the Via trace. I tested the trace that was cut and I have no connection. I don't seem to have any shorts with the solder on the Via. Or on the chip. Any recommendations? It does power on and have a green light but I don't think it's reading the usb since the usb light doesn't flash.

Are you getting 3.3v on the pin with the wire going to the GPU out of your U9 chip after the Wii is powered on? I believe if it was USB it would say no USB after awhile