iWiip 1.0 - My First Wii Portable

Papa J

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Joined
Nov 13, 2018
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So I figured that entering myself in this contest would be a good reason to actually start making myself a Wii portable. My experience in electronics has largely been in making Game Boy Zeros (Game Boy shells retrofitted with new guts to make a portable raspberry pi emulation system) so I'm hoping my electronics history there will help me here. But, as we all know, mistakes will always be made regardless of skill level. Hence, the iWiip ("I weep"(in case you really couldn't figure it out)).

My brief for this is that I want it to be something I can take on a long trip - that means comfortable (so some nice grips would be nice), a nice, long battery life, a nice looking screen and hopefully a headphone port that won't turn the system off :rothink:

I would also like the internals to be modular - that means JST-XH connectors everywhere possible. I envision the internals of this like a car of sorts - the Wii, regulators, heatsink, fan, bluetooth and USB to be all in one little package (the engine), that then gets screwed into the 3D printed case (the chassis) and connected to the controller, screen, audio and power with the aforementioned JST connectors (wheels, seats, stereo, battery, etc).

The parts I have now are;
- Wii/USB,
- Regulators and resistors/capacitors (to be assembled/decided how to be assembled later),
- Heatsinks/fans,
- 5" Component screen,
- Batteries (2s3p for ~10k mAh) and 1 port play-and-charge "red board,"
- All required wires (22AWG for power and ground, magnet and kynar for traces and hookups),
- GC controller for the controller board, buttons and full analog triggers,
- Various tact switches for varied button texture (squishy button gang RISE UP),
- a 3D printer for 3D printed everything.

The things I need are;
- A 3D printed case - needs to be modelled. I dare say this will take up the majority of my time,
- JST connectors,
- My brain to function.

I should say I fully don't expect to win or place at all, I'm just entering for the memes. Good luck to all the other contestants!! :D
 

Papa J

.
Joined
Nov 13, 2018
Messages
11
Likes
8
Location
Melbourne, Australia
Portables
3
I have made advancements!

I finally got around to maybe doing something in this contest for once :facepalm:

I've implemented the U10 transplant and the bluetooth module relocation, and for my first time I must say I don't think I've done too badly! The traces were difficult but after a bit of practice on unused parts of the board it was less intimidating.



Next are the regulators, which all have their capacitors attached, they need their resistors and some wire hookups and we're ready to party.


After the regulators are finished and confirmed to work, we're going to do the big trim and we're gonna set up the batteries and the charge board. For the trim, I'm going to cut more of the board out than usual, leaving a small plane for the regs to rest, and to allow for maximum sturdiness with 5 screw holes available to lock down the board.


And finally, here's a picture of my messy ass, ADD addled worktable. Yes, I manage to do things in here.


Next on the docket after I've verified everything's working is batteries and the charging circuit, then the controls, then the screen, then the sound. Hopefully I can squeeze this out before the deadline.
 

Papa J

.
Joined
Nov 13, 2018
Messages
11
Likes
8
Location
Melbourne, Australia
Portables
3
Looks like you used magnet wire for the Bluetooth, use it for U10 too. That looks pretty bad. Also give it a scrub with IPA. Also where are your feedback resistors for the regulators? Anyway keep it up!
It looks absolutely awful, I cleaned it up after the photo. Thanks for the tip for the U10, I'll try to change it!

The resistors are next up on my list of things to do when I have some time next.
 
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