Worklog My first wii "portable" - Tabletopmii

[marcolomeo]

Name is a wip.
Been a lurker for couple of weeks now and i been pretty stoked to make my own portable.
I been pretty obsessed with the switch's tabletop mode, so i wanted to make a tabletop wii portable.
This means no controller on the actual system itself, instead using external gamecube controllers.
I also thought it would be kinda cool if the system featured an av out port to plug it into a tv at any time.
Project will use a 5 inch display and a Jackey giant as its power supply.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072FNQQXV/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A7E0KPI8NA6XE&psc=1
https://power.jackery.com/product/jackery-giant-plus/
I was thinking about cutting the circuit board like in the trimming guide, however for my first build i dont really wanna do that, i rather leave the sd card and gamecube ports where they are (i want multiplayer too).
So far i've installed PMii, remove the case and disk drive. Board and all its ports are still complete (except for bluetooth, i kinda broke it by accident). No wifi. Actually runs when i plug it in, doesnt go to the wii menu for some reason.

 

[jefflongo]

Hello! Glad to see you're starting a project. Some things to note:

If you want to use that portable charger as a power supply, you will need to remove all the on board regulator circuitry. This may or may not be more difficult than just trimming the board and making custom regulators.
If you don't want to do that you can just use the stock Wii power supply or use a 4s 18650 pack.
The board won't be able to go to the Wii menu or boot Wii games without the bluetooth module, so that explains that.

I will actually be building something similar soon, but maybe without a screen and batteries. Trimming the board but leaving the AV port and USB ports on the board is a good compromise for difficulty vs reward.

 

[marcolomeo]

As my first portable i don't want to trim, keeping the av, sd card and gamecube ports is crucial for what i'm trying to build and it would be a hassle to remove them and replace them manually. I get that i get better battery with the board cut but still i want to start small for build #1. I actually didnt expect to get advice so quickly im a bit surprised.

 

[jefflongo]

As my first portable i don't want to trim, keeping the av, sd card and gamecube ports is crucial for what i'm trying to build and it would be a hassle to remove them and replace them manually. I get that i get better battery with the board cut but still i want to start small for build #1. I actually didnt expect to get advice so quickly im a bit surprised.

The point I'm trying to get across is that with the portable won't run on 5v (the output of the battery bank) with the stock Wii regulators. You will need to remove all of the on board regulation and use custom regulators if you want to use a battery bank as a power supply. BTW, most people opt to use the USB ports instead of the SD card port.

If you want to not trim the board and not use custom regulators, you should use a 14.8v pack (which is 4 batteries for not great battery life) or use wall power.

 

[marcolomeo]

I guess i'm trimming the board then, already bought its power supply. Its gonna take a longer time to make but i guess it would be worth it. Are ti regulators any good? I've seen them go for $5 and i need 4 of them. Also is there any thread out there that gives any instructions on how to keep the gamecube ports?

 

[jefflongo]

I guess i'm trimming the board then, already bought its power supply. Its gonna take a longer time to make but i guess it would be worth it. Are ti regulators any good? I've seen them go for $5 and i need 4 of them. Also is there any thread out there that gives any instructions on how to keep the gamecube ports?

The TI PTH08080W ones are the ones to get. There is a BOM on here with cheapest links. I believe the best legit seller we've had is 12 for 2.

I agree that if you spend more time and trim the board you'll have a better end result. It's not as hard as you think as long as you follow the guide properly. You can find the controller port pinout on the trimming guide too.

Basically you can cut the part of the board out with the ports. You'll need to connect data lines to each individual port, and each part additionally needs 3.3v and gnd (and 5v only for rumble). You can just wire gnd to one of the ports since the PCB should connect all the gnds. Same with 5 and 3.3v but I think cutting the PCB disconnects some of the voltage lines between ports so make sure you reconnect the ones that are cut.

 

[marcolomeo]

So is there any specific trim to keep the av out and gamecube ports?

 

[The Save State Gamer]

Just do the regular omgwtf trim but without cutting off the av.

Gc is hard to say as including those ports still might be a problem.

 

[marcolomeo]

@jefflongo is the portable in the picture yours? If so how did you keep the gc controller ports?

 

[jefflongo]

Yes that is mine. I cut off the ports and the AV port, you just have to rewire them, it's very simple.

The AV port only requires you to run a wire for video, audio, and GND. For the controller ports, you need to rewire data lines, 3.3v, gnd, and 5v (only if you want rumble). You can find the pinout of the controller ports and the data line locations in the trimming guide.

All you need to do is do the regular OMGWTF trim and then cut out the pieces of board which have the ports you want. Sand the edges just like you would with the regular board and then you can use them. For my portable, I actually used the ports from a gamecube because the PCB is parallel to the ports whereas on the Wii the ports are perpendicular. They both function the same and that was just a matter of preference where the board is. You can click the link in my signature to view my cutting edge post and look at the pics of the internals to see how I implemented the GC and AV port.

 

[Madmorda]

Hi welcome to the forums. This sounds like a really cool project. I had a couple thoughts I wanted to throw in here

If your main goal is for it to be a table top, it might just be easier to get a 12v battery pack rather than go for a full trim, especially if you want to keep most / all of the stock ports. In the long run, it'll be a lot less work (and probably cheaper since you'd have to buy 3-4 TI regulators for a trimmed board). Another thought is if you don't trim the board past the gold border, a 7" screen might be easier to see than a 5" and it won't take up any extra space.

If you do want a small tabletop and don't mind the work, then a trim is the way to go. The guide has all of the relocation points you'd need to wire up the controllers and the information you'd need to get your trim up and running

Either way I am excited to see where this project goes. Tabletops are really cool

 

[marcolomeo]

Welp I already bought the ti's and the battery pack is coming tommorow. I haven't cut the board yet. Anyone here have any good links for 12v battery packs?

 

[jefflongo]

Welp I already bought the ti's and the battery pack is coming tommorow. I haven't cut the board yet. Anyone here have any good links for 12v battery packs?

I wouldn't say it's such a bad thing, if you trim the board you will get about twice the battery life. You can trim the board and keep the AV port and USB port on so all you will have to relocate is the regulators and GC ports, I think you can do it.

 

[Fruity_Grebbles]

...
I think you can do it.

I know you can do it.

I belieeeve in youuuuu

 

[cheese]

Anyone here have any good links for 12v battery packs?

Unfortunately on that front, most people here do trims/custom regs, so it's unlikely anybody has tried any 12v packs

Fortunately, however, we have lots of experience on the trimming and custom regs front, so if you run into issues/have questions we can help you there

 

[marcolomeo]

The board so far, I'm not cutting it until the ti's arrive. In the meantime does anyone have any good links for wire? Only thing I'm really missing, apart from a case. Also the Ti's I bought where these:
http://www.newark.com/texas-instrum...-JY6146109556&DM_PersistentCookieCreated=true
People in the forums talking about how high ti prices go has really made me doubt the legitimacy of these

 

[jefflongo]

View attachment 5134 View attachment 5135
The board so far, I'm not cutting it until the ti's arrive. In the meantime does anyone have any good links for wire? Only thing I'm really missing, apart from a case.

Unless you want to relocate the USB/AV port, you can extend your trim a bit to keep the AV port and USB port on there. Also, I highly recommend you relocate U10 (and bluetooth if you want Wii functionality) BEFORE you trim. This way you can verify the relocation worked without having to have a working power relocation. Also, that line on the back of the board at the top is cutting it pretty close to the NAND traces. I suggest you remove your line cutouts with some IPA and do it again with a ruler so you get straight lines. I would also recommend you remove components that are in the way of the trim before trimming. One last thing, you can remove the memory card port to make trimming easier. I just get some flush cutters and cut all of the ground pins that secure it then bend the port until I can cut the pins underneath.

Make sure when you trim you put some tape over the board to avoid small pieces of metal getting under anything and that you trim outside the line, and sand to the trim line. Cut out the piece of board with the controller ports too so you can use that, and you can also cut out the piece of board with the power jack if you want a reliable way to test the regulators before you hook up your battery pack.

As for wire, definitely get the 34awg magnet wire on the BOM. I would also recommend to get some 22awg stranded wire for the power lines, and having some 26-30awg wire or IDE wire (which is very easy to find for free) is nice to have for low power lines (I find magnet wire gets messy so I only use it when soldering to vias).

 

[cheese]

Sometimes people have a hard time finding it, here's a link to the BOM people are talking about

 

[marcolomeo]

Ok, battery and screen have arrived. Is there any method of pluging the 12v screen on a 5v battery? It says here it only takes about 3W

 

[Fruity_Grebbles]

Ok, battery and screen have arrived. Is there any method of pluging the 12v screen on a 5v battery? It says here it only takes about 3W

It's possible that the screen can be modified to run at 5v. If you let us look at the driver board, I'm sure someone could tell you.