Worklog Nintendo Swiitch V2.5 - BocuD's third Wii Portable

[BocuD]

Hey all,

as some of y’all may know through the discord, i’ve been working on a new portable for the past few months. This new portable is going to be mostly based on my previous one, as it felt very nice and i liked it a lot when it comes to shape / feel. The outer case is going to be the same except for a few things:

• There will be IR leds
• There will be dual Z buttons
• It might become a little thicker in some parts to make space for 4 18650s
• There will probably be a battery indicator

The internals however are going to be completely new and custom as my previous portable was just too cramped which resulted in overheating and eventually the LED backlight driver burning out. I don't feel like fixing it as i’m pretty sure it will have more and more issues, so i’d rather build a new portable around the same case design. This will once again have a near ‘stock’ OMGWTF wii as well as (one last time) the PTH08080 regs. These are the main other features:

• 5” 480P VGA screen
• GC+ with 3DS Sliders (i might switch to switch(heh) joysticks
• New 3DS face buttons and dpad
• White 3D printed case to get that New 3DS look
• LM49270 amp (thx JacksonS)
• Custom RTD2660 based LCD driver (again thx JacksonS)

The most interesting thing about this portable is that literally everything but the wii will be on a single custom PCB. This will hopefully make the internals quite a bit nicer and less prone to breaking lmao..
This is where the board is at right now:

(audio amp and battery charger aren't on there yet)
As you can probably see i’m using the Fusion sync meme in eagle. 10/10 would recommend.
The form factor of the portable in general:

The design isn't exactly complete yet, but i’m slowly getting there. The bottom L/R will have dual tact with hard and soft tacts, while the top (Z) buttons will have surface mounted digital switches.
I’m planning on using these 105575 lipos from ebay, to get a battery capacity about 18% higher than my previous portable in the same form factor. Cooling will also be a lot better in this one as you can probably see about a third of the surface area on the bottom is heatsink.

Everything doesn't exactly fit perfectly yet (heh LR batteries) but i’m not exactly done yet so eh. At this point i just need to optimise some crap and add a few things to the pcb, and i should then be able to ‘just’ test and hopefully build it.

 

[DeoNaught]

Pth

 

[Gonjona]

This is.... arousing.

 

[AwesomeMe]

Why not use Switch joysticks instead?

 

[BocuD]

Why not use Switch joysticks instead?

• GC+ with 3DS Sliders (i might switch to switch(heh) joysticks)
• New 3DS face buttons and dpad

White 3D printed case to get that New 3DS look

I thought about using them but already had 3ds sticks, models and ffc connectors ready so didnt feel like it. If i dont like the 3ds sliders in a prototype i’ll definetly switch to switch (lol) sticks instead.

Pth

We’ve talked about this in the discord. If i absolutely need the space i’ll switch to the TPS regs. Yes i agree, the TPSs are definetly better, but the PTHs will definetly suffice and as i actually like how they need like no assembly time and how there is no way i’ll fuck them up on the pcb (other then shorting out the outputs and frying them) i’ll use them for now instead.

 

[splain]

looks SLICK

noob question: 5 regs with 2 caps per reg?

 

[DeoNaught]

looks SLICK

noob question: 5 regs with 2 caps per reg?

you put one on the input, and the other on the output, two isn't necessary(one is okay), but it's good to have two.

We’ve talked about this in the discord. If i absolutely need the space i’ll switch to the TPS regs. Yes i agree, the TPSs are definetly better, but the PTHs will definetly suffice and as i actually like how they need like no assembly time and how there is no way i’ll fuck them up on the pcb (other then shorting out the outputs and frying them) i’ll use them for now instead.

it doesn't change the fact that they are better regs you could have used xP

I have nothing against using Pth, It's just, you seem to be trying to go above and beyond for this portable, almost everything is in one board, Very nice work, and then you have Pth, Really big boi's. If you use Tps, you can be more lenient on your battery space, and more room in your case would be better, for better airflow, which you said was a problem in your last portable.
Don't get me wrong, PTH08080s are sturdy components, which the community has used for years reliably, but I think if you moved on, your project would be much greater, that's all.

 

[Gonjona]

I thought about using them but already had 3ds sticks, models and ffc connectors ready so didnt feel like it. If i dont like the 3ds sliders in a prototype i’ll definetly switch to switch (lol) sticks instead.

We’ve talked about this in the discord. If i absolutely need the space i’ll switch to the TPS regs. Yes i agree, the TPSs are definetly better, but the PTHs will definetly suffice and as i actually like how they need like no assembly time and how there is no way i’ll fuck them up on the pcb (other then shorting out the outputs and frying them) i’ll use them for now instead.

WHAT IS THIS ABOUT REGULATORS BETTER THAN PTH???? I must know more.

 

[Koksi_90]

i only know the
TLV62130.

What about the TPS?

 

[DeoNaught]

WHAT IS THIS ABOUT REGULATORS BETTER THAN PTH???? I must know more.

the TLV62130 (that's the name iirc), it's what the powermii lite uses for voltage regulation, and what alot of members have been using in replacement of regular PTH regs, The only downside to using them(that I can see), is that they are super small, so it's harder to assemble if you don't know what you are doing, plus you need a Heat gun to do it, which if you don't have one, will add more cost.

i only know the
TLV62130.
What about the TPS?

When I said TPS, I mean't the TLV, Haven't been working on my Eda, so misnamed them, though I think TPS are a type of reg(Nope it's a Boost converter). TLV62130X aren't the only Viable regulator, but it's what mostly everyone uses, cause it's "easy" and they are proven to work, and work well.

 

[BocuD]

Actually the TPS series isn't just boost converters. There is a very similar TPS reg almost exactly like the TLV62130X series in feature set and function, but in SOIC form. I'm currently working on changing my design to incorporate those regulators instead as they are very thin and allow me to make the portable quite a bit thinner. More details on this later.

 

[Portable noob]

this portable turned me on.
Definitely following this one keep it up

 

[Paul3854]

The only downside to using them(that I can see), is that they are super small, so it's harder to assemble if you don't know what you are doing, plus you need a Heat gun to do it, which if you don't have one, will add more cost.

Aren't the TLV regs less efficient than the PTH regs also?

 

[BocuD]

Aren't the TLV regs less efficient than the PTH regs also?

No, they are actually quite a bit more efficient, but because they are so much smaller they will get about as hot.
The PTH regs reach a maximum of 85% at 1.2V, even lower at 1V.
The TLV regs reach 89% at 1V 1.5A (5V input), and 85% at 12V inputs.
The TPS regs I'm using are even more efficient, reaching 91% at 1V 1.5A with a 5V input, and 86% at 12V input.
These numbers are all coming from their respective datasheets.

 

[BocuD]

So, over the past few days I've been redoing most of the PCB design and incorporating these new smaller, thinner and also more efficient regulators into my board. The most important thing really is their thickness, as the inductor is now the tallest part at ~5mm above the board. The PTHs came in at around 9 iirc. As you can see I also fixed the headphone jack and everything now fits, including the batteries thickness wise.

I also added the audio amp to the board:

It isn't fully done yet, and I still need to add a low pass filter (25KHz ish) on the audio input, as well as add ffcs for the speaker output.
Other then this I need to find a new spot for the 5V regulator as I am currently using it for the 1.8V regulator, since it didn't fit at its original spot as this new reg setup is wider then the original. I guess I'll figure it out ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I've also made a smol test board to try out these regs, but I only just ordered it and the bom so its gonna be a while before I can test it.

 

[DeoNaught]

Huh, what convinced you to change?

 

[cheese]

and everything now fits

 

[Paul3854]

incorporating these new smaller, thinner and also more efficient regulators into my board.

Finally.

 

[BocuD]

Thats not the USB port I'm using in the final thing. This one is THT so thicc, the final one is SMD and does fit :3

Huh, what convinced you to change?

lol finding non QFN regs and the fact that the PTH regs are just too thick for this build..

 

[cheese]

Thats not the USB port I'm using in the final thing. This one is THT so thicc, the final one is SMD and does fit :3

wut
USB ports don't magically get smaller because they're surface mount lmao