Worklog Rubix's 1st Portable

[Rubix3D]

Hey folks! I've spent a lot of time reading all of the guides/material/videos and I think I'm ready to get started! My current BOM is looking something like:

Buy from BB: Audio Amp, PMS, Dual Tacts, GC+
Buy From other: 5" Screen, Speakers, Headphone Jack, Power Jack, Fan, Heatsink, Switch button, Switch joysticks, MicroSD car, Batteries, Screen control button, Analog Sticks, Copper Plate

I already have a majority of the "other" items acquired and am just waiting on the parts from BB to get restocked. In the meantime I have installed PortabilizeMe on a 4-layer wii and have relocated the U10.

This of course was after I ruined my first 4-layer board by accidentally breaking off one of the legs on both the U10 AND U9. I wired the U10 with 34 gauge magnet wire. I'll update when successfully cut the board and get the items from the BB Store.

Also, If I want to be able to play wii games on this thing, will I have to relocate the bluetooth module? Or is there a way around that where I can just use the GC+ board to emulate a wiimote?

I'm excited to become a part of this community!

- Rubix

 

[GingerOfOz]

Welcome!

Looks like you've got a good handle on things thus far. The Bluetooth module is still required for Wii games to boot, regardless of what controller method you use to play said Wii games. Emulating a Wii remote with a GameCube controller is becoming possible, Aurelio has cooked up a hack that is in development still, but has a beta you can tinker with in games to see how you like it.

Good luck!

 

[Timo43]

One thing you will obviously need at some point is a case. Do you have a case you want to use? Perhaps frankencasing?

 

[Rubix3D]

One thing you will obviously need at some point is a case. Do you have a case you want to use? Perhaps frankencasing?

I'm... not entirely sure yet. I like the design of @GingerOfOz's Louii case. I have my own 3d printer and a decent knowledge of fusion360, so I might still design my own. I'm probably going to end up waiting until I know everything is working and then making a case around it.

 

[Rubix3D]

Ok boys, big steps forward in the past few days. After the bluetooth relocation I decided to just trim it. I wanted to keep the RTC (Real-Time Clock) in my build so I could play games like Animal Crossing without problems. I also obviously need USB ports so I wanted to trim those off the board too.

Whats left of the board after removing the RTC, Bluetooth, and Trimmed Board

Here are all of the board pieces before I sanded the edges with 600 grit sandpaper

Here i've connected the USB ports to their data lines and ground. The bigger wire is the unconnected 5v power. Same with the RTC on the right.

Here are both of them fully connected to the board

The next step is to connect my batteries and power, but Gman's PMS isn't in stock yet so that'll be what I have to wait for. Next update when be after I get it connected

- Rubix

 

[Stitches]

Ok boys, big steps forward in the past few days. After the bluetooth relocation I decided to just trim it. I wanted to keep the RTC (Real-Time Clock) in my build so I could play games like Animal Crossing without problems. I also obviously need USB ports so I wanted to trim those off the board too. View attachment 10453 Whats left of the board after removing the RTC, Bluetooth, and Trimmed Board
View attachment 10454 View attachment 10455
Here are all of the board pieces before I sanded the edges with 600 grit sandpaper View attachment 10456
Here i've connected the USB ports to their data lines and ground. The bigger wire is the unconnected 5v power. Same with the RTC on the right. View attachment 10457
Here are both of them fully connected to the board View attachment 10458

The next step is to connect my batteries and power, but Gman's PMS isn't in stock yet so that'll be what I have to wait for. Next update when be after I get it connected

- Rubix

You're going to have to twist the data wires for USB together, the wires sitting apart like that will have problems. Also you may want to remove the caps and fuses near where you cut the USB port off. I can't quite tell from the glare, but they look mighty close. Otherwise, that's a good safe first trim, well done.

 

[Rubix3D]

You're going to have to twist the data wires for USB together, the wires sitting apart like that will have problems. Also you may want to remove the caps and fuses near where you cut the USB port off. I can't quite tell from the glare, but they look mighty close. Otherwise, that's a good safe first trim, well done.

Thanks! I spent a lot of time double and triple checking all of the guides and worklogs to get it right. What's the purpose of twisting the data wires together?

 

[PanPeople]

Thanks! I spent a lot of time double and triple checking all of the guides and worklogs to get it right. What's the purpose of twisting the data wires together?

There are in differential mode: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Differential_signaling

 

[Rubix3D]

There are in differential mode: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Differential_signaling

Oh. That's actually really interesting. Thank you!

 

[Stitches]

Yeah they have to be twisted pretty tightly together so any interference affects both lines equally, else you get crashes galore.

 

[Rubix3D]

Got the case all finished up!

Here is the case straight off of my Ender 3 Pro


I sanded both of them down with 180 grit sandpaper and then applied the bondo


Jump ahead about 8 hours and this is our fully sanded product. Sanded 180 > 220 > 400 > 600> 800 > 2000


This is after I sprayed with filler primer and wet sanded back down to 2000 grit


Next, spray painted both with matte white, and then a matte clear coat


Here's the finished product. I think it looks great for my first attempt at making a case


Finally, based on feedback from the last post, I twisted the USB data lines and wired it up correctly.


According to my email, my PMS and U-Amp should be here today. So I will post another update tonight or tomorrow when I get the Wii wired up and turned on.

 

[Wesk]

Looking good, my only question however: Why are the case pictures such low resolution but the board pictures are fine?

I wanna see some nice high quality pictures of the case

 

[Rubix3D]

Looking good, my only question however: Why are the case pictures such low resolution but the board pictures are fine?

I wanna see some nice high quality pictures of the case

they're cropped pictures o.o I'll take some higher quality ones when I get the PMS working

 

[Rubix3D]

Here's some better pictures of the case:



I nicked the front of it a little bit, and it's not perfect, but I think it turned out good.