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I'm glad I saw this before I did my build. I was gonna use different adjustable regulators. I'm sorry it didn't work out :/ I'm looking forward to more updates!
Yeah, they are made by TI, but not efficient, it turns the extra power into heat. they do have their uses, but we need a different type of regulator for wii voltages (PTH for example)Alright, I guess that's fine. It's not that much more when you really think about it. Ah, sorry I meant the chips were made by Ti. I looked up the model number on them: http://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/lm2596.pdf they're probably far less power efficient than the PTHs though.
Yeah, they are made by TI, but not efficient, it turns the extra power into heat. they do have their uses, but we need a different type of regulator for wii voltages (PTH for example)
They're still buck converters like the PTHs, not linear heat converting ones like the 1.8v line, but they're definitely less efficient than the PTHs. They'd probably be okay for something like driving a screen, but would still waste a bunch of power and generate loads of heat. Cheap voltage regulators like those also can't go below 1.5v, much less handle sustaining high load at low voltages like that.makes sense, I'll look into getting some while I go to trim my Wii. I'm gonna start a build log relatively soon as to what I'm gonna do
For several of the values, SMD components were my only option. I thought that it would be easier to just get all of them as SMD in that case. I also seemed to remember someone wiring theirs up with the resistors directly on the boards, but that doesn't look feasible since the voltage control pin is on the back of the board. The thing I saw must've been SMD caps on the output. I have a bunch of 100uf 25v electrolytic Nichicon caps laying around anyway, and some perfboard, plus I'm not too pressed for space, so I think it'll be fine. I'll probably just wire them together like you said.Wait, why are you using Smd Resistors? did you make a board for them? or are you just gonna wire them together?
That's the page I used to find the right resistor values when I want to order my PTHs. Thanks though!https://bitbuilt.net/forums/index.php?threads/custom-regulators-an-explanation-and-guide.754/
This is a fantastic section of this forum that helps a crap ton with regulators and such. I think it will come in handy! I'm looking at it now getting some regs
I think DiiviiDii sounds betterMy plan is to make a Wii portable in a small Toshiba portable DVD player chassis I have.
Since the original screen was 480x234, the composite input on it looked like trash, and I had to upgrade.
I ordered a new LCD yesterday. It's the same size (9") but is 800x480 instead, and has a VGA input on it, which I'm planning to use with the Wii native VGA mod.
The DVD player has a detachable 4400mah battery, which I will upgrade in the future, since it isn't very high capacity given the size of it.
I got an RVL-CPU-40 Wii off of eBay for about $15, and so far the rest of the parts (voltage regulators, LCD, 128GB Samsung USB drive, audio amp) have only been around $70. The actual DVD player was basically free, and is in great condition (though the batteries are slightly bloated, one of the other reasons why I want to replace them).
I'm planning to integrate a Gamecube controller into the body of it using 3DS sliders, and a GC+ as well as rumble functionality and WiFi for Wiimmfi WFC.
A question I have is whether there's a board I can get that will allow me to charge my 7.4v battery pack with a normal 12v source. The battery already has a BMS on it that I can probably reuse if I change the cells.
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Going all out with the Wii portable naming memes hereI think DiiviiDii sounds better![]()
We all start somewhere(Yes I know, I could've done a better job than the wire spaghetti on my board):
Not bad, but I'd put some glue or something on those potentiometers. You don't want them being bumped later and changing the output voltage. Also, kapton tape is your electrically insulating friend, pop some on the bottom of that spaghetti boardinese to protect it.Okay, so I have a huge update today.
Over the last week(ish) I'd been trying to get my old trim work, and after failing, I moved on to a second CPU-40 board.
After removing parental controls, getting my PortablizeMii install stable, and doing the U10 relocation, I was ready to trim the 2nd board.
I left the AV connector on for a bit to do some testing of the newly trimmed board, and everything was going perfectly, I was getting the postloader no USB error (which was to be expected, since I hadn't connected it yet).
Then I decided to trim off the AV connector... Everything went downhill for a while after that. I was having tons of issues with the board crashing and not booting, and it just kept getting worse and worse. I eventually discovered that it seemed like a mechanical problem with the solder joints on the CPU and GPU, since flexing the board upwards a tiny bit would make it display priiloader (postloader got corrupted due to all the powercycling). If I got lucky enough that the board would boot on it's own, when I bumped it at all it would immediately crash.
At this point there wasn't much going for my second board, so I decided to try reflowing the GPU, CPU, and RAM to see if that would fix the issues with mechanical instability. After wrapping the parts of the board around the CPU, GPU and RAM in aluminum foil to protect other components from heat damage, I slowly raised the temperature of the board over about three minutes with my heat gun and let it sit for about 45 minutes.
Surprisingly, that fixed literally every issue I was having with it, and after reinstalling postloader from my USB drive, it booted into PortablizeMii (I'd already wired up USB and Bluetooth), and I was able to load games I had on my drive. To fix issues with USB instability, I decided to get rid of my two tightly wrapped magnet wires, and instead replace them with a shielded wire from a laptop LVDS connector that had two tiny wires inside. This fixed all of my issues with neek2o not loading games reliably. I checked to make sure that the board was mechanically stable by pushing on the chips, and it seems to be completely fine now. I haven't had it crash once since reflowing.
In other news, I got the shipment of parts from mouser and made a board for my PTHs on perfboard that seems to be working really well. I also got my 64GB Samsung USB 3.0 drive in the mail, which I've been using for all of my testing. I'm still waiting on my GC+ boards from OSHpark.
Here's some spicy pictures of the trim working and the PTH board (Yes I know, I could've done a better job than the wire spaghetti on my board):
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P.S. No "normal" glue has been used in this project so far.
Yeah, I'm planning on gluing the potentiometers, I just wanted to make sure the voltages were okay before doing that. That's a good idea with the kapton tape, I have some laying around, but I didn't think to use it for that. I was considering hot glue, but that's a pain in the butt to remove.Not bad, but I'd put some glue or something on those potentiometers. You don't want them being bumped later and changing the output voltage. Also, kapton tape is your electrically insulating friend, pop some on the bottom of that spaghetti boardinese to protect it.
Thanks! I definitely want to redo the wiring on it sometime, but it seems to be working great for now. I have to agree that the top of it looks ridiculously cleanI really like how you did that power regulator board! the top looks amazing! I may have to employ that tactic soon on my own build. Its actually quite impressive that you were able to reflow the solder onto he cpu/gpu. I commend thee
exactly true, i made powermii lite by myself, but it was overheating very quickly, can not touch even though the output voltage is stableYeah they will come out to the same price about, but I finally got a Hot air, and OhmiGosh It's a godsent. Definately worth the price.
here's the thing, they could work, but wii uses over 500ma tho, and then you also have your screen, controller, and everything else to power. you can try it, no one is stopping you, we are just warning you that it probably won't, and it's not a reliable material to use for regulation. In my experience, they consume too much, overheat in less than a minute to the point where it burns to touch. It'd be safer to buy (sadly more expensive ) reliable, and trusted regulators. (sorry if I sound mean)