Worklog The potato of handhelds - somehow it turns on

John

.
Joined
Mar 13, 2017
Messages
41
Likes
21
Location
Near lots of cornfields
Worked on this build before going to college and I left it uncompleted. Since I have been having more time recently, I have decided to work on it again.
I do not remember the specs of the build since it has been so long. I will be updating this post until it is complete and possibly asking questions if people view the thread and are willing to answer.

Specs:
- Screen
- A case
- Some eBay batteries
- Unintentional spaghetti interior
 

John

.
Joined
Mar 13, 2017
Messages
41
Likes
21
Location
Near lots of cornfields
Update 1:

The colors on the screen are horrendous and there's a lot of fast flickering. I am guessing it is either my screen or I simply have a bad connection to the Wii's motherboard.
Also, my case is pretty ugly so I may make something better and swap everything out. I am sure you are all cringing at my excessive amount of glue, solder, and random wires. Definitely need to clean the inside up.

20210424_145322.jpg

20210424_163028.jpg

20210424_163003.jpg
 

Shank

Moderator
Staff member
.
.
Joined
Jan 31, 2016
Messages
1,286
Likes
2,723
Portables
6
This looks like an alternate timeline where we figured out how to trim the Wii back in 2011.

I don't know when you started this project, but it had to be many years ago based on the parts used. The scene has come a long way since you started this project, and there have been many advancements that make the process so much easier. My advice would be to take what you learned from this and start fresh. I think the hot glue coating, sold solder joints, and untidy wiring would be more work to clean-up than to redo. Each time you open it and make changes, things are going to come apart and make life harder. Starting fresh will save you a lot of time and headache in the long run
 

John

.
Joined
Mar 13, 2017
Messages
41
Likes
21
Location
Near lots of cornfields
This looks like an alternate timeline where we figured out how to trim the Wii back in 2011.

I don't know when you started this project, but it had to be many years ago based on the parts used. The scene has come a long way since you started this project, and there have been many advancements that make the process so much easier. My advice would be to take what you learned from this and start fresh. I think the hot glue coating, sold solder joints, and untidy wiring would be more work to clean-up than to redo. Each time you open it and make changes, things are going to come apart and make life harder. Starting fresh will save you a lot of time and headache in the long run
All I need is to fix the case, screen, and add an audio amp so I may just finish this one and swap it to a better case and make it as clean as possible. What has changed that has made the process easier? I actually have an extra Wii motherboard that just needs trimming, so I will start one that is hopefully significantly better after I finish this potato for fun.
 

John

.
Joined
Mar 13, 2017
Messages
41
Likes
21
Location
Near lots of cornfields
Now I know why the video quality was garbage, I forgot I broke this pin. Is this possible to fix? Any ideas and solutions would be great.
Also, does anyone have advice on how to keep fragile wires securely soldered? For example, my chip relocation is glued which I know is bad, but how would I keep these connections secure without glue?

Edit: I am currently cleaning up all of the random blobs of solder. I know they're pretty, but I should probably remove them.

20210428_125354.jpg

20200727_183459.jpg
20210428_125049.jpg
 

jefflongo

Broke BitBuilt
Staff member
.
.
Joined
Dec 15, 2016
Messages
1,017
Likes
1,361
Location
Santa Barbara, CA
Portables
3
Now I know why the video quality was garbage, I forgot I broke this pin. Is this possible to fix? Any ideas and solutions would be great.
Also, does anyone have advice on how to keep fragile wires securely soldered? For example, my chip relocation is glued which I know is bad, but how would I keep these connections secure without glue?

Edit: I am currently cleaning up all of the random blobs of solder. I know they're pretty, but I should probably remove them.

View attachment 16963
View attachment 16964View attachment 16965
You are SOL on that pin. You broke the pin and the pad off. If it was just the pad you could fix it. Why did you (attempt to) solder directly to the pin in the first place? You could have soldered to many other easier points.

The best you can do now is to use a different video signal, like VGA or component.

As for your second question, a good solder joints should not be fragile even if it's small. You really don't need glue if it's a good joint.
 

John

.
Joined
Mar 13, 2017
Messages
41
Likes
21
Location
Near lots of cornfields
You are SOL on that pin. You broke the pin and the pad off. If it was just the pad you could fix it. Why did you (attempt to) solder directly to the pin in the first place? You could have soldered to many other easier points.

The best you can do now is to use a different video signal, like VGA or component.

As for your second question, a good solder joints should not be fragile even if it's small. You really don't need glue if it's a good joint.
Based on my previous photos I am surprised you're asking why I didn't do the logical thing here haha. When I was working on this in 2017 I believe I thought soldering directly to the chip was the only option, obviously, I was wrong.

Where can I see all of the video outputs on the board? I cannot seem to find the old all-in-one mega-thread guide with everything combined and I don't know where VGA and component are located.

Gotcha, this makes a lot of sense.
 
Last edited:

jefflongo

Broke BitBuilt
Staff member
.
.
Joined
Dec 15, 2016
Messages
1,017
Likes
1,361
Location
Santa Barbara, CA
Portables
3
Based on my previous photos I am surprised you're asking why I didn't do the logical thing here haha. When I was working on this in 2017 I believe I thought soldering directly to the chip was the only option, obviously, I was wrong.

Where can I see all of the video outputs on the board? I cannot seem to find the old all-in-one mega-thread guide with everything combined and I don't know where VGA and component are located.

Gotcha, this makes a lot of sense.

Thanks for the reply and info!

Check the Video section
 

John

.
Joined
Mar 13, 2017
Messages
41
Likes
21
Location
Near lots of cornfields
Having constant freezing with RVloader. Anytime I switch menus or boot a game it just freezes and sometimes I get an error code On the small chance a game boots, it is in black and white and freezes on the title screen. I have installed the powerboard and storage board from 4 layer.

Twisted wires very tightly with a drill. Samsung Evo formatted at fat32 with 32k clusters.

20210605_161514.jpg
20210606_150621.jpg
20210607_123857.jpg
20210607_123900.jpg
 

Gman

RTFDS
Staff member
.
.
.
.
.
Joined
Feb 25, 2016
Messages
1,435
Likes
2,873
this may sound like a stupid question but are the batteries charged? It may do unpredictable results when low battery. Measure with a volt meter all the wii voltages and report back with that. Make sure the wii voltages are wired with 22awg wire, and are as short as possible. What SD card are you using?
 

John

.
Joined
Mar 13, 2017
Messages
41
Likes
21
Location
Near lots of cornfields
this may sound like a stupid question but are the batteries charged? It may do unpredictable results when low battery. Measure with a volt meter all the wii voltages and report back with that. Make sure the wii voltages are wired with 22awg wire, and are as short as possible. What SD card are you using?
I charged it yesterday, but I will check to make sure it's actually charged. Okay, I will make sure to do that. I used 22awg for all the Wii voltages and the yellow ones are 26awg.
 

John

.
Joined
Mar 13, 2017
Messages
41
Likes
21
Location
Near lots of cornfields
this may sound like a stupid question but are the batteries charged? It may do unpredictable results when low battery. Measure with a volt meter all the wii voltages and report back with that. Make sure the wii voltages are wired with 22awg wire, and are as short as possible. What SD card are you using?
Also, just wanted to mention I was having the same problems when I wired the Wii to the PH regulators connect to an outlet and not batteries previously before getting the 4 layer boards.
 

John

.
Joined
Mar 13, 2017
Messages
41
Likes
21
Location
Near lots of cornfields
this may sound like a stupid question but are the batteries charged? It may do unpredictable results when low battery. Measure with a volt meter all the wii voltages and report back with that. Make sure the wii voltages are wired with 22awg wire, and are as short as possible. What SD card are you using?
I checked with my multi-meter and all the wii voltages are as they should be. 1.15, 1, 3.3, and 5 are all normal. Double checked my batteries as well.
 

Stitches

2 and a Half Dollarydoos
Staff member
.
.
Joined
Feb 5, 2017
Messages
3,773
Likes
2,982
Location
Banana Bender Land, Australia
Portables
6
Might have to trim another Wii
 
Top