The Xii-Boy Ultra (V3) - BETA Release

[Xenii]

Hi all!
I guess it's time:

After 7 long months of work, I'm finally ready to release the Xii-Boy Ultra, in its BETA revision.
This project has been a huge challenge. It was extremely hard and exhausting, but it's finally done.

I'm extremely proud of the result and really happy to announce that every goal I fixed has been achieved.
This means: The Xii-Boy Ultra is officially the world first wire-free portable.

The next generation of Wii portables starts now. Get ready!

The main goal of that Xii-Boy Ultra was to propose a new generation of Wii portables that don't require any wires.
This makes the build really simple and fast to assemble.

In fact, I actually assembled that black portable in 1 hour and half, which is truly amazing considering I didn't write any note about the assembly order.
And I assume that if you know the design by heart, assembling one can take up to 30 minutes.

I took a lot of time to design everything to be as simple as possible, and optimized every millimeter of that build to make it the most polished build I've never made.

Compared to the Xii-Boy Pocket (V2) and Original (V1), the Xii-Boy Ultra is a phenomenal update.
For this third revision, I decided to restart the design from scratch, instead of modifying the Xii-Boy Pocket shell, which is what I did with the Xii-Boy Pocket.
This allowed me to really optimized the design, and make everything as perfect as possible.

Now some comparisons!

In my opinion, the best improves are the analog triggers, the smooth Imagine Black resin shell from JLC3DP, and above all the screen.
The panel itself is the same, but RVL-DD makes it look better than ever. It was a real pleasure to just play games instead of wasting time of trying to get VGA to work with some games.

The general feeling has been upgraded. Xii-Boy Ultra now uses OEM DSi buttons and membranes, and the new Controller PCB makes the button way more reactive.
Speaking of PCBs, the Xii-Boy Ultra counts 7 customs PCBs made exclusively for that design.

I'm really proud of how they turned out. I really learned a lot of new things since the Xii-Boy Pocket, and those new PCBs are much cleaner.
And we can really feel it! The buttons are reactive, the audio is truly gorgeous, the loading times are extremely fast, and so more!

I'm also really happy of the integrated 4LayerTech boards insides. PMS2 is amazing and allows to control the fan speed automatically, RVL-AMP is great and sounds amazing.
The best board is probably the RVL-DD. I struggled a lot to make it's working, but it was just some broken solders on the connectors which make the DD glitched.
But once I made it working, I was blown away by the video quality and compatibility.

The 4LayerTech ecosystem really offers a pleasant experience, which the Xii-Boy really needed.


It's now time to speak about the FEATURES!
- OMGWTF Wii trim
- 145x86x27mm form factor
- 3.5" 480p Laminated Screen powered by RVL-DD
- Super Friction Fit technology
- 2x 18650 cells
- 7000 mAh battery capacity
- PCM Battery protection
- Between 2 and 3 hours of battery life
- Includes 7 customs PCBs
- RVL-PMS2
- RVL-AMP
- GC+ 2.0
- RVL-DD
- Brand new analog trigger system using Nintendo Switch joysticks
- Adaptative fan speed
- Updated cooling system
- Volume control over buttons
- Brightness control over buttons
- Adaptative RGB LED
- Battery percentage and temperature on screen
- Faster loading times
- Updated feeling
- Updated video quality
- Updated Audio
- Custom ABXY buttons layout
- USB-C for charging and data transfer
- Ability to plug the Xii-Boy Ultra to another Wii to play games on a big screen
- 3.5mm headphone jack port
- Imagine Black Resin shell from JLCPCB
- New Power and Sync buttons
- Bluetooth module
- WiFi module + antennas
- Over temperature protection
- Overcurrent protection
- Battery protection
- LRA Rumble Motor
- Wire-Free system
- Open sourced

Now an internal picture!

And compared to the other Xii-Boys:

Links:
- GitHub repository: Xii-Boy Ultra Repository
- Worklog: Xii-Boy Ultra Worklog

If you notice any issue with the repository or the design itself, please let me know

Special Thanks:
- @YveltalGriffin for the time taken to help me about PCB design
- @Aurelio for the enormous help on RVLoader + Trigger System
- @Bryceshaw06 for his huge work on the Xii-Boy Ultra assembly guide
- @supertazon, @SimplyStevii, @YveltalGriffin, @Bryceshaw06 for their thoughts and general help during the project.
- @supertazon and @ModdingMarius for sending me the OEM DS Lite buttons
- @CrazyGadget for the advices and thoughts about the resin and nylon shells
- @thedrew for the hall effect sticks help
- @Wesk for his help about the Trigger System
- Everyone else for the precious support and help!

I'm really grateful of all that help
I wanted to give up multiple times, but with the motivation you gave me, I decided to try harder and harder until it works.
Huge thanks to everyone.

So, what's next?
As I said in the worklog, I've planned selling kits through a Shopify store.
I'm just having a lot of administrative and tests to do.
I currently have good results, I'll keep everyone updated.
Hoping this will be available in the few months.

Also, I decided to take a little break from modding. I've been designing 3 whole designs from scratch in just one year, and I need to take some rest.
I'll be back soon with some new amazing projects.

Thanks a lot for everything
Have a wonderful day, and see you next time.

 

[supertazon]

Congratulations on releasing the Xii-boy Ultra!! You are setting a new reference on integration and ease of assembly

 

[loopj]

Phenomenal work Xenii!! Enjoy your break from modding can’t wait to see what you build next.

 

[JamesPi]

Amazing job Xenii! I've loved following your progress with your designs over the past year, and am always extremely impressed with your work. Enjoy your break, you've done so much for the community. Congratulations on the Ultra. Xenii, you've done it once again.

 

[Hili]

Hi, first of all I wanna say you did an amazing job on this project.
I'm about to order the PCB's and looking on the github under the "PCBs" section it says for the Xii Ultra Flex 1.12mm thickness and for the Trigger PCB 1.16mm.
I think you meant to write 0.12mm and 1.6mm. Is that correct?

 

[Xenii]

Hi Hili!
Thanks for making a XB3!
Yikes you’re right, sorry for the mistake.
It has been updated. Thanks!
I also added the materials, it makes things a little bit clearer. Thanks for have letting me know. Have a nice day!

 

[Customledmods]

This is amazing super clean! Thanks for sharing your hard work with us. Btw I might try and shove a ps2 in one of these

 

[Benge]

Dude, that's sooo clean !
Impressive work, congrats

 

[Xenii]

Hello there!
Just finished building your Xii-Boy Ultra portable? It deserves the spotlight! These stands make it shine!

I just added those Xii-Boy Ultra stands on the GitHub and on my Printables account!

Stand on the right is compatible with the XiiSBar. You can just clip it in its slot!

Links:
- Stands section of the GitHub repository: Xii-Boy Ultra Stands - GitHub
- Printables post: Xii-Boy Utlra Stands - Printables

I also added a software part in the GitHub repository to properly configure your Xii-Boy Utlra!
Take note that those files are temporary, and will be included in the next RVLoader update.
Big thanks to @Aurelio, he made and authorize me to distribute the files over the GitHub.

Have a nice day and see you next time!

 

[Hili]

Sorry to bother you again but I was ordering the PCB's from JLCPCB and they have some complaints.

First one is for the Xii Flex Ultra:

The second is for the Main PCB:

I guess for the Main PCB it's ok to reduce the hole size to 0.8mm because the pin width of these switches are 0.7mm.
But I don't know what the problem is with the Xii Flex Ultra.

 

[Xenii]

Hey!
Ohhh they started again

I didn’t have any of those issues.
For the Xii-Flex, answer them by saying
“a friend ordered one without issues” by specifying that order number: Y18-8253737A

For the Main PCB, it’s weird, I didn’t change anything. I guess you can accept the hole at 0.8mm…

It‘s really annoying that they never check the same each time.

I hope this will work. Have a nice day!

 

[Luigid]

Hey!
Ohhh they started again

I didn’t have any of those issues.
For the Xii-Flex, answer them by saying
“a friend ordered one without issues” by specifying that order number: Y18-8253737A

For the Main PCB, it’s weird, I didn’t change anything. I guess you can accept the hole at 0.8mm…

It‘s really annoying that they never check the same each time.

I hope this will work. Have a nice day!

I've already seen this scene cit

 

[katdog123465]

In the repository your missing an L I think.

All the needed parts are listed in the Xii-Boy Ultra Parts list Most of the parts come from Aliexpress, which might not be idea <--- due to the recent tarrifs modifications. If you find some parts on another website, please let me know

 

[Xenii]

In the repository your missing an L I think.

All the needed parts are listed in the Xii-Boy Ultra Parts list Most of the parts come from Aliexpress, which might not be idea <--- due to the recent tarrifs modifications. If you find some parts on another website, please let me know

Hey!
Yeah you’re right, practically everything comes from AliExpress. I‘m entirely lost with those stories of tariffs honestly, they literally change everyday… I thought they were off for 90 days though

You can find some articles in the US as well, but I don’t think you can find everything unfortunately.

I’ll let you know if I find some alternatives.

 

[Hili]

Update:
My PCB's arrived today and the buttons on the main PCB still fit even with a hole size of 0.75mm.
I still have to wait for some parts from Aliexpress though.

 

[Xenii]

Nice! I‘ll maybe update the board for that new hole diameter. Thanks
Worklog soon?

 

[Xenii]

Hi there!
@Bryceshaw06 just pointed out that the PCB BOM contains a mistake.

The quantity is wrong — you actually need 4 resistors, not just one.

For those who have already ordered components (@Hili) and can't reorder some of them, the required resistors are also present on the Wii motherboard — you can reuse them.
Here's a list:
- R36
- R57
- R59
- R24

You can find the first three resistors in this section of the Wii motherboard.
R24 is located near the Eject button on the untrimmed board.

The BOM file has been updated on GitHub. I apologize for the inconvenience, and thank you to @Bryceshaw06 for pointing out the mistake.
Have a nice day!

 

[GalaxyKoala]

Awesome work Xenii! I'd love to build one of these when I get the chance.