Worklog Wii motherboard interface PCB / WII Portable (still unnamed)

[ruumoo]

The Goal of this project is to create a custom PCB that holds all the neccesary comopnents, you need for a wii portable, as well as having a large cutout in the center to place a trimmed motherboard and have convenient solderpads in the right place to connect to the mobo via some hookup wires.
The rest of the board should hold the sensor bar, the bt-chip and mx-chip, voltage regulation and charging circuitry, sound amplification and control, audio, video and controller jacks and for a true handheld experience even buttons and the analog sticks, aswell as a uC to emulate the gamecube controller.

 

[ruumoo]

The first step was to sketch out all the connections I need to connect to the mobo

 

[Stitches]

I very much like this idea, +luck.

 

[ruumoo]

I created the footprint for themotherboard, as well as that, I layed out the stereo amplifier, based on 2 lm386 ic's.
This is just a test PCB where I put the amplifier circuit and the motherboard.

 

[ThePuffpuff30]

Extremely excited already for the final product. This is gonna be great for newer portable makers and idiots like me!

 

[ruumoo]

Extremely excited already for the final product. This is gonna be great for newer portable makers and idiots like me!

Glad to see some interest in my project
But I'm not sure, I will release it in the end.
I see two problems:
1. Part Selection: I'm choosing parts, that are currently availiable to me and mamy of them are probably not standard sizes/footprints, so if someone elese would try to put one of their own ones together, they might not be able to get half the parts

2. I feel like offering a one stop, easy to do solution goes against the spirit of this awesome comunity. This place would be dead, if everyone would build the same portable.

Maybe I will release a project starting "package", that provides you with all the important information, I'm gathering during the design process aswell as a base PCB design, so anyone can start to design their own pcb around it.

 

[seerofvoid420]

If I were you, I'd start with the voltage regulators, and work from there. Those are the most important part. Definitely a cool idea though, looking forward to it!

 

[cheese]

I appreciate the amount of thought going into this project, looks like it's gonna be neat! If you release an incomplete package, I'd suggest you note that it isn't complete. May also want to include some wiggle room in the cutout for the board, since it's not the easiest to get a perfect trim that doesn't have small imperfections outside the standard profile.

 

[ruumoo]

I appreciate the amount of thought going into this project, looks like it's gonna be neat! If you release an incomplete package, I'd suggest you note that it isn't complete. May also want to include some wiggle room in the cutout for the board, since it's not the easiest to get a perfect trim that doesn't have small imperfections outside the standard profile.

I would probably release the eagle files, witch are ready to start designing around the console. For example I would include a section containing pth08080 regulators you could use or delete, if you want to use something else.
As for wiggle room, i left the cutout a little bigger, but I also pulled back the copper ground plane around the cutout, so you can sand the cutout larger if needed, without the risk of shorting out anything.

 

[ruumoo]

If I were you, I'd start with the voltage regulators, and work from there. Those are the most important part. Definitely a cool idea though, looking forward to it!

I'm subdividing the project into functional blocks. So far i have created the motherboard interface, the audio amplification and voltage regulation (using pth08080's). Next I will do the controller emulation part based on a pic18 microcontroller

 

[Fruity_Grebbles]

I bring this up any time modular "drop-in" boards are mentioned, but no one has yet to incorporate it.

Pogo pins! Solder points are great for edge connections, but what about connections in the center of the board? If the goal is to completely remove messy/difficult/any wiring, pogo pins could be just the thing.

 

[ruumoo]

I bring this up any time modular "drop-in" boards are mentioned, but no one has yet to incorporate it.

Pogo pins! Solder points are great for edge connections, but what about connections in the center of the board? If the goal is to completely remove messy/difficult/any wiring, pogo pins could be just the thing.

Yes, I have also thought about that.
1. the goal of this project is mainly to remove all the cable clutter, by giving you fixed points, where you can solder a nice straight wire to and to replace the wire mess with a nice pcb. It's not the goal to create a board, where you "plugin the console and be done.
2. pogopins are a neat idea, but simply won't work in this case. Many of the wires have to be soldered to microvias, which would be impossible to accuratly connect to. Also mounting a sufficient heatsink on the cpu and gpu would make it very difficult. You simply need a solid, rigid, accurate connection which pogo pins don't give

 

[Fruity_Grebbles]

...simply need a solid, rigid, accurate connection which pogo pins don't give

They do make some damn pointy (read: precise) pins. I do understand the limitations of mounting accuracy, however. Maybe a stacked-board solution would be appropriate to make them a bit more rigid? I understand it's not the direction you want to take though; just food for thought.

 

[ruumoo]

Update:
I'm slowly creating all the libraries in eagle for all the parts.
When I finish a library, I put it in the design directy and wire it up in the schematics and put all the components in functional groups in the board view to keep a good overview.
I have thought about making this project using multiple layers of pcb to save some planar space and use the thickness of the console, which i will have to add for better ergonomics (I don't want to end up with flat, tiny controles like the Switch).

I know the Amp schematics are messy, I will clean them up in the future

 

[ruumoo]

Coming along nicely

 

[Shank]

For a handheld, just having 2 IR leds is enough, just one on each side. You shouldn't need that many

 

[ruumoo]

For a handheld, just having 2 IR leds is enough, just one on each side. You shouldn't need that many

Oh, ok! Is the type of led important or does any IR led do the job?

 

[Shank]

I've read that 940nm is more effective than 850, but I have yet to test it myself, so don't take that as absolute fact.

 

[Aurelio]

I've read that 940nm is more effective than 850, but I have yet to test it myself, so don't take that as absolute fact.

That's the wavelength the wiimote camera works at, which means that its absorption peak is at 940nm

 

[ruumoo]

That's the wavelength the wiimote camera works at, which means that its absorption peak is at 940nm

You sure do know everything. After thinking about it, I would put the leds closer together, ratjer then far apart. Does that make sense?