Worklog Wii Slim

Joined
Oct 25, 2020
Messages
9
Likes
3
Hello all, I have been browsing these forums for a weeks now. You have all really put a lot work and research into documenting how to do this and some of the finished projects are amazing.


I think a handheld portable wii is going to be outside my skill set for the time being. My goal is to slim down my wii (6 layer motherboard) by removing the disc drive, gamecube memory card slots, sensor bar port and original fan / heat sink assembly. I would also like to have it powered via usb c. I have one of these usb c boards:




It can supply a variety of different voltages if you use the correct power brick. I am wondering if I were not to trim my wii at all, could I simply remove the current power socket and solder the + & - connections from the USB c board to the Wii and then power everything with a 12v power brick? This would obviously save me having to wire custom voltage regulators.


Another option I'm considering is to also trim the Wii as per Nold's wii mini design:




And then internally mount a Wii2hdmi adapter to give me a relatively simple solution for getting video out wherever I take the Wii. If I were to do this I would need to relocate the usb ports to so they are accessible on the outside of the console. Would it be possible to de-solder the USB ports and then re-mount them on some circuit board and re-wire the connections? Or alternatively just have the USB ports OEM and then extend them with USB male to female cable (this would be easiest but I'm not sure if the Wii likes this type of connection).

Finally, I know this has probably been asked many times but could anyone recommend as a usb thumb drive that is compatible with BBloader? The recommended Kingston micro sd adapter isn't available to buy anywhere in the UK that I can see.


If anyone has any other advice for me that they think will be useful or links to any build logs that you think would be relevant that would really helpful too.

Many thanks,

Jay
 

Attachments

A_s6

.
Joined
Apr 15, 2020
Messages
152
Likes
104
Location
jack frost sanctuary
Portables
i don’t give a hee ho
the usb ports can be relocated as long as the data and power lines are connected to their old locations on the motherboard. the data lines should be twisted together tightly to avoid interference. as for your usb c power solution, it should work if you remove the stock power jack and rewire the ground and voltage in. the video out jack can also be desoldered and you can manually wire the circuit from the wii2hdmi to the wii motherboard. make sure to check out the wii trimming guide and the 6 layer expansion for more information on relocations, wiring, etc.

EDIT: if it's an option for you, the kingston microsd to usb adapter is on the bb store
 
Joined
Jun 3, 2019
Messages
142
Likes
118
If you want to build a noldendo you won't need to relocate the USB port as they are availlable.
The easier way to fit the wii2hdmi would be to use a smaller cooling solution and put the wii2hdmi board on top.
You could also remove the original port and put the wii2hdmi in place, but I guess it will be quite long.

The 12 volts pd looks fine to me. If you want to do the wii micro, the easier thing would be to buy the rvl psu, and you could take a kingston adapter too on the store.

I have a 128Gb sandisk cruzer blade that work quite well for the wii, but I only tried one of those so I don't know if it will be ok for every one of them.
 
Joined
Oct 25, 2020
Messages
9
Likes
3
That's great, thanks for the replies.

I think based on that then, the easiest solution for what I want to achieve will be to not trim the board at all, de-solder the current video out port and then re wire the connections to the Wii2hdmi adaptor relocated to a sensible place near the outside of the console. That way I could also utilise all the existing mounting points and openings in the original shell, and then trim down the original shell to better suit the thinner design.

I will probably keep this post up to date as a work log as I goes through the various steps in the process.

Cheers guys.
 
Joined
Jun 3, 2019
Messages
142
Likes
118
I saw someone adding a wii2hdmi without taking out the original port, I guess there is enough space in the wii shell.
 
Joined
Oct 25, 2020
Messages
9
Likes
3
I want to get better at de-soldering components anyway as I have a few other projects I want to do (not console related) so this is just kind of something fun for me to practice with.

I have a spare wii as well as a replacement motherboard so there's not too much risk if I mess it up.
 

Stitches

2 and a Half Dollarydoos
Staff member
.
.
Joined
Feb 5, 2017
Messages
3,773
Likes
2,981
Location
Banana Bender Land, Australia
Portables
6
If the USB-C supply you use can output enough 12v, technically this is possible
 
Joined
Oct 25, 2020
Messages
9
Likes
3
If the USB-C supply you use can output enough 12v, technically this is possible
Yeah I think something like this would work:


Am I right in saying a stock Wii requires 15.75W of power at 12v?

Alternatively there are these bigger power bricks designed for laptops that would definitely be able to supply enough power, but it's obviously a bit more bulky to carry around:


Edit:

I'm following this schematic for the connection pins on the wii's a/v port:


Would I need to re-wire new connections for all 16 pins, or only the ones that are relevant for the connection that I want?

Also, where the a/v port connects to the motherboard, there are 18 pins total (2 are for the sensor bar port). Does anyone know how the connections points are related to pins on the port as they are numbered on the above?
 
Last edited:
Joined
Jun 3, 2019
Messages
142
Likes
118
You can look on the wii trimming guide, there are legend for the connexions. In the wii miicro guide it is said that you need the 12v for the wii2hdmi, so I guess that you would at least need composite ground and 12V.
 
Joined
Oct 25, 2020
Messages
9
Likes
3
The diagram is the trimming guide was perfect! Thank you. I'm just waiting on another wii2hdmi adapter and the USB c charger being delivered and then I will begin trying to put this together.

Doesn't look like it's going to be too difficult at the moment. Modding the case will probably be the most time consuming part.
 
Joined
Jun 3, 2019
Messages
142
Likes
118
I do not think it is really worth trying to mod the case more than adding the usb C/Hdmi port, especially since the thickness of the case is limited by the size of the heatsink.
Design a 3d printed design would be easier.
But it is up to you.
 
Joined
Oct 25, 2020
Messages
9
Likes
3
Yeah I would agree that is more logical to do that but I don't have any way to print test prints to make sure the fitment is correct.

I was planning to buy an aftermarket heat sink (like the one in the store) assuming that new power supply and hdmi work. So then the overall height of the console would roughly flush with the top of the gamecube controller ports.

I will see how it goes, I do have some 3d modeling skills but not really related to product design so might be a bit of a learning curve for me.
 

Stitches

2 and a Half Dollarydoos
Staff member
.
.
Joined
Feb 5, 2017
Messages
3,773
Likes
2,981
Location
Banana Bender Land, Australia
Portables
6
These nunbers were recorded a while ago, I think by Shank.
wii current requirements.jpg

The Wii alone with no disk drive uses around 6 watts. So as long as you can reliably get at least 1A of 12v from that supply, you should be fine.
 
Joined
Oct 25, 2020
Messages
9
Likes
3
Got the USB C pd board working. This article was really helpful for explaining how to set it for the different voltages.


Had to order a different power brick to get it to work though. When I first tried to set it it was flashing blue all the time (indicating that the power brick didn't support usb power delivery). Ended up getting this one which was the cheapest I could find on amazon:


It's fairly chunky but obviously still smaller than the stock Wii power brick.

Unfortunately I damaged my wii2hdmi adapter when trying to de-solder the port on it. One of the solder pads came off (probably due to me being to aggressive with the heat). Luckily it was for the right audio channel, so I can still get video out. Will still be useful for testing which connections are required for the video signal but I'll order a new one for the final build as they are fairly cheap.

I suppose it's not absolutely necessary to de-solder the port but was wanting to do it to save space for the heat sink. I will maybe just leave the port on and re-locate where the outlet will be (originally I wanted to utilise the existing hole for the a/v port).
 

Attachments

Last edited:
Joined
Jun 3, 2019
Messages
142
Likes
118
Hi, I don't know for sure but when a pad came off, it is because you don't heat it enough and pull it before the solder is fully liquefied. So it would be a lack of heat more than to much.
You may be able to trace where the right audio channel on the board and solder a magnet wire to it.

If you are using a heatgun to desolder it you could put some aluminium foil over the plastic part if you don't want to smoke to much plastic.
Adding some fresh solder on the pad will help melting it quicker and adding some flux too.

Cutting the legs with small pliers, then desoldering them would be easier.
 
Joined
Oct 25, 2020
Messages
9
Likes
3
Thank you for the tips .

I was thinking that cutting the pins with pliers and then de-soldering would be easier so I will try that.
 
Top