Question Wii Trimming

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I am in the progress of creating my first portable wii. I have the case, the wii, the controller buttons, the screen, basically everything i need, but i have a problem. When i took out the wii, it was too large to fit in the case. I am using an untrimmed wii because i have no electrical experience and no finances to buy extra wiis if i break a couple motherboards. Is there any part of the wii i can cut off without having to move and solder components to free up space?
 

Shank

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Short answer is no. The Wii circuit board is several layers, and cutting off parts of the board, even if they look blank, could sever lines. Cut lines can make the regulators throw a hissy fit and refuse to boot.
 

GingerOfOz

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Ok thanks anyway. Is there another way around my problem that u can think of?
There's no free one. You'll either need to trim or buy a different case. What case are you using?
 

Shank

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Ok thanks anyway. Is there another way around my problem that u can think of?
My recommendation is to either trim your board using the guide, and wire up custom regulators, or use a bigger case.
 

GingerOfOz

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My recommendation is to either trim your board using the guide, and wire up custom regulators, or use a bigger case.
There's no free one. You'll either need to trim or buy a different case. What case are you using?
Dang, I think our brains must be connected stronger than a ShockSlayer soldering job...
 
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I am trying to use a wii u gamepad case. How impossible would it be for me to trim my wii if i have 0 computer tech experience?
 

GingerOfOz

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I am trying to use a wii u gamepad case. How impossible would it be for me to trim my wii if i have 0 computer tech experience?
Uhhh... Did you measure before buying one? If you want a bigger case you'd probably have to go the 3D printed route, because there's no way you can modify a gamepad case to fit an untrimmed Wii.

With the trimming with no tech experience, it just depends. I've tried one trim and it failed, so I just bought one. I feel like if I tried again I could probably do it. I had almost zero tech experience before finding BitBiult.
 

Shank

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I am trying to use a wii u gamepad case. How impossible would it be for me to trim my wii if i have 0 computer tech experience?
I say this a lot, but before I set out to make a Wii portable, I knew less than you do right now. I didn't know how to solder. If you have a meter and an iron, I say at least give it a shot. Just follow the guides very, very carefully so you don't solder something wrong, like composite to 12v.

You aren't going to be able to fit a Wii in a Wii U gamepad without trimming it. If you could, I never would have set out on my great adventure to figure out how to trim the Wii.
 
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I have read the guide thoroughly and doubt my ability to complete the trim. I havent soldered much either. Hey shank, how many wiis have u broken trying to do the trim? Just wondering because i sound exactlt like what u just listed. Also if i installed the wifi ios, is there any way to switch to the no wifi ios?
 

Shank

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I have read the guide thoroughly and doubt my ability to complete the trim. I havent soldered much either. Hey shank, how many wiis have u broken trying to do the trim?
That is a tough question. A great number of wii's died before the guide was made in the process of wiisearch and development before the days of the compendium and the trimming guide. To find some eggs, you gotta break some omelets. Now that it is fully documented, I do not destroy wii's unless i am trying something experimental and difficult or do something really stupid.
 

cheese

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Also if i installed the wifi ios, is there any way to switch to the no wifi ios?
If you install the wifi IOSes, you will need a wifi module wired properly for the wii to boot. Without nowifi, the wii will sit on a black screen unless wifi is connected.
 
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Thanks Stiches, i looked at polycase and found a case. And i also would still like to have wifi if all possible so i can play games like mw3 online.
 
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So, i have still decided against the trim, but i want to get rid of the components like the gamecube memory slot, power, etc. What would be the best way to take off these components?
 

Shank

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Hot air would be the easiest. If you don't have a heat gun or a hot air station I highly recommend getting one.
Otherwise, you can go at it with flush cutters and try to cut it up as much as possible so you can desolder the pins and emi shield individually.
 

jefflongo

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So if i heat it up enough, the component would just come off?
The idea is with hot air that the solder will become liquid for every pin at once so you can just pull it out during that time.

If you don't have access to hot air and don't wish to buy one a much more difficult but a method that still works is to desolder each pin as much as possible with a desoldering wick then pry the connector off with pliers, when it comes off desolder each pin individually.
 
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