Question Calling all noobs (noob question thread)

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Any tips or suggestions or techniques when relocating the Bluetooth module? Using my exacto knife isn't as accurate as I'd like.
 
Chaos said:
Any tips or suggestions or techniques when relocating the Bluetooth module? Using my exacto knife isn't as accurate as I'd like.
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I actually used a box cutter to scratch the traces on my board (and it worked :P). Just scratch one and then offset where you scratch the other so that they don't short on each other. Other than that, the 6 layers are easier because they don't require you to scratch traces (since they have a via for the bluetooth right by the GPU).

Any other suggestions may help more though :P
 
If you plan to be doing a lot of work on a Wii or other circuit board stuff, invest in a lighted magnifying glass. I use one of those, plus a fresh X-acto tip. Beyond that, 38 gauge wire matches the trace size(34 matches vias) and with some liquid flux you can get two wires side by side with a little practice. The nice thing is that you can start at the edge of the board and work your way towards the CPU.
 
holy shit I got my third wii to boot!!! it is such a great feeling to finally get this shit working.

Interesting enough my other 2 wiis were 6 layers and did not power on. However my last wii was a 4 layer and booted up fine. Maybe the PTHs don't output enough current for the 6 layer?
 
Did you have output caps?
 
I talked to Aurelio about this and the purpose is to reduce voltage ripple correct? So I just soldered one on to a regulator but didn't seem find much of a difference.

"many users often skip the output capacitor, as most of our applications don't require them,"
- Regulator Guide.
 
pineapples said:
I talked to Aurelio about this and the purpose is to reduce voltage ripple correct? So I just soldered one on to a regulator but didn't seem find much of a difference.
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Yeah, that is the purpose. You may not see a difference, because you don't have the tools to see the difference. When the wii turns on it pulls a bunch of current, and if that current draw causes the voltage to drop too fast it will most certainly not work right.

pineapples said:
are wiis that picky?
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You do know that the capacitor on the output is in the documentation for the regulator as REQUIRED right? If you pull anywhere close to the max output current it will most certainly drop to less than a volt.
 
pineapples said:
I talked to Aurelio about this and the purpose is to reduce voltage ripple correct? So I just soldered one on to a regulator but didn't seem find much of a difference.

"many users often skip the output capacitor, as most of our applications don't require them,"
- Regulator Guide.
Click to expand...

ShockSlayer said:
most
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cheese said:
Yeah, that is the purpose. You may not see a difference, because you don't have the tools to see the difference. When the wii turns on it pulls a bunch of current, and if that current draw causes the voltage to drop too fast it will most certainly not work right.


You do know that the capacitor on the output is in the documentation for the regulator as REQUIRED right? If you pull anywhere close to the max output current it will most certainly drop to less than a volt.
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Thanks for correcting my misinformed stupidity. :!: I'll solder on the caps for the output and see if that helps for the previous 6 layer wiis.

Thanks again so much for your help Cheese and Shockslayer!
 
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Bill Paxton said:
This might be a dumb question, but has anyone made, or is anyone currently working on making a custom circuit board with one of these chips http://www.digikey.com/en/articles/...a-single-synchronous-buck-converter-is-simple with the appropriate external components to output at exactly what the Wii needs? In theory this could be a smaller, nicer, more efficient, and easier. And if designed in such a way, it could sit atop the Wii's motherboard soldered directly to it, minimizing any actual wires.
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No one that I know of has been designing that sort of circuit. It isn't too difficult, though using that configuration requires a transformer with custom windings, generally. There're other chips that'd work a bit better, tbh. I was going to design a circuit for 5, 3v3, and 1v2 at work before long for a product we have, I can tell y'all how it works, and if it works well I may lay out a PCB for it.


pineapples said:
I talked to Aurelio about this and the purpose is to reduce voltage ripple correct? So I just soldered one on to a regulator but didn't seem find much of a difference.

"many users often skip the output capacitor, as most of our applications don't require them,"
- Regulator Guide.
Click to expand...

In general output capacitors are used to reduce output ripple. It can be a serious issue in voltage regulators, and if there's no capacitors it can cause many issues on digital and analog circuitry by the noise that will be introduced by the fact the regulator is a switch-mode reg.
 
cheese said:
No problem :P

For future reference, high amp draw applications need output caps, low amp ones don't.
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Oya. I forgot to mention about the fact caps are also used to help make a power supply a bit more stiff. It's pretty common to have a bulk capacitance over anything with a high startup current. Similarly a lot of devices that require a sudden large current often integrate some sort of capacitive soft-start circuitry to ...soften the startup current.
 
Well. First post here/new to the console modding scene in general, so I definitely classify as a noob.

1) HDMI on the WII, I noticed that there is a chip for the gamecube called gc video. I noticed another thread on this forum where this same chip was wired up to a N64. I was wondering if there has been documentation for usage of that on the wii yet. I saw a video claiming to implement it here (). If there is not, what is the best solution to achieving HDMI output?

2) Wii2HDMI adapters. I have seen a ton of different versions. I was unable to find any real information on how they work. Do they use the video signal from the composite or component ports? Either way it is an analog signal, but I still find it interesting.

3) I have seen 2 variations of the AV chip. One on a black wii and another on an older white one. Googling for the names, I didnt find any datasheets (chinese chips >.< ...). I did see this thread tho (http://www.gc-forever.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1086). It seems to identify some of the pins, it is an old thread and wondering if there is more information.
 
Marchioly said:
1) HDMI on the WII, I noticed that there is a chip for the gamecube called gc video. I noticed another thread on this forum where this same chip was wired up to a N64. I was wondering if there has been documentation for usage of that on the wii yet. I saw a video claiming to implement it here (). If there is not, what is the best solution to achieving HDMI output?
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GC Video is hands down THE BEST video output for gamecube and wii. It grabs raw video data from the GPU, and processes and outputs a signal superior to the onboard video encoder. It can be used on the wii, but nobody sells a "ready to install" HDMI GC Video board with software that is compatible with Wii yet.

Marchioly said:
2) Wii2HDMI adapters. I have seen a ton of different versions. I was unable to find any real information on how they work. Do they use the video signal from the composite or component ports? Either way it is an analog signal, but I still find it interesting.
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They accept a Component Video (Y/Pb/Pr) signal and convert it to HDMI. You get some quality loss and latency, like any conversion, but its better than composite. If your screen accepts Component Video, you will get a better picture using that instead of a Wii2HDMI. GC video is MUCH better than Wii2HDMI. From what I have heard, the SEWELL Brand Wii2HDMI converters are not bad.
So order of picture quality:
GC Video
Component
Wii2HDMI (Component being converted to HDMI)
S-Video
Composite

Marchioly said:
3) I have seen 2 variations of the AV chip. One on a black wii and another on an older white one. Googling for the names, I didnt find any datasheets (chinese chips >.< ...). I did see this thread tho (http://www.gc-forever.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1086). It seems to identify some of the pins, it is an old thread and wondering if there is more information.
Click to expand...

This is a myth of rumors with no evidence to back it up. Nobody has ever tested or observed a difference. There are 2 video chips on the wii: AVE RVL and AVE RVL A. They appear randomly throughout all wiis. Any revision, new or old could have either chip. The AVE RVL is a custom chip made by nintendo, so you wont find datasheets.
 
What do you think is the smallest gauge wire you can use for wiring a controller back together? I've got some 28 awg magnet wire I'm wanting to use. I imagine it would work, but figured I'd ask before making a mess of another controller :P
 
I used 34 gauge to wire up an entire GC+ with no problems. I'm certain it'd be fine with a stock GC controller as well.
 
How can I solder power directly to the Wii? That away I can make it turn on as soon as it receives power, and can turn it on and off with a battery.
 
@Fiskers1208 and @Mumble, Im not sure what exactly the questions are, but I feel like you two have a similar question.
When wiring the wii up like in the trimming guides, it will turn on and boot as soon as it receives power to the 1.15v, 1.1v and 3.3v lines. The easiest way to do this is to have a power switch right before the regulators.
 
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