Worklog g-wii build

[The_Smeags]

Just make sure to cut the trace specified in the guide before trying to power on the untrimmed wii!

Have that noted down, I was thinking of just lifting the input leg and hot gluing it in place, but I might just stick to cutting

 

[The_Smeags]

So I took the wii apart this morning and verified that it runs without wifi. Taking this attempt slower than the last time, looks like the vias on the back are exposed, I think I'm not gonna order the hot air gun anymore instead just be careful with the relocation. I should have some results to add to this post later today.

EDIT: went thru with it, did the u10 relocation and the board still runs! So I guess now I'm gonna have to prep the board and trim it so I can test the voltage regulators and finish my case to start assembling it.

 

[The_Smeags]

So everything went well with my wii today, I did the u10 relocation, trimmed my board and tested the powermii lite board, it all worked, but after I tried wiring usb to it and that's when things got bad.. so now I disconnected my av and noticed that video was shorted to ground. Any advice on fixing that? I dont get the no file error now.

 

[jefflongo]

Is the video actually shorted to ground? 50-100 ohms is not unusual. Otherwise check components on along the trace from the trimming guide.

 

[The_Smeags]

Is the video actually shorted to ground? 50-100 ohms is not unusual. Otherwise check components on along the trace from the trimming guide.

Ok I did get 75.5 ohms on the composite line, i never technically checked before hand, but I guess I get continuity on every capacitor except for one to ground. And I haven't done anything to my board except rewire the usb. I'll be on discord in like an hour or two.

 

[jefflongo]

Just remember, continuity doesn't always mean dead short. Check resistance with your multimeter.

 

[The_Smeags]

Just remember, continuity doesn't always mean dead short. Check resistance with your multimeter.

Gman told me on discord that I shouldn't worry about the video port and capacitors, so I'll be sanding my board and checking u10
I still dont have the board as small as I need it for the case anyway.
EDIT: talked to a few people on discord today, came to the conclusion that my usb is dead. About the board not giving a video signal. I wasnt sure what happened, but the place I had ground wired to didn't make connection, relocated it to a via closer to the capacitor I grabbed video from and the picture came back. I will be posting more when I get more info on the usb issue I'm having problems with.

 

[The_Smeags]

so I had a small chat with wesk over on discord, told him two of my usbs stopped working after I hooked it up to the port to test. Heres a couple pics of my setup, I cant get a solid reading on the output line, my multimeter goes wild and constantly goes within 5-8v
Tomorrow I'll be sure to detach the port and see if I get 5v out of it. I think it's the port that's messed up. I might have another USB port that I can use.
I'd like any suggestions if anyone has any.

 

[The_Smeags]

View attachment 11198 So after all of the troubleshooting that I did over the past week (thanks to the bit built staff over on discord)
I finally got my problem with the usb port fixed! Tonight I'll be working on my case more so I can hopefully start assembling the buttons on the front half, then I can order a screen, I have a v1 gc+ pcb I can use, but I think I'll use an official controller? I wanted to save the gc+ for the project after this one. Also, I'll order the batteries last, with that maybe a pms board, after dealing with the pth regs I have right now I dont think I want to rely on using these for this console because of the hassle. Gonna update once the case gets more progress.
EDIT: the front case half is like 95% done fixing the last of the tiny imperfections and gonna do some clear coats after and I'll also probably polish it
But the back is next, working on making the edges smooth like the front, after that I'll order the screen and fix up the wiring.
I'd like to order the heatsink and fan with the battery parts, I was trying to download another Iso to test with, I renamed melees file at the time and after that it stopped working so I think I have to change it back, I didn't have luck with the other game working either.

 

[The_Smeags]

I ordered a pam8803 amp a while back and it came in today! Gonna work on the case later and see if I can get that done so I can clear coat it.
I also have my magent wires hot glued so I dont have to worry about them being ripped off by something or someone..but i used very little so it wont be a problem cleaning it off to redo all of the wiring when it comes to installing it.
Might have some trouble with this amp when it comes to wiring that up.

 

[The_Smeags]

Making progress on my case today, but I'm glad to say I ordered the last of what I need for this project. Well I'll buy the cooling kit and tacts from the store and after that I'll have everything I need
The last thing I'm sure I'll be getting in the mail will be the pcb for the batteries. I decided to go with the red board I've been seeing other people use.
Thanks to @wudopecker for the link I couldn't find it lol.
EDIT: making progress on the case

 

[The_Smeags]

Case will be ready for clear coats today, been having trouble getting the best results. I figured I'd do 2 or three coats of clear, give it a light sanding with 1500/2000 grits in between.

EDIT: for the next week or two I'll be getting the rest of the parts to start the assembly. Taking this time to get the last of the case done. The extra time will be worth it for sure. (Accidentally messed up my order with the speakers so I ordered the second one for it lol

 

[The_Smeags]

I redid the wiring for av out, usb, power and my regulators, I had them wired individually to the board, but now their inputs and grounds are connected having less wires so I'm happy with that, I also connected the v/h syncs to the ave chip, they're just the wires I'm currently still using composite to test the board I haven't. Installed the patches yet, but I have to hook up the bluetooth first, I've asked for help on this a couple times, but I still don't understand it, so I will have to connect the sensor bar, but I dont know how that works. I dont plan on using it for this build, but I need to change the setting to 480p. If someone has an extra mx chip I need one
One of the corners of the chip was cut off so I wasn't sure if it still worked..
EDIT: I'm supposed to be getting the 5" screen and cooling kit tomorrow, I'm going to wait to install it until I get my arctic silver paste.
I might just stick with the pth regs since I cleaned up the wiring for them, I'm also thinking about wiring up the mx chip and bluetooth tomorrow so that way I can do the patches mod right after.

 

[The_Smeags]

So I finally got more parts today, like the screen which runs really well
I had trouble installing the vga patches, but I was able to get help for that...so yea once I start gluing things in I'll be making good progress on this.

 

[スープ]

its coming along nicely!

 

[The_Smeags]

its coming along nicely!

Thanks, I'm gonna have to wrap the case work up so I can start putting it together, the wires are gonna have to be redone again, but that's ok.

 

[The_Smeags]

I have to fix up the wires for the regulators, but I used a new pth regulator to fix the 5v issue that I ran into again
So everything works, but I'm gonna be waiting for the uamp that I just ordered, after that I can start installing the boards in and get some better progress in.

 

[The_Smeags]

Finally got the charging pcb. I'm going to wire this up to my batteries after I fix the recently wired new pth regulator. After that I'll be ready to start the assembly. I asked on discord about using an led for this and was told you could use 2 for charging and completed charge, I'm assuming the R and G marks mean green and red so wire two leds to those and ground the other legs?

 

[jefflongo]

As it's indicated on the PCB (by the 3 holes near the LEDs on board), the LEDs are connected in a common cathode configuration. There is also already current limiting LEDs on the PCB, although in my experience I would add more resistance as without them LEDs will be quite bright. So basically, connect the anodes to the two outside holes, and connect the cathodes to each other and to the center hole.

 

[The_Smeags]

As it's indicated on the PCB (by the 3 holes near the LEDs on board), the LEDs are connected in a common cathode configuration. There is also already current limiting LEDs on the PCB, although in my experience I would add more resistance as without them LEDs will be quite bright. So basically, connect the anodes to the two outside holes, and connect the cathodes to each other and to the center hole.

So like I can use 2 3.3v leds and use a couple low value resistors? I wouldn't be sure how low to drop them