Worklog Portable in Wii U gamepad

[Smalstro]

Hello, I've been slowly chipping away at this project since May but now I think I've gotten enough done to start this worklog.

This project initially started because I found my old Wii U gamepad broken with the battery all blown up, so I thought it was a good excuse to make my first portable.

So far I've gotten a trim (actually three trims, its a long story) to boot and I have all the parts I need to finish the project. First I disassembled my old Wii U gamepad and gutted it, trying to make as much room on the inside. It took a lot of trial and error to get enough plastic removed to fit all the components in, and I still want to remove more to get better airflow. The Gamepad is deceptively thin, with most of the space in it going to the grips and the screen, so I've had to stack some boards to fit everything and its all pretty snug. Maybe too snug but we'll see when I test the thermals.

Right now I'm waiting on a new driver board for the screen and some heatsinks to arrive. I broke the last board by removing all the ports from it with a pair of pliers - I know it was dumb. Hopefully with the new orientation I have the internals in, the new one will fit without having to be stripped down.

Once the screen is operational again, hopefully connecting all the 4LayerTech boards goes smoothly. Obviously it temporary but here's the best layout I've gotten so far, I hope yall enjoy how this turns out.

 

[Stitches]

Looking good!

 

[Smalstro]

Bad news, not sure how but somewhere between hooking up the new screen driver board (which worked thank goodness) and wiring up usb I killed the pms :’(

I’ll bit the bullet and get a new one, but if anyone sees the problem and it’s salvageable let me know id appreciate it

 

[cy]

Bad news, not sure how but somewhere between hooking up the new screen driver board (which worked thank goodness) and wiring up usb I killed the pms :’(

I’ll bit the bullet and get a new one, but if anyone sees the problem and it’s salvageable let me know id appreciate it

Did you disconnect the batteries from the PMS before doing any soldering? If you haven't been, then you need to! It's incredibly easy to accidentally short something while you're soldering, routing wire, or doing any real work on these kinds of projects. Shorting something with the batteries disconnected is fine, but the moment you short something while the are batteries connected, you're in trouble.

 

[Smalstro]

Did you disconnect the batteries from the PMS before doing any soldering? If you haven't been, then you need to! It's incredibly easy to accidentally short something while you're soldering, routing wire, or doing any real work on these kinds of projects. Shorting something with the batteries disconnected is fine, but the moment you short something while the are batteries connected, you're in trouble.

Yes I did, or at least I know too. I must have not have at some point when testing usb.

 

[cy]

Ah alright. Did you take voltage readings across all the voltage rails? Do you have any idea when it stopped working or why?

 

[Smalstro]

Been a minute, but I’ve finally stepped back into the ring. I’ve landed on a mostly final layout and have hooked up data with the PMS PD 3, as well as adding ventilation on the back. Now all that’s left is to add some screw posts, wire up the controls, and wait for the screen to arrive.

 

[Smalstro]

Okay it’s been a bit. Here’s the progress so far.

The screen came in today, so I hooked it up and screwed it into the case. I also connected the SCW and SDW lines so I could see the battery and temp. I’m so close to finally finishing up this project, hopefully it’s the first of many. All that’s left is the audio and maybe some better ventilation. I have a vent cut out right beneath the cpu and gpu heatsink that the fan blows through, but even then after only a minute of gameplay it heats up to 50c. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[MRKane]

The Wii U gamepad is great for stuffing things inside! I've done everything from a PS2 to a Raspberry Pi, and even a Pi Zero - it fits the 6.5" HDMI screen with a tiny amount of trimming, and usually has enough room to do everything you want, but a 3D printer may help you out. Good luck and I'm dead keen to see what you make!

 

[Smalstro]

I’ve fixed the temperature issue by using a larger heatsink with noctua thermal paste instead of the “conductive tape” that came with the old one.

 

[djsedaw]

I’ve fixed the temperature issue by using a larger heatsink with noctua thermal paste instead of the “conductive tape” that came with the old one.

You can get a larger back shell, I have one to put a mini pc in a Wii u gamepad, little chunky but a lot more room

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006009805826.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.main.1.693f3YVh3YVh5k&algo_pvid=010f0d0c-fd1f-4f28-9202-9265d0e0d748&algo_exp_id=010f0d0c-fd1f-4f28-9202-9265d0e0d748-0&pdp_ext_f=%7B%22order%22%3A%2212%22%2C%22eval%22%3A%221%22%2C%22fromPage%22%3A%22search%22%7D&pdp_npi=6%40dis%21GBP%2118.14%2115.14%21%21%21165.47%21138.10%21%402103956b17710688359677142eb09d%2112000035305855704%21sea%21UK%210%21ABX%211%210%21n_tag%3A-29910%3Bd%3Ac1da86f9%3Bm03_new_user%3A-29895%3BpisId%3A5000000199385858&curPageLogUid=Cmjxilujomwt&utparam-url=scene%3Asearch%7Cquery_from%3A

 

[djsedaw]

You can get a larger back shell, I have one to put a mini pc in a Wii u gamepad, little chunky but a lot more room

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006009805826.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.main.1.693f3YVh3YVh5k&algo_pvid=010f0d0c-fd1f-4f28-9202-9265d0e0d748&algo_exp_id=010f0d0c-fd1f-4f28-9202-9265d0e0d748-0&pdp_ext_f=%7B%22order%22%3A%2212%22%2C%22eval%22%3A%221%22%2C%22fromPage%22%3A%22search%22%7D&pdp_npi=6%40dis%21GBP%2118.14%2115.14%21%21%21165.47%21138.10%21%402103956b17710688359677142eb09d%2112000035305855704%21sea%21UK%210%21ABX%211%210%21n_tag%3A-29910%3Bd%3Ac1da86f9%3Bm03_new_user%3A-29895%3BpisId%3A5000000199385858&curPageLogUid=Cmjxilujomwt&utparam-url=scene%3Asearch%7Cquery_from%3A

Sorry didn't know it would come out like the above, just search for Wiiu games console shell for ps2 portable

 

[Smalstro]

Sorry didn't know it would come out like the above, just search for Wiiu games console shell for ps2 portable

Yeah initially I was considering this for a minute, but I’ve actually trimmed the inside of the case to where it all fits together. I might use this for my next one though.

 

[Smalstro]

Sooo close to being done. I’ve got the audio and controls set up. Last thing is the triggers.

 

[Smalstro]

The Portable is finished!

Well at least mostly. I think I’ll tweak a couple of things later on like the triggers and d-pad as well as putting some more games on it, but other than that it’s finished.

I have two other working trims so I’m already thinking about the next project, but it’ll be a while before I start since I want to plan more out so actual assembly takes much less time than it did on this project. Huge thanks to everyone who helped along this process and for all of the insane people who’ve made portablising even possible.

 

[Smalstro]

Now it’s done for real. I wired up VGA and cut an intake vent for the fan. I am very happy with the results. I am still having one issue and I think it might just be me being dumb. When I boot a Wii game, with GC to Wii controllers configured, it still doesn’t read the inputs. I’m on RVLoader 2.1 if that’s important.

 

[JBmodz]

Now it’s done for real. I wired up VGA and cut an intake vent for the fan. I am very happy with the results. I am still having one issue and I think it might just be me being dumb. When I boot a Wii game, with GC to Wii controllers configured, it still doesn’t read the inputs. I’m on RVLoader 2.1 if that’s important.
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Good work! Making portables from Wii U gamepads is a great way to make affordable builds, it's also great for people without access to 3d printers.