Worklog The 8 years later build

[Green_Saint]

Welcome, this is my latest attempt at making a portable. It's been 8 years since my last go, and 9 years from my first attempt:

https://bitbuilt.net/forums/threads/yet-another-wii-portable-green_saints-portable.658/ (this was such a lousy attempt, I am so sorry Gman)​	https://bitbuilt.net/forums/threads/unnamed-wii-portable-2nd-attempt.1825/​

Over this time, I've still always wanted to make a portable. So, let's give this one final shot...
A quick note: this isn't meant to be a sort of monumental portable; I just wanted to make a nice log of how my build is going for fun .

With this build I'd like to have a few features:

• Bluetooth.
• Very long battery life.
• Potentially have external video output.
• Potentially adding a built in sensor bar if all the above is added. (Similarly to the Wii U Gamepad)

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26/12/25 - Start​

Began with my setup for the Wii being used in this portable. First issue I ran into was a fuzzy output using the AV cable after installing RVLoader with VGA patches enabled (forgot to take a picture of this, so here is a spoiler for the end):

This issue doesn't occur when choosing not to use the VGA patches; however once you enable them, re-running the installer to disable them will not work.

I couldn't find much information for this online aside from one post by another user with no response... I was unsure if this was due to a mistake on my part or some sort of bug. As I am in the UK, using a PAL Wii, I get the feeling that this is some kind of issue related to refresh rate perhaps.

If you do not plan on using the VGA patches, but you have this issue, I managed to fix it by restoring my Wii's NAND (that I had created right after homebrewing). This fixed the issue; however as I am using VGA currently for the build, I had to re-enable them.

I also ran a quick test to make sure the VGA was not also broken. Whilst I got the colours mixed up, the image itself looks good.

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Now that I've confirmed everything is set up and working, it's time for the part of the build I wasn't looking forward to... Board trimming time.

As you may have seen from my two previous attempts, I have never been a fan of trimming; whether it be due to having to use the Dremel or refining the board after the trim. I just sucked at doing this.

This time I wanted to try my best, and after an eternity of sanding, I ended up with a nice smooth board (ignore the wiring).

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With the board finished, I took a few measurements of the resistance of the board voltage lines.

One of the issues I had was not realising that there was an internal threshold for continuity, commonly being around 50Ohms. I thought for a while that my 1.15V and 1.18V were both shorted to ground; however it turned out that this was just the resistance being below the threshold.

With that I decided to wire up the board to my PMS-2 and hope for the best.

​

Thankfully I got the Wii to boot! With that finally done, I will be preparing for the next bits I need to do:

• Getting final parts for the build.​
• Designing the case in FreeCAD.​
• Sleeping.​

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Final Notes​

One of the few things I am still deciding on is the screen. I want a 7-Inch display with good colour and viewing angles. With the potential for having video output too, I may need to use HDMI, which would require the ElectronAVE Kit for HDMI output. I always look for a screen but can never decide on one. If anyone has a good suggestion for a screen, please let me know!

Thanks to all the people who have helped and inspired me so far:

Gman​

Stitches​

Crazzyleprechaun​

MasterNate​

jefflongo​

DeoNaught​

GingerOfOz​

Shank​

And probably many more​

 

[Green_Saint]

It's been a while since this post, things have been up and down with this project well but we are getting there, I'm getting an issue at the moment though whilst trying to install my ElectronAVE Kit.

So the board was working fine before I installed the kit, but after installing it, it starts up and immediately cuts out. I'm assuming there is a short on the board somewhere but I can't find it. I've checked each of the points I've soldered for the kit but none of them are shorted, apart from that I haven't touched anything else so I'm kind of stumped.

I will also quickly mention, I have not shorted 3.3v to the mode select and the mini-HDMI board isn't soldered down to anything as you will see in the picture, if these are the problem, then I'll get on that, but I assumed I would get the system booting with just a wonky image.

Anyone know what I should look for?

Here it is working before the install of the ElectronAVE Kit.

Here is what I get now (I know the cap is missing on the right of the flex but it was like this even in the working picture above):

 

[Stitches]

That capacitor is unfortunately meant to be essential, so it may not be possible to get that board working without a replacement if logic reference on that line is the issue.

I don't remember if you need to supply 3.3v to MODE when using a GCVideo, but I did with my old Pluto board and it worked first time. Also you might want to probe the HDMI board to check that it has a proper GND connection to the Wii without being soldered down.

 

[Green_Saint]

Thankfully got it working after rewiring it all and reflowing the flex pads. I haven't replaced the capacitor yet but I can harvest it from the backup Wii if needed!

Will update the main post with progress soon, thanks for the help.