Worklog [2024 Contest Entry] Wii Micro Ultimate V2

[Lemoncake]

5th times the charm (I hope). What's up everyone? For my BitBuilt 2024 Summer Building Contest entry, I present to the modding community:​

The idea behind the Wii Micro Ultimate V2 is simple. Take the bones of Nold's beloved weekend project, the Noldendo Micro, and crank its feature set up to 11. We're talking more ports, more capabilities, more micro-ness, and more weekends needed to build it. You can think of my inspiration for this project as if an RVL-001 Wii had a baby with an Apple Mac Mini. It will have about the same final footprint as the Noldendo Micro (give or take a couple mm on the sides), but is going to lose over a cm of height on the top because of cooling modifications (size reduction of the heatsink/fan). The main reason I compare this thing to the Mac Mini, apart from the short, boxy aesthetic, is its focus on a rear port IO that will be the star of this console's functionality.​

As you can see, my design will add an additional 5 ports to those included in the original Noldendo Micro: HDMI out, Component R, G, and B ports, and a 3.5 mm headphone jack (as well as replacing the original barrel jack power plug with a 12v USB-C trigger board). In order to keep with the theme of putting everything on the rear panel, I also thought it would be good to put the Sync and Reset buttons on the back IO as well. The rest of the case will be completely bare except for the front which will sport the 4 GameCube controller ports found in the original Noldendo Micro (I figured might as well keep them in the front just because there isn't enough room in the back anyway. Definitely didn't make that call because plugging 4 controller cables in the same spot as video, power, audio, and sensor bar sounds like a wire jungle I don't want to endure). We'll go into more about case design as we go along, but I wanted to quickly mention here another marvel of engineering my genius brain has come up with: two part cases . I can't believe nobody has ever thought of that before . jk, my idea behind the case system was to create it in two parts: one internal chassis that holds all the Wii components + the rear IO panel, and then an outer shell that the chassis slides into. Kinda like a Wii matchbox (but hopefully not as prone to bursting into flames).

If all goes well, this will be my first completed project here on BitBuilt. Those who have helped me along my modding journey know that I haven't had the best success rate building modded consoles over the past couple years, but with your all's help and advice I'm sure that we can break that streak and finally bring a Lemoncake project to completion! Thank you all for reading my worklog, and I look forward to posting more updates as the Wii Micro Ultimate V2 (final name TBD) moves along! God bless​

 

[vladimir_pootis]

y was bored so y draw some ideas y hope they help

use one usb for an external disk drive like conect all disk drive data and cables and stuf to one usb for external disk drive

here y took inspiration from the old mac mini on the top a disk drive and added the on off led
also made the corners round for stetic reasons
(im not someone that knows that much about hardware so please tell me my mistakes)
(sorry for my poor english)

 

[Lemoncake]

y was bored so y draw some ideas y hope they help

View attachment 33730
use one usb for an external disk drive like conect all disk drive data and cables and stuf to one usb for external disk drive


View attachment 33731
here y took inspiration from the old mac mini on the top a disk drive and added the on off led
also made the corners round for stetic reasons
(im not someone that knows that much about hardware so please tell me my mistakes)
(sorry for my poor english)

I could use a usb disk drive in combination with the second USB port (not sure if the Wii would need some special drivers). I like the idea of including a disk drive in a micro form factor, definitely a project I’d like to brainstorm more about in the future (it could use the WiFi flex cable and be completely RVLoader independent). But for this project the idea is to make it as small as the micro trim will allow for, and a disk drive is just a little to thick to fit into the planned shell. But if anyone wants to tackle a micro with a disk drive, they will definitely have my attention!

 

[Lemoncake]

You gotta love USPS, am I right?

After 3 long weeks, my Wii has finally arrived. A toxic spill at the mail facility caused a slight delay which spiraled into the package being lost at the next spot literally only 75 miles from my house, and before you know it’m canceling an order with a very friendly eBay salesperson and then purchasing a new Wii which promptly got here a 4 days later. Never been better

I’ll post again once I give this guy a good scrub with some Clorox (I’ve never touched a Wii this grimy) and the ol’ RVLoader treatment.

Sorry for the lack of recent posts, I’ve been working hard on the CAD side of things lately and didn’t want to give an update until I had a good chunk of progress done. But to satiate your endless hunger for custom 3D printed parts, I’ll give you a sneak peak at the rear IO panel:

More updates to come!

 

[Lemoncake]

Wii has been RVLoadered and is currently awaiting trim! As you can see from the photos, I already removed the Memory Card Ports and relocated u10:

The Wii isn’t currently booting, but I’m not too worried because I think it only has something to do with my shoddy removal of the u10 chip pre-relocation. I’m so great at soldering

After a meeting with the good doctor Dremel, this little mistake won’t be much of a problem anymore (heh, heh, heh ).
Just gotta hope the part of the board I’m actually using is in good condition :/

Find out in the next post! And wish me luck on the trimming…

 

[Lemoncake]

(it works)​

I am happy to announce to the BitBuilt community, the Wii Micro Ultimate V2 (Final Name TBD) is now officially underway. With the help of Stitches and CrazyGadget, plenty of flux and a quick prayer pre test, we now have boot, baby! Thanks again to everyone who answered my endless questions in the many unfinished worklogs I posted. Your teaching is the reason I felt confident enough to enter the 2024 Competition in the first place, and for that I’m very grateful.

I’ve been hard at work restoring the full feature set to this trim, successfully wiring up Bluetooth and the MX chip and securing them to the motherboard with some hot glue and Kapton Tape:

However, we have hit a slight snag. I’m fairly confident the MX chip works (RVLoader claims to detect it) but I’m having no luck with the RTC Battery. It doesn’t keep real time, only moving the clock when the console is on. I know my battery has 3v, and I’m fairly certain it’s wired up correctly. Maybe I trimmed the board too small? Here is a photo of the back, and if anyone has any suggestions, I’ll happily look into them. Glad to be officially in the game, and more progress updates to come!

 

[Lemoncake]

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, been hard at work! I’m currently waiting for my AnalogHDMI board to arrive from Electron Shepherd, so in the meantime I thought I’d make the outer shell!

I took the controller port holes model straight from the Noldendo Micro and then modeled my custom shell around it. As you can see, it’s a simple box that the inner chassis will slide into. I opted to print it in translucent PLA because it allows you to see the inner chassis (kinda, PLA can only be so clear :/ ) and I felt that best allows you to experience the two part nature of this project. That, and it was the coolest looking filament I had on hand.

Due to the volatile nature of 3D print overhang supports, I wanted to avoid them as much as possible in this project to give me the cleanest final product. Therefore, the air intake vent and rubber foot mounts needed to be added after the fact. I printed a stencil to help me to cut out the bottom vent.

It may have take a little while, but I’m very satisfied with how it came out.

Next it was feet time

I printed out each piece separately and then glued them in place using another stencil to make sure they were uniform. The screws that secure the chassis to the case run through those holes and will be covered by the rubber feet.

Over the course of the next week I will work on finishing up the inner chassis. Wish me luck!

 

[WizzardoftheDisc]

That case looks snazzy! How did you cut the holes so cleanly? They look fantastic and if I didn't know you cut them I'd have thought it was printed that way!

 

[Lemoncake]

We’re in the home stretch babyyyyyyyy!

The Wii has finally been mounted in the internal chassis, kinda. All that’s left is to print and mount the top piece, then everything will be ready to insert in the case. I’m the meantime, I thought I’d show you guys the progress to far:

As you can see, everything (accept the headphone jack port cause I’m dumb and got super glue all in it ) Has been installed/wired up. Everything has been tested and is in working order, except the HDMI port which is currently being troubleshooted. For some reason when I plug in HDMI, it shorts 5v to 3.3v. Thank the Lord I caught that before actually testing it, otherwise, the Wii might be toast right now.
Gave everything else a little test run, and am happy to report we’re having no issues. Just having a good time with the best competitive fighting game of all time.

If anyone’s got some advice for the HDMI issue, I’d really appreciate it. I’m using an ElectronAnalog board from Electron Shepherd, with 5v, Y, Pb, Pr, L, R and 1 GND wire connected. It’s set to output analog audio and Y Pb Pr video. And the issue only occurs when an HDMI cable is plugged in. Wish you all the best and thanks for checking out the worklog!

 

[Jonny]

looks great!!
As for your HDMI short, if you know which pins are causing the issue you could just lift them, no? My next step would be to trace it all out with a multimeter. I'd also try a different HDMI cable just for posterity

 

[Lemoncake]

I last posted 2 weeks ago? Dang I have a lot to catch you guys up on…

1st: New Case!

As you can see, I abandoned my idea of having a 2 part case with an inner chassis that slides into the outer shell. I had a very difficult time mounting the chassis into the shell, it was difficult to make everything fit, the case bulged, and it was just a big mess. I think this concept still has potential, but it is out of my current skill range at the moment. Instead, I opted to redesign my case to be printed in top and bottom halves (just like the original Wii Micro). But, out of my hatred for 3D print overhang supports, I actually printed out each wall of the case as it's own separate piece, and then frankencast them together to make the full shell

Now everything mounts a whole lot easier, and it still has the exact same dimensions as the original case, so it maintains the micro-ness of the original case.

2nd: Working RTC Clock!

All credit goes to Mrak408 and YveltalGriffin for figuring this mystery out. I recommend you check out the RTC Troubleshooting Thread for the delicious details on how this problem actually got solved, but to put it simply: the RTC's reliance on U9 is wack. Either way, now the WMU V2 has a working MX Chip and a functional internal clock. So now Lucky from TTYD won't rage at us for attempting to cheat the Happy Lucky Lottery and Animal Crossing will also work. I care much more about the former

3rd: HDMI Works (Kinda)

So I ordered a replacement ElectronAnalog from Electron Shepherd, thinking my original one was broken, which I'm pretty sure now is only half true. I installed my replacement ElectronAnalog into the case, but at first it had the same issues where it shorted 5v to either 3.3v or GND randomly. But after insulating it with non-conductive tape, now it works. Most of the time. I tested it last night, and it randomly started shorting out the voltages again, but now this morning it isn't and I plugged in and unplugged the HDMI cable multiple times to see if something would change. So far nothing has. But a new issue has presented itself: the HDMI won't display video on anything that requires the Bluetooth Module. It shuts off video on the Wii menu and Wii games that use the Wii remote (GC2Wiimote fixes the boot issue). Not sure what exactly what's causing the issue here. Any ideas?

Well, I just heard my 3D printer finish printing the bottom plate. Got to go see if this one has the correct measurements. After that, it's final assembly time! Stay tuned for my next post (hopefully not 2 weeks later lol)!

 

[Lemoncake]

I'm not uploading at the last minute, what are you talking about?


Mod Edit - Merged posts
Hey everyone! Since I had to rush to get my final video posited, I didn’t have time to create my final update post. So, here it is (sorry ).

First of all, the project had been finished! I got everything wired up, put in the case, and buttoned up nice and smooth. Everything worked perfectly, and I had a great time playing some Smash 64. But, this state of completion came at a few sacrifices. Remember how I said that I thought the HDMI issue was resolved? It actually wasn’t. The shorts immediately came back the next day, and despite my numerous experiments, I could never figure the problem out. I had no choice but to scrap that feature altogether if I wanted to finish the project anytime soon. The same fate met the headphone jack port, as I simply couldn’t figure out an efficient way to mount it with my limited CAD experience (and it was becoming a real pain at that point). Those were the only two features lost though, as everything else pulled through. The fan and heatsink did a great job keeping everything cool, all in the smaller form factor made possible by my custom case.

You might’ve noticed that every verb I used in reference to the WMUV2 was in the past tense. Well, I regret to inform the BitBuilt community that the good man we all knew (well I guess it was just me) as the Wii Micro Ultimate V2 is no longer with us . Not exactly, it would be a much more proper analogy to say he is currently in a coma. To make a short story short, I accidentally dropped it. Now, there is some physical short inside the shell somewhere that is preventing it from booting. I’ll plug it in and press the power button, and it’ll cycle through turning on and turning off repeatedly. Not sure yet what the problem is, but I’m gonna do a couple more tests to try and figure it out. Any recommendations are welcome. Though this is a disappointing state for it to currently be in, it was fully functional right before, so I can officially state that this is my first completed modding project on BitBuilt! Thanks again to everyone who helped get me here, whether that was through teaching, inspiration, or anything else I might be missing. This community is truly incredible and I’m super grateful to be a part of it. Hope you guys enjoyed this work log, and best of luck to all the final competitors! God bless ya’ll.

 

[Lemoncake]

I technically made this post at 12:00 am on November 2nd, but I clicked upload on the video while it was still 11:58 pm. Does that mean I made the cut?

 

[Stitches]

I technically made this post at 12:00 am on November 2nd, but I clicked upload on the video while it was still 11:58 pm. Does that mean I made the cut?

Yeah I'll allow it. Welcome to the last minute club!

 

[Lemoncake]

Yeah I'll allow it. Welcome to the last minute club!

Oh thank you so much. Even after Y2K told me not to... Sorry . I worked on finishing up the video all evening, and I guess it was just enough time! Best of luck to all the contestants, all your completed projects this year are amazing!

 

[Y2K]

Your submission video is marked as private... any reason for this?

 

[Lemoncake]

Your submission video is marked as private... any reason for this?

Yeah, so I also made this video as the weekly upload for my YouTube channel, and I always set them to go out at 9:00 am on Saturdays. It’s scheduled to go public then. Do you need me to change it now?

 

[Y2K]

We need your submission video to be published and at the very least unlisted so that staff can review it. Afterwards you can change it to public whenever you want.