Worklog First Wii Trim - NES Classiic

[loopj]

Hey all, I'm working on my first Wii project.

Rather than building a portable first time round, I've decided to make a cut-down Wii in a NES Classic case. The NES was my first console a very long time ago, so figured this would be a great start for nostalgia purposes!

I'm working on this project as a hobby, but also to hone my skills in SMT soldering and basic PCB design.

Here's the plan:

• I found a broken NES Classic on eBay for $10 delivered, I'll use this as my case
• Powered by 5V USB power, I'm thinking USB-C
• HDMI for A/V. Rather than buying/building a GCVideo I intend to use an inexpensive off-the-shelf Wii HDMI converter
• Re-use the existing power and reset buttons on the NES Classic case
• Mount 2 wavebird receivers internally for controller 1 and 2
• Mount gamecube connectors on the front of the case for controllers 3 and 4
• Mount everything on screw-posts/standoffs for easy assembly/disassembly (no glue!)
• Create a couple of custom PCBs - one regulator PCB, and a "peripheral" PCB with headers for gamecube controllers, usb, and bluetooth

I've built a simple custom regulator, and I've just completed the first risky step (U10 relocation) and the Wii still boots, so figured now would be a good time to start my worklog!

 

[loopj]

Ok so I've completed the trimming part, and added the power wires to the motherboard. I'm going to add A/V lines next and try a test boot, wish me luck!

 

[jefflongo]

The trim and wiring looks very neat. Great job! Remember to check for shorts before booting.

 

[loopj]

Ok here's a big update!

Case
I found a "for parts" NES Classic on eBay for $10 delivered, the original PCB seems fried but the case and buttons are in perfect condition.

The power button is a nice clicky latching switch, just like the original NES, and the reset switch is a little tact switch.

Trim
I originally attempted a a 6-layer trim, since this isn't a portable and 6-layer boards are so cheap. Unfortunately I could never get it to work after trimming so I abandoned ship and bought a 4-layer console.

This time the trim worked great. I had a bit of practice removing (cough, destroying) the U10/U9 chips on my previous attempt, so I cheated and used some ChipQuik which made things WAY easier. The actual trimming and sanding part went well too.

I decided to go with the Mayflash Wii to HDMI adapter due to it's good quality and small footprint. I desoldered the headphone jack and Wii A/V header. I managed to pull one of the pads when removing the A/V header, but epoxied it back down to the PCB.

I knocked together a couple of breadboards for testing power and A/V, and used some JST connectors I had from a previous project to make things easy to test without soldering and desoldering.

I was finally was greeted with this beautiful sight

One of the main reasons for me working on this project (apart from wanting a Wii in a NES Classic case of course!) is to learn how to design and build simple PCBs, I'll follow up more on those in my next post.

 

[loopj]

As I mentioned last time, one of the main reasons for me working on this project is to learn how to design and build simple PCBs. My build will consist of 3 custom PCBs:

1. Regulator PCB

• A super simple custom regulator PCB
• Uses the venerable PTH08080WAH power modules
• Powered by USB-C @ 5V
• Header for an on/off switch
• Headers for power output to Wii motherboard, HDMI adapter, and peripherals PCB

Here's the populated board (front and back):

2. Breakout PCB

• A board to "break out" the wires/traces from the Wii motherboard to headers
• Mountable to the Wii motherboard

Here's the bare board mounted on 5mm standoffs to the Wii motherboard:

Here's the board populated and wired up:

3. Peripherals PCB

• Takes power in from a Regulator PCB header
• Takes data lines from the Breakout PCB header
• Header for directly mounting the bluetooth module
• Header for USB
• 4 headers for GameCube controllers
• Header for bluetooth sync button
• Header for reset button

I'm still waiting on this one to come back from the fab, but here's a preview:

 

[Gman]

Looks great so far!

Please use the in-site image uploader rather than imgur. It adds extra border and might get blocked in the future. Thanks.

 

[loopj]

Looks great so far!

Please use the in-site image uploader rather than imgur. It adds extra border and might get blocked in the future. Thanks.

Thanks Gman, figured out how to use the uploader now, and fixed all the previous posts.

 

[loopj]

My peripherals board arrived yesterday, here it is mounted to the mobo:

And here it is populated:

The bluetooth module is removably mounted to the same molex connector originally found on the Wii motherboard. The connector is a real pain in the ass to solder.

Heres what it looks like with most of the cables connected, I also did a test fit with some raspberry pi heatsinks:

Still TODO:

• Get cooling finished - I'm waiting on the cooling kit from the bitbuilt store which seems perfect for this build
• Get gamecube controllers working / wavebird modules mounted
• Better cables (less spaghetti) from the breakout board to the peripherals board
• Mount the motherboard to the case with screws
  
• Get the power and reset switches working
• Mount a bluetooth sync switch to the back of the case
• Mount the gamecube controller ports to the front of the case

 

[thedrew]

Damn, that looks nice man! Nostalgia at its finest!

 

[Shank]

Damn that looks really good so far! Ill be keeping an eye on this one

 

[Stitches]

 

[Sk8rSeth]

hot damn @loopj , this is crazy slick! really impressive custom PCBs man. any chance i could buy some from you? i want to learn to make some custom ones myself, but i havent gotten there yet.

 

[vikMKW]

I really like the Peripherals PCB. I presume you desoldered the bluetooth connector from the wii. If so, how did you go about that?

 

[cheese]

I presume you desoldered the bluetooth connector from the wii. If so, how did you go about that?

It's a standard connector you can buy
https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/molex-connector-corporation/0541020164/WM8876CT-ND/3197306

 

[vikMKW]

It's a standard connector you can buy
https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/molex-connector-corporation/0541020164/WM8876CT-ND/3197306

Superb, thank you! Is there a source I missed that contains a wii PCB BoM so I can find parts without cluttering threads?

 

[cheese]

Superb, thank you! Is there a source I missed that contains a wii PCB BoM so I can find parts without cluttering threads?

Nope, but I found that piece on digikey fairly quickly, so I'm sure you can too