How to make a very simple portable Wii?

[rrrrmrmr]

I want to make a simple portable Wii, basically just a stripped down Wii with a screen and a battery, to minimize the cost. I am a total newbie when it comes to this stuff though, so how would I go about making that?

 

[Sanbaba]

Hello it seems to me that you were interested in my question and in the videos that I found. I'll tell you one thing since you're a beginner like me. You don't have to be professional at all. All you have to do is test, test and retest to get there. To minimize costs I can't help you but all I can tell you is never to give up on your project! You make a mistake, you start over without making the mistake you made. Here I hope I could help you a little

 

[Dynamic_Hayden]

So if you want to make a simple portable Wii portable what I think would be easiest is the Ashida. It's the closest thing out there to a kit and you can find a BOM for it and wiring diagrams here > https://4layertech.com/products/ashida-pcb-set

 

[rrrrmrmr]

Okay I think I have my plans mostly worked out. if I use an untrimmed motherboard is there any cheaper way to power my portable than doing this?

https://bitbuilt.net/forums/index.php?threads/custom-regulators-an-explanation-and-guide.754/

 

[trustiest rustiest]

if you're using an untrimmed wii there is no need for regulators as they are already on the board, a regular wii needs something like 12v at a couple amps to function, there are many cheap ways you can go about supplying that

 

[The_Dankest]

Okay I think I have my plans mostly worked out. if I use an untrimmed motherboard is there any cheaper way to power my portable than doing this?

https://bitbuilt.net/forums/index.php?threads/custom-regulators-an-explanation-and-guide.754/

The stock wii supply is rated for 3.7A @ 12v, but it does work with lower voltages. One option is wiring three 18650 in series to get 11.1 volts. Use a 12v lead acid or the stock power brick if you dont care about absolute portability.

 

[Stitches]

Okay I think I have my plans mostly worked out. if I use an untrimmed motherboard is there any cheaper way to power my portable than doing this?

https://bitbuilt.net/forums/index.php?threads/custom-regulators-an-explanation-and-guide.754/

The Wii uses a 12v DC supply, but will accept between 10.2v and 20v input due to the way the regulators are set up. You can simply wire the output of a lithium ion battery pack to the power socket pins (with an inline latching switch to prevent the 3.3v standby line from draining the battery pack while not in use) . While you can use a 3S1P 11.1v lithium battery pack to run the system, it is suboptimal, due to lithium cells suffering voltage drop as they discharge. The 10.2v minimum input cutoff will be reached long before the battery is empty. If you're set on not trimming your Wii, you'll get better battery mileage by using a 4S1P 14.8v battery setup. You'll get the entire operational lifespan of the battery pack, but some screens may not like taking such a high voltage, and would need to be 5v modded. It's also worth noting that using a 4 layer Wii and removing the disk drive will notably increase battery life.

If you want a simple, yet functional build with resources to get you started, Nold's rendition of the Wii Micro is a pretty good one to start with. There's pretty much all the info you need to build one in the release thread, complete with a handy basic instructions video https://bitbuilt.net/forums/index.php?threads/guide-release-noldendo-wii-miicro.3750

 

[rrrrmrmr]

Thanks for the info guys! If I buy this, could i wire 2 of these in series for 14.8 volts like The_Dankest suggested?
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/384599395736

 

[Stitches]

Those packs are quite large, and it's not always as simple as just putting them in series. Lithum battery packs use protection PCBs specific to the number of cells used in series, to ensure balanced and safe charging and discharging. For best safety you need a 4S1P protection PCB (preferably with BMS functionality as well) and 4 half decent cells to use with it. We recommend genuine Panasonic or Samsung 3400-3500mAh 18650 cells. Using cells from RC packs isn't always a good idea, partially because RC pack chemistry is built for rapid charge and discharge, and some cells don't like being charged at "normal" rates.

You'll also need a 14.8v smart charger to charge the pack. Dumb DC supplies aren't good enough

 

[rrrrmrmr]

Those packs are quite large, and it's not always as simple as just putting them in series. Lithum battery packs use protection PCBs specific to the number of cells used in series, to ensure balanced and safe charging and discharging. For best safety you need a 4S1P protection PCB (preferably with BMS functionality as well) and 4 half decent cells to use with it. We recommend genuine Panasonic or Samsung 3400-3500mAh 18650 cells. Using cells from RC packs isn't always a good idea, partially because RC pack chemistry is built for rapid charge and discharge, and some cells don't like being charged at "normal" rates.

You'll also need a 14.8v smart charger to charge the pack. Dumb DC supplies aren't good enough

Thanks for the help! I've found some Samsung 18650s and a smart charger and protection PCB for them

 

[Stitches]

Thanks for the help! I've found some Samsung 18650s and a smart charger and protection PCB for them

Remember to use 22AWG stranded wire for wiring up the pack. If the wire you use is too thin, it won't work properly.

 

[rrrrmrmr]

Is there a way to charge the batteries while I use them or do i have to take them out to charge?

 

[Stitches]

You don't have to remove the cells to charge them, but without a proper Battery Management System (BMS) you can't charge and play off a single port. Back in the days before we had the RVL-PMS, we had a trick to use a DPDT switch and two separate barrel jack ports to allow the batteries to be charged using one port, and dumb DC power to be supplied to the system through the other. There was also a more compact SP3T slide switch method for using a single port for charge-or-play, but I think only GMan ever really did that.

Here are the diagrams for reference:

Charge-or-play VVV

 

[rrrrmrmr]

Thanks for those graphs! Could I use a protection board such as this with 4S2P? Like this:

 

[Stitches]

Thanks for those graphs! Could I use a protection board such as this with 4S2P? Like this:View attachment 20664

Should be fine. Just remember if you're going to use that many cells, make sure voltage is as uniform as possible among all 8 cells before you wire them up. That board doesn't have cell balancing functionality, so you have to do it yourself initially, and it will lose cell synchronicity over several charge/discharge cycles. Not enough to be dangerous, but you may lose some minutes of runtime over months of use in addition to normal capacity losses from age and cycle count.

Also, if you haven't bought the cells yet, try to buy ones with solder tabs already welded on. Soldering wires directly to the terminals can be annoying and the sustained heat from the soldering iron can and will permanently damage the cells. That or make use of some basic 18650 cell holders from ebay to remove the need to solder directly to the cells.

 

[rrrrmrmr]

Would a LiFePO4 battery pack like this also work or should I avoid it?

 

[CrashBash]

> 83.2Wh
Shieeeeeeeeeeeeet
That's uh, big and heavy. If I remember correctly Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries are typically heavier and more rugged but not as energy dense. So it's probably not as practical for your use case.

 

[rrrrmrmr]

I don't mind the weight, I just want to use it on my lap or a table.

 

[rrrrmrmr]

Could I have VGA video and composite audio simultaneously?

 

[Stitches]

Could I have VGA video and composite audio simultaneously?

Yes. The Wii always outputs the same analog LR audio, regardless of what video output type you're using. Even when you're using a U-Amp, the AVE still outputs the normal LR audio.