mcat's G-Boy worklog

[mcats]

Hey everyone!

I recently started my journey of creating a G-boy. When the original Gboy kit came out, I desperately wanted to build one but didn't have the funds to at the time. Now with Gman's STLs, 4LayerTech, and Dustin Fisher's PCBs, I'm hoping to make one of my own!

I started with printing the case and the buttons. I used white PLA that I printed on an Ender 3 Neo. The front case printed really well but the back looks like it had some layer shifting at the bottom, leading to the case not closing well.

Next, I performed my first Wii trim and tested the resistances, which seemed to come back fine.

I realized later that because I ordered the PMS-lite, I should've kept the LDO instead of desoldering it, so I will need to find some way to replace that.

I then ran into a few issues:
1. While attempting to solder a button, it looks like I might have scratched the surface of the PCB.

2. I attempted to desolder the HDMI port from the driver board hoping it would come off easily, however, I didn't notice the small pins in the back keeping it in place, resulting in the port being half connected which I'm worried will cause my board to no longer function.

3. As mentioned, I will need to find a replacement 1.8v regulator since I took mine off. Does anyone happen to know where I could find a replacement?

Overall, I thought I made good progress today. Here are some photos of what I have so far, with hopefully more to come

 

[supertazon]

Great seeing another Gboy build! Good luck! To remove the hdmi port take your time with hot air. Hopefully it shouldn’t affect VGA. Keep it up!

 

[CrazyGadget]

For you questions:
1. I believe that pad is ground anyway so you should be fine, you can double check the footprint of the other shoulder button by either just looking at it or using a multimeter in continuity mode for extra assurance.
2. You'll really need a hot air station to get that all the way off, or at least that's been my experience.
3. If you still have the LDO, you can just solder it back on.

Also worth noting, your trim is a bit too fat on the NAND line side of things (long edge) to fit in the shell. I'd recommend using a drum sanding bit on your dremel to sand a divot where the trim hits the screw post in the shell. Here's an example:

 

[mcats]

For you questions:
1. I believe that pad is ground anyway so you should be fine, you can double check the footprint of the other shoulder button by either just looking at it or using a multimeter in continuity mode for extra assurance.
2. You'll really need a hot air station to get that all the way off, or at least that's been my experience.
3. If you still have the LDO, you can just solder it back on.

Also worth noting, your trim is a bit too fat on the NAND line side of things (long edge) to fit in the shell. I'd recommend using a drum sanding bit on your dremel to sand a divot where the trim hits the screw post in the shell. Here's an example:
View attachment 27307

Thanks for the help on my questions! I unfortunately used the destructive method of removing the LDO so I no longer have it, so I was considering taking one from a donor board. However, two caveats are that the board does not boot anymore so I'm not sure the LDO is good and also its a CPU-01 board, which looks like it has a slightly different LDO? I'll try it out and hopefully it works.

 

[CrazyGadget]

I believe the LDOs are interchangeable, but you could check the feedback resistors on both boards just to make sure those aren't different. If you're interested, I have a bunch of leftover LDOs that you can solder back on, just pay shipping and I'll send it your way. Feel free to hit up my PMs!

 

[mcats]

PM'd you, thanks!

 

[mcats]

Update Post: 1 Step Forward, 2 Steps Back

Been a while since my last post, but since then, I've made a lot of progress up until today.

First I tested to make sure my trim worked and I got it to boot! I was really excited about getting it to work on the first try, especially since I had to resolder the LDO back on. I was also able to successfully remove the HDMI port with hot air!

Next, I began finishing the shell. I started with 120 grit and worked my way up to 1000 grit. To create thegalaxy design, I spray-painted it with multiple layers of various Rustoleum spray paint and top-coated it with water-based polyurethane. To make the stars, I spray painted a bit of white paint onto my fingers and flicked it across. I'm really happy with the finished result.

I then started work on the internals, wiring up the fan, PMS-PD, and display. I had to resolder a few joints but in the end, I got everything working.

Wiring the RGB vias was the biggest pain for me, but in the end, I think I ended up getting all of them. Unfortunately, when I tried wiring the HSYNC, I ended up getting solder on some of the pins. When I tried to remove the solder, I'm pretty sure I knocked some pins loose, which means I'll probably have to order a new Wii.

Hopefully I'll have a new update soon!

 

[Mrak408]

Update Post: 1 Step Forward, 2 Steps Back

Been a while since my last post, but since then, I've made a lot of progress up until today.

View attachment 28361View attachment 28363View attachment 28364First I tested to make sure my trim worked and I got it to boot! I was really excited about getting it to work on the first try, especially since I had to resolder the LDO back on. I was also able to successfully remove the HDMI port with hot air!
View attachment 28365View attachment 28366
Next, I began finishing the shell. I started with 120 grit and worked my way up to 1000 grit. To create thegalaxy design, I spray-painted it with multiple layers of various Rustoleum spray paint and top-coated it with water-based polyurethane. To make the stars, I spray painted a bit of white paint onto my fingers and flicked it across. I'm really happy with the finished result.
View attachment 28368View attachment 28367
I then started work on the internals, wiring up the fan, PMS-PD, and display. I had to resolder a few joints but in the end, I got everything working.
View attachment 28370View attachment 28369
Wiring the RGB vias was the biggest pain for me, but in the end, I think I ended up getting all of them. Unfortunately, when I tried wiring the HSYNC, I ended up getting solder on some of the pins. When I tried to remove the solder, I'm pretty sure I knocked some pins loose, which means I'll probably have to order a new Wii.

Hopefully I'll have a new update soon!

Paintjob looks sickkk!

 

[mcats]

Paintjob looks sickkk!

Thank you!

 

[Stitches]

Man that paint is dope

 

[Viilmo]

The AVE is still salvagable from what I see.
You could carefully use a dremel and grind into the chip to reveal the leadframe which you could solder to.

I did this myself as you can see (ignore the shit on the left) and there really is no harm trying to fix something thats broken

 

[Mrak408]

The AVE is still salvagable from what I see.
You could carefully use a dremel and grind into the chip to reveal the leadframe which you could solder to.
View attachment 28372
I did this myself as you can see (ignore the shit on the left) and there really is no harm trying to fix something thats broken

I checked the pinout on the AVE, the pins he bent/knocked off are actually NC or GND pins so there shouldn't be a need to dig into the leadframe.

 

[Viilmo]

I checked the pinout on the AVE, the pins he bent/knocked off are actually NC or GND pins so there shouldn't be a need to dig into the leadframe.

The pins are H and VSync

 

[Stitches]

As long as the HV sync legs haven't broken off from the IC, you can still (carefully) solder wires to them and VGA will work just fine. The HV sync legs aren't connected to anything on the Wii beside the anchor pads, so them floating doesn't really affect anything.

 

[Mrak408]

Sorry, for some reason the diagram I saw didn't include HV, probably because it's old. Still, digging into the leadframe is unnecessary as the pins are intact (from what i can see.)

 

[Stitches]

If the legs are solid enough to solder to, once VGA is confirmed working I would put a blob of epoxy or hot glue around the legs to support them in that position. Floating in the air like that leaves them with no strain relief, so they could end up being bumped and broken off later

 

[mcats]

Thanks for the advice everyone! I'll try soldering to the legs tomorrow and if that doesn't work, I'll try grinding down to the lead frame. If after all that doesn't work, I also have a new Wii on the way

 

[mcats]

Gboy Update: RIP to the PMS/Wii

Man, I'm really going through it now.

I had finished wiring everything in the Gboy with everything working great, so I decided to move on to the MX chip. As I was wiring the 3.3v to the chip, I ended up forgetting to remove one of the batteries. When I went to solder 3.3v to the Wii, I sparked something on the Wii. Now the Wii no longer boots, and after measuring voltages, the PMS and Wii both no longer read 3.3v. It looks like I'll have to order a new PMS and probably a new Wii just to be safe. Feels bad
Before:

After:

 

[mcats]

After desoldering the 3.3v power lines, it looks like the PMS is still receiving 3.3v. I checked each of the power lines on the PMS and everything seems to be getting the right voltages which is also great. I then tried rewiring 3.3v to different points on the Wii but to no success. However, I am still very glad that the PMS is okay as it looks like I'll only need to replace the Wii (third time's the charm right?).

 

[mcats]

Update again:

After wiring up the PMS to my old trimmed Wii, it looks like the 3.3v and 1.8v power lines no longer work. It's strange because when the 3.3v line is only hooked up to the PD and U-AMP, it will still read 3.3v. It is only when hooked up to the Wii that I won't get 3.3v out. Surprisingly the 1v and 5v lines still work (1.15v untested) but it does look like I'll need a new PMS which is a bummer.