Worklog "The Halogen Project" My first wii portable worklog

[TopatoJoe]

Hey there!

I recently began the arduous process of building my Wii portable and will be posting progress updates here.

As of April 14th, 2022, I have a finalized outer case design and some first renders. Most of the first revision parts have arrived, and my first test print for the last case design was printed. Internal screw posts are being designed in CAD and will be printed by the end of the week. Started a GitHub for it: https://github.com/JoeCat1207/The-Halogen-Project The project is being built as a group project for a club here, some really nice design ideas from the group of students I am leading. Having problems with RVloader, the drive doesn't work so I tried two new SD cards to install them on but they were not formatted correctly, hopefully doing that later today. I have attached the renders of the last revision here.
Update: RVloader has worked, the wii boots without wifi or CD now. Will trim once I have the dremel, other wise I will start doing screw mounts and some new parts ordering.

The last one is a dramatically smaller version, I am using the default Wii fan so it has a little bump on the back of it for *cooling*. The button layout is constantly changing, joysticks are from the Switch and I have a 480p 5-inch screen on the front of it. Dual 18650 cells, 2500mah. I would love some feedback on it.

April 18th 2022:

Wired up most of GC board, and tested joysticks. Preparing to design screw posts in Fusion. Cutting will begin once I find the Dremel kit. Currently designing little button layout tester for most comfortable placement.

Issues yet resolved (April 18th 2022):
Display driver board 3.3v low voltage mod
internal screw mounts
trim board

SOLVED:
RVloader install
Button Layout

 

[Wesk]

Dual 18650 cells, 2500mah. I would love some feedback on it.

Go the largest 18650 cells you can get, 3800mah is a good choice. Anything less and you won't even get 2 hours out of the device.

 

[TopatoJoe]

Go the largest 18650 cells you can get, 3800mah is a good choice. Anything less and you won't even get 2 hours out of the device.

Hmm, I already have the two 2500 mah cells, but I can get a few more 3800mah cells later on. I am currently trying to install RVloader and it has a black screen. Any advice? I have the right formatted card and everything else is installed. Edit: Still does not work with the formatted drive, more theme file not loading errors even though it is not the same drive. Works now, thanks.

 

[Viilmo]

Like Wesk said the 18650 you want to use a pretty low capacity. I prefer 5000mAh 21700 as they are only a bit thicker.

 

[Chickacruh]

Go the largest 18650 cells you can get, 3800mah is a good choice. Anything less and you won't even get 2 hours out of the device.

Woah there are 3800 mAh 18650 battery cells? Where can I get some of those? I thought they maxed out at 3600 mAh

 

[RedEnergy]

Woah there are 3800 mAh 18650 battery cells? Where can I get some of those? I thought they maxed out at 3600 mAh

I managed to get some 8800mAh 18650 batterry cells, I still can't belive that they really have that capacity but i got them so i can do some tests. If someone thinks that this batteries are crap, please let me now so i can avoid to bur something

 

[YveltalGriffin]

18650s max out at around 12.5Wh, so any cell advertised above 3600mAh is fake. Those "8800mAh" ones are probably more like 1500mAh. I recommend lygte-info.dk for trustworthy cell capacity tests. Here's a test of an UltraFire cell claiming to be 9900mAh, when it's really 500mAh.

If you want reliable, high capacity cells, you need to buy Samsung, LG or Panasonic cells from a reputable seller like Batteryspace or M&A BD.

 

[TopatoJoe]

Hey there!

I recently began the arduous process of building my Wii portable and will be posting progress updates here.

As of April 14th, 2022, I have a finalized outer case design and some first renders. Most of the first revision parts have arrived, and my first test print for the last case design was printed. Internal screw posts are being designed in CAD and will be printed by the end of the week. Started a GitHub for it: https://github.com/JoeCat1207/The-Halogen-Project The project is being built as a group project for a club here, some really nice design ideas from the group of students I am leading. Having problems with RVloader, the drive doesn't work so I tried two new SD cards to install them on but they were not formatted correctly, hopefully doing that later today. I have attached the renders of the last revision here.
Update: RVloader has worked, the wii boots without wifi or CD now. Will trim once I have the dremel, other wise I will start doing screw mounts and some new parts ordering.
View attachment 21987View attachment 21988
The last one is a dramatically smaller version, I am using the default Wii fan so it has a little bump on the back of it for *cooling*. The button layout is constantly changing, joysticks are from the Switch and I have a 480p 5-inch screen on the front of it. Dual 18650 cells, 2500mah. I would love some feedback on it.

April 18th 2022:

Wired up most of GC board, and tested joysticks. Preparing to design screw posts in Fusion. Cutting will begin once I find the Dremel kit. Currently designing little button layout tester for most comfortable placement.

Issues yet resolved (April 18th 2022):
Display driver board 3.3v low voltage mod
internal screw mounts
trim board

SOLVED:
RVloader install
Button Layout

Alright, I have trimmed the wii!

It booted once with the No USB menu but I couldn't get it to boot again. I wired up the PMS-lite LED but it flashed multiple colors then stopped flashing. The wii fan still fires up and the Wii is still getting hot but it never booted. Any suggestions?

 

[Stitches]

Alright, I have trimmed the wii!

It booted once with the No USB menu but I couldn't get it to boot again. I wired up the PMS-lite LED but it flashed multiple colors then stopped flashing. The wii fan still fires up and the Wii is still getting hot but it never booted. Any suggestions?

We'll need photos of the wiring to be of any help

 

[TopatoJoe]

Alright, I have trimmed the wii!

It booted once with the No USB menu but I couldn't get it to boot again. I wired up the PMS-lite LED but it flashed multiple colors then stopped flashing. The wii fan still fires up and the Wii is still getting hot but it never booted. Any suggestions?

I realized it could just be my brand spanking new batteries that weren't charged enough, I'll post the wiring soon, sorry I left my workshop earlier yesterday, forgot my camera.

 

[DDIblis]

I found these, if you have the money imagine the possibilities of 2 21700's giving you 4 hours of playtime oh my god, no more running in series... lg-li-ion 5000 mah and 10v, too bad they're 130 each...

21700, these ones seem to be the most cost-effective with a respectable 7a, 3.6v, at 5000mah though if you're looking to make a few changes, I'm considering using them for my portable

 

[TopatoJoe]

I realized it could just be my brand spanking new batteries that weren't charged enough, I'll post the wiring soon, sorry I left my workshop earlier yesterday, forgot my camera.

The wii works! I am stupid! I wired charge and gnd the wrong way.... oops.. thankfully board not fried and wii still works. it just takes a while to get to the no USB screen.

 

[TopatoJoe]

Alright, heres some picture of the board. Doesn't boot anymore for some reason. I know the PMS works as the fan spins and my screen powers on, however last night I tried to boot it and it flashed black, then stopped. Now it just doesn't boot, I have tried to cut the u5 trace, rewire u10, rewire regulators, tried new solder points, removed cut components, tried to do a reset button.... will not boot... I feel like this board is broken beyond repair, however I did test it and it did boot twice, it just doesn't anymore...

View attachment 22099

 

[DDIblis]

Alright, heres some picture of the board. Doesn't boot anymore for some reason. I know the PMS works as the fan spins and my screen powers on, however last night I tried to boot it and it flashed black, then stopped. Now it just doesn't boot, I have tried to cut the u5 trace, rewire u10, rewire regulators, tried new solder points, removed cut components, tried to do a reset button.... will not boot... I feel like this board is broken beyond repair, however I did test it and it did boot twice, it just doesn't anymore...

View attachment 22099View attachment 22100View attachment 22101View attachment 22102

Wires look thick enough to carry the current and wire points look clean enough, I have a concern with what the chips in pic one look like, it looks like 2 of them have melted which might be the issue since everything else looks fine.

 

[TopatoJoe]

Wires look thick enough to carry the current and wire points look clean enough, I have a concern with what the chips in pic one look like, it looks like 2 of them have melted which might be the issue since everything else looks fine.

Yeah, I also taped the GPU and CPU with painters tape, so shorting it shouldn't have been a problem. And as I said, the wii booted up twice beforehand... I think your probably right, those look kinda melty... But also, my cut was pretty messy. Going to get another cheap Wii... unless someone chips in with more suggestions, I think this is the way to go.

 

[TopatoJoe]

Go the largest 18650 cells you can get, 3800mah is a good choice. Anything less and you won't even get 2 hours out of the device.

I ordered 4 3500mah cells, which arrive tomorrow. I should be having some good battery life with this. Thanks again!

 

[DDIblis]

Yeah, I also taped the GPU and CPU with painters tape, so shorting it shouldn't have been a problem. And as I said, the wii booted up twice beforehand... I think your probably right, those look kinda melty... But also, my cut was pretty messy. Going to get another cheap Wii... unless someone chips in with more suggestions, I think this is the way to go.

Unfortunately getting a few boards seems to be a part of this hobby, I burned through 2 ps2's while doing my first model

 

[TopatoJoe]

Update:

I have received the second Wii, installed RVloader, and trimmed it.

Sadly, I needed to clean my workspace today so I didn't have time to test it.

The 4 3500 mah batteries have also arrived, I hope to incorporate them into the design soon.

 

[TopatoJoe]

It works!!!! The new Wii boots instantly! Going to design a mount for the tact switches, try to solder the USB as well.

My DIY printer works now, so I can now prototype pretty quickly.

Pics coming soon.

 

[Kranimations_YT]

Any update on the case?