The Jawbreaker: A mostly complete Ashida Build

[Flipcrazy]

I just "finished" my first portable. I call it "The Jawbreaker", though really the shell has more of a marbled pattern. It has everything I could stuff into it. Bluetooth, an MX chip, 2 Wiimote rumble motors one in each handle, dust filter meshes on the speakers and fan ports (an idea I stole from PiR8_BTY) and WiFi, all in a resin printed hydro dipped shell featuring the 4 colors the Wii originally came in.

Now what do I mean mostly complete? Well I accidentally damaged my RVL-PMS-2 when soldering, I knocked resistors R14 and R15 off the board. Nothing I can't fix, but for now that means I can't connect the SDA and SCL lines to the Wii, which means some features, like the power LED and battery charge indicator don't work for the time being. Until that point, I think I'mgonna enjoy myself some portable Rhythm Heaven Fever.

 

[Stitches]

That looks sick! Well done!

 

[supertazon]

Well done! Do you have internal pics? Curious to see how you wired WiFi. I’m looking forward to playing some MK Wii with only portables!

 

[Gman]

Looks great!

 

[Flipcrazy]

Well done! Do you have internal pics? Curious to see how you wired WiFi. I’m looking forward to playing some MK Wii with only portables!

I got some right here. My wire management skills still need some work though. Like I said in the initial post, I still have some work to do on this, like wiring up the sda and scl lines after I repair the pms board, getting to mx chip to work (even though it's wired up correctly as far as I can tell, ) and installing Crazy Gadgets screen controller board.

 

[datguybarney]

I have a really dumb idea. Could you fit 2 infrared LEDs in the top of the case somewhere to use motion controls? I was thinking about it mainly because I wanted motion controls for games like super paper mario. There is a beta for a homebrew solution for the gamecube controller but the guy charges 10 bucks and I do not know if its compatible with some of the other homebrew solutions.

 

[RegDogg]

I have a really dumb idea. Could you fit 2 infrared LEDs in the top of the case somewhere to use motion controls? I was thinking about it mainly because I wanted motion controls for games like super paper mario. There is a beta for a homebrew solution for the gamecube controller but the guy charges 10 bucks and I do not know if its compatible with some of the other homebrew solutions.

The Infrared LEDs are mainly used for the Sensor bar, which is how you use the Wiimote cursor on the screen. I'm also not sure if anybody has implemented motion controls into a Wii portable yet, though I could be wrong.

 

[datguybarney]

The Infrared LEDs are mainly used for the Sensor bar, which is how you use the Wiimote cursor on the screen. I'm also not sure if anybody has implemented motion controls into a Wii portable yet, though I could be wrong.

So I was looking a solution from a guy named Aurelio Mannara on patreon, but his project hasnt been updated since 2018. I might try it when doing the ashida build but id love it to be software side if possible. I would link it but I have less than 10 post so it would be flagged for review or something.

 

[Stitches]

I have a really dumb idea. Could you fit 2 infrared LEDs in the top of the case somewhere to use motion controls? I was thinking about it mainly because I wanted motion controls for games like super paper mario. There is a beta for a homebrew solution for the gamecube controller but the guy charges 10 bucks and I do not know if its compatible with some of the other homebrew solutions.

You can indeed do this. It used to be a commonplace thing for Wii portables before Aurelio integrated the GC2Wiimote patch into RVLoader. Now it's an optional thing that most people don't bother with anymore, but you can if you like. You'll just need to measure and space out a couple of diffused 940nm IR LEDs, and of course relocate the bluetooth module

 

[datguybarney]

You can indeed do this. It used to be a commonplace thing for Wii portables before Aurelio integrated the GC2Wiimote patch into RVLoader. Now it's an optional thing that most people don't bother with anymore, but you can if you like. You'll just need to measure and space out a couple of diffused 940nm IR LEDs, and of course relocate the bluetooth module

Thank you for the response. I hadnt seen anybody do it but I had wondered myself. Do any IR LEDs work? Or does it have to be 940nm specifically?

 

[Stitches]

Community testing has shown 940nm diodes to be the wavelength that the Wiimote camera sees the best, but other IR LEDs should still be picked up.

You'll want at least a 10cm gap between the LEDs by the way. If the gap is too small, the Wiimote will see the two LEDs as one light source and won't work. Also be sure to use diffused LEDs, and make sure they're recessed

 

[Sanron]

You can indeed do this. It used to be a commonplace thing for Wii portables before Aurelio integrated the GC2Wiimote patch into RVLoader. Now it's an optional thing that most people don't bother with anymore, but you can if you like. You'll just need to measure and space out a couple of diffused 940nm IR LEDs, and of course relocate the bluetooth module

Are there any pictures or videos out there, where it is shown how it is achieved?

Super new to modding and the whole community but want to try to build a handheld wii, but for me it would be super nice to get real motion controls into that thing. Emulated ones just don't feel complete for me...

 

[Stitches]

Are there any pictures or videos out there, where it is shown how it is achieved?

Super new to modding and the whole community but want to try to build a handheld wii, but for me it would be super nice to get real motion controls into that thing. Emulated ones just don't feel complete for me...

There are no diagrams or tutorials for it, no. I can't remember any worklogs showing it in any real detail either, but I can show you a portable I made once that used IR LEDs to show functionally how it can look.

As you can see, you really just have to have a hole for the LEDs to just crest the face of the case. I did end up having to recess the LEDs a little bit further into the case than is shown in this photo, but it worked just fine. I didn't use diffused LEDs tho, and I recommend that you do use diffused ones as they interfere with each other less than undiffused diodes. I will be using diffused ones when I finish rejigging this design. You need at least 10cm of space between the LEDs for the Wiimote to see them, with a larger distance being preferable if it's possible to have. You can also use two or three LEDs together in series on each side of the case to improve the detection range. A single LED on each side won't give much range and can be unreliable outside of point blank range.

The only technical thing you need to do for the LEDs is to find the correct current limiting resistor. Most LEDs can't just be powered and left to glow, they need a resistor to limit current flow or they'll burn out. There are several online calculators that will help you find the correct resistance value needed, for which you'll need the Supply Voltage (most people use 3.3v) as well as the part specific "Forward Voltage" and "IMAX" which can be found either in the datasheet for the LED or in the listing description if bought from a site like Adafruit. Infrared light is invisible to the human eye but can be seen by digital cameras, so you can use your phone to check that the LEDs are working and are equally bright.

 

[Sanron]

There are no diagrams or tutorials for it, no. I can't remember any worklogs showing it in any real detail either, but I can show you a portable I made once that used IR LEDs to show functionally how it can look.
View attachment 30128
As you can see, you really just have to have a hole for the LEDs to just crest the face of the case. I did end up having to recess the LEDs a little bit further into the case than is shown in this photo, but it worked just fine. I didn't use diffused LEDs tho, and I recommend that you do use diffused ones as they interfere with each other less than undiffused diodes. I will be using diffused ones when I finish rejigging this design. You need at least 10cm of space between the LEDs for the Wiimote to see them, with a larger distance being preferable if it's possible to have. You can also use two or three LEDs together in series on each side of the case to improve the detection range. A single LED on each side won't give much range and can be unreliable outside of point blank range.

The only technical thing you need to do for the LEDs is to find the correct current limiting resistor. Most LEDs can't just be powered and left to glow, they need a resistor to limit current flow or they'll burn out. There are several online calculators that will help you find the correct resistance value needed, for which you'll need the Supply Voltage (most people use 3.3v) as well as the part specific "Forward Voltage" and "IMAX" which can be found either in the datasheet for the LED or in the listing description if bought from a site like Adafruit. Infrared light is invisible to the human eye but can be seen by digital cameras, so you can use your phone to check that the LEDs are working and are equally bright.

Okey, I see, but there it then uses a seperate external wiimote or am I stupid? That's tbh not exactly what I would like to achieve, I would like to have it like the Switch, when it is used in portable mode. So that you move the device to move the pointer etc.

Is it maybe possible to use the gyro from a joy con or so and convert it via some homebrew software or something, so that the wii thinks, it is a motion signal from a wiimote?

Tbh idk, if it is even possible to get something like this to work, or if it simply would be way to complex...

 

[Stitches]

Okey, I see, but there it then uses a seperate external wiimote or am I stupid? That's tbh not exactly what I would like to achieve, I would like to have it like the Switch, when it is used in portable mode. So that you move the device to move the pointer etc.

Is it maybe possible to use the gyro from a joy con or so and convert it via some homebrew software or something, so that the wii thinks, it is a motion signal from a wiimote?

Tbh idk, if it is even possible to get something like this to work, or if it simply would be way to complex...

Correct, the LEDs are so you can use an external Wiimote to play games if desired. Afaik no-one has made a bluetooth emulator that can use a gyro for tilt controls as you're describing, and I'm not aware of any active projects for it. The closest thing we have to that is the GC2Wiimote patch in RVLoader which allows you to emulate Wiimote + Nunchuck and Classic Controller inputs using a Gamecube controller.