Even before finishing my first portable, I decided I wanted to do better. So this will be the successor to my first portable. I plan to keep the same level of functionality while having a cleaner, and smaller product. I dubbed this project the Wii Pocket because it will be one small boi. The size of the portable is 167.7 x 92.5 x 32.5mm. I could have gone even smaller, but there are some guidelines I would like to follow, even if it sacrifices total size.
The goals for this project are as follows:
- Custom PCBs and FFCs wherever possible
- Battery clips (no soldering to batteries)
- Zero use of hot glue, screwposts for everything
- Modular design, everything should be easy to remove/replace
- Make it as small as possible while respecting the above goals
Here is the planned feature list:
- Slightly modified "LMAO" trimmed Wii
- 4 18650s
- USB C charging with power delivery
- 4" screen utilizing VGA patch
- GC+ 2.0
- Secret meme "accessory"
Admittedly, I've been working on this for quite some time. I already have the modified "LMAO" trim complete with a successful NAND and LDO relocation. The screen has been modded to run on 3.3v, and I am pretty far in to the case design/custom PCB design. The first set of PCBs should arrive this week. My list of things I still need to do that immediately come to mind are the power/battery management PCB (this will not be quick lol), shoulder button assemblies, and finding an appropriate 50k slide potentiometer for the volume (yes I want a volume slider instead of buttons, and my amp supports this). Here's what I've got so far.
NAND relocation
My slightly modified "LMAO" trim which preserves the USB vias, audio preamp input pads, and two useful screwposts (one is blocked by the NAND).
@Spencer Richardson 's mini GC buttons, and the test fit for the button guides
Test fit for the 3DS sliders (I've published these for anyone to use in my model repository)
Screen running on 3.3v
Front of the case
Angled view of the case
Back of the case. Got a nifty smash logo for the fan vent. Notice the battery compartments are elevated. This is to allow airflow when the console is set on a flat surface and to minimize the height of the batteries inside the case since they are the tallest components in the bottom half.
Inside of the case. Most things are present. The power/battery management board will go on the left side between the batteries and the Wii and will also contain the USB port.
Here are my latest PCBs I've designed. The first accepts an FFC from the back half of the case which carries p1 data, power, and the speaker audio from the amp. This board contains the GC+ 2.0 on the back and the ABXY tact switches on the front--consolidating two boards from the previous portable into one. The second board accepts an FFC from the first board containing the main stick, dpad, start button, and left speaker signals. Both boards accept the OEM FFC from the 3DS sliders and have output pads for the speakers. I want to give a huge thanks to @Aurelio for helping me along the way with PCB design.
That's all I've got for now. The last board I need to design will surely be the hardest, so that will be the main bottleneck of this project. I'm not planning on finishing this over the Summer because I want to take this one slow so that I have no regrets looking back. Thanks for reading!
The goals for this project are as follows:
- Custom PCBs and FFCs wherever possible
- Battery clips (no soldering to batteries)
- Zero use of hot glue, screwposts for everything
- Modular design, everything should be easy to remove/replace
- Make it as small as possible while respecting the above goals
Here is the planned feature list:
- Slightly modified "LMAO" trimmed Wii
- 4 18650s
- USB C charging with power delivery
- 4" screen utilizing VGA patch
- GC+ 2.0
- Secret meme "accessory"
Admittedly, I've been working on this for quite some time. I already have the modified "LMAO" trim complete with a successful NAND and LDO relocation. The screen has been modded to run on 3.3v, and I am pretty far in to the case design/custom PCB design. The first set of PCBs should arrive this week. My list of things I still need to do that immediately come to mind are the power/battery management PCB (this will not be quick lol), shoulder button assemblies, and finding an appropriate 50k slide potentiometer for the volume (yes I want a volume slider instead of buttons, and my amp supports this). Here's what I've got so far.
NAND relocation
My slightly modified "LMAO" trim which preserves the USB vias, audio preamp input pads, and two useful screwposts (one is blocked by the NAND).
@Spencer Richardson 's mini GC buttons, and the test fit for the button guides
Test fit for the 3DS sliders (I've published these for anyone to use in my model repository)
Screen running on 3.3v
Front of the case
Angled view of the case
Back of the case. Got a nifty smash logo for the fan vent. Notice the battery compartments are elevated. This is to allow airflow when the console is set on a flat surface and to minimize the height of the batteries inside the case since they are the tallest components in the bottom half.
Inside of the case. Most things are present. The power/battery management board will go on the left side between the batteries and the Wii and will also contain the USB port.
Here are my latest PCBs I've designed. The first accepts an FFC from the back half of the case which carries p1 data, power, and the speaker audio from the amp. This board contains the GC+ 2.0 on the back and the ABXY tact switches on the front--consolidating two boards from the previous portable into one. The second board accepts an FFC from the first board containing the main stick, dpad, start button, and left speaker signals. Both boards accept the OEM FFC from the 3DS sliders and have output pads for the speakers. I want to give a huge thanks to @Aurelio for helping me along the way with PCB design.
That's all I've got for now. The last board I need to design will surely be the hardest, so that will be the main bottleneck of this project. I'm not planning on finishing this over the Summer because I want to take this one slow so that I have no regrets looking back. Thanks for reading!
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