Worklog Xii-Boy Ultra (V3)

[Bryceshaw06]

We're in the homestretch now! So glad to see all your hard work paying off. Congrats Xenii!

 

[sharby2010]

Hey there!
It was time: Welcome to the episode #6!
I have some crazy progress to show you, I hope you'll like this episode!

A few days after the last post, I received everything I needed to continue this project!
However, itt was only missing one thing: the 4LayerTech stuff. It was clearly the package I waited the most!

During that time, I decided to assemble the custom PCBs!
Starting with the simplest: The Xii-Strip!
View attachment 38200
Well, it only has one thermistor, so it was pretty fast and easy to assemble

I then started the second PCB: The Trigger PCB!
View attachment 38197
I decided to use my mini hot plate to save some time. It was the first time I used it, and it went well!
After some little reflow on the connectors, it was done!
View attachment 38198View attachment 38199
I'm very happy of those buttons, they feel fantastic! Thanks @YveltalGriffin for the recommendation!

Next one: Controller PCB!
View attachment 38201View attachment 38202
Unfortunately, it was the first PCB to contain mistakes. The biggest on this board is that I didn't order the proper JST connectors for the speakers.
They used 1.25mm, and by measuring, I got and ordered 1mm of pitch... It's really not a big deal. To correct that, I just ordered new ones on AliExpress, we'll see later how I'll solder them...

Next one: Xii-DD!
It started getting harder. Controller PCB already had the biggest connector I've never soldered: 18 pins.
The biggest connector XB2 uses is only 17 pins. Xii-DD is another level: 40 pins
After some cooking time, and some reflow with my beloved ChipQuick SMD291 flux, It was looking decent!
View attachment 38203
After soldering the easier 18p connector, Xii-DD was done!
View attachment 38204

It was time for the hardest and biggest PCB of the whole project: the Main PCB
View attachment 38205
Starting with those 40 and 50 pins connectors! It went really well! I also soldered the side buttons, and I think they aren't as satisfying as XB2 ones are,
but they feel really good. I really like them!

Cooking done!
View attachment 38206
The hardest was now behind!
Next challenge; the Pogo pins!
View attachment 38208
It wasn't really hard, it was just kinda tricky to make them flat.

After a few hours of soldering, the bad boy was done!
View attachment 38210
It's looking really good!

The testing phase has begun!
I first started the PCM circuit. Battery are charged, I tested the tension between the PMS2 B+ and B- pads, and it got 2.94V...
It seemed really low to me. Battery were around 4.11V, so I guess something is wrong...

I asked @YveltalGriffin for help, and he told me that by default, PCM might be disabled. To activate it, I just had to short B- in and B- on the Mosfet IC for a brief time.
But it still didn't work...

We then noticed that the Mosfet IC was soldered backwards...
I just reversed its orientation, and it worked! Great news!
Actually, to test it, I'd like to short something to get a 4A spike on the batteries. But, doing that is risky, and impossible at that point, still no PMS2 in my mailbox...

I spent approximatively one day and half assembling the board. It was now missing two main things: 4LT, and a trimmed Wii.

So I started hacking a trimming a Wii!
View attachment 38193
View attachment 38194View attachment 38195
Trimming went well! I sanded it and checked the resistances, they were all good!

A few days later, I received the 4LayerTech package!
View attachment 38211
Btw, big thanks to the 4LayerTech team for their great service! The boards are amazing!


I quickly placed them on my PCB to see if they fit well, and they do!
View attachment 38212

First thing I've done was to solder GC+ 2 on the Controller PCB for testing.
I solder a GCC cable to the GC+ 2 and turn on a Wii!
And.... It works perfectly! No mistake here, everything is working fine!

I also had to test the triggers, which are tricky to test on XB3 just because I add to connect all the boards together.
View attachment 38213
After testing all that mess together, it works!
As you can see, I also tested LRA rumble motor, hall effect sticks and the new connectors for the speakers.
Everything works! I just have to really configure rumble once the build will be closed. Those GCC cable wires are super thin, it cannot deliver enough current for the whole boards which causes little issues with rumble.

Next step was to test the Wii motherboard!
View attachment 38214
But after spending hours, I wasn't able to make it boot. I really don't understand, I have a black screen, no booting, U10 is working though...
I tested everything, but it still didn't work. Two days later, still no solutions...

Considering I didn't have a lot of free time, I decided to trim another Wii and spending time later on that trim.
3 hours later, the second trim was done, sanded, and the resistances have been checked.
This one boots! YAY!!!
View attachment 38215

It was finally time to test everything together.
I first had to solder the required stuff on the trimmed Wii.
Starting with the Xii-Strip!
View attachment 38216
However, I quickly noticed that it won't be possible... The mistake is really stupid: I designed it in 1.6mm thick, which makes the board impossible to solder.
I couldn't reorder board, so I had to find a solution. Wires? NO WAY!!!

My solution is stupid and dump, but I didn't find better...
I simply used solder wick...
View attachment 38217View attachment 38218
View attachment 38219
Well, it's a really stupid idea. It looks like garbage. But, it works, and I didn't have a better solution.
No worries, though, final revision will correct that. The Pogo pins exist in a taller version, and Xii-Strip just has to be ordered thinner.

You already saw it, but I also soldered the Xii-Strip Ultra!
I first scratched and tinned the vias:
View attachment 38220
And finally put and solder the flex!
View attachment 38222
I then checked all the video connections between the flex and the AVE pins.
View attachment 38223
After some reflow, it was good!

Bluetooth is also attached to the flex but soldered on the other side.
It was pretty easy to solder. I thought it would be harder.
Anyway, here is the final result!
View attachment 38224
View attachment 38225
It looks gorgeous!

Final step: Soldering 4LT stuff on my remaining PCBs.
Here is the Main PCB finally done!

View attachment 38227
After some cleaning, I just corrected a little mistake on that board as well.
View attachment 38229
I didn't connect PMS-PD3 properly. I used normal 5V instead of the UP 5V.
Technically, it works as well while the console is on, but we can't access the data when the console if off.

Correction done, it's time to finally test Wii + Xii-Flex + Xii-Strip + Main PCB!!!
View attachment 38228
I was really stressed. I took my courage, inserted the battery, press the power button, and...
Nothing...
LED even didn't turn on... What is going on? What did I do wrong? I was really confused and lost.

After chatting with @SimplyStevii, they told me LED wasn't set in addressable by default in RVLoader.
Ok so this explains why LED didn't turn on.
It still doesn't explain why video doesn't work.
After the classic troubleshooting tests, I thought: Maybe the Xii-Flex was causing some impedance discontinuities by making some stubs, or kinda antennas.
To test my theory, I had to connect the Xii-DD.

At this point, I thought the project was dead. I wasn't scared of testing DD, I was really testing just in case, I didn't hope anything...
View attachment 38230
And as planned: nothing...
I started checking every solder, every contact between DD and the AVE through all my mess, but still nothing.
And by looking on the 4LT website, I noticed that my screen was plugged backwards...

Holy moly, it was frustrating, but it might not be dead.
I had hope. I plugged the screen in the correct orientation, turn the Xii-Boy 3 on, and...
View attachment 38231
HOLY MOLY!!!!
I didn't expect it to work anymore. You cannot imagine how much I screamed of joy after that
To retest my theory of impedance discontinuities, I then soldered composite video again.
But still nothing. After asking @YveltalGriffin, he didn't believe in my impedance theory.
Considering Yveltal is always right, I asked him if he had any ideas of what's going on.
And then, he answered me:
View attachment 38232
Well, yup, it was only that. Xii-Flex hardwires 3.3V to mode. Considering I did enable VGA on this Wii, it just disabled composite and enabled VGA.
I felt stupid, but happy at the same time.

It was time to continue the test process!
Bluetooth first!
View attachment 38233
YAY!

I basically tested everything, and everything works!
Fan, WiFi, Audio, Controls, Screen, everything!

Huge thanks to @Aurelio who took a lot of his precious time to make brightness and volume over buttons working!
It's truly amazing and works extremely well. (I don't have any videos or images though)

I did then work on the case. I printed some final cases, and everything fits well!
View attachment 38234


To sum up: Everything has been tested. Everything works.
It's truly amazing, and it makes me really happy.
I'm happy that the most complex board I've never designed works almost first try!
I can't believe it!

XB3 will need some little corrections like adding a mode jump on the Xii-Flex, reducing the Xii-Strip thickness, correcting the Controller PCB JSTs, correcting the Main PCB about the UP pad, etc. But I mean for a first try of making wire free possible, I think it's an amazing milestone reached!

So, what's left to do?
It's what I'm currently working on: finishing the small things on the shell and order it through JLC3DP!
View attachment 38235
I also modified how the screen is fixed. I added a little "lip" to mimic the FMD layers that stuck the screen in place.
I hope everything will come together nicely!

I'll probably order that this week, but I already want to say that XB3 is almost there!
I think it's all for that episode!
Next one will probably be the last. I hope you're hipped as much as I am!

Thanks a lot to:
@Aurelio for the RVLoader modifications for XB3
@YveltalGriffin and @SimplyStevii for the help about PCB, settings, and other
@supertazon and @Bryceshaw06 for the general help
and everyone else who helped or motivated me!
I'm very glad of seeing that what I'm doing is liked! It makes me really happy. Thanks a lot for all your support

I hope you liked this episode!
Have a wonderful day, and see you very soon!

Holy crap I am so excited for this to be ready to build this is crazy work that you managed to pull it off with no wires!
Btw what soldering paste did you use because I really wanted to build this portable myself when it is ready?

 

[Lazr]

Nice job!

 

[Xenii]

Holy crap I am so excited for this to be ready to build this is crazy work that you managed to pull it off with no wires!
Btw what soldering paste did you use because I really wanted to build this portable myself when it is ready?

Thanks!
I’m using SN42BI58 solder paste from Aliexpress. I like it because it has a really low melting temperature (128C). It’s sometimes not optimal because some circuit can reach those temperatures which could break the solder.
I like using it because my hot air station isn’t powerful at all. I never tried something else though.

 

[Stitches]

If it's stupid but it works, it ain't stupid!

 

[Xenii]

Hi everybody!
You probably waited it a lot; Welcome to this final episode #7 of the Xii-Boy Ultra's worklog!
I spent literally every hour of free time I had in that project, and I'm here to show the first Xii-Boy 3 done!
Have fun reading!

A few days after last episode, I quickly tested the small remaining things.
Basically, I forgot to test the fan. It might be simple, but on XB3, it's actually PWM. It's a nice way to efficiently control a motor speed.
However, PMW are often noisy signal, which could cause issues. Especially on XB3, where they are routed underneath the USB line.

It isn't a good idea, for sure, but the PCB was so complicated to route that it was the only option. Hopefully, USB data are on layer 1, and fan data on layer 3. Those layers are separated with a huge GND plane on layer 2 plus the FR4 isolation. After seeing with Yveltal, he told me it should work.

I didn't want to test that, but I had to. And...

YES it still works!!!

After the success of seeing everything working, I ordered the shell through JLC3DP.
I took the main shell in 8100 translucent resin and a second one in 9600 white resin, in case the first one would break.

Waiting for the cases, I flew to London for the weekend. It was amazing! I had a really great time there. It was a great way to relax on XB3 and take the force to come back even stronger.

The day after getting back home, I received the cases!

Unfortunately, I was pretty sad about them. I made a mistake in the 3D. The fan grid was 0.4mm too thin, making it only 0.37mm.
On both case, it was super soft, and it was broken on the translucent one. Yikes!

Also, I had to sand the translucent case, considering translucent cases aren't sanded by default. Only transparent ones are.
I was able to heat the fan grid and make it straight. I used some superglue to fix the grid and it went well.
Then, I sanded it with sandpaper from 400 up to 1200 for a really smooth finish.

Here is the result after sending:

It was awesome. It looks like the translucent Gameboy Advance!

Time for dyeing!

At first, it wasn't dyed enough. I decided to put it for an hour and half more in the dye.

Here was the result! It's much better, but I'm still not a big fan. It looks like more a yellowed SNES than an orange console.
I wasn't really happy with that result, even though I wasn't able to make the orange stronger.

I think it will look better after assembling.

Let's start assembling everything!!!

I first added the fan + heatsink + copper plate. This forms the new cooling system of Xii-Boy 3.
I then removed the stick caps, replace them with the triggers and install them in the shell as well as the Trigger PCB.

Some people reported me some tolerances issue with the analog trigger prototype. Final verdict: they work great here!
After that, I installed the Wi-Fi antennas. I connected them to the Wi-Fi module, and then I installed the side buttons and the Main PCB in place.

With that done, I was able to test the final feeling of the Xii-Boy 3 analog trigger system. And it feels amazing!
It's the extreme opposite of Xii-Boy 2 which was tactile and clicky. Here it's soft, but reactive at the same time. The final button (RT / LT) also feels amazing.

It was time to install the Wii motherboard in place!

Everything fits well! It starts looking gorgeous.
Bottom part was done! I was really pleased with the result!


Time for the top part!
I first installed the screen and I connected it to the Xii-DD.
It was time to check if my new Super Friction Fit works! And yes it does! No glue needed this time.

I then installed the beautiful OEM white button ModdingMarius and @supertazon sent me. Huge thanks again to you both!

I then installed the membranes, the Controller PCB, the speakers, rumble motors and FFC.
Here is how it turned out!

It was time to connect both parts together.
Does it still work? It seems to!
I closed the shell and screw it.
However, I had some glitches on the screen.
I thought they were coming from the back screen aluminum plate touching the DD's back's components.
I disassembled it and put some kapton tape to isolate that. The issue was gone.

The sticks were making a huge mess. I calibrate them and they worked...
... until I turned the portable off and on again. After that, left stick was causing issue. It was drifting a lot.

I didn't understand. I talked to Aurelio, and we thought GC+ EEPROM (memory holding GC+ save) wasn't working due to a short I made on it a while ago.
To check that, I decided to replace the PIC on the GC+, but still the same thing.
So I then tried to just unplugging the left stick and plugging it back after calibration. And holy moly it did the same thing!
Result? Those hall effect sticks don't work entirely. @thedrew and I thought they were, but as soon as you stop powering them up, they drift.
To confirm my theory, I disassemble Xii-Boy 2 to get the sticks and try installing them on the Xii-Boy 3.
It worked. It was really frustrating, but I was happy to have solved the issue.

Furthermore, when I had to close the shell to use the sticks, I had weird issues. Sometimes, the DD didn't start when the console was closed, but did when it was open.
I asked Aurelio, he told be that DI and CK signals are only used when DD boots but are never used after that. It explained everything. I checked continuity and DI wasn't making continuity anymore. After searching, I noticed that some pins on the 40p connector between top and bottom part weren't soldered properly, causing false contacts.
After reflowing them, it worked!

It was time to close the portable again! And while closing the shell, C-Stick was moving without touching it. What?
Furthermore, I had some glitches back on the screen. What?

After some troubleshooting, the C-Stick input and the glitches were both causing by some interferences. In that revision, Xii-Flex Ultra is 2 mm too long, causing it to touch the 40p FFC which has the same signals, making huge perturbations and impedance discontinuities.

Yveltal suggested me to make a "shielded FFC" using aluminum adhesive band + two GND wires covered by kapton.

I tried, and it worked! I've never had the issues again!

I also noticed that the wrong JST on the Controller PCB was causing the shell to not close properly. I have to correct that for the final revisions.
Changing the front shell wasn't because I didn't really like it, it's more because the sticks screw post went away. After screwing and unscrewing the sticks, the resin starts getting used, the screws didn't stay anymore. Hopefully I ordered a 9600 resin front shell in case this happened.

I also had some USB issue. My SD card was corrupted, even Windows didn't recognize it, causing crashes on RVLoader. I simply changed it and it was solved.

It took me 3 entire days to solve all the issues. I sometimes wanted to give up. But with the support of everybody, I searched more and I succeeded!

After all those issues, lemme show you the world's first WireFree portable Wii!

And some external pics:

Like Lubba said, Whaddya think about it?


XB3 isn't 100% ready yet. I corrected the PCB mistakes, and I designed a definitive "shielded FFC"

I ordered it, including two new shells. I wanted to try the Imagine Black resin. In case it would break again, I also bought a SLS black nylon shell, the same the XB2 has, which is pleasant to hold and looks amazing in my opinion.


That's it! After 6 months, 7 episodes, a lot of patience and some perseverance, first Xii-Boy 3 prototype is done!
What's next? I'll take some time to finish everything. Once everything has been confirmed, and tested, Xii-Boy 3 will be released.
I have some ideas to make Xii-Boy 3 accessible for everyone. Nothing is confirmed for the moment, but I'll keep everyone updated about that.

The next months will be amazing for the Xii-Boy Ultra.

SPECIAL THANKS!
- @YveltalGriffin for the time taken to help me about PCB design
- @Aurelio for the enormous help on RVLoader + Trigger System
- @Bryceshaw06 for his huge work on the Xii-Boy 3 guide
- @supertazon, @SimplyStevii, @YveltalGriffin, @Bryceshaw06 for their thoughts and general help during the project.
- @supertazon and @ModdingMarius for sending me the OEM DS Lite buttons
- @CrazyGadget for the advices and thoughts about the resin and nylon shells
- @thedrew for the hall effect sticks help
- @Wesk for his help about the Trigger System
- @groseil, @Luigid, @JoshsJunk05, @Rentei, @Seabear, and literally everyone else for the huge support given

I'm really grateful to everyone. Your support was really important and gave me the motivation to continue this project instead of giving up.
This episode was the last of the worklog. I hope you enjoyed those. I tried to update it as much as possible. If you have any suggestion of things I could
upgrade, let me know!

Thanks for everything
Have a wonderful day, and see you soon, for the official Xii-Boy Ultra release!

 

[loopj]

Absolute work of art, see you in the cutting edge thread.

 

[Luigid]

It seemed that creating it without wires was cleaner to assemble and in terms of operation, you had many problems fortunately you managed to solve them! Great project for sure!

 

[Seabear]

Incredible work Xenii! This is the future of Wii portables. Ill be lined up to build one when it goes open source