gc-forever - Gamecube/Wii Forums

Well megalomaniac, is it possible to get in line for preorder? I haven't been able to locate a trusty supply of MX chips and due to school I have to abandon my search. I planned on integrating the circuitry inside the GC case but your dongle seems to be a good idea.

I read a couple of posts earlier you wanted detailed pics of third party case replacment. I have an IceCube case currently fitted on a GC. I'll take whatever picture, measurements you need.

I really want component to play my GC games but I would like to avoid buying a wii...

psyko_chewbacca wrote:Well megalomaniac, is it possible to get in line for preorder? I haven't been able to locate a trusty supply of MX chips and due to school I have to abandon my search. I planned on integrating the circuitry inside the GC case but your dongle seems to be a good idea.

I read a couple of posts earlier you wanted detailed pics of third party case replacment. I have an IceCube case currently fitted on a GC. I'll take whatever picture, measurements you need.

I really want component to play my GC games but I would like to avoid buying a wii...

yo psyko
i wont be taking preorders either...
all items will be sold at once, or sold in small groups...i kinda want to make it fair because of timezone differences, work/life schedules...you know, the little things...

i know we have spoke in the past about chips and your supplier issues...
since i am still in progress of testing a plug in solution, we should not consider the plug to actually be working...or working with small issues, or working with unknown future issues...
i would like to have a complete product put together that i can feel good about selling knowing there will be no defects possibly other than product abuse...
i am very still open to the idea of internal boards....and believe me, this is the easiest, least time consuming, and less stressful solution for me to produce...
but at the same time, not fair for everyone who may not trust their soldering skills...


for now i want to work on the beta and see how it goes...then i should come to a conclusion of how to proceed...

here is a bit of progress...
getting closer..

as you can see, Big Blue needs a bit of cleaning...parts are a little misaligned...but considering first time working with SMD, im pretty satisfied...
i guess i could go back and try to straighten those parts...but why bother...they are in good contact and its a beta board...


by the time i got to working on Crap Red, i guess my eyes adjusted and i was better adapted to these small ass components since alignment and placement is pretty damn good...
however the red solder mask continues to be an issue since it seems to be chipping off in areas...

other than that...just a few more parts to solder on...and some testing to do..

Very good work man. looks nicely done

Jaecus wrote:Very good work man. looks nicely done

thanks...but im very critical of my work...
dont get me wrong, had this been for me only, it would have been pretty damn good enough...
since i plan to sell these...i want them to be as best as i can possibly do...



the beta is getting closer as visioned...
for those of you who were looking over the previous pics with empty boards and the most recent pics with some of the components attached and found yourselves scratching your head trying to figure out how it was all gonna come together...
well, its a puzzle board...


literally...its a puzzle...
this recent mad design consists of a "dual sided" "double" stacked pcb
WTF does that mean???

simply, its two dual layer pcbs...with a twist
the pics previously shown above with components are the outer layers...
outer upper layer..
outer lower layer..


what has not been shown yet is the inner layers...
its a pcb sandwich...
the VGA, component, switch, FO audio, larger sized capacitors, and a few cross board signal/power jumps will fit within the sandwich..


why did i say its a puzzle?
because the design concept was very similar to playing 3D tic tac toe...maybe more likely something along the lines of playing 3D tetris
...
the design had to include proper placement/fitting of parts both inner and outer across the double dual layer planes
this gets tricky when trying to cram in a lot of stuff into a small space...


the blue board is mostly video...
the red board is mostly audio...
but since there are cross board jumps, its kinda all tied together as one...
i have noted some small improvements and will incorporate those into the design upon completion of this beta...
i may also work on an improved digital port connector since im not feeling so confident in this one so far...

im gonna focus on this connector a bit more before moving further...
who knows...it might just work out as i envisioned...
but i would feel looking over it a bit more and focusing a bit more attention to see if and how to improve the design...


currently the boards are held together with tape just to provide some pics and show a basic idea what "could" be expected from this "beta attempt"
note, the video selector switch and VGA will not currently be added until beta rev2...
there was a footprint/pad issue so new board will need to be created...

rear view


front view


analog port side looking toward digital port note need to add video selector switch on this side


digital port side looking toward analog port note need to add VGA connector on this side

i have been reflecting a bit...
scary thought it is when i begin deep thinking...


since this past August/September...ive been thinking about this project...
its been ever evolving and growing into something more than i anticipated...
its been fun and also one hell of a monkey on my back...


i never truly intended to make an external plug in adapter, but now i find myself pondering just what can i do to ensure this is successful???
the project started out as a possible digital port replacement mod...
then grew into a monster...
the digiport replacement mod sounds pretty damn good right now...


im gonna play with the digiport external connector design a bit...
if i dont feel satisfied with the results, i may abandon the external connector design

....and when i mention satisfied with results, i mean long term usage considerations to include:
plug in breakage
unplug breakage
overall wear and tear
weight, strain, overall size
damn kids <<< my number one method of testing to decide if shit is build to last



just a few things i want to ponder while trying other attempts before making a final decision...
this being an external adapter...it must be be able to handle some abuse

internal design is not much of a long term concern since its enclosed, housed, protected...(this statement applies to those who typically do not remove the GC cover every 30 minutes)
hmmm...things to think about...


those of you who are interested/considering/unsure about purchasing a connector, i would really like to hear your thoughts...
connector feedback anyone??
go for it?
or
forget about it?


disclaimer...posting your feedback does not guarantee availability once these are for sale...just looking for feedback to consider and reconsider

personal opinion, seeing that most people on here are hardware hackers/etc, I think internal connector for the limited amount that you have available would be the better option. Positives are: Monkey off your back, next project can roll on

First of all, that is one hell of an engineering job and it looks great. Nicely done! To often its overlooked to thank the people who put the time and effort into figuring stuff like this out, so let me say thanks now.

As we previously discussed, if I were to land one or two of your adapter boards you know what I'd be using them for. So an external plug in solution is not high priority for me. However, as I've learned with the Wiikey/WODE to GameCube discovery and my plug and play adapters, lots of people want something that will just plug in and go and don't want to be bothered with soldering and modding extensively. I know you don't want to take pre-orders, but in my eyes it would help you immensely if you knew exactly what each of your customers wanted ahead of time. Quite the predicament. :/

Nice work in progress!!

About the personal buyer connector question: internal for me, even since the only soldering work I've done in my GameCube is a Qoob Pro. Mainly because I doubt, like you said, if such a self-made connector will withstand in- and outplugging over the time. However now I wonder if everything will fit inside? Or inside only one PCB board satisfies?

you may leave the connector, even if it doesn't fit your expectations, it would be a nice solder point
internal mode ftw

Ok, so I guess I'm SOL on possibly getting an MX chip for a decent price and I don't even know why.

I mean, seriously, what did I do that justifies suddenly being treated like shit? Is it because I haven't read this entire thread recently and missed, or forgot, a price stated sometime in the past? ...Really?


If you already have a list of customers that are in line to pre-order these, then that would be a different matter; it would make sense to not want to undermine your current customers. Explaining these things if they're true and not making intentionally stupid price quotes would be a lot cooler than being an asshole though.

Do you understand that I wasn't just trying to "dev" a chip with a DOL-101? That's only a side thought I've had. The main reason I've wanted one was to use it for a DOL-001. In fact that's all I have: five 001s. I don't even have a 101.

whale whale whale i say go for it because i'm definetly one of those guys who don't trust their soldering skills

I think most people would like plug n play, myself included. But I can solder if thats the route it goes.

I don't know how durable it would have to be? I just plug stuff in and keep it out of reach. Would be nice to see what you come up with for a plug n play. Component, VGA, digital/optical audio this all sounds awesome.

I really like reading this thread just to see the progress. I will be waiting if/when they are available. Thanks for all the effort and time you put into this cool project.

I think my position on this matter is already know. Internal mod at least for video output. I think there is enough space behind the disc drive for a custom shaped PCB. Maybe an optical addon could be external by adding an extension port to the main PCB. I might start designing such board just to check if it could fit. I have access to a very precise CNC mill at my university. This thing has a precision margin of 5-6 mil.

I would prefer a plugnplay adapter, cause I don't trust my soldering skills that much.

hehe, plug-n-play is too boring for me

Ashen wrote:I know you don't want to take pre-orders, but in my eyes it would help you immensely if you knew exactly what each of your customers wanted ahead of time.

i agree this may be the best course of action...
with that being said...



i am looking for 4 volunteers for a preorder (1 board each)
at this time, internal setup only...
design to be determined based on feedback for user specific setup...
estimate approx 1 week or less to complete boards unless user specific needs require unanticipated design...
no money to be collected until user board is completed..
special discount of 43$ shipped for the first four volunteers..



all other boards after first four will be 49$ + shipping (i assume about 3-4$ shipping, ill know for sure and update once i ship initial four boards)

Sign me up

Ashen wrote:Sign me up

i know you want it small...bare and simple...
i assume you want the input connections as just bare exposed pads and those caps all on the the same side....
i can get the board almost just as small as the original, but the caps will of course add a bit more to the overall size...not much tho...

whatever you do Ashen will carve it down to a fraction of the size

You dont have to do anything special on my part. I'll take it however you make it up.

I want to preorder too
I want this for an internal mod anyway
I would even dare to ask for the connectors unsoldered, since I'm looking for a very custom build

Yes, me also please!

iggunr wrote:I want to preorder too
I want this for an internal mod anyway
I would even dare to ask for the connectors unsoldered, since I'm looking for a very custom build

Word of warning: I asked for that and he decided that would be a waste. So I guess take it however he decides to build it or you don't get it at all. :/

Durgan wrote:

iggunr wrote:I want to preorder too
I want this for an internal mod anyway
I would even dare to ask for the connectors unsoldered, since I'm looking for a very custom build

Word of warning: I asked for that and he decided that would be a waste. So I guess take it however he decides to build it or you don't get it at all. :/

I'm not going to change anything about the adapter, I'm not going to mess with the design or the IC's at all, I just hope I can be one of the few "testers" and try every single function of the adapter.
I support megalomaniac's judgement 100% in this project, specially since we can tell how rare all those IC's are, and if I have to wait or pay a little more I will, this project is really really interesting IMHO