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Short Stack: World’s smallest Nintendo Wii

590 points| jorde | 1 year ago |github.com

75 comments

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userbinator|1 year ago

Since the GameCube controller connectors on the original Wii wouldn't fit cleanly on a build of this size, I use TRRS headphone connectors instead.

Word of caution: many electronics are not designed for the shorts between connections which occur if you hot-plug one of those.

loopj|1 year ago

A design change which didn't quite make it into the final release only enables the 5V and 3V3 lines on the GameCube controller when the tip-switch on the TRRS jack is activated.

The short-proof approach/strategy would be to use small magnetic pogo connectors, but I really wanted to maintain compatibility with the GC Nano!

oritron|1 year ago

That's a very good point to keep in mind. I've seen that go wrong!

There are lots of connectors out there where the pins never short. The tricky thing is finding ones that can be plugged and unplugged often, while still being small. I've misused USB B connectors for this purpose; it's not common enough for someone to have the wrong cable to plug in, yet very easy to solder and to get the parts. There are also some circular connectors (M5, M6) where the connector on the device is decently small and the bulk tends to be on the cable side.

With a small crimper there are even more compact options which still handle many mating cycles, like Samtec's various Tiger Eye product lines.

mrguyorama|1 year ago

Because the TRRS plug is part of a custom dongle, you can plug the dongle into the jack first, and then plug the controller into the dongle after, and eliminate that short risk

PrivateButts|1 year ago

Haven't touched a GameCube or a Wii in a long time, but didn't those things not support hot plugging GC controllers in general?

phinnaeus|1 year ago

This was messing with my head for a minute, I thought maybe they had figured out a way to use mini CDs (like the GameCube) to make that tiny disc drive functional, but it appears to just be decorative.

loopj|1 year ago

Purely for aesthetics! It wouldn’t be the same without that iconic glowing disc slot.

mrighele|1 year ago

Mini-CD would be too big for this size, wouldn't they ? Something similar to a credit card would fit the bill and could look gorgeous.

The issue of course would be that there aren't cards of that format that can store the amount of data required, but maybe with a bit of fantasy a micro-sd card could be embedded in it.

stuaxo|1 year ago

That would be amazing, someone has to do this in the future.

froyolobro|1 year ago

ok phew I was super confused.

dathery|1 year ago

Here's a similar project with a PlayStation 1 if people like this kind of thing: https://bitbuilt.net/forums/index.php?threads/ps-hanami.6279...

9dev|1 year ago

Woah. I did not expect someone to gleefully saw the original mainboard in a bunch of fitting parts, the solder the severed links back together. That’s some next level stuff. Amazing!

avar|1 year ago

I wonder if doing this will result in subtle bugs simply because the effective length of the copper traces is being altered, which changes the transmission time.

jsheard|1 year ago

How long before someone goes all the way by designing a completely custom motherboard and transplanting the key components onto it I wonder? It's been done for older systems but the BGA parts in the Wii would be a challenge.

userbinator|1 year ago

How does a typical smartphone SoC compare to the Wii in terms of processing power? Would one of those running an emulator be even smaller?

germandiago|1 year ago

I am always amazed by hardware people. These things are not trivial at all. Way more difficult than software in my experience.

rafaelgoncalves|1 year ago

yeah, i find all a incredible work. Right from the design and building, so many moving parts and variables it looks like some kind o "alien" work to me :D, amazing.

xtracto|1 year ago

This reminds me a lot of BenHeck, back in the day he made all kind of cool custom portable XBox (original) and PS1 consoles

ljf|1 year ago

It was his mini Atari 2600 etc that blew me away originally - and his site just felt so 'fun'.

beckthompson|1 year ago

Wii was my favorite console. So many fun games that you could play with the whole family! Wii sports resort is one of the best all time games

dwayne_dibley|1 year ago

My Wii has never left the prime location from under the TV since launch day - getting on for 20 years! Despite having switches and gaming PCs my kids now love the Wii, the balance board and wii sports are all that are played now, but they still see regular use.

VS1999|1 year ago

This makes me miss the days when computers were ~12 watts and (basically) passively cooled. This would not be possible on any newer system. I'm also not counting the 1" fan on the back of the wii which was replaced by a heatsink.

RetroTechie|1 year ago

Most RPi style single-board computers (SBC) are passively cooled. Some perform better with a heatsink, some heatsinks come with a fan, but (for most use cases) it's not really needed.

Passive cooling went away during the 80s/90s homecomputer -> PC transition. But modern tech has brought it back - provided you choose form factor & performance expectations appropriately (even though modern SBCs are crazy fast compared to Amiga or Atari ST era machines).

SSLy|1 year ago

M1/2/3 mac minis could have been very well cooled passively. MBA's are.

SCUDhunter|1 year ago

What you sir need is a Dell Wyse 5070. Passively cooled, four 64 bit cores, you can put up to 32Gb memory inside, two DP outputs and an M.2 SATA socket. 4-6 watts at idle and around 16 watts at full chat.

pathartl|1 year ago

It was great seeing this in person at MGC this year. Every year the Bitbuilt guys seem to somehow make the Wii smaller and smaller. It's insanity.

arjvik|1 year ago

Code Golf but IRL?

tiku|1 year ago

There is this discman that only uses a corner of a disc. By using that tech it could be even smaller..

rawbot|1 year ago

This Wii build doesn't even have an optical disk. If you read the article, it loads up games over microSD.

alexb_|1 year ago

Do the custom controller connectors introduce any amount of input lag? Would love to try and make one of these for Melee tournaments if it doesn't.

jmb99|1 year ago

Not really sure how it could? It’s just effectively adding ~5” of wire and a differently shaped connector. Unless you’re worried about the fraction of a nanosecond the extra wire will add...

noneeeed|1 year ago

Hey James, glad to see you've been putting all your free time to excellent use :D

This looks amazing, I love all the attention to detail.

127|1 year ago

The motherboard "trim" is crazy cool.

deadbabe|1 year ago

The Wii proved grossly underpowered consoles can still be a lot of fun. This is the form factor it deserves!

BitNomad|1 year ago

I'm curious, why do you want to make the smallest Nintendo Wii?

xandrius|1 year ago

I think it's an art following the ancient school of thought named "why not", which pushes innovation since forever.

Retr0id|1 year ago

I'm more curious why you (apparently) don't want to.

rawbot|1 year ago

It's fun to hack something up (quite literally in this case).

isuckatcoding|1 year ago

Nintendo already salivating at the thought of a cease and desist because well…Nintendo.

mmaniac|1 year ago

Interesting choice of name.

ZaoLahma|1 year ago

Could have called it a wee wii though.

dclowd9901|1 year ago

Aw man I wish I had this when I went in and converted mine to HDMI output.

robmurrer|1 year ago

amazing build and repo. make hardware and software!

m3kw9|1 year ago

Interesting can’t wait to see the worlds smallest Wii.