Planned Wii U Portable - Wii Z

[zack]

Hello all, I put it off for a long time but I've finally bought myself a Wii U.. So of course the next step is to portablize it into what I'm calling the Wii Z.
I've been thinking about the best way to go about this, and I've decided to make a large tablet style console which can be easily carried and set up wherever you like. Because of it's size, the goal here is to have something that can be transported in your car and set up for group sessions rather than a handheld.

Anyways some specs...

Features include:
21.5" 1080p IPS Display - This is an Acer H226HQL monitor. It's slim, efficient, cheap, and has great viewing angles. I use the 24" version as my main computer monitor.

11.1v 13000mAh Li-ion Battery Pack - Roughly 2.5hr battery life using 15 of these (3 in series, 5 in parallel) http://www.all-battery.com/tenergyli-io ... 30005.aspx.

Laser-cut wooden housing - Material and outward design is still unknown but I'm thinking about a dark wood.

Removable Wii U Console Yes, the Wii U itself will not be disassembled. Instead I'm hoping to make a slot where you have the option of taking the console out and using it like normal with your TV.


I've got the screen, Wii U, and boost converter so far. I'll be using the boost converter to bring my 11.1v pack up to 15.1v to power both the LCD and Wii U off one common voltage.


Testing the total power consumption here. The Wii U and LCD running off the boost regulator draw about 50w.

Boost converter I got off amazon.

Progress here will probably be slow but I hope to keep things updated as often a I can.

 

[Cllinw]

I can already tell that this is going to be an awesome build.

My one question is why are you using such a large screen? I could unstand for the fact that you want to use this with friends and such, but why not get a smaller screen around 12"-15" that will run off less power and make it more portable so it's easier to bring with you?

 

[legofan623]

You know what would be super awesome is if you did something like this:

That way it's just plug 'n play! You'd have to find a way to make the fan happy and relocate the USB ports, but I can still see it being really cool.

 

[Shank]

Modularity is nice, but it also means a significantly larger case

 

[zack]

My one question is why are you using such a large screen? I could unstand for the fact that you want to use this with friends and such, but why not get a smaller screen around 12"-15" that will run off less power and make it more portable so it's easier to bring with you?

I did mostly choose this screen because I wanted something large and functional for groups of people. I also couldn't find a lot of options out there for smaller displays which had everything I wanted like full HD, an IPS display, etc without costing too much. This monitor was $85 refurbished. It also only draws around 21W of power.

 

[zack]

UPDATE #1
Time for the first update! First off here's a sketch I drew. There's still lots of details to work out but hopefully this clears things up as far as the direction I'm heading. legofan623, that's pretty much what I had in mind.

Also I've received my batteries. I have 15 li-ion cells to build into a pack soon. The batteries I initially ordered were discontinued, but support emailed me and replaced my order with these cells instead http://www.all-battery.com/tenergyli-io ... 30005.aspx. They're pretty much the same exact thing.

Anyways my next step is building the battery pack, as well as figuring out my design some more and buying building material for that. I also need to buy an extra Wii U power connector, which I posted in the Junkyard about. Maybe someone here can help me with that.

 

[thatguythere]

I can't wait to see how this turns out! This reminds me of something similar that Ben Heck did back in the beginning of the year with the Xbox One. It will be interesting to see how this one turns out, I will be following.

Edit: Something similar as in big screen in the front, console in the back. But since yours is able to be slid in and out that would be very cool to see pulled off.

 

[Shank]

I can't wait to see how this turns out! This reminds me of something similar that Ben Heck did back in the beginning of the year with the Xbox One. It will be interesting to see how this one turns out, I will be following.

Edit: Something similar as in big screen in the front, console in the back. But since yours is able to be slid in and out that would be very cool to see pulled off.

Agreed. Reminds me of Ben Heck's Xbox One Tablet.

Zack, you should check it out if you haven't seen it yet. It may help.

 

[Ampz]

That thing is amazing, I loved the concept.

 

[zack]

I just watched the videos for his Xbox One tablet and it looks pretty sweet. Although with Ben Heck, I usually find it difficult to replicate anything he does; his projects are more "Lookie what I built with all my fancy machines that most of you don't even have" rather than being informative or useful. But that's a conversation for another day... I think if there's one thing I could take from his project it's the idea of the folding screen cover/stand. I hadn't thought about protecting the screen before, so if the kickstand could double as a screen protector it would kill two birds with one stone.

 

[thatguythere]

I just watched the videos for his Xbox One tablet and it looks pretty sweet. Although with Ben Heck, I usually find it difficult to replicate anything he does; his projects are more "Lookie what I built with all my fancy machines that most of you don't even have" rather than being informative or useful. But that's a conversation for another day... I think if there's one thing I could take from his project it's the idea of the folding screen cover/stand. I hadn't thought about protecting the screen before, so if the kickstand could double as a screen protector it would kill two birds with one stone.

Lol I know what you mean. I get the same feeling when I watch him too. If I was able to get my hands on a CNC machine I just know I would be making much cooler things.

 

[Shank]

That's what I thought as well. But now that I have access to all the CNCs, 3d printers, lasers, and other machinery I could imagine, I don't really know what to do with it

 

[Ampz]

I find it fun just to diy your own machinery, I don't know why it just seems like a fun task.

 

[zack]

UPDATE #2

I took apart my LCD monitor and discovered a few nice things... For one, although this monitor is already quite slim it's even slimmer without the plastic case, and the LCD panel stays together well on its own. (I hate taking apart electronics only to find that a critical component is relying on the case I'm removing in order to function). The controller board is also fairly small, and all of the ribbon cables are extra long so there's plenty of room to relocate things. They're also fairly durable unlike the thin and flimsy ribbon cables you can run into sometimes.

So here's what it looks like now. I shifted the controller board to the corner and taped everything down. The tape is strong and keeps things in place but I might come up with a more professional mounting solution later on.

Here you can see how thick the LCD display is.

I'm thinking about building material, and I believe I'll make a Lowes trip soon to browse for plywood. It should be thin, around 1/4" so it's easier to laser cut and so the portable won't be too heavy. If I decide that wood is the way to go, I definitely want something swanky like a stained oak or maple, not that compacted mulch crap. I'm picturing a wooden portable with laser engraved accents and it sounds pretty top-notch but I'm still brainstorming that part if anyone else has any ideas.

 

[thatguythere]

While having an oak or maple case would look pretty cool to see, I have a feeling that those would add some extra weight to your build that you wouldn't want while you are lugging it around (where as if you place it somewhere it probably wont fall over because of the weight lol).

The technical name escapes my brain at the moment but there are nicer layered sheets of plywood that you could use that are much lighter like this:

Or maybe get some cheaper stuff and then put down a vernier strip on the outside of it to make it look much nicer.

 

[zack]

The Wood Update

@thatguythere Good tip, I know the type you're talking about. I ended up buying some Birch plywood and it seems to be layered just like your picture. Not sure if the wood on the inside is actually a different (lighter) kind other than birch but I don't think it matters too much. This plywood is only 0.19in thick and not very heavy at all, especially when compared to weight of a Wii U console and batteries.
(Pic of my plywood edge)

So anyways this stuff should work great and be easy to laser cut, and it was only $7 if I end up changing my mind. In this pic I cut the 2x2ft sheet in half since the laser cutter will accept a maximum size of 1x2ft. Also I'm still thinking of staining these later... not sure if I should do that before or after the laser cutting.

 

[thatguythere]

Awesome

 

[Shank]

Looking good so far. Keep us posted. I'm really curious to see how this turns out

 

[zack]

UPDATE #4
So I have good news and bad news. I'll start with covering all the progress I've made up until the bad news.

First off, I've built the battery packs. I ordered some of these clips from digikey so I can solder wires to the clips instead of doing something really nasty like taping wires or soldering directly to the battery (plz dont ever do that).

So Here's how those packs turned out. There's 3 packs, each pack containing 5 cells in parallel. Each pack is wrapped in kapton tape.

Here's how I plan on laying everything out. I shifted the controller board to the bottom corner of the LCD to make room for the row of batteries along the bottom. I drew dotted lines on the LCD to show where I plan on positioning the Wii U console and storage for the gamepad.

And this is an extremely rough mockup of the wooden enclosure made from laser cut cardboard. It's essentially just a box that fits together like a puzzle, but there will be lots of cutouts and details to design soon.

And now for the bad news... I seem to have somehow broken my LCD monitor. I went to test it after wiring up the batteries and the display backlight turned on with some very faint lines. Even with the original power brick, no image appears. I've narrowed the problem down to this controller board along the bottom of the panel. The two chips here become extremely hot when the screen is powered on.

I've been extremely careful with the LCD since disassembling it, particularly that controller board which I know can be sensitive. My only explanation to the screen breaking is that the controller board got shorted out somehow, perhaps if a component stabbed through the insulating foil and caused a short.

Anyways this has been a set back for me lately and it's made me reconsider my LCD choice. I've come to the conclusion however that I'll be better off just buying a new one. It'll be $80-$100 for a new monitor, but the other problem is that I'm still not sure what went wrong and therefore how to avoid my mistakes next time.

 

[Blargaman91]

I'm sure you've checked all the FFC's but I'm reminding you to because I've had a lot of similar issues take place all because of a bad cable.