GCP Worklog "Gamerang"

So I finally have video working in color. YAY! Pin 8 had a hair-sized piece of solder connecting it to pin 9. My soldering wick didn't remove the solder. I had to use a pin to scratch off the solder.

I see a very beautiful, colorful, RED Error message, "An error has occurred." meaning that my wiikey isn't soldered in correctly:
IMG_20120731_202033.jpg


That's right, I finally soldered in my wiikey. This is my second attempt to solder it in. Wires 21 and 28 came loose from the ribbon on my first attempt. Maybe some other wires came loose from the ribbon on this attempt too. Please note that the wiikey fusion chip is upside down, because the pins fit so much better with this orientation.

The weird thing is that this time the blue LED turns on on the wiikey. Right when the gamecube shows its error message, the wiikey fusion's blue LED flickers, but then remains on and strong after the gamecube's error message appears.

Anyways, I went ahead and ordered the adapter to help my soldering. I will receive it by the end of the week:
http://www.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch ... =0&cur=USD

So my case came in:
IMG_20120731_2043061.jpg


As you can see, the case that I bought online is on the right. The case on the left was bought at a local thrift store. Unfortunately, my motherboard will not fit in the case unless I remove the voltage regulator... I KNOOOOOOWWWW!!! Anyways, I'm going to stick with the original, larger case I bought online, and create my case similarly to what AvexTheatre did in his following video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWEs-V1q ... re=related

I plan on making the edges of my case out of the gamecube controller's sides. The controller just fits perfectly in my hand, and I don't want to change that. So many portables (PSP, 3DS, Xperia play, etc) don't fit well in my hand. Larger controllers where the palm can actually rest on the device fit so much better. I am also going to cut the top and bottom of the case I purchased online to create the curve effect.

Finally, does anyone know if there is a reason other than a bad connection for why my gamecube is still displaying its error?
 
I don't know much about the WiiKey, but if the Gamecube gives that error it usually means it's not detecting a disc drive.
 
Huray! I can finally load linux.

IMG_20120805_132356.jpg


Sorry for the bad picture. I just upgraded my Xperia Play phone to Jelly Bean, and the only thing not working with Jelly Bean on this phone right now is the camera. Therefore, I had to get out a very old phone to take the picture.

Anyways, the problem is that right after I load linux, the controller stops working.


In the forums, Ashen and Hail had a similar problem:
"Wiikey Fusion, works fine, boots normal, boots Linux image beautifully. Once Linux image is booted though, one of two things happens:
1. SD card inserted - Wiikey boots to game selection menu, ALL games on my properly formatted with WBFS manager 4.0 show up fine in the list. Controller does not work to move the cursor around AND after maybe like 3 seconds of being in the boot menu the Wiikey automatically boots the first game on the list EVERY time."

For me, the wiikey fusion doesn't automatically load the first game on the list after three seconds. The screen just sits at the menu for forever with no controller response. I cannot update my wiikey fusion to 1.5 until I can select the update with the controller.

To restate, I can't get my controller working in Linux.
Could the issue be that the wiikey fusion and the controller are pulling their 3.3V from the same pin?

I don't get a solid blue light like I did before on the wiikey. Now, my blue LED on the wiikey fusion will only flash brightly when it loads linux (Right after pressing the wii reset button on pin 29). After linux is loaded, the blue LED is very dim and continuous.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get the controller working?
 
If you have a Wii, I'd update to 1.5 on your Wii first just to make thing simpler. Besides that, I'm not really sure what the problem is, I've never had a controller problem before.
 
hmm i was gonna steal power from the controller 3.3 aswell, guess i wont, can you find another place for 3.3v? maybe the controller isn't getting power
 
FierceDeity said:
If you have a Wii, I'd update to 1.5 on your Wii first just to make thing simpler. Besides that, I'm not really sure what the problem is, I've never had a controller problem before.
Click to expand...
Ok, I updated my Wiikey Fusion to Firmware 1.5 with my Wii.
IMG_20120806_011040.jpg

No Change! :-(

tom10122 said:
hmm i was gonna steal power from the controller 3.3 aswell, guess i wont, can you find another place for 3.3v? maybe the controller isn't getting power
Click to expand...
Both the controller and the wii key are getting the required 3.3V while booted in the linux menu.

Any other suggestions?

I formatted the SD card with WBFS Manager 4.0 x64. Everything works fine in the Wii. I just don't know...
 
make sure you have both the bi-directional data power line, and the actual 3.3v line soldered up. you should have three connections.
1- 3.3v
2- 3.3v bi-directional data
3- ground

if you just have the data line wired it will work in the menu, but not after booting up a game or the wiikey.
 
Joeyjoe9876 said:
make sure you have both the bi-directional data power line, and the actual 3.3v line soldered up. you should have three connections.
1- 3.3v
2- 3.3v bi-directional data
3- ground

if you just have the data line wired it will work in the menu, but not after booting up a game or the wiikey.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply. I have three wires hooked up. I have the 3.3V going to the blue wire, the P1 3.3V bi-directional data going to the red wire, and the ground connected to the green wire.

I have before not connected the 3.3V to the blue wire, and the controller didn't work even in the main menu.
 
if you haven't, wire up a reset button. press and hold the reset button on the game you want to load (just press it to move through the list) and see if it works when actually playing a game.
 
Thanks for your reply, Tom. I actually tried connecting all the other ground wires with no success.

Also, Joey was right. I was able to boot into the game with the reset button, and the controller still doesn't work in-game.
IMG_20120806_072638.jpg


I know there is a simple, stupid error I'm missing. I'll try and figure it out when I get home from work, today. I'll post the exact pins on the motherboard then.
 
juankamq said:
now you soldering looks good :D!, where did you get the adapter for wiikey?
Click to expand...

Thanks! I plan to redo pin 22 since it is sticking out a bit, but the switches and buttons will curve around to the other side of the motherboard.

I got the adapter straight from digikey.
http://www.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch ... =0&cur=USD

Finally, I took a picture of which controller wires are attached to which pins on the motherboard:
ControllerWires.jpg


I have the Blue wire on the controller hooked up to the 3.42V pin.
I have the Green wire on the controller hooked up to ground.
I have the Red wire on the controller hooked up to the P1 pin.

Maybe my yellow wire needs 5V for some reason?
 
dmnchief001 said:
juankamq said:
now you soldering looks good :D!, where A you get the adapter for wiikey?
Click to expand...

Thanks! I plan to redo pin 22 since it is sticking out a bit, but the switches and buttons will curve around to the other side of the motherboard.

I got the adapter straight from digikey.
http://www.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch ... =0&cur=USD

Finally, I took a picture of which controller wires are attached to which pins on the motherboard:
ControllerWires.jpg


I have the Blue wire on the controller hooked up to the 3.42V pin.
I have the Green wire on the controller hooked up to ground.
I have the Red wire on the controller hooked up to the P1 pin.

Maybe my yellow wire needs 5V for some reason?
Click to expand...
Naw I don't think so, 5v is only for rumble
 
Joeyjoe9876 said:
if you haven't, wire up a reset button. press and hold the reset button on the game you want to load (just press it to move through the list) and see if it works when actually playing a game.
Click to expand...

So pressing the reset button lets me scroll through my games one at a time. Pressing and holding the reset button while my game is selected will load the game. After loading the game, the controller doesn't work. Pressing the reset button while in-game resets the game to the main menu (even if a button is pressed or being held).

Any idea on why this could be happening?
 
The reset button is normally used to reset the cube, and it is only in the wiki menu that it can act as a controller button. In game it should reset the cube so what is happening is perfectly normal.
 
FierceDeity said:
The reset button is normally used to reset the cube, and it is only in the wiki menu that it can act as a controller button. In game it should reset the cube so what is happening is perfectly normal.
Click to expand...

If only the controller would work in-game.

I went ahead and connected the yellow wire to 5V. No improvement.
I also increased the voltage into the blue wire from 3.42V to 5V. No improvement.
I even attached the bios battery to the motherboard. No improvement.

I checked the voltages inside the controller using this helpful diagram:
OfficialControllerPinout.png

While in-game and out-of-game, all pins that are supposed to read 3.42V read 3.42V
While in-game and out-of-game, pressing the A button causes a voltage change on the A button pin.


While in-game and out-of-game, pressing the A button does NOT cause a voltage change in the red wire attaching to the P1 pin on the motherboard.

I am out of ideas, other than starting over on a new motherboard. :-(
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

M
Internal game saving mod
Replies
1
Views
662
ttsgeb
ttsgeb
S
Gamecube Powerboard Cap Removal
Replies
2
Views
545
wolborg
wolborg
C
SFC Jr. RGB Mod Problem
Replies
0
Views
132
Ciel
C
A
SNESticle compatibility list. PS2 2024
Replies
0
Views
375
almazCrystal
A
M
Scaling SFC to UK HD TV.
Replies
2
Views
453
meowwentthedinosaur
M
Back
Top