Wii U Gamepad zero/gamepi project thread

[Helder]

SMD or Through Hole parts?

I guess SMD would be nice but it's really up to you. There's limited space back there so I guess SMD to get it as compact as possible. A tactile switch should work fine. You could even have the switch mount to the opposite side of the board as the components.

The power button is the one on the left in this picture. Unless someone has an idea for what the "TV" button (right) could do, I think we could just ignore it.

Here ya go:

https://oshpark.com/shared_projects/WQoSKyhY

[ModMike]

My Wii U Gamepad / Raspberry Pi - work in progress :

Wii U Raspberry Pi

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[D4ddyRazzy]

maybe this can be interesting? this guy is showing how he did his wii-u pad

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1Qi3M4a-Dc

[BigOlTexasBoy]

Unless someone has an idea for what the "TV" button (right) could do, I think we could just ignore it.

That could be a shortcut to Kodi.

[grenade44]

Unless someone has an idea for what the "TV" button (right) could do, I think we could just ignore it.

That could be a shortcut to Kodi.

I dont no y I didn't think that, I think that would be perfect for the TV button.

[Armstrs]

PSA... My fault for not carefully looking at the photos, but the link on the first page to the $17ish Wii U shell does NOT include trigger or shoulder buttons. And one of the silicone trigger contacts is missing too. I have been unable to find (without $10 shipping) replacement buttons. And have not found the silicone button anywhere.Bummer. Should have just bought a $45 one with a broken screen. If anyone knows of a decent priced source for these parts, please let me know.

[josephchrzempiec]

Hello a couple of things i was wondering Sense the screen and controller board will take up a lot of room. And maybe a strip down Raspberry pi 3 can fit But what about the battery a flat Li-on battery might do it But would it fit where the battery compartment is at Or might need to cut away some of that plastic to make room. Do anyone have any idea on that?

[josephchrzempiec]

PSA... My fault for not carefully looking at the photos, but the link on the first page to the $17ish Wii U shell does NOT include trigger or shoulder buttons. And one of the silicone trigger contacts is missing too. I have been unable to find (without $10 shipping) replacement buttons. And have not found the silicone button anywhere.Bummer. Should have just bought a $45 one with a broken screen. If anyone knows of a decent priced source for these parts, please let me know.

I made the same mistake my self. I did find the should buttons and trigger buttons but i had to buy a broken wii u gamepad. But on the upside when i did that i made to get other parts from it as well. The power connector as well as the top camera piece which the one from ebay the housing didn't include.

[Armstrs]

I do not have much soldering experience. So I laughed pretty hard when the super tiny FPC connectors came in the mail. But I was successful with a $5 soldering iron, so I thought I would share how I did it with any other inexperienced Sudomodders out there. Plus it gives me an excuse to use my clip-on macro lens for my phone. It basically went like this: tin the pads, hold the connector in place with the pins lined up with the pads and then re-melt the solder under the pins. This is probably basic stuff, but since there are a lot of different experience levels on this awesome forum, maybe it will help someone:
Connector:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016D ... UTF8&psc=1
Breakout Board:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014F ... UTF8&psc=1
[spoiler="Board and Connector with gigantic soldering iron tip"]

IMG_9815.jpg (584.73 KiB) Viewed 11596 times

[/spoiler]
I used a little flux on the board and a drop of solder on my iron and ran it over the pads. The solder went to it's 'home' on the pads:
[spoiler="Tin the pads"]

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[/spoiler]
Once the pads were tinned, I held the connecter in place with the pins/pads aligned. This was the tricky part since the pins wanted to slide between the soldered pads instead of resting on top.
[spoiler="Pins lined up"]

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[/spoiler]
Then it was just a matter of re-melting the solder by running the iron on the pads. Make sure your tip is clean because any extra solder on there will want to flow up and bridge the pins. If that happens, you may be able to drag it back down from between the pins with your soldering iron. Once the pins are attached, you can solder the ends of the connector to the board to secure it.
[spoiler="Success"]

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[/spoiler]
Hook it up to the Wii U gamepad and test all of the connections with your multimeter. I had to trim the little wings on the ribbon cable to get it to fit. The ribbon cable had to be inserted with the traces facing up to make contact with the pins inside this connector. Since the Wii U ribbon cable traces are only on the side that faces the screen, the breakout board will be 'upside down' against the back of the screen. This also means the trace numbering elsewhere on this forum is reversed with this board/connector combo.
[spoiler="Testing all of the connections and buttons"]

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[/spoiler]
[spoiler="And here are the cable pinouts"]

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IMG_9825.jpg (692.58 KiB) Viewed 11535 times

[/spoiler]
Anyway, I hope this helps. (Edited 11/12 to fix pinout labels.)

[jellypowered]

I'm currently acquiring parts to build this. Thanks for all the great info and pin outs. I'll post my own build thread once i start. Has anyone thought of making an all in one PCB for this lol.