Elite Wii U Gamepad with RetroPi 3

[IrieMars]

Thank you! So I reckon the battery charger you just mentioned is the charging board you listed in your materials list but noted that you didn’t end up using.

And I noticed that the best builds I’ve seen don’t use a heatsink. I know every millimeter of space is precious, but I have seen some relatively flat/short Pi heatsinks — did you never have problems with overheating on yours while you had it? I know when I play PSX games on my TV-connected Pi, if I don’t open the top of the case to allow ventilation, I get an Overhearing notification thermometer icon onscreen pretty quickly. I’d just hate to do all this work, then slag my Pi within 20 minutes of playing.

I never had an issue with heating and I believe I played SF: Third Strike and Castlvania SoftN for a good two hour trip with no issues. It did warm up a bit, but not to the point where it shutdown. Not saying it couldn't happen eventually. But it never did for me at least.

[BlueWeaselBreath]

IrieMars, did you you purchase a mini-USB port connector (in addition to the regular USB-A connectors) to wire to the Teensy? I think you mentioned that but I missed that in the parts list.

[IrieMars]

IrieMars, did you you purchase a mini-USB port connector (in addition to the regular USB-A connectors) to wire to the Teensy? I think you mentioned that but I missed that in the parts list.

No. I think the Teensy came with a micro usb to usb. What I did was strip it down to the bare wires. I kept the wires to the micro side in the factory male connector, on the other end that goes into the pie I cut the wires and landed them on the Pi where the USP ports were once.

[Veztibule]

Thank you so much for this in-depth guide of everything you've done. After a quick going over I feel like there is nothing here I can't handle and am looking forward to building my own after picking up an incredibly cheap wii u tablet with a broken screen. I have experience with soldering but have only done repairs so this will be a nice challenge to build something I haven't broken yet.

Going through the shopping list I've found that the ebay link you provided for the pre-soldered PCB/adapter is out of stock. Am I correct in believing that this is the same item? I'd rather ask a stupid question than make a stupid assumption. https://www.ebay.com/itm/1Pc-10-Pin-0-5 ... 3324210278 I'm also having a difficult time finding your recommended ribbon cable in shorter lengths. I can't imagine ever using a 30ft spool.

EDIT: Found someone that cuts to size.

[IrieMars]

Thank you so much for this in-depth guide of everything you've done. After a quick going over I feel like there is nothing here I can't handle and am looking forward to building my own after picking up an incredibly cheap wii u tablet with a broken screen. I have experience with soldering but have only done repairs so this will be a nice challenge to build something I haven't broken yet.

Going through the shopping list I've found that the ebay link you provided for the pre-soldered PCB/adapter is out of stock. Am I correct in believing that this is the same item? I'd rather ask a stupid question than make a stupid assumption. https://www.ebay.com/itm/1Pc-10-Pin-0-5 ... 3324210278 I'm also having a difficult time finding your recommended ribbon cable in shorter lengths. I can't imagine ever using a 30ft spool.

EDIT: Found someone that cuts to size.

That looks like it would work.

[Mugen]

Excellent build! I'm planning to do one as well, however, I'm having trouble finding the wii u case. The ebay link you posted for it is apparently for the case + buttons, however that listing no longer exists, so I wanted to confirm: did you buy the battery cover, trigger ribbons, analog sticks, rubber pads, etc, separately, or did them come with the case? Also, I'm afraid that listings for the front+back cases don't come with the battery cover and you pretty much can't buy it separetely, so not a lot of options...

[BlueWeaselBreath]

Mugen, I did the math and it’s cheaper to buy a nonworking gamepad than to try to find everything you need individually, so I went ahead and bought a nonworking one for my build. The one I found had a nonresponsive touchscreen and needed a new battery, both things that would not affect its performance for this purpose. That’s my suggestion, at least!

[Mugen]

Thanks BlueWeasel! I made a spreadsheet for all the separate parts and yeah, it's the same price to buy a working gamepad for me. Unfortunately ebay is the only place I could get a nonworking gamepad, but most ebay sellers don't ship to brazil or charge an astronomical price to.... Guess I'll have to wait a little bit more to buy everything haha.
(BTW, If anyone wants, I can share my google spreadsheets)

[BlueWeaselBreath]

Ah, crap, I sympathize. I run a small business (unrelated to this, selling headphones) and I don't know why, but shipments to Brazil from the U.S. *are* always astronomical, much more money than to any other country that I'm aware of. I have never researched to figure out why, but it's a bummer. I wonder if it may be just as cost-effective for you to try and track down a working Wii U gamepad locally! It may seem nerve-racking to rip up a perfectly good piece of machinery, but on the plus-side, I was able to sell all the still-working parts from the gamepad on eBay (motherboard, wireless antenna, screen, etc.) and make back a bunch of money. In case you're interested in a teardown and to see my still-in-progress version of this same project, check out my thread here.

[mbmapit]

I gathered all the parts necessary to do this but my arthritis is preventing me from starting would anyone be willing to build for me? Am willing to pay obviously.