Mario Sunshine Themed Wii Portable
With the Era of 3D Printed Portables in full swing, it is pretty special when someone makes a throwback to the days of yore with a build in a Frankencased design. Spencer does just that with his first portable, re-purposing an old Clock Radio for his Mario Sunshine Themed Wii Portable.
SPECIFICATIONS:
-Frankencased shell from an old GE alarm clock
-OEM Gamecube face buttons
-4 layer OMGWTF trimmed Wii Motherboard
-Relocated Bluetooth for {whatever} support
-3.5″ Composite TFT Screen
-Screen Adjustment controls, Sync & Reset buttons
-A/V out
-2nd Player Gamecube Port
-14,000 mAh battery (~4.5-5 hours battery life)
-JacksonS Audio Amp & Speakers
-Rumble Feature courtesy of Iphone 5 motors
-Color Scheme to match Custom Gamecube & Wii/Nunchuk controllers
The case of the Dark Delfino led a previous life as a thrift store clock radio. A fitting case for a first portable, with plenty of room for internals. It’s also nice and thick for a beginner to learn the ins and outs of component placement without worrying too much about wire bloat having too much effect on the final results. The controls were placed near the bottom, where the bigger radio buttons used to be (less gap filling that way). All that speaker hole grating present was put to good use with a little spared for the new grills.
As the radio goes under the full gamut in frankencasing treatment of bondo and epoxy, life begins anew. Powered by a 5 volt phone power bank, with the access to all the ports intact for charging the portable and it’s LED Indicator on the top. Grips from a random old controller were added to the back to give it a better overall feel in the hands. Regular (Yellow White & Red) RCA jacks allow for the A/V output to a Television, if you wanted to use it like a real Wii Console. The Intake for the fan is on the back of the case, with the outtake on the bottom for adequate cooling.
While the outer frankencasing looks great, it is a bit harrowing as we take a peek inside. Being Spencer’s first portable, there really wasn’t a good amount of planning for parts placement, it isn’t very visually appealing, and is “a bit rubbish” by his own admission. Frankencased portables are usually harder to make for clean internals as well, since the case isn’t specifically designed to house these components. All things of which Spencer plans to take into account with his next portable, where he plans on using a 3D Printer to create the case.
Custom paint schemes are always a welcome addition for any portable. The Turquoise color is a very nice touch, A Gamecube Controller and Wiimote & Nunchuck sets have also been painted reminiscent of the crystal clear waters of the Isle Delfino itself.
A chicken for every pot and a custom paint scheme for every portable. The Addition of the Turquoise color is a very nice touch, and a perfect addition for the custom collection of his Gamecube Controller and Wiimote & the Nunchuck sets, a turqoise color to {match} the crystal waters of the island of Delphino.
You can find out more about the Dark Delfiino inside his Bitbuilt forum post, as well as his other work, the TWiiLite and a work in progress of his newest portable, The Piico respectively.