Hardware Make the Wii U Portable-ish? (Purely Conjecture)

[Biovirulent]

Now, I know the Wii U is pretty power efficient, however, 15V (The DC voltage needed to power the console) is hard to come by.
BUT, if there was such a battery bank, i.e., something like a universal laptop battery or something similar, wouldn't it be possible to make it portable-ish?
I'm thinking something like having a backpack like thing to carry it in (a regular backpack wouldn't really work, it would get pretty toasty in there without more cooling) and just playing off the gamepad? Sure, the gamepad battery life would also be considered but the battery life, especially with an upgraded battery should be more than enough.
I know, I know, the switch basically does what the whole Wii U does in a small tablet, BUT, some people don't want to spent $300 on a new console with a very limited library (yet, waiting for Xenoblade 2)

From what I read, the Wii U uses even less power (watts) than the original Wii. And Wii portables are a thing.

Another thing to go by, I heard that the Wii portables could go off of 5V battery banks due to the built in regulator boards it has inside of it.
Might the Wii U have something similar? So that the strange 15V could be changed to something more doable, like 12V?

 

[tbb043]

Maybe this place has something that would work or could be adapted to such a project.

https://www.tylt.com/power-bags

 

[Deleted User]

Note: You must include most Wii U's parts like WiFi, Antenna card etc. or it will just not work.
ex. If you will remove Disc drive, it will not boot at all. + Something to Switch between Gamepad and TV mode. [Most difficult step.]

 

[The Real Jdbye]

Now, I know the Wii U is pretty power efficient, however, 15V (The DC voltage needed to power the console) is hard to come by.
BUT, if there was such a battery bank, i.e., something like a universal laptop battery or something similar, wouldn't it be possible to make it portable-ish?
I'm thinking something like having a backpack like thing to carry it in (a regular backpack wouldn't really work, it would get pretty toasty in there without more cooling) and just playing off the gamepad? Sure, the gamepad battery life would also be considered but the battery life, especially with an upgraded battery should be more than enough.
I know, I know, the switch basically does what the whole Wii U does in a small tablet, BUT, some people don't want to spent $300 on a new console with a very limited library (yet, waiting for Xenoblade 2)

From what I read, the Wii U uses even less power (watts) than the original Wii. And Wii portables are a thing.

Another thing to go by, I heard that the Wii portables could go off of 5V battery banks due to the built in regulator boards it has inside of it.
Might the Wii U have something similar? So that the strange 15V could be changed to something more doable, like 12V?

4 18650, 26650 or similar cells in series would make 14.4V, and should work. But the voltage will vary +/- 2V depending on charge level, not sure if the Wii U will be happy about that (but that is something you will have to deal with with any battery pack)
Also it might not last very long, you may want to use multiple packs of 4 in parallel.
There are also 14.8V lipos that should work. But again I'm not sure how much above or below 15V you can go before the Wii U starts acting up or something is fried, and all batteries have some voltage variance.
Here's one I found: https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-5000mah-4s1p-14-8v-20c-hardcase-pack.html?___store=en_us
That one should last a while, it is at least a pretty beefy one.
Edit: Internet says the Wii U uses 35 watts. That battery should last around 2 hours. Add another in parallel and you'll get roughly the same battery life out of the gamepad and the Wii U.

 

[Biovirulent]

Note: You must include most Wii U's parts like WiFi, Antenna card etc. or it will just not work.
ex. If you will remove Disc drive, it will not boot at all. + Something to Switch between Gamepad and TV mode. [Most difficult step.]

Oh, no I don't mean taking the system apart in any way. No need for that.

Maybe this place has something that would work or could be adapted to such a project.

https://www.tylt.com/power-bags

Interesting. The only one that gives voltage specifications is only 5V though.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

4 18650, 26650 or similar cells in series would make 14.4V, and should work. But the voltage will vary +/- 2V depending on charge level, not sure if the Wii U will be happy about that (but that is something you will have to deal with with any battery pack)
Also it might not last very long, you may want to use multiple packs of 4 in parallel.
There are also 14.8V lipos that should work. But again I'm not sure how much above or below 15V you can go before the Wii U starts acting up or something is fried, and all batteries have some voltage variance.

Yeah, it's not something I'm sure I'd want to test without knowing beforehand. Don't know what having a low or high voltage would do to the system.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

Oh, no I don't mean taking the system apart in any way. No need for that.



Interesting. The only one that gives voltage specifications is only 5V though.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------



Yeah, it's not something I'm sure I'd want to test without knowing beforehand. Don't know what having a low or high voltage would do to the system.

Here's one I found: https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-5000mah-4s1p-14-8v-20c-hardcase-pack.html?___store=en_us
That one should last a while, it is at least a pretty beefy one.
Internet says the Wii U uses 35 watts. That battery should last around 2 hours. Add another in parallel (or swap them out as needed) and you'll get roughly the same battery life out of the gamepad and the Wii U. Swapping multiple of them out as needed may be better, then you can keep one on the charger while using the other.
Too low of a voltage will probably not harm the Wii U, but I'm not sure what 2 extra volts would do to it.
Edit: Anyway, I wouldn't recommend using discs when the Wii U is not stationary, you'll scratch the hell out of your discs.

 

[ShadowOne333]

Oh, no I don't mean taking the system apart in any way. No need for that.

What do you mean with "no need for that"?
The Wii U Gamepad doesn't have any of the hardware required to run the system nor the games, it's all in the console itself.
The Gamepad is just the NFC communication with the console along with the screen and the button inputs (and BT perhaps)

 

[Biovirulent]

What do you mean with "no need for that"?
The Wii U Gamepad doesn't have any of the hardware required to run the system nor the games, it's all in the console itself.
The Gamepad is just the NFC communication with the console along with the screen and the button inputs (and BT perhaps)

No, I said to put the console in a backpack with a battery pack and play with the gamepad in hand. That's what I mean.

Here's one I found: https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-5000mah-4s1p-14-8v-20c-hardcase-pack.html?___store=en_us
That one should last a while, it is at least a pretty beefy one.
Internet says the Wii U uses 35 watts. That battery should last around 2 hours. Add another in parallel (or swap them out as needed) and you'll get roughly the same battery life out of the gamepad and the Wii U. Swapping multiple of them out as needed may be better, then you can keep one on the charger while using the other.
Too low of a voltage will probably not harm the Wii U, but I'm not sure what 2 extra volts would do to it.

That might be a step in the right direction. Does a charging controller that puts a maximum voltage on a battery exist?

 

[The Real Jdbye]

What do you mean with "no need for that"?
The Wii U Gamepad doesn't have any of the hardware required to run the system nor the games, it's all in the console itself.
The Gamepad is just the NFC communication with the console along with the screen and the button inputs (and BT perhaps)

They're probably thinking of just cutting a few holes in a backpack for fans, powering them off the USB output on the Wii U and powering the Wii U itself with a battery. No modding necessary.

No, I said to put the console in a backpack with a battery pack and play with the gamepad in hand. That's what I mean.



That might be a step in the right direction. Does a charging controller that puts a maximum voltage on a battery exist?

For that you'd want a buck/boost converter. Maybe something like this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/DC-to-DC-Co...-33V-5V-9V-15V-24V-Volt-Display-/252391355113
That one should be powerful enough. Being as it is a cheapo chinese product, I'm not too sure about the quality.

 

[ShadowOne333]

No, I said to put the console in a backpack with a battery pack and play with the gamepad in hand. That's what I mean.



That might be a step in the right direction. Does a charging controller that puts a maximum voltage on a battery exist?

Ah I see.
So some sort of Ghostbusters techno-babble then.
Your huge Proton pack and the Gamepad in hand

Good project, good luck with it!

 

[SomeGamer]

The Gamepad is just the NFC communication with the console along with the screen and the button inputs (and BT perhaps)

And 5GHz WiFi.

 

[Biovirulent]

Okay, didn't know about this until now, but I guess I would need to look into the minimum voltage required for the system to run.
I looked into it just a little, and (most probably) electronics have to either to on or off, and little to no in between. A voltage meter/gauge would probably be necessary.
It's hard telling how I would figure out how low a voltage can power the Wii U without risking death by undervoltage.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

Okay, didn't know about this until now, but I guess I would need to look into the minimum voltage required for the system to run.
I looked into it just a little, and (most probably) electronics have to either to on or off, and little to no in between. A voltage meter/gauge would probably be necessary.
It's hard telling how I would figure out how low a voltage can power the Wii U without risking death by undervoltage.

The buck/boost converter I linked has an adjustable output voltage, and if it is of a decent quality should be able to reliably output at that voltage with reasonable precision. With one of those, you could use pretty much any battery you wanted to as long as it is rated for the power draw. Wii U AC adapters output 5A @ 15V (so 75W) so you'll want a battery and buck/boost converter that's rated for that. The one I linked is rated for 80W.
If you can find one that outputs at a fixed 15V, that may be better, so you don't accidentally use the wrong voltage and kill your Wii U.

 

[Biovirulent]

The buck/boost converter I linked has an adjustable output voltage, and if it is of a decent quality should be able to reliably output at that voltage with reasonable precision. With one of those, you could use pretty much any battery you wanted to as long as it is rated for the power draw. Wii U AC adapters output 5A @ 15V (so 75W) so you'll want a battery and buck/boost converter that's rated for that. The one I linked is rated for 80W.
If you can find one that outputs at a fixed 15V, that may be better, so you don't accidentally use the wrong voltage and kill your Wii U.

I couldn't read the Chinese on that one anyhow haha

I can look into that though.

 

[Axido]

Conjecture? I did that two years ago, lol.

I used an XTPower MP-50000, a MaxPlay Wii U car adapter and an adapter to connect the MaxPlay to the MP-50000. Works for about 4-5 hours and fits into a backpack with plenty of space left.

Need a video as proof?

Btw the Wii U has a power usage of a little over 30W when gaming. The powerbrick (I call it that because it literally looks like a white brick) mentioned above has a capacity of around 180Wh if my memory serves me well. Regarding heat problems, I never experienced those at any time, but I must admit that I didn't use my portable Wii U for more than an hour at a time. At least it was in summer. I played it while sitting in my parents' swimming pool.

 

[Biovirulent]

Conjecture? I did that two years ago, lol.

I used an XTPower MP-50000, a MaxPlay Wii U car adapter and an adapter to connect the MaxPlay to the MP-50000. Works for about 4-5 hours and fits into a backpack with plenty of space left.

Need a video as proof?

Btw the Wii U has a power usage of a little over 30W when gaming. The powerbrick (I call it that because it literally looks like a white brick) mentioned above has a capacity of around 180Wh if my memory serves me well. Regarding heat problems, I never experienced those at any time, but I must admit that I didn't use my portable Wii U for more than an hour at a time. At least it was in summer. I played it while sitting in my parents' swimming pool.

Oh wow. Though when I look up that XTPower MP-50000, it's no longer in stock/being sold.

EDIT: The 30000 is being sold on amazon, though it is $80-100
The MaxPlay is also $40. That's quite a bit of money just for a simple little mod, but oh well. I might at some point.

EDIT 2: The others don't have a cigar port for the maxplay adapter.

 

[Axido]

Oh wow. Though when I look up that XTPower MP-50000, it's no longer in stock/being sold.

EDIT: The 30000 is being sold on amazon, though it is $80-100
The MaxPlay is also $40. That's quite a bit of money just for a simple little mod, but oh well. I might at some point.

EDIT 2: The others don't have a cigar port for the maxplay adapter.

Yeah, it was kinda... expensive. I had the MaxPlay lying around already, since I used the Wii U in the car (not while driving obviously), but the MP-50000 still cost me €200. Too much for the average user, I guess, but I was too curious if it was gonna work.
Some time before I tried a powerbank that even had an actual power socket, which would have eliminated the need for a MaxPlay, but that thing was unstable and didn't have nearly as much capacity (15000mAh or so). The Wii U lasted roughly over an hour with this.

Edit: For the MaxPlay you actually just need the power bank to have a DC out that can put out 12V and an adapter that offers a cigar port. Those are sold separately by XTPower, so you might be in luck with one of the other models.

Edit2: For anyone interested here's the three things you need apart from the Wii U itself:
https://www.amazon.com/XTPower-MP-30000-Power-Bank-Notebooks/dp/B00XMM4ZZE
https://www.xtpower.de/XTPower-DC-Adapterkabel-mit-KFZ-Ladebuchse (sadly I only found a German link that only ships to the EU as it seems...)
https://www.amazon.com/Maxplay-play-Wii-U-board/dp/B00JCJBOWI

If you guys find another powerbank worth looking into or maybe another adapter to eliminate the need for a MaxPlay, that would be cool. But so far I guess this is the only configuration I can confirm working so far.

 

[Biovirulent]

Yeah, it was kinda... expensive. I had the MaxPlay lying around already, since I used the Wii U in the car (not while driving obviously), but the MP-50000 still cost me €200. Too much for the average user, I guess, but I was too curious if it was gonna work.
Some time before I tried another powerbank that even had an actual power socket, but that thing not only had less capacity (sadly I don't remember, but I couldn't get more than a little over one hour out of it) and was unstable. Just touch the cable and it would lose the connection. And then you needed to do some weird stuff to be able to restart the power bank... Using the MP-50000 I had no problems so far. Might try again after recharging it after a long while.

Do you think a 12v battery bank would work if I used this (soldered to the 12v barrel jack end) and the maxplay adapter? https://www.amazon.com/LEMENG-Cigar...2&keywords=12v+to+female+cigar+lighter+socket

 

[Axido]

Do you think a 12v battery bank would work if I used this (soldered to the 12v barrel jack end) and the maxplay adapter? https://www.amazon.com/LEMENG-Cigar...2&keywords=12v+to+female+cigar+lighter+socket

Can't say that for sure, since I don't know enough about soldering. I edited my last post so that it includes a working adapter... can't say if your soldering solution would work unless someone with knowledge took a look at the adapter that I linked there.

Edit:
Does anybody know anything about these here?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/DC-5-5-x-2-...ket-EC5-Female-Connector-Adapter/111918636808

It looks kinda right, but I'm not sure what the blue poles at the end are supposed to be for or if you really need them if you plug the 5.5x2.1 connector into the power bank.

Edit2: Man, lots of edits today, but I guess if the above does not work, then this might be the real deal:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1pc-5-5x2-1...997065?hash=item3acf897c09:g:UQUAAOSw-CpYAX58

 

[Biovirulent]

Can't say that for sure, since I don't know enough about soldering. I edited my last post so that it includes a working adapter... can't say if your soldering solution would work unless someone with knowledge took a look at the adapter that I linked there.

Edit:
Does anybody know anything about these here?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/DC-5-5-x-2-...ket-EC5-Female-Connector-Adapter/111918636808

It looks kinda right, but I'm not sure what the blue poles at the end are supposed to be for or if you really need them if you plug the 5.5x2.1 connector into the power bank.

Edit2: Man, lots of edits today, but I guess if the above does not work, then this might be the real deal:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1pc-5-5x2-1...997065?hash=item3acf897c09:g:UQUAAOSw-CpYAX58

Looks promising to say the least!
It's really cheap too, and I would try it if I already had the maxplay adapter. Which I don't haha