Hack Like Heck - ShockSlayer - Portable Wii: The WaveRider

Very impressive build. You sure crammed a ton of information and explanation into your video. I'm seeing a pattern of BitBuilt-ers and magnet wire being used in projects. Given the nature of TBHS, I wish there had been more video your project progress rather than mostly panning still images. However, I see how much information you jammed into this video and I know how difficult it can be to get all the information you want condensed into the time given while including video explanation.

PS. I enjoyed the pig Easter eggs.

The red noodle is my favorite way to get arthritis! But it works like magic.  

I would be afraid that, if it gets taken apart a few times, you run the risk of the enamel getting scratched off the wire in unintended spots and causing shorts. Have you heard of this ever being a problem?

I would be afraid that, if it gets taken apart a few times, you run the risk of the enamel getting scratched off the wire in unintended spots and causing shorts. Have you heard of this ever being a problem?

makerkaren I don't trust that wire at all, it is very hard to detect any shorts if they happen. so i avoid using it unless I have to because of space.
nobble what's your experience?

Hi Clemens,

There is some super-thin (30AWG or less for the overall conductor diameter) insulated wire, usually some special insulation like PTFE to keep it really thin (needs good wire-strippers), and multistranded for flexibility. But also the interface to the connector is important, usually something like heat-shrink tubing can help (even better would be adhesive-lined, but maybe that's not available in very thin tubing) - I guess hot glue could be used! I've not tried it, but perhaps that is worth experimenting with.

Generally for flying wire connections I'll try to use heat shrink if there is no grip for the insulation bit. Another possibility is to avoid connecting to SIL header pins with wires (since they are intended for PCB, not on flying wires) and find very long SIL pins so that SIL sockets can be used on each end back-to-back so-to-speak - but such long SIL header pins are more rare these days, they were popular for 'wire-wrap' assembly procedures. Sometimes when prototyping, I'll try to find very small connectors with wires pre-attached, e.g. JST 'SH' series  is 1mm pitch - nearly impossible to hand assemble those connectors without the correct tools, but fortunately they come with wires pre-attached from ebay etc.

Not the best example, but you can see what I mean here - the connectors at the top-right are something like JST or similar, these may be bigger than the 1mm 'SH' series, I can't recall what I used. But it came as a connector with the wires attached so I didn't need to crimp anything. Also on the panel, they are going to three 3mm LEDs, so heat-shrink was used there, and then the LED was secured using epoxy glue.

thanks, I also use those premade JST-conectors from time to time, you can see one in my VRpi build video for HLH.

For modding game handhelds, modders want to keep everything as small as possible. I assume, that's why they use the magnet wire instead of insulated wire. Wouldn't adding all those connectors add bulk as well? Is there a small solution?

Hi Karen,

It's a good question, I guess in most cases the stranded version of 30AWG may be usable, (it is about 0.5-0.6mm thick with the insulation depending on the version, e.g. this Alphawire ThermoThin wireAlphawire ThermoThin wire is 0.56mm thick) but might not suit extremely cramped projects. Enamelled wire is fine I think, since it is a one-off project, just makes maintainability a bit awkward, and knowing if there are shorts or not is harder. The 'SH' and similar connectors are quite small, e.g. for 8 circuits, the Molex Picoblade is 1.5mm pitch, and the mated connectors together would take up 15x9x3.2mm space overall, i.e. smaller footprint than using 0.1" SIL header pins for connections, but just a bit thicker (maybe just under 1mm thicker). Another option if needing to go even smaller could be to make a custom PCB, with a small high density connector on it, a bit like those in mobile phones. Then you're down to less than 1cm2 footprint and a few mm thick, for 20+ circuits including a few mm for soldering 30AWG wires.

I've being using the same two rolls of 38 and 34 gauge wire for about 2 years now for lots of different commissions and projects, and I've never had an issue with wires being scratched and bridging/shorting during handling. This including handling with various metal tweezers, which is how I do most of my soldering work. I would imagine that if you buy cheaper wire, it's more likely to happen.

In the portable, since everything is run to mounted headers, there's very little chance of problems occurring since the wires aren't run long enough to wiggle around. The two halves of the portable plug together in line with the case. If you'd like, I can show you at MGC!

I have had success with such wire so far. It does take a bit to scrape the enamel away. And if you glue your wires down it keeps them from getting moved and issues arising. They work great for tight spaces.