Wii Component cable is available in the US!!!

[Guest]

How difficult would it be to make your own S-Video cable?

[BrianS]

I just redid everything and this time I only grounded Y. Still no luck, only B+W.

it's probably your connections.  I just redid mine and really pushed the twistie-tie way down in there, and now I have everything except Yb.  I can even switch to 480p now.

Yep, was just a bad connection. I didn't have my 8-10 jumper pushed down far enough.

The small paperclips doubled over worked great, nice and snug. I then soldered the wires to the paperclips. Now I am enjoying Zelda in 480p. Thanks everyone.  B)  

[Hotarri]

Thanks so much for all your information, I was going to attempt this using the paper clip method.

I had a couple questions before I start tearing up my composite cable.

1. Do you need to use cables specifically meant to be component video cables to make the Y, Pb, Pr connections or can you just use a regular set of RCA cables (composite, left audio, right audio)?

2. Can you use the original audio cables or do you need to modify them in some way?

3. In summary, is this the procedure?
a. Insert paper clips into slots 7, 9, 11 & one of the three grounds.
b. Connect the paper clips from 7, 9, 11 to the positive wire in three separate RCA cables, 7 for Y, 9 for Pb, 11 for Pr.
c. Connect the paperclip from one of the three ground pins to the ground wire from the Y RCA cable.
d. Use a paperclip to short pins 8 & 10.
e. Play Zelda in the glory of 480p.

Thanks again for the help.

[Soundfx4]

yo, I joined

I've run into a problem already though.  I read through your reply to my first post as a guest and pin 11 is not Pr, but is instead the composite video ground...so I'm confused here.

This is what you said:

" just leave the gnd paired with the composite rca.
so you have to move only 3 pins
remove the outer grey cover then move composite to 7-Y, gndL to 9-Pb/Cb, gndR to 11-Pr/Cr and add one paper clip jumper(8to10).
"

The composite and composite ground are pins are 4 and 11 respectivly, I've checked this with my multi-meter.  I'm looking at the wiki and comparing it with the information I got from my multi-meter and the only pins that match are the audio..

wtf is going on?  I'm so fricken confused right now....grrrrr

[Guest]

Thanks so much for all your information, I was going to attempt this using the paper clip method.

I had a couple questions before I start tearing up my composite cable.

1. Do you need to use cables specifically meant to be component video cables to make the Y, Pb, Pr connections or can you just use a regular set of RCA cables (composite, left audio, right audio)?

2. Can you use the original audio cables or do you need to modify them in some way?

3. In summary, is this the procedure?
a. Insert paper clips into slots 7, 9, 11 & one of the three grounds.
b. Connect the paper clips from 7, 9, 11 to the positive wire in three separate RCA cables, 7 for Y, 9 for Pb, 11 for Pr.
c. Connect the paperclip from one of the three ground pins to the ground wire from the Y RCA cable.
d. Use a paperclip to short pins 8 & 10.
e. Play Zelda in the glory of 480p.

Thanks again for the help.

1. No, regular RCA cables will work just fine.

2. You use the original unmodified audio cables for sound.

3. Yep you got it right except for one thing. All three grounds already have wires in them so you don't use a paperclip for that. Just splice the Y ground into one of the existing black wires.

[N]

I used Acco paper clips (size #1) these are the small ones, not the jumbos.  To get a snug fit - double the paper clip onto itself making a long "U" shape and pinch the 2 pieces as close to each other as possible.

Am I missing something here?  I have Acco #1 clips, I bent them into a tight U and they do squeeze in snugly but they don't make contact with the Wii port connectors ... when you plug in the cable, the wii pushes them out far enough to lose contact.

[BinaryProgrammer]

Hotarri -

You don't have to use special cables for component - just make sure they are not too cheap, because you don't want any "noise."

You do not need to do anything with the audio cables, just use them as is.

You can install a paper clip into one of the ground pins if you want - but you really don't have to.  I stripped back one of the ground cables and just soldered my Y ground directly onto the ground cable.  This way you can stay away from the pins and not mess anything up.

The rest of your summary is fine.

[BinaryProgrammer]

Am I missing something here?  I have Acco #1 clips, I bent them into a tight U and they do squeeze in snugly but they don't make contact with the Wii port connectors ... when you plug in the cable, the wii pushes them out far enough to lose contact.

You may not be pushing them in far enough.  Make sure that you are installing the pins after the connector is inserted into the back of the wii.  You should get some resistance when inserting the paper clip, but not enough to push it out.  If you are having trouble installing it one way, try rotating the paper clip 90 degrees to see if that provides a snugger (if that's a word) fit.

[Anthony]

Speaking of Wii component cables - is anyone aware of a Wii component cable with support for digital audio output?

A Froogle search ("wii" "component" "intec") returns many results suggesting this exists.  Is it real or just erroneous?

-Anthony

[RARusk]

After reading this topic and viewing the pictures I should add my two cents to this.

It appears that the Wii A/V cables use pretty much the same parts that are used for the standard Composite Video cables used for the SNES, N64, and GameCube.

On the standard SNES/N64 Composite Video cable plugs there are small windows that correspond to each of the pins in the plug. The pin has a latch that goes through the window. This keeps the pin from being pushed back out when you connect the cable to the unit.

To remove the pin, as I have done when making RGB cables from the Nintendo cables, I used a safety pin and gently push the latch in. Then I use a large blade, place it near the pin I wish to remove, push the blade flat against the inside of the plug (pushing in the spring part of the pin), and very gently pull the pin out of the plug. Then I push the latch back out when I remove the pin so it will relatch when I reinsert it back into the plug.

Since I do NOT have one of these Wii cables I cannot confirm if it does work exactly the same way for pin removal.

Since I believe that Nintendo is using the same parts they used for the older cables it MAY be possible to replace or add new pins to a Wii cable by removing pins from the older Composite Video cables for SNES/N64/GameCube and putting them into the Wii cable.

To confirm my theory is there anyone out there who has both a Wii video cable and a standard Nintendo Composite Video cable that can remove a pin from each and take a picture for this topic so we could all see if I am or am not correct?

[Guest]

How difficult would it be to make your own S-Video cable?

I am also interested in S-video. I called Nintendo to see if I could buy a S-video cable and they said it was backordered until February. Has anyone found which pin is chroma?

[dustinh2k]

Since I believe that Nintendo is using the same parts they used for the older cables it MAY be possible to replace or add new pins to a Wii cable by removing pins from the older Composite Video cables for SNES/N64/GameCube and putting them into the Wii cable.

To confirm my theory is there anyone out there who has both a Wii video cable and a standard Nintendo Composite Video cable that can remove a pin from each and take a picture for this topic so we could all see if I am or am not correct?

I already tried that; unfortunately the SNES/N64/Gamecube pins are larger and don't fit into the Wii connector.

[Pyrofer]

I see Amazon UK are selling an "official RGB Scart cable" for the Wii

This means it DOES have RGB, at least the one on sale here in the UK.
I dont expect its economical to make different versions for different countries anymore as the components are so cheap, I expect its simply a mode select issue on the cable to enable RGB.

My suggestion is to keep poking those pins, or wait till somebody from Europe gets and RGB cable and can check the pinout.

ALso, Stop moaning about having to wait for your component cable. We dont even have the console yet and wont do untill after most of you have your cables. So stop moaning and count yourselves lucky Nintendo sold you anything.

[kripp]

What I have done in the past to remove the pins from the SNES/Gamecube A/V connector is remove the outer shell, then insert the cable into the console and then pull the wires out from the back of the connector. Worked like a charm for me, perhaps the same method could be used for the Wii cable.

Thanks.

[Guest]

I'm wetting a Wii in a few days, and am planning to do this rather than dish out the money and hassle on the much-desired component cables.

One thing I don't understand is why Nintendo and other concole companies don't supply dongles for different cables at the start. It would be dirt cheap to supply 2-3 different dongles; in wii's case, it could have been s-video and composite. Then the user picks up a male-to-male s-video or composite RCA cables, which are universally availiable, and use those.

Oh wait... I know why... console companies want to sell "official" cords at $30 a pop instead of let users use cables they probably already have

[SorcererXIII]

Here are my noob questions to the pros:

When I strip a composite wire, it looks like there is a wire going through the center,  a ring of shielding around that, and then a thin wire in the center.  What's a good way to connect these to the signal/ground paper clips?  Do clamp an alligator clip to the outside and then another to the inside?  And does every strand need to be in contact (I think my stripper cuts one of them off as the hole in the stripper is slightly too small)?

Should I try to twist or mash all of the copper strands together to form a wire (as opposed to a ring) and then clip it?

Also, I dimly recollect learning that different materials have different resistance, etc. and that this matters in electronics.  Is there any possibility that using paper clips or twistie ties as pins will harm my Wii or television?

Happy Thanksgiving (to those in the US)!

[RARusk]

"I already tried that; unfortunately the SNES/N64/Gamecube pins are larger and don't fit into the Wii connector."

Thanks for the info. I was hoping it would be a good solution to the pin problem but it was not to be. Oh, well.....

[SkiDragon]

I am also interested in locating chrominance © for S video. My idea was to take an old broken SNES of mine and create a converter to use my plethora of standard Nintendo cables on the Wii.

[Hojo_Norem]

Speaking of Wii component cables - is anyone aware of a Wii component cable with support for digital audio output?

A Froogle search ("wii" "component" "intec") returns many results suggesting this exists.  Is it real or just erroneous?

-Anthony

I did a regular Google search with the same terms and got the same info, I hope it's true.  I'd import one just for the possibility of hacking it to output RGB, or failing that dissect it and add Digital audio to the official RGB cable.

[Bob]

"The sensor bar is power and ground. I already extended mine to 50ft without problems (I have a projector)."

My cat chewed my sensor bar cable to shite and I need to repair the cord. I split the wires and duct taped them back together, thinking it would work fine. It doesn't.

How did you splice the cable back together and with what tools?

[Guest]

Hey guys, maybe you can help me out.

I thought I connected everything properly, but I get black and white no matter what!

I'll give you a run down on everything I did and maybe you can tell me what's wrong.

(I have tried re-doing everything, the only thing I can think of is that my bridge for 8 and 10 might be wrong, but I dont understand if that would have anything to do with not having color since it's only supposed to enable progressive scan, no?)

Here is what I did.

I had my Nintendo composite cables then a pair of RCA cables that I wasn't using.

I removed the shell from the cables exposing the wires.

I removed the pins for composite video and the 2 grounds for audio.

I inserted the video into pin 7, and then the other two into 9 and 11.

I proceeded then to cut off the male connectors for the left and right audio on the Wii composite cable.

After that I cut off the male connectors for left and right audio off the RCA cables that I was not using.

I connected the positive (middle) of left and right audio back to the left and right audio cables I had cut off the wii.

The former ground (outside) wires I twisted together and connected to the new RCA cables that I cut (respectively, each wire to each head, creating two new heads for the color)

On a sidenote, I soldered together the wire to prevent breaking and then wraped it up with some electrical tape to try and make it look as neat as possible.

The only problem I had is trying to bridge pins 8 and 10. I've tried a few different way's, but don't ever receive an option to enable component. When I insert the paper clip how far is it supposed to go? Its supposed to touch the pins on the dongle as well as the pins on the insert of the Wii, correct?

Would not bridging 8 and 10 correctly give me the color issues or is it something else? Even if I left it unbridged I still have no color on the screen.

I have tightened everything as hard as I can, except for the 8/10 bridge, which I have been a little lenient on because I didnt want to break the consoles connection.

Does anyone have/know how to fix this problem?

I tried to go into as much detail as I can, if you have any questions I'll help you out.

Thanks a lot,

Dark

[NFG sez: Black and white problems should move to this thread.]

[ChristmasGT]

hey there! im new and just started attempting the mod here's what i've done so far:

I've left the Audio channels on Pins 1 and 2

Then I moved the Composit Pin to 7

Then Moved Audio GroundL to Pin 9

Then Moved Audio GroundR to Pin 11

Then Kept Composit Ground on Pin 12

I've also Jumpered Pins 8 and 10 together



All I've been able to get is a black and white Image, is there something I'm doing wrong?

[NFG sez: Black and white problems should move to this thread.]

[NFG]

Gonna kill a few birds with one post here:

How did you splice the cable back together and with what tools?

Apparently the sensor bar is just 12V, one wire is positive, one is negative.  Make sure you've got the wires going to the right places.  I haven't seen the calbe to see how it's made, but is it possible you reversed the two?

If that doesn't solve things, try leaving the console unplugged for a while.  The cat might have shorted something and the console's shut down the 12V supply.  

Finally, you might have blown the sensor bar.  An internet search will point you towards other fixes using two remote controls to do the same job.  (Try youtube)

NOTE!  Black and white problems should move to this thread.

When I strip a composite wire, it looks like there is a wire going through the center, a ring of shielding around that, and then a thin wire in the center. What's a good way to connect these to the signal/ground paper clips? Do clamp an alligator clip to the outside and then another to the inside? And does every strand need to be in contact (I think my stripper cuts one of them off as the hole in the stripper is slightly too small)?

Your alligator clip theory sounds good to me.  You don't need to connect EVERY strand, but as you'll read in the next paragraph, more is better.

Should I try to twist or mash all of the copper strands together to form a wire (as opposed to a ring) and then clip it?

Just connect the metal bits to other metal bits.  How you do it doesn't matter as much, but that said: making a solid purchase with more metal is the thing to aim for.  Weak connections on a few strands won't work as nicely.

Also, I dimly recollect learning that different materials have different resistance, etc. and that this matters in electronics. Is there any possibility that using paper clips or twistie ties as pins will harm my Wii or television?

No, this is not a concern for the kind of signals we're discussing

[ChristmasGT]

Massive quote deleted by NFG

[NFG sez: Black and white problems should move to this thread.]

I am having the EXACT SAME issues!


no matter what I do, Black and white

I decided I'd bridge 8 and 10 together when I get color going via component.


any one else having this problem?



Edit~

The post must've been edited because it was LONG lol

[NFG]

You even quoted it, XmasGT:

Black and white problems should move to this thread.

[Guest]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!

Backyard Style!

Way Cool!

[Guest]

This is awesome, I expect to try this myself as I am getting a HD TV on Saturday (I hope).

If I can't find a second cable to gut how risky is it that I might destroy the cable that came with my Wii if I mess this up?

I don't want to end up being unable to play my Wii at all just because I was impatient.

Thanks

Parabolee
www.flat-life.com

[AngryGuy]

Okay, so I'm new at this type of stuff and I'm wondering how to remove the pins from the connection without breaking them or the cables. Do I just carefully do it by pulling on the cable or should I stick something in there and try to get them out that way?

Here is my other question, when I move the two ground connection pins, how do I get to the other side of them? Do I cut them where they are spliced into the audio connections?  

[coolbho3000]

So these are the steps?

1. Insert clips into 7, 9, and 11.

2. Connect those clips to RCA cables (7 = Y, 9 = Pb, 11 = Pr)

3. Short 8 and 10.

Are you sure you don't need to do anything with the grounds?
And what is this black and white buisness?

What if I turn progressive scan on with a TV that doesn't support it (but does have component input)? Will my TV blow up or something?

Also, if I turn on Widescreen mode on my 480i television, will it reduce the resolution to put black bars on the top and bottom?

Thanks for helping a noob guys.

[Soundfx4]

haha!  I'm stupid!  I just figured out why I was so fricken confused!  I was looking at the pins head on when I should have been looking at them from the back!  Wooo, so happy I figured that one out  

nm my stupid post from earlier.

[norax]

Can anyone give more details on how to open the composite casing? Does it need to just be ripped up or is there a proper way to open it?

[AngryGuy]

Would it be possible to forgo the paperclips and instead solder some wires and stick them in the pin holes? I tried to do this but don't get any signal on my tv. Here is a picture of how I'm doing it:



It's a little blurry but you get the idea. The best I could do for grounding the Y cable was to alligator clip it. into the ground already existing for the composite.

I wasn't sure this was going to work but someone more knowledgable than me said that it would. But I am not getting any signal now, so I don't know what to do.

Edit: Okay, I went ahead and went with the paper clip method and now I get signal but just black and white. Gonna fool around with it some more.

[Sageice]

Thanks guys for the info. I used my old Gamecube component cable and took the pins from it, they are a bit smaller at the connection, but are perfect size to fit in the groove when you slide them in.  

[Guest_guest]

can someone PLEASE make a newbs guide step by step please. there seems like to be so many replies jumping from thing to thing that im getting lost.  

[Guest]

got it to work

[AngryGuy]

Well, I finally got all my colors working. Sort of.

My connections are extremely fickle. Basically if I touch the console I will lose one/all of my colors. Is everybody's connection like this? Do I need some new paper clips or what?  

[Creamzsoda]

ill try to whip up a step by step drawing in paint after i do it myself...i'm gonna run to the store and get a soldering iron and then i'll get started.  

[Guest]

Where are yall getting the extra composite wii cable from? I need an extra to tear it apart.

[Soundfx4]

can someone PLEASE make a newbs guide step by step please. there seems like to be so many replies jumping from thing to thing that im getting lost.

Most likely no one will do this : \  I know it sucks, but I'm assuming the lack of motivation for putting more effort into this is because the Wii component cables will be out soon.  So there for nobody feels it would be worth it to write out a step by step guide.  I know I'm not gonna do it (mainly because I'm lazy, but also because I haven't done this yet  haha)

Anyway, I'm really sorry, I know exactly how you feel about this, it is a headache and too much hassle trying to go around and piece a puzzle together bit by bit.  Someone may write a guide for it though, I just don't think it will happen anytime soon.

[RARusk]

Just came up with another thought.

How about using the pins from the Nintendo made RF Modulator they used for the SNES Jr/N64/GameCube?

I know those are smaller than the pins from the Composite Video cables. However, half the pins are going to be long and the other half will be shorter because they are soldered to a small motherboard. Can anybody try that?