GameCube USB C Mod

[@infamousNfamous]

Hey, was thinking about doing this mod and wondering if the oem Switch power cable is correct to use with this?

[@RenewedGamingRelics]

Unfortunately the OEM Switch's power adapter isn't PD compliant nor does it supply the current needed for the GC; so it's not compatible with the USB C mods I produce. If only Nintendo supplied it with a nice PD adapter right out the gate - that'd have been nice.

[@DxsPro]

you don't post to australia

[@RenewedGamingRelics]

Sadly not at this time. I'm looking into tax compliance regulations across different countries outside the US and Canada before selling and shipping. It's the biggest ask since the color selection.

[@DxsPro]

@@RenewedGamingRelics all good

[@TheLegendOfLame]

If using something much higher, would this mod prevent the gamecube from being fried? My friend had this mod installed in her gamecube and it turned on for a few minutes but then stopped working.

[@RenewedGamingRelics]

How do you mean much higher? do you mean more voltage, current, or both? The mod is a simple PD trigger and requires the wall adapter to utilize the PD protocol to negotiate the voltage to be supplied - it's not a step up or down buck converter. The trigger for this mod requests 12V and is rated for 5A, but the PD wall adapter must be able to supply 12V; 3A is okay to use though I do list and recommend at least 3.25A per the OEM manufacturer and have previously measured consumption under 3 in a previous response to a power related question. The GC dol-001 and dol-101 do have a separate power distribution board, with the exception of a few later revisions, that breaks down the incoming 12V into lower voltage rails which would handle the protection aspect using fuses in case of spikes. Was the USB C wall adapter your friend was using utilized the PD protocol, and if so what were the power specs? From the system turn off after running for a few minutes, it leads me to think that the wall adapter doesn't support at least 3A and lead to a brown out.

[@RenewedGamingRelics]

I haven't seen any form of communications from anyone that have had issues with the mod via the shop, email, nor discord previously and do not see anything right now.

[@TheLegendOfLame]

​@@RenewedGamingRelics Yeah honestly I'm not quite sure what happened with it. I think she used a power supply that was a usb-c laptop charger that had a range of outputs, most of them being higher in both V and amps. Specifically, the charger lists (on the label that's on the side of it): OUTPUT: 20.0V 3.25A 65.0W/15V 3A/9V 2A/5.0V 2.0A 10.0W She thought it would work as the amazon listing for the same charger said this in the description: OUTPUT: DC 5V/3A, 9V/3A, 12V/3A, 15V/3A, 20V/2.25A, 20V/3.25A She just assumed the listing description would be accurate to what the charger was and plugged it in before checking what the charger would actually say on it. As mentioned before it did work initially too which is why she figured there'd be nothing wrong with it. I can check it today since she's visiting this weekend with her Gamecube in hand to see what happens. Thanks for the info though. I'm more of a software modding kinda guy but I have installed some hardware mods in the past as per instructions online, so I wouldn't have known exactly what was going on with this particular mod, especially since it's power related - something I'm very new to when it comes to hardware. Are brownouts something that damages components on the hardware? Will I have to replace anything on her gamecube potentially? I'll reach out with more questions if I get any - thanks for the quick response!

[@RenewedGamingRelics]

You're welcome! Interesting. It may be that the charger itself doesn't utilize PD despite the ranges listed, or something to do with how it's set up internally with CC1 and CC2 pulldown resisters - similar to the the Nintendo switch charger; it has a range, but it isn't PD and has some internal set up to do what it does. Brown outs are worse than spikes because electronic components live in a limbo between on and off during that time, surges between states will damage them. After more thinking, it may very well be that the unit is receiving 5V 1A if the charger doesn't support PD; it's the default in the standard when triggers and the supply can't communicate accordingly. Can't tell without a multi-meter to measure voltage coming from the mod. If there would be anything to replace on the GC from brownout damage, it would probably be best seen initially when trying to use it to see what's failed one bit at a time - can't definitively say. Here's what I would do to troubleshoot as a start. Reinstall the OEM power connector and test the unit for about an hour or so with the OEM power supply to make sure the GC is working well. Next, Use a multimeter to check the voltage coming from the leads of the mod with the charger she got. If it's not 12V, then it's a PD issue. Otherwise if you get 12V, the trigger itself may be damaged in some way after testing and shipping - I back them with a 1yr warranty so if she needs a replacement, it's covered no problem. Hardware modding is pretty cool. Wish I had better coding skills to do software mods. Can't say I'm a little jealous of what ya do lol Soft mods are very interesting! Definitely feel free to reach out!

[@supertazon8765]

Hi, would this work with a power brick that delivers 15V and not 12V? For example the Nintendo Switch USB-C power brick

[@RenewedGamingRelics]

As long as the wall adapter supports PD as well as supply 12V 3A at a minimum, it will be fine. Higher voltage is fine because the PD protocol negotiates to be supplied 12V; higher aperage also good as the triggers I use are rated for 5A. Unfortunately wall adapters that don't support PD will result in a default 5V to be supplied per the standard DC voltage for USB devices regardless how much voltage or current it's rated for. In the case of the switch power brick, it itself does not support PD. Nintendo worked some magic for the adapter to know when it's connected to either the switch or the docking station for the voltages it supplies. When used against a PD trigger, it will only supply 5V max so you cannot use the switched brick. The switch adapter also isn't rated for the needed amperage so it's definitely not recommended. Edit: Great question btw!

[@HEmmerich89]

Question about usbc pd and amps. Is it really safe to run a gamecube at 12v and 3a? It has a requirement of 3.2 amps, but most usbc pd bricks only go up to 3 amps. I saw a vid on your other channel where you said that this was within a safe tolerance, I just wanted to make sure that this was still the case before I make any modifications like this.

[@RenewedGamingRelics]

Excellent question! The .25A difference is within acceptable tolerance though slightly over 5%; I wouldn't tempt 10% or more in general. Normally, power supplies are designed with some headroom in mind so be able to handle the loads consumption safely so they're not overloaded by them. Going back to my personal modded GC, I attached one of my cables that measures power draw. My GC has KunaiGC as well as the Pluto2 mods on it as a frame of reference for others who haven't seen the other vid. On average, I measured an average of 20W total draw and peaked at 21W for a consumption of 1.75A at peak with mods during the measurements. Measurements were taken comparing having no controllers and no game loaded, loaded with 4 OEM controllers no game, and loaded with 4 controllers and a game. While I could stipulate that a 2A supply should suffice from my measurements, I wouldn't recommend it because it's far from listed factory specs and wouldn't want to risk anyone's stuff.

[@HEmmerich89]

​@RenewedGamingRelics thank you so much for not only a quick response, but a pretty detailed one. This makes me feel a LOT better.

[@RenewedGamingRelics]

You're welcome! Glad I was able to help 👍

[@Soul94255]

It would be really really cool if you could come up with a Wii version usb-c mod

[@RenewedGamingRelics]

I actually released that exact mod earlier this month! I'm currently developing a USB C and TRRS AV mod for the NES with demo boards coming in a week or so to test out :3 kzbin.info/www/bejne/qpTMfZquqqtsbJo

[@In5perat0r]

Does the mod also work with the PAL models?

[@RenewedGamingRelics]

While I don't have any PAL units, it should be perfectly fine for them because you would need the USB C PD wall adapter to work in PAL regions; and from there it's simple DC voltage which the PD trigger in the mod handles with the adapter.

[@In5perat0r]

A second Question, where would it be delivered from if I were to order one because I'm interested P.S. Translated from Google because my English is not so Good.

[@RenewedGamingRelics]

No worries, all good. Right now I only ship within the US and Canada. However, I'm looking into what tax requirements I'd need to fulfill to sell and ship to other countries. I don't have an ETA when I'll have that done yet sorry :C

[@In5perat0r]

@@RenewedGamingRelics Ok, thanks for the Answer, i asked that because i am from Germany and i plan to Modify my GameCube.

[@RenewedGamingRelics]

You're welcome. It's been asked quite a bit for different places haha. Makes me happy people from different places want to give my stuff a try! I'll be sure to make an announcement when I ship to more places for sure.