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    My SNES Build

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Projects and Themes
    snesprojectbuildsuper nintendo
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    • J
      jackal123uk
      last edited by

      OK so my day job's been getting in the way on this project for a while but I've just gotten back to it this weekend and trying to get USB hub to work over the cartridge slot. I've soldered directed to the pads for the USB data connections.

      0_1476568773572_IMG_2020 copy.JPG

      All in all I think the finished article looks good...

      0_1476568859799_IMG_2016_.JPG

      0_1476568872562_IMG_2018 copy.JPG

      Only problem being the hub doesn't seem to want to work. I've tried crossing over the data pins in case I'd messed up there but nothing. Does anyone have any experience with doing something like this with a pi zero?

      My SNES Build
      My GameCube Build

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • monstermadeofmanM
        monstermadeofman
        last edited by

        Are you supplying it with its own power? or power from the pi? I've heard pi zero are quit temperamental with power to USB hubs.

        Not all those who wander are lost

        edmaul69E J 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • edmaul69E
          edmaul69 @monstermadeofman
          last edited by

          @monstermadeofman did you test the original wires before wiring this?? Red isnt always on 5v and green isnt always data, etc., etc....

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • J
            jackal123uk @monstermadeofman
            last edited by

            @monstermadeofman no, not supplied through the pi zero, both the hub and the pi zero are fed from a common rail though. The pi runs fine but I'll try giving the hub a completely separate supply in case there are some problems there.

            @edmaul69 the 5v and GND are certainly right, wasn't 100% on the data, hence swapping round to check.

            My SNES Build
            My GameCube Build

            J 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • J
              jsawhite @jackal123uk
              last edited by

              @jackal123uk I can tell you, in dealing with my gameboy zero project, that the PI zero is extremely picky on hubs that work. Definitely power it from your 5V rail, not the pi. Also twist your D+ and D- lines together and keep them as short as you can... Inside your cart the wires are a mess so I'd definitely recommend shorting them and twisting them... Also you can try to drop the USB speed to v1.1 (which is ok for wifi, keyboards, and controllers). Do this by adding this to the end of your cmdlines.txt:

              dwc_otg.speed=1

              If you're bored, you can look through the forums at sudomod (where the gameboy zero project is). There is along thread on Helder's AIO board that talks about the usb issues....

              J 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • J
                jackal123uk @jsawhite
                last edited by

                @jsawhite Point taken about the data wires; I'll tidy those up.

                Curiously, I've tried the same hub (I actually picked up two) directly in the Pi zero with an OTG adaptor and it's still not recognised, although works fine in a full sized Pi. Could it be something with the OTG protocol and hub rather that my sloppy wiring?

                My SNES Build
                My GameCube Build

                edmaul69E 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • edmaul69E
                  edmaul69 @jackal123uk
                  last edited by

                  @jackal123uk it certainly can be the hub with a pi zero. You should jumper the 5v off of the power going in and not off the usb ports power.

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • J
                    jackal123uk
                    last edited by

                    I've tried a couple of different hubs now with no success through my cartridge connector hack job. Neither work connected directly to the pi by USB either.

                    Just to make sure I wasn't going mad I connected a single USB port to to my cartridge adaptor and low and behold it works fine - at least I know my wiring's not to blame. Guess I'll need to pick up a hub that's confirmed to work with the zero.

                    0_1477209310006_IMG_2067 copy.JPG

                    0_1477209344861_IMG_2068 copy.JPG

                    My SNES Build
                    My GameCube Build

                    obsidianspiderO edmaul69E 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote -1
                    • obsidianspiderO
                      obsidianspider @jackal123uk
                      last edited by obsidianspider

                      @jackal123uk I've read in more than a few places that the Zero doesn't do well with powering hubs, but if you power the hub from the same 5V source as the Pi you'll have better results. To echo @edmaul69's comment about powering the hub, what might be worth testing would be to use the same hub that you were having trouble with, but instead of using the OTG power pins, use the 5V pins from the GPIO.

                      📷 @obsidianspider

                      J 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • edmaul69E
                        edmaul69 @jackal123uk
                        last edited by

                        @jackal123uk i use the rockband usb hub. The one that has 4 usb ports in a row that is not self powered. The only issue i found is if you are going to set bluetooth or wifi you have to unplug every device except for that device and your keyboard. It wont accept you wifi password if you dont. It still may take 2-3 tries even if you do as i said. Even with a powered hub. The pi zero is kinda wonky with that.

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • J
                          jackal123uk @obsidianspider
                          last edited by

                          @obsidianspider The supply to the cartridge connector has always come from the GPIO 5V pin so I'm not convinced it's a power problem.

                          I've just found a old hub that I had laying around (a Trust 4-port usb 2.0) and surprisingly it works. Incidentally it uses the GL850G controller which is different to the others I tried - maybe there's something in that. Anyway, it managed to connect to wifi and a wireless keyboard (which is probably the extent of my needs) with no problems. @edmaul69 I've not seen any issues like you describe but its still early days.

                          Best thing is I've found these hubs still available on eBay so I've got another couple on the way in case I mess up during fitting them to a cartridge.

                          My SNES Build
                          My GameCube Build

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • J
                            jackal123uk
                            last edited by

                            Success! I've now got a working usb hub tucked away in a cartridge. Conveniently, one of the 4 available ports it internal allowing my to hide away a mini wifi dongle leaving 3 outward facing ports.

                            0_1477864028674_IMG_2085.JPG

                            Next job is the cart label; as the cart is just an expansion to allow usb and wifi connectivity I'm thinking of something along the lines of this:

                            0_1477864338684_SNES-RPI.png

                            Although I think I might prefer a flatter Retropie logo to give the whole think a consistent look.

                            My SNES Build
                            My GameCube Build

                            lilbudL 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                            • J
                              jackal123uk
                              last edited by

                              I received the latest version of my PCB this week (probably the last too; because it's priced by the sq. in. it's starting to get expensive the bigger it gets).

                              0_1478376860485_IMG_2117.JPG

                              First of all I'm happy to report that the 62-pin cart connector pins perfectly so looks like my measurements were good! Yeah, I know, cleaning the flux is my next job.

                              0_1478377967176_IMG_2118.JPG

                              I gave up on the idea of incorporating a DIY shutdown circuit in the board (beyond my abilities), instead hid the Mausberry circuit underneath.

                              0_1478377545480_IMG_2112.JPG

                              The HDMI plug is a little too fat, in the last version I trimmed it down with a knife but I'd prefer a more elegant solution, I'm looking at something like this but I can't find a mini male to a standard female version - I'll keep hunting.

                              0_1478378992511_s-l500.jpg

                              My SNES Build
                              My GameCube Build

                              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • lilbudL
                                lilbud @jackal123uk
                                last edited by

                                @jackal123uk How about this?

                                alt text

                                Creator of the Radiocade: https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/6077/radiocade

                                Backlog: http://backloggery.com/lilbud

                                J 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                • J
                                  jackal123uk @lilbud
                                  last edited by

                                  @lilbud Thanks, I like that; that's definitely the RetroPie logo for the job. I'll get a few different designs printed up to see what they look like on a cart - that'll be the real test.

                                  My SNES Build
                                  My GameCube Build

                                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • J
                                    jackal123uk
                                    last edited by

                                    Just ordered the stickers from vistaprint - has anyone got any from them yet? Any comments on the quality?

                                    I might have taken a bit of a risk but it looks like we should be able to fit 4 on their bumper sticker as below?

                                    0_1479039542467_snes stickers.png

                                    Once they arrive, I'll confirm that nothing is cropped before anyone else takes the same risk. Just a work on the price; £4.99 looked quite reasonable but when you actually go through it all and add shipping and VAT it's just about a tenner - hence trying to squeeze four on to get my money's worth.

                                    My SNES Build
                                    My GameCube Build

                                    obsidianspiderO 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • obsidianspiderO
                                      obsidianspider @jackal123uk
                                      last edited by

                                      @jackal123uk I got my label from them and it turned out really well. I went with two per bumper sticker to stay in the "safe zone" of the layout.

                                      📷 @obsidianspider

                                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • R
                                        rocklima2
                                        last edited by

                                        Nice project , i am happy your pcb is fantastic, but in my case catridge slot reading orginal game is better for play , waiting your pcb project finished to buy or printer , version 2 because my SNES 001.

                                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                        • J
                                          jackal123uk
                                          last edited by

                                          Labels arrived this week and thankfully nothing cropped - even some breathing room:
                                          0_1480198960126_IMG_2175.JPG

                                          And a perfect fit on the cart, apart from my dodgy scissor job:
                                          0_1480199015595_IMG_2173.JPG

                                          All in all, I'd fully recommend these labels - I was worried about the thickness as the website lists it as 0.95mm and I thought this might stand proud unlike the original cart stickers but as it turns out it's almost indistinguishable for an original.

                                          My SNES Build
                                          My GameCube Build

                                          mooseprM 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                          • mooseprM
                                            moosepr @jackal123uk
                                            last edited by

                                            @jackal123uk those USB ports fit like a glove too! Looks great!

                                            want to get a tft into your project, look no further than here https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/7464/ili9341-tft-screen-guide

                                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
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