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    RetroPie in a Dreamcast VMU!

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved General Discussion and Gaming
    handheldvmu
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    • obsidianspiderO
      obsidianspider @moosepr
      last edited by obsidianspider

      @moosepr Since it looks like you've already got some experience with that particular ILI9163 display would you be willing to share how you attached directly to the ribbon cable? The PCB has a resistor, capacitor, and something else that I can't quite identify, so I'm not sure what they're doing.

      📷 @obsidianspider

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

        @moosepr said in RetroPie in a Dreamcast VMU!:

        already a few weeks into my latest project

        I saw the teaser photos on Twitter. Now I'm curious what else you're up to. Your skill in making PCBs is something I would love to learn.

        📷 @obsidianspider

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

          Sure! You will need a 10ohm resistor to tame the backlight, and other than that, wire it straight to the pi!

          The boards have a 3v regulator. I can't find an exact data sheet for the screen I have, but most indicate that the screen is OK with 3.3v

          Here is the schematic for the little red board

          alt text

          Credits to https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/chioszrobots.com/2014/08/30/1-44-red-serial-128x128-spi-color-tft-lcd-module-display-screen/amp/

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

          obsidianspiderO 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
          • mooseprM
            moosepr @obsidianspider
            last edited by

            @obsidianspider said in RetroPie in a Dreamcast VMU!:

            @moosepr said in RetroPie in a Dreamcast VMU!:

            already a few weeks into my latest project

            I saw the teaser photos on Twitter. Now I'm curious what else you're up to. Your skill in making PCBs is something I would love to learn.

            Making the boards isn't that difficult really, the hardest part is getting the schematic electrically correct

            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
            • obsidianspiderO
              obsidianspider @moosepr
              last edited by

              @moosepr A resistor I can handle. We'll see if I can solder on the ribbon cable without messing it up. I knew there was a reason I bought two. ;)

              📷 @obsidianspider

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

                @obsidianspider just be gentle with the heat and you will be fine. Tin the wire, flux the ribbon, and it will soon stick

                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
                • edmaul69E
                  edmaul69 @moosepr
                  last edited by edmaul69

                  @moosepr do you have a link on how to wire it directly?

                  Edit: Nm. The page didnt load all the posts. I see it now

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • A
                    ABrugsch
                    last edited by

                    Hi. Checking in from the other vmu build thread on sudomod ;)
                    One of the pieces of my puzzle arrived which was a tiny charge/boost board. I'll be doing a bit more of mine soon,but will probably end up doing a custom pcb for it something like @moosepr's PiCB-tft board.

                    obsidianspiderO 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                    • mooseprM
                      moosepr
                      last edited by

                      just a dump of info for anyone venturing down this rabbithole. the screen will run as a st7735, but the driver is trying to do 128x160, so its not ideal!!

                      it will also run as an ili9163. the resolution is correct at 128x128, but the driver is behaving weird!! it technically runs upside down (chip at the top) and the rotation chops off some of the screen at 180 and 270

                      http://imgur.com/a/YRp66

                      if your interested, if you follow my guide in my signature, but replace the contents of

                      /etc/modprobe.d/fbtft.conf

                      with

                      options fbtft_device name=fb_ili9163 gpios=reset:25,dc:24 speed=40000000 bgr=1 rotate=0 custom=1 fps=60

                      then you will have a working screen!!!!!1

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

                      obsidianspiderO 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                      • ?
                        A Former User
                        last edited by

                        Imagine if the VMU itself could be configured to be fit inside a Dreamcast controller and it would be able to recognize the controller.
                        Wouldn't that be cool?

                        edmaul69E 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • edmaul69E
                          edmaul69 @A Former User
                          last edited by

                          @itsnitro since it doesnt have a select button on the controller you couldnt play super nintendo games. But you could play genesis games.

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

                            @moosepr I think for the VMU having the cable come out the top will work better (0 rotation) anyway since the buttons will bump right against the screen. Here's an image of the VMU from a teardown on iFixit.

                            0_1490583280122_vmu-teardown-medium.jpg

                            📷 @obsidianspider

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

                              I started a build thread to contain the discussion in one spot as I work on this.

                              📷 @obsidianspider

                              meleuM 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • meleuM
                                meleu @obsidianspider
                                last edited by meleu

                                @obsidianspider and your signature got another icon! :)

                                • Useful topics
                                • joystick-selection tool
                                • rpie-art tool
                                • achievements I made
                                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                • obsidianspiderO
                                  obsidianspider @ABrugsch
                                  last edited by obsidianspider

                                  @ABrugsch Which charge/boost board did you end up getting?

                                  I really need to learn how to make a PCB…

                                  📷 @obsidianspider

                                  M A 3 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • M
                                    masteryoer @obsidianspider
                                    last edited by

                                    @obsidianspider

                                    PCB making is easy, if you have the chemicals and materials. You can use either a laser jet printer, or an inkjet printer and use a developer and pcb etchant and make your own using EagleCAD software or something to print the board out.

                                    The guy doing this went a bit overboard with the UV lamp and etc, you can do the same thing by sticking the PCB in front of a window during the day:

                                    http://www.instructables.com/id/Creating-Printed-Circuit-Boards-with-a-INKJET-Prin/

                                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                    • A
                                      ABrugsch @obsidianspider
                                      last edited by ABrugsch

                                      @obsidianspider said in RetroPie in a Dreamcast VMU!:

                                      @ABrugsch Which charge/boost board did you end up getting?

                                      Uhhhh... A random ebay one that someone in the sudo discord pointed me to. I'll get a link for you but I haven't been able to find a similar one on aliexpress or other shops since.

                                      charge/boost with PiCB-tft for scale

                                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                                      • A
                                        ABrugsch @obsidianspider
                                        last edited by ABrugsch

                                        @obsidianspider
                                        here you go: came in about 2 weeks
                                        http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/252442590514
                                        I haven't hooked it up yet as it only came the other day, but I reckon once the USB A socket has been removed and I replace the 3.0uH inductor with a flat one, then it'll be good to go

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

                                          @ABrugsch Thanks! I'm curious as to how it'll work out. I'll keep an eye on your build over at sudomod, and thanks for being one of the first to attempt this.

                                          📷 @obsidianspider

                                          M 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                          • M
                                            masteryoer @obsidianspider
                                            last edited by

                                            @obsidianspider

                                            If you are interested in doing it, I actually need to make a few custom PCBs myself. Perhaps I could make a prototype one for you to start off with and see how you like it.

                                            obsidianspiderO 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
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