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    RetroPie in a Dreamcast VMU!

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

                                          @masteryoer It's just a general "I want to learn how to do this one day" kind of thing. I am more curious about how to design them. I'd probably have someone like OSH Park actually make them for me, but I appreciate it. Etching one myself is something I can see me tinkering with at some point in the future.

                                          📷 @obsidianspider

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

                                            @obsidianspider etching them yourself is overrated now that it's so cheap to get them made by OSHP/PCBway etc.
                                            however for a keyboard PCB I have planned, self etching might be the only way to go for the prototype phase ;)

                                            M 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
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