Game Gear Retro Gamer project!

[RocknR00ster]

So close to being done it's unreal. I started this weeks ago and I'm already to this point. Still a lot to do, but it's been going by very...smoothly for the most part. Had to pick up a new Pie and decided to go with the 3. I had wired the battery up to the Pie 2 for an overnight test with an OFF/ON switch in the off position and something happen overnight and I haven't figured it out yet, but it appears that there was some sort spike in voltage when both the screen and the Pie were turned on at the same time, which caused a couple of transistors to pop on the back side of the Pie, at least these are the only components tested that didn't have a resistance, as if it were open/fried. I don't unfortunately have a re-flow station, so until then it's bin time for the dead Pie 2.

Got a couple HDMI cables to test, I hope I don't have to hack them up to much, but they are pretty dang huge!

[glennlake]

@Uber_Tiny Hi. I am following your project with interest. In a previous build of mine ( long ago...sorry no pics) I took a rather stiff 6 in hdmi cable and carefully removed the outer casing allowing me a lot of flexibility. I was able to rap waxed leather lacing thread around it to make it insulated(it is also known as cable lacing string). That made it thinner and more flexible. Just a thought.

[RocknR00ster]

@glennlake I actually wound up using the flat one foot cable as it was MUCH easier to get the insulation off. I was even able to keep the tinfoil wire wrapping on which is a plus for shielding. I simply wrapped it in electrical tape and it works like a charm, fits very snug up against the buttons. So much so that I had to move the screen up.

I've finally come up with what I think is the best design for buttons. There are so many options available and all sorts of different coding methods for each. I found that using a pull-up resistor button design has worked out best so far. I went through 3 different redesigns before this one actually worked without some random glitching. I found the button design from over at http://www.ladyada.net/learn/arduino/lesson5.html. Search for "Fig 5.6". I honestly cannot remember off hand where I found the correct coding for this type of switch or I would give them credit for that. I'll update once I get home.

Now that I am almost completely finished with the button layout/coding/wiring, I need to fix the speaker audio. I mistakenly purchased a Stereo 3.7W Class D Audio Amplifier - MAX98306 from Adafruit. From further research for the data sheet on this product it shows that it is NOT meant for speakers that have fixed coils. Which may explain why all my tests sound as if the speakers are being over driven, but really quite with audio. I tried 8 ohm coil speakers, 3 ohm cell phone micro speakers, and 1" 75 ohm speakers, but they all had the same sort of over driven speaker sound with low audio.

Screen time! I'm kind of bouncing back and forth between the different parts of the project. Mainly because it helps me think if I get stuck or I'm waiting for more parts. So rather then just walk away I simply set that part to the side and work on something else. Multi-tasking FTW! For the screen, I have had to move it up to make that room for the HDMI cable. By doing so it made me realize that I can't make a straight line if my life depended on it. Especially when I've had more caffeine that I should, but I digress. I am going to be more than likely molding in an acrylic sheet to cover the screen to make it easier to maintain and keep the screen safe from fingers, because I know there is going to be some kids who want to touch it, with their PP&J covered fingers.

If you follow me on twitter I post up images throughout the build there. I just posted up a video showing off the buttons home made circuitry using solid jumper wires and then filled it in with Hot Glue, of which I haven't taken a picture that yet.

What's left?
Power distribution and battery configuration
covering the copper covered inside in non-conductive sealant
Making all mounts to be permanent
Mounting audio circuitry including a dial volume control
Acrylic screen / anti PB&J fingers cover
Bondo filler / prep for painting / paint

long post is long, so many words, so much wow!

[RocknR00ster]

Test fit, close but not close enough. I will need to build a battery compartment on the back of the Game Gear. Which if fine by me, it may ad some extra bulk and weight to the device, but it will have an amazing amount of battery life and it also serves a dual purpose design.

[njgsx96]

Very cool! I actually just completed my Pi Gear project and aside from some button bounce for the A button (solved somewhat with some delay), I love it. That screen looks HUGE! Gonna be awesome playing games on that thing. Can't wait to see the finished product!

[RocknR00ster]

@njgsx96 Thank you! Yeah that screen is pretty much the largest you could get away with on this build in my opinion. I keep having to redesign a lot of stuff though, it's a really tight fit with the massive 7000mAh battery and all the other components. The wiring alone is going to take up a lot of space. That's why I'm having to build a panel on the back to hold the battery. Not what I wanted to do, but adding the panel on the back actually makes it easier to mount some other components like the charging/power board. If I had gone with a smaller screen it more than likely wouldn't be an issue, but that 5" screen really takes up the space.

This was concept #1 of the back panel, didn't like it, still in the redesign phase for that. I'll be cutting the thickness down to half it's size if not a little more. Just enough to cover the batteries and power board.

[njgsx96]

Wow, that adds a lot of size. If you can get that down to what you say, less than half, that would be OK I think. the Game Gear is pretty thick already. playing on that screen though might make up for it. I love the 3.5" I put in mine but a 4.3-5" screen would be really nice. Can't go wrong either way though. Keep it up and keep posting updates!

[RocknR00ster]

@njgsx96 Yeah, I didn't like this at all. It would have added so much bulk, just yuk. So I went with cutting out the back of the game gear, sticking the batteries right behind the Raspberry Pie, then covering it with a sheet of plastic and creating a small bulge for the charger and USB charging ports.

EDIT: Oh and plus this still allows me access to the batteries if needed. I wanted to make each component replaceable with the lease amount of work. Like the buttons which are all individually plugged in.

[Pifan]

@Uber_Tiny - this is coming along nicely, should be awsome when finished. Having never seen a Gamegear in real life before I was surprised by how big it is. That's no bad thing here though as you need all that space to fit the screen and stuff.

I'm glad you posted
the build progress pictures as I have a Teensy ready for a future project and forgot that it might require some resistors for best performance. Iv'e been wiring directly to the Pi's GPIO and relying on the internal resitors with my current projects.

On your other build log you mention bonding the plastics with a mixture of acrylic solvent and powder, could you explain this a little more please? It sounds quite useful.

[njgsx96]

Oh wow, nice! I like it! that bump is completely manageable and looks like it won't affect gameplay at all! Well done!