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    Pi Zero W GBA [BUILD]

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Projects and Themes
    pi zero wgbascreenbuildwip
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    • T
      TechieAndroid @Hex
      last edited by

      @hex
      3.5" is too big for my build.

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      • T
        TechieAndroid
        last edited by

        //Cost & Parts

        These are my totals which includes tax and shipping (I rounded up).

        $0 GBA (I've had this for some time)

        $12 Raspberry Pi Zero W

        $16 Lithium Ion Polymer Battery - 3.7v 2500mAh

        $17 SanDisk Extreme Pro 16GB MicroSDHC UHS-1

        $20 PowerBoost 1000 Charger - Rechargeable 5V Lipo USB Boost @ 1A - 1000C

        $25 3.2" TFT LCD SSD1289 ILI9341

        Total = $90

        Cost of Freeplay Zero ≃ $125 give or take

        Saved ~ $35

        I think my build will be better quality than a Freeplay Zero because of the battery and some other factors.

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        • HexH
          Hex
          last edited by

          @techieandroid Here is my build. The total cost turned out to be 65$

          http://imgur.com/a/aQD0M

          Sent from 20,000 leagues under the sea.

          Powersaver Emulation station : https://github.com/hex007/EmulationStation
          ES dev script : https://github.com/hex007/es-dev/blob/master/es-tests.sh

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          • T
            TechieAndroid @Hex
            last edited by TechieAndroid

            @hex
            Well... I'm making a GBA (or at least using it as my case to fix the parts into) not a GB/GBC. I would be careful with electronic components that heat up inside that cardboard if I were you. Why did you use cardboard? Just curious.

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            • HexH
              Hex
              last edited by

              Cardboard allowed a lot of flexibility while making the case and it was zero cost too.

              That makes my case unique among all other GBZ. I get questions every time I travel.

              Sent from 20,000 leagues under the sea.

              Powersaver Emulation station : https://github.com/hex007/EmulationStation
              ES dev script : https://github.com/hex007/es-dev/blob/master/es-tests.sh

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              • A
                AluLagoa @TechieAndroid
                last edited by

                @techieandroid $25 for the ili9341? I got mine for less than $10 from AliExpress.

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                  TechieAndroid @AluLagoa
                  last edited by TechieAndroid

                  @alulagoa
                  Meh. I don't really care. I don't buy from there. I'm saving over $35 already on my project.

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                  • T
                    TechieAndroid
                    last edited by

                    Got my Pi Zero W and the PowerBoost 1000. Time to build it! :)

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                    • T
                      TechieAndroid
                      last edited by

                      @moosepr
                      I have the ili9341 3.2" version and it has been confusing trying to find the video signal pin on it. I have looked at the documentation and searched online but nobody has posted the connection they used on theirs to the Pi. I probably can figure it out on my own but quicker help would be appreciated greatly.

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                      • T
                        TechieAndroid
                        last edited by

                        This is the most info I've found on it. Doc
                        LCD Pin Description

                        PIN NO. SYMBOL DESCRIPTION FUNCTION
                        1 5V 5V power supply When powered from 5V supply,
                        Pin 1 & Pin 2 as power input,
                        Pin 33 & Pin 34 provide 3.3V output.
                        2 GND Ground GND
                        3 D0 Data pin
                        D0-D15
                        4 D1
                        5 D2
                        6 D3
                        7 D4
                        8 D5
                        9 D6
                        10 D7
                        11 D8
                        12 D9
                        13 D10
                        14 D11
                        15 D12
                        16 D13
                        17 D14
                        18 D15
                        19 CS LCD chip select Low active
                        20 RS Instruction/Data
                        register selection
                        RS = 1 : Data Register
                        RS = 0 : Instruction Register
                        21 WR Write WR = 0,RD = 1
                        22 RD Read WR = 1,RD = 0
                        23 RESET Reset the
                        controller chip
                        Low active
                        24 NC Not connect Not connect
                        25 BLVCC 5V or 3.3V Backlight VCC
                        26 BLGND Ground Backlight GND
                        27 BLCNT Backlight
                        brightness
                        adjustment
                        Control the backlight brightness via PWM
                        28 TP_IRQ Touch screen
                        interrupt Low level while the touch screen detects pressing
                        29 TP_CS Touch screen
                        chip select
                        Low active
                        30 TP_SCK Touch screen SPI
                        clock
                        connects to SPI SCK
                        31 TP_SI Touch screen
                        data input
                        connects to SPI MOSI
                        32 TP_SO Touch screen
                        data output
                        connects to SPI MISO
                        33 3.3V 3.3V power
                        supply
                        When powered from 3.3V supply,
                        Pin 33 & Pin 34 as power input,
                        Pin 1 & Pin 2 keep NC.
                        34 GND Ground

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                        • T
                          TechieAndroid
                          last edited by

                          @moosepr
                          This is the exact pinout of my model img

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                          • A
                            AluLagoa
                            last edited by

                            http://www.instructables.com/id/Breadboard-RetroPie/

                            Here you can find the connections needed and driver for the screen to work.

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                            • mooseprM
                              moosepr @TechieAndroid
                              last edited by

                              @techieandroid that is not a pinout I have come across. It does look like that screen is geared more towards the parallel data connection, but it may still work. If you use the guide in my signature, there may just be the odd pin that has a different name. Are you sure it's ili9341?

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

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                              • T
                                TechieAndroid @AluLagoa
                                last edited by

                                @alulagoa
                                That is not my screen and that link doesn't have the information I needed. I figured it out on my own though.

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                                • T
                                  TechieAndroid @moosepr
                                  last edited by TechieAndroid

                                  @moosepr

                                  Thanks I looked at that and noticed a few pins I've overlooked, I'll make sure to connect everything up to the appropriate pins.

                                  I'm going to connect the 2 VDD 3.3v on the screen to my PowerBoost 1000 since I didn't want to draw that from the GPIO itself, plus I've already been powering the Pi from the GPIO. I'll GND to the PowerBoost too. I'm going to just connect both 3.3v VDD wires from the screen to the 3.3v on the PowerBoost same goes for connecting both GND wires to the GND on the PowerBoost.

                                  In the end the Pi and display are separated drawing different voltages from the PowerBoost. And the other wires from the display (the data connections) will be connected to the GPIO on the Pi.

                                  It should work. Let me know what you think.

                                  Oh and yes it is a ili9341 screen.

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                                  • T
                                    TechieAndroid
                                    last edited by

                                    @moosepr
                                    Some quick clarification. I took another look at your post and was curious what D/C stood for because I don't have that on mine. The other I was able to match up.
                                    BL is BL on mine
                                    SCK is CLK on mine
                                    MISO is MISO on mine
                                    MOSI is MOSI on mine
                                    CS is CS on mine
                                    RST is RST on mine
                                    D/C is ? on mine (it's going to a GPIO pin I see)
                                    VIN is VDD on mine (I have two of these, both 3.3v)
                                    GND is GND on mine (I have two of these too)

                                    Also I thought about the inconveniences of connecting part of the display to the PowerBoost and decided not to. I see you have your power and ground going to the GPIO pins.

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                                    • T
                                      TechieAndroid
                                      last edited by

                                      Dang it. Why isn't it working?! The screen is black when the pi gets power. Maybe if I knew what D/C was on the other screen I could connect that on mine. Not sure if that is why it's not turning on though...

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                                      • T
                                        TechieAndroid
                                        last edited by

                                        alt text

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                                        • mooseprM
                                          moosepr @TechieAndroid
                                          last edited by

                                          @techieandroid at a guess i would say your d/c is the rs on the botton of the connector. There may be some investigation needed on the board to see if the MISO and MOSI pins are there for the touch controller, or for the screen, or both. You may need to lift the screen from the pcb and follow some trances to fully see what is going on

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

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                                          • T
                                            TechieAndroid @moosepr
                                            last edited by

                                            @moosepr
                                            Thanksv I'll do that. I saw that the GND and GND pins we're already connected with a trace on the board, same goes for VDD. So I guess I only needed to connect to one point, but it doesn't matter.

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