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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 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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          • T
            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

                    mooseprM 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • 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

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

                                        I ripped the dang ribbon cable connection under the LCD (it was literally impossible to see where it was under there, I had a light and it still didn't help). I admit my strong suit isn't finding out which LCD wires are for what (they aren't marked if you assumed they were, hence why I'm having problems), I have no previous experience in this specific field. I need help. I don't know what I can really do atm. My multimeter bit the dust a while back and I haven't been able to get another. I wish I had an oscilloscope. But I don't. :/ Guess I'll just give up on this screen. Dang it. I hate myself for listening to someone online telling me I could use a ili9341 screen when this screen has no previous history with Pis on the internet.

                                        mooseprM 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                        • T
                                          TechieAndroid
                                          last edited by TechieAndroid

                                          I'm just glad it didn't mess anything up in the process. So my Pi, PowerBoost and battery still work.

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                                          • A
                                            AluLagoa
                                            last edited by

                                            This is the ili9341 me and @moosepr used:
                                            alt text

                                            You used the other version.
                                            The one we used works decently enough for a cheap handheld.

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