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    Pi Zero W GBA [BUILD]

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    pi zero wgbascreenbuildwip
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    • mooseprM
      moosepr @TechieAndroid
      last edited by

      @techieandroid the board will have most of its components for the SD card. There will be a resistor for the backlight, and a FET/transistor to allow you to pwm backlight.

      I made a simple board that it designed for 14 pin versions of the screen (2.2 inch, no touch)
      https://oshpark.com/projects/BP9tGKag

      But larger screens have touch, and so I designed this board
      https://oshpark.com/projects/zUNmnlLF

      The pads on the back are for the touch interface, which most folks don't use. I have not tested the latter board, but I see no reason why it wouldn't work.

      Either board needs a smd resistor, 0805 in size, and just 10 ohms

      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
        last edited by TechieAndroid

        @moosepr

        Thanks, but I'm not sure my screen will work with either since I'm currently using 9 pins.

        alt text
        alt text
        alt text

        A mooseprM 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
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          AluLagoa @TechieAndroid
          last edited by

          @techieandroid In my build I don't use the top pin, sdo(miso).

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          • mooseprM
            moosepr @TechieAndroid
            last edited by

            @techieandroid my board has the led pin tied to the 3.3v to simplify things. It means you can't adjust the backlight without changing the resistor. Saves you a wire 😀

            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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              TechieAndroid
              last edited by TechieAndroid

              Okay thanks guys I'll check that out. So I can't be sure but maybe the buttons on the right side ground to the same location as the a-gnd (in the pic it's at the end of the alligator clip) which I believe to be the audio ground (speaker probably). And on the left side the buttons could ground to the same spot as the ground for the cartridge. I need to know because this won't work if I cut the center out and can't ground the buttons.

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                TechieAndroid
                last edited by TechieAndroid

                Okay I cut my miso cable and the led cable and connected the led to vcc. What was miso doing since it seems to be working fine without it? And giving the backlight 3.3v makes it look better imo. Thanks for the tips. I'm going to test around on the GBA board and see if I can locate ground.

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                  TechieAndroid
                  last edited by

                  YES! I've found the remaining information I needed.

                  Button programming
                  https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=78&t=83317&p=589292#p589292

                  GND location
                  https://assemblergames.com/threads/game-boy-advance-schematic-cadsoft-eagle-files.54814/

                  I will be completing my project tonight. :]

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                  • T
                    TechieAndroid
                    last edited by

                    Shoot. I desoldered the screen from the board, mapped out all the traces, soldered to the ribbon cable successfully and it didn't work. Tomorrow I'm going to solder it back to the board, test it, then connect it a bit differently. I'm not giving up. I'll post pics later.

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

                      @techieandroid the screen will have this pinout

                      alt text

                      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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                        TechieAndroid @moosepr
                        last edited by TechieAndroid

                        @moosepr
                        Um it doesn't look right to me. I will upload my schematic to show you what mine looks like.

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                          TechieAndroid
                          last edited by

                          @moosepr
                          Wow. I've been so busy. I finally have time to finish this project.
                          Your pinout matchs up with mine. 10-18 though, I have no idea what each is for unless they operate the touch sensor.
                          1-9 is what I had connected that didn't work.

                          I've soldered the screen back to the board successfully and now all that happens is the backlight gets powered, nothing else.

                          I've tried the 3.2" model too and without knowing what SCK (SCL) is and where it is I've left it not connected. Now all that happens is a powered the backlight.

                          I need a reference guide to what names mean the same on the pins since they are all named something else on different boards.

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                            TechieAndroid
                            last edited by

                            https://goo.gl/xTw5Lj Here are my pics

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

                              @techieandroid ok, so the last 4 pins are for touch, then all the led pins are for the backlight. Try this

                              Display--------Raspberry Pi
                              SCK------------pin 23 (GPIO 11)
                              SDO----------pin 21 (GPIO 9)
                              SDA----------pin 19 (GPIO 10)
                              CS--------------pin 24 (GPIO 8)
                              RST------------pin 22 (GPIO 25)
                              D/C-------------pin 18 (GPIO 24)
                              VIN-------------pin 17 (3.3v)
                              GND-----------pin 20 (GND)
                              LEDA----------3.3v via a resistor (10 ohm is enough)
                              LEDK1-4-----GND

                              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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                                TechieAndroid
                                last edited by

                                @moosepr
                                I thought you'd let me know what SCK was on my other screen (the 3.2")... Let me grab a pic so that you can see it.

                                As far as what you have there, I already knew what GPIO pins to use, that's how it was working before I separated the 2.8" one from the board.

                                I don't need LEDA or LEDK1-4 because I wasn't using them in the first place.

                                Hope that clears things up.

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                                  TechieAndroid
                                  last edited by

                                  alt text

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                                  • T
                                    TechieAndroid
                                    last edited by

                                    I don't see SCK on this board so what is it labeled as? Or am I wrong, do I not need SCK?

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

                                      @techieandroid i was talking about the bare ribbon on the 2.8" screen

                                      Im not sure on the 3.2" screen, there is 'CLK' up in the top right, but that may be just for the SD card slot (along with the MOSI and MISO)

                                      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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                                        TechieAndroid @moosepr
                                        last edited by

                                        @moosepr
                                        Okay, maybe I'll figure it out. I don't think CLK is it since the pins are grouped, I believe those four up there are just for the touch screen.

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                                          TechieAndroid
                                          last edited by TechieAndroid

                                          Okay, so, a LOT has happened since I last commented here.

                                          The GBA shell is almost ready to mount everything in.
                                          I have all my components, except for the boards I'm making (explained below).
                                          I do need some nicer wires than what I've been using, some for running + & - (I want these to be colored red and black respectively to help me distinguish my setup during the build) and some others for general connections.
                                          I'd also like some advice on painting my GBA shell since I plan to do that as well.

                                          I've been designing my own controller boards since, the other day when I was soldering to the original GBA board (for the controller connections) the wire got moved just a hair and ripped the contact right off the board.

                                          Now I've almost gotten to the point of having them fabricated, and I'm wondering to myself how to route the stereo audio channels from the RP0 to my TRS jack, I'm also wanting to use the volume adjustment wheel I salvaged from the GBA (since if I don't there will be a empty opening on the shell where it should've been).

                                          My goal is to make these boards with through holes (for the connections) for easy wiring, and also to eliminate some space normally taken up by having a lot of wires every where.

                                          And I believe that's everything. Hopefully someone can help me out on these final things.

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                                            TechieAndroid
                                            last edited by

                                            @moosepr

                                            Sorry to continue bothering you, I thought that you'd probably be the most knowledgeable person in this area though.

                                            I'm thinking about going back to trying to get the 3.2" screen working, and I think either with this driver pre-installed, or with minor modifications it'll work.

                                            I got the audio dilemma solved I think. Here's what I plan on doing:

                                            https://learn.adafruit.com/adding-basic-audio-ouput-to-raspberry-pi-zero/pi-zero-pwm-audio

                                            Then route the channels from those GPIO pins to the analog TR on the jack on my board.

                                            Here's my schematic. Do note that I still need to adjust it to fit the shell just right.

                                            https://imgur.com/RoAfSZF.png

                                            I'm open to advice.

                                            mooseprM 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
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