Mausberry Shutdown Circuit NES Build Help?

hansolo77

@obsidianspider Yes, I was reading through your build progress. You have a lot more skill than I do. Even if you're just hacking it, I'm a total hack at hacking it. :) Your's looks awesome. As for the reset button, I'm just not sure what I want to do with it. Doing a hard reset sounds like defeating the purpose of having the mausberry at all. All you're basically doing is resetting it. If it's doing it "warmly", without doing a complete power off but just restarting the Pi, that might be something. I also like the idea you suggested in your thread of doing a reset button as a way to return to the RetroPie menus. Using an Xbox controller, I've got it automatically configured to use the "GUIDE" button to bring up RetroArch. I have to manually go in and close out of RetroArch using that. Surprisingly, once I set up the controller, the ability to use START+SELECT as a method of returning directly no longer works. Maybe it's because I configured RetroArch with the controller prior to actually launching a game through RetroPie? In any case, using the reset button on the NES to return to RetroArch sounds like a better possibility than using it for something else. Still tossing around ideas, haven't even received my console yet.

@qwaven Thanks for that link. I had seen that before, but just glanced at it and never read it. I saw that diagram of the GPIO pins on the right, and though maybe I clicked on the wrong thing. I actually read through it this time, and it seems simple enough to do. I just have to be in the console, run the download, run the setup, and reboot. Piece of cake. :)

hansolo77

Sorry for bringing this back up... but I can't seem to find the instructions on how to wire up the RESET switch. I've seen examples through Google and Youtube where people have wired up the RESET switch to act as an "Exit Emulator" button. I think this would be really helpful for my build, where some controllers don't have the necessary buttons to do that (like an Atari Joystick with only 1 button). Does anybody know of a link to instructions on how to do this, or maybe just explain it to me? Thanks!

obsidianspider

@hansolo77 Mausberry has instructions for wiring the Reset button but if you want to have the reset button "do something" you're going to need to connect it to GPIO instead of to the Mausberry, then have the Pi do something when it detects the GPIO was triggered (Assuming you'd want it to emulate a keypress).

I'd start with connecting the button to GPIO and create a script to display something when the key has been pressed. Then go from there.

hansolo77

Thanks for the reply @obsidianspider ... I got my Mausberry Circuit in the mail today. I'm really pissed though. The connection on the USB-IN (the side waiting for the power from the wall) was loose when I got it. Then when I connected my power to it, the thing snapped off. :( I'm hoping Mausberry can replace it, have to wait for a reply from them. I guess in the meanwhile I can always play around with getting a "keypress" function working.

jackal123uk

@hansolo77 I had exactly the same problem with my last Mausberry circuit. I had problems with intermittent power, thought I'd done something wrong until I figured the micro usb port was loose. I ended up just pulling it off and soldering directly to the board - worked out better for me as it saves space, but it should never have been loose in the first place.

hansolo77

I contacted them and asked if it would be possible to get a replacement. The rep (or THE guy, don't know if he has a staff) said it would be no problem. So now I'm just waiting for a replacement. I asked if he wants the broken back but he never replied. I also asked if he could attach some jumper posts to the holes since my soldering sucks, and he said that would be no problem too. So he seems like a nice guy, and not purposely selling rip-off circuits.

Wi1s0n

Thanks everyone for your help on my NES-Pi project. Just wanted to share a few pics of how it turned out...
Especially what to thank JSAWHITE. Thanks Buddy...

-Front "NES" ports are rewired to USB and USB game controllers rewired to NES.

-Cartridge bay will house a Bluetooth Mini keyboard imbedded in a CART...
-LED ( thx to JASAWHITE ), POWER and RESET buttons work via Mausberry shutdown circuit.

-HDMI, Ethernet, and Power at the back.

-Working RCA jacks ( video with stereo )

-Bluetooth 8Bitdo NES30 Pro and Mini Keyboard capable

-lastly power supplied by an iPad wall wart...
-Inter workings and wire management.. ( not an easy task )

moosepr

@Wi1s0n that's some tidy wires! Looking good man!

obsidianspider

@Wi1s0n VERY nicely done! :)

Wi1s0n

Thanks guys.. took a lot of planning and searching for the right parts.

qwaven

Nice work! :)

c0nsole-guy

@Wi1s0n

Very impressive, love how clean and professional it all looks!! Care to share some of the parts and details. I'm curious on what parts you used for the "NES" ports, bluetooth mini-keyboard, and how/why you used iPad wall supply.

Again great job, would love to follow your steps/guide!

leprechaun2055

I've got a NESpi project built with a Rpi3b that also uses the mausberry circuit and it seems to work just fine, but I've set up Retropie to require a usb flash drive to load any games. The drive worked fine before installing the mausberry, but afterward the pi no longer mounts the usb drive automatically on boot. It requires me to manually plug in the drive, wait a few seconds, then restart emulationstation before it will load any games. Im trying to avoid using the sd card for roms. When i disconnect the mausberry and go back to plugging power directly into the pi, usb drive works again. Any thoughts?

gogreenman

@c0nsole-guy yes, I would like to know a little more about that as well. I know there are adapters that do this but it looks like you have both ports going into one usb?!

Captain-Awesome

Hello everyone,
I have been struggling to get my Mausberry shutdown switch to work properly.
It powers the Pi on properly, but it won't shutdown the system.

This way you may get a better understanding if the situation.
Any advice, ideas, help on this would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
-CA

markyh444

@Captain-Awesome Have you installed the script from the Mausberry setup section of the site? Also, check and make sure you're using the right GPIO pins and haven't miscounted/transposed the in and out wires from the circuit. Those are important as they call the shutdown script and if you haven't installed it, that could also be why it'll only turn on the system.

Captain-Awesome

@markyh444
Thank you for your perspective! Yes, I installed the script according to the instructions on the web site. However, I discovered that I had installed the "IN" and "OUT" wires incorrectly in the GPIO header. Here's why:
When I initially built my first NES pi, and then began the second one, I referred to this graphic, which INCORRECTLY diagrams the "IN" and "OUT" wires from the Mausberry switch to the GPIO headers to the Pi:
alt text
Notice how in the graphic it shows that the green "IN" wire should go to GPIO 23, and the Blue "OUT" wire should go to GPIO 24?
That is backwards, and is what tripped me up in the build process.

On the Mausberry setup page, it notes that the wires should be connected in the opposite fashion:

http://mausberry-circuits.myshopify.com/pages/setup

Using the Pi GPIO header diagram at right, connect the "out" lead to GPIO 23 and "in" lead to GPIO 24. If you prefer to use other pins (e.g. GPIO 5 and 6) simply edit the script as discussed later in the setup. Do not connect to a ground or power GPIO pin. GPIO 0 and 1 can sometimes cause issues as well.

Anyways, thanks again for your perspective, since many times when I get stuck on something I just need an extra set of eyes to find the solution. :)

markyh444

@Captain-Awesome No probs dude. I'm the same and an extra set of eyes can spot something you ruled out without thinking, so glad to help.

happygreens7

I'm trying to find it but haven't had luck yet...
Is it possible or not to make it where the reset button on the Mausberry circuit has to be held for 5 seconds? Other than that mine works as it should, powers on, safely shuts down, and the LED works as it should as well just the reset button resets it immediately when pressed.

Anyone have any input on this? I have tried to make contact with Mausberry but no luck.

Thanks in advance,
Chad

hansolo77

@happygreens7 Probably. It would require adding some code to the script to watch for a set amount of time to pass before executing the next command. I wouldn't know how to do the programing, but essentially you have:

Watch for Reset Button to be Pressed
Reset Button Pressed
Execute Reset Command
Return to Watching

You'll be adding this:

Watch for Reset Button to be Pressed
Reset Button Pressed
Watch for button being held
Release before timeout?  -> Return to Watching
Timeout reached? -> Execute Reset Command
Return to Watching

But like I said, I don't know how you would actually write that into the script. But I would definitely think it's doable.