Pi in a Sega Genesis USB Hub Build
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@cyperghost Yeah, I played some Lunar (Sega CD) for a few hours with no issues, but PSX, PSP and N64 are things I haven't messed much with.
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I guess I need a few pointers when it comes to installing the switch. I am waiting for Mausberry to get some more power adapters in stock, so in the mean while I spent my day off today making the case modifications to my Mini Sega. I took your advice and got some files, and did a few very small dremel cuts to get the work started. Switched over to the files and used them for the rest of the work. You're right about the practice. I need lots more of it, but the holes I made look a HECK of a lot better than they would have if I used a cutting wheel the whole time.
When I took my case apart, the posts between the USB plugs wouldn't come loose and broke. I didn't damage the outside of the case in anyway though, so it looks ok. When I messing around inside though, trying to get the cut outs, the wires to the LED broke from their contacts. So once I was done cutting, I went back over the contacts with my soldering iron and fixed it. Made sure it worked, then covered them up with some hot glue to help make sure it doesn't break loose again. I then went back over everything and made more hot glue fixes. Everything was still working. I then cut the USB plug off (fully dedicated now) and began soldering it to the Pi pads directly. Using your guide, I wired up the RED and BLACK to the +5 and GND on the GPIO. I then ran the GREEN and WHITE to their pads. Booted up, and everything still works (whew!). Since I problably won't be doing much else with the GPIO (other than running the wires for the Mausberry) I decided to go ahead and hot glue up the solders to make sure they won't come loose either.
So here's where I'm at now. Trying to figure out how to get the switch working. I ordered those same switches you got Obsidianspider. I looked at your pictures and saw what you did. I took my box cutter blade and cut off the 2 little posts to the switch, then hot glued the switch to the, well, switch. I figured out that the best way to do it was to have the Case switch to ON, and then the new switch to the position that had the 2 pins. I then switched the Case OFF, and saw what direction the switch moved.. It's hard working backwards like that.. Once I figured out the orientation, I glued the Case switch to the new switch, with the new switch's black piece centered on the Case switch, right above the little hole. I then waited for it to dry, and gave it a go. Of course, the whole thing moved, not just the switch. So I took the whole thing apart, put some glue down, and re-screwed the case switch back on. Waited for everything to dry, then gave it a test. It sort of worked. There is way too much give in the entire setup. When I go to switch the Case OFF, the new switch only moves a little bit. Then when I go to switch it back ON, the new switch just moves a little bit again and not all the way over. So I dont' know if it'll work or not. I did discover an alternative, though it's not pretty. If I remove the Case switch, and just slide the new switch up in it's place, it works. But I'll lose the nice look of the real switch, plus I have no idea how I'd mount it, since hot glue seems to not be the key ingredient here.
Any tips or suggestions?
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@hansolo77 I'm having a hard time visualizing what you've got going on with the power switch area. If you can post a picture I can try to help. Otherwise I'd say try to look at what I did with mine and what @edmaul69 did with their switch. You want the plastic switch slid all the way over to "ON" and the electrical switch in the "ON" position and then slide it as far over to the side as you can, so it's closest to the USB hub's board, not centered on the switch area. That way when you move things you don't bump into the volume slider area. Sorry that this is hard to articulate, but pictures do really help a lot.
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I took it all out and put it the way it was before. Aside from the missing support pins, you'd never know I was fidgeting with the switch in the first place. I'll try and get some pictures of the switch area Tuesday (my next day off). I thought I explained it well enough, but maybe it got lost in the long winded details. :)
Essentially, I discovered that hot glue isn't strong enough to mount the switch to the case. It's too "gooey" (for lack of a better word) to prevent the "new" switch housing from moving when the "old" switch was being thrown. Even after I let it dry for an hour, the whole thing "wobbled". It was enough that I noticed the "new" switch wasn't making contact inside it's housing. The whole housing was was moving, not the little black switch part. Is that better? I think I need something like superglue, or maybe something to have on either side of the housing to prevent it from moving.
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@hansolo77 you need to apply hotglue to 3 sides. You really need to use high temp hotglue which also requires a high temp gun. Also smearing the glue makes it stronger than just blobbing it on. You want to get it to adhere to the surfaces not just sitting on top of it.
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@hansolo77 mausberry has restock on the switches. Got an email not long ago. Just ordered me 3
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@antricluc Cool... I actually signed up on their page for a restock notice too, but never got it. I'll order mine right away!
@edmaul69 Thanks, I'll try doing this again tomorrow.
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LOL :) I checked, the 2-spring circuit is still unavailable. <sadface>
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@hansolo77 why the spring header? Can't you just do the same on the USB one?
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@antricluc there isnt enough room in the genesis usb hub to cram a regular one in it.
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@edmaul69 ahhhh because your using the pi 3 yes? I'm using the zero so I should be good with USB you think?
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@antricluc that would still be an issue. Onece you plug the mausberry into the pi then a cable into that you need to remove the hub to fit it in.
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Correct. There's not enough room. I have my broken Mausberry that I received (DOA) for my NES build. I fit it in there, but in order to make it work, you need to either plug the other end into the Pi (which would mean having it sticking WAY out the back of the case) or run it via a MicroUSB to MicroUSB cable, which would over clutter the insides of the case. Plus, in order to have the HDMI and Composite flush with the case, you don't really have room to install a cable into the power on the Pi. I suppose if you were going to go that route, you could just cut off the MicroUSB plug (and maybe 2 inches of wire), plug the cable into the Mausberry, then run the wires to the pads on the Pi. But you'd have to cannibalize a cable, and I'd hate to do that. Plus, I don't have a working circuit anyway to experiment with.
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@cyperghost Did I hear my name? I wish the forum would have notified me that I was mentioned...I could have given some input.
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@adamspc yes it is about your power on-off circuit.
Can you tell us how it is working and is it possible to lower shipment costs? -
@cyperghost
It works off a momentary switch. Pushing the button will immediately power the board on. It will stay on, so you don't have to hold the button. Holding the button for 3 seconds will power the board off.It has a feature that makes it shut off after the poweroff command is run on the Pi. It does this without any extra software as long as you have the TX pin unused. The third feature is that you can connect to a GPIO pin and use that pin to look for the switch to be pressed, and then issue a shutdown command. The process is explained here.
I'm selling them at a pretty good price considering I'm making them myself. Also, I'm using USPS, and shipping didn't seem to bad to me. They charge around $3 for USA and $8-14 for international. If you guys know of a different shipping company with better prices I don't mind trying someone different.
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@adamspc Thank you for quick reply :)
A shipment to europa costs about 14$ and if I would take two the value gets to 28$. I think you can send it in a envelope and then the transport costs would lower to 5$ and then I am your man :) -
@cyperghost Yea that was a problem with the shipping calculator on my site. It's fixed now and it combines everything into one package. You can get as many as you want and it will charge $14.
I'm not sure how I feel about using an envelope. I'll see whether the thickness is allowed.
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@adamspc The price is really hot ... I know you make them on your own and I appreciate your solid work.
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