NeoPiGamer

Tekkaman_Slade

I used a USB Stereo Audio Adapter I got from Micro Center for 8 dollars. I modded it by removing the casing and the USB port. Then I wired data, power, and ground from the audio adapter directly to a micro-usb male connector. That made it easier for me to plug and unplug the audio adapter for disassembly and debugging of the NeoPiGamer.

Here's what Adafruit has noted about the screen you are using.

"Note that if you are playing audio out the headphone jack, you can't use the PWM capabilities of GPIO #18 at the same time, the PWM function is reassigned to do audio. However, you can use it as a simple on/off pin"

So you should be able to use the screen you are using without backlighting control if GPIO 18 is being used for audio.

moosepr

@Tekkaman_Slade thanks for the info man

i did ponder using a USB sound card, but i have been using a wifi dongle to get logged in and make changes to settings or upload games, and i dont want to start adding usb hubs in there to take up the space and battery

i can tie the backlight pin to the 3.3v feed, that wont cause any issues as the notro driver doesnt deal with any dimming anyway.

do you have any control over the volume on your usb device?

Tekkaman_Slade

@moosepr

I know exactly what you mean. I looked at a few very small 2 port hubs for notebooks that might have worked after modding, but after replacing the 1200mah battery with a 2500mah battery, there is no room left in the case. I actually use a second pi zero for changes and updates by swapping the microSD card. That setup actually helped with debugging some of the modifications I mentioned in the update to my original post.

I use the RetroArch volume control hotkeys (select+up and select+down) to control the volume. I could have used the original GBA potentiometer, but I had to remove it to make room for the audio amplifier and some wiring.

moosepr

@Tekkaman_Slade that volume shortcut is awesome!!! i never knew that was there, its one less thing to worry about.

Im curious as to how you blanked the cartridge hole, i did toy with the idea of getting some naff old game and gluing it in, but that extra space would be handy

Tekkaman_Slade

@moosepr

Great minds think alike. I tried using the top 1/4 of a GBA cartridge to cover the cartridge slot, but it still took up too much room. I ended up using a modded Nintendo DS Lite cartridge slot cover.

Top of NeoPiGamer

First I disassembled the cartridge slot cover by removing the single screw. Then I simply cut away everything below the glossy top part of the cartridge slot cover and used Loctite Super Glue Ultragel Control to glue it over the cartridge slot. It matches perfectly with the blue front and the black buttons. As you can see, prior to placing the cartridge slot cover, I created holes for the pi zero microSD card slot and the microUSB charging port of the Powerboost 1000C.

thedudester80

Amazing build. I like the glitter paint job. Really sharp. =]

mrvanes

Do I correctly recognise the front-light modification cut-out at the bottom of the screen opening? Great job btw, I'm planning on doing one after the original GameBoy mod as well. This seems more of a space challenge!
I had the same front-light mod, so I ordered a new shell. Will use old one to practice first. Will also try to preserve original battery compartment and place a 3.7V 6800mAh 2-cell pack in it.

janaktull

Hi! I am an artist that has recently started refurbishing old gameboys to look really cool.. I am looking to acquire basically everything that is inside this device put together and programmed. I was planning on decorating the housing and building a structure that would look really cool. Please let me know if you would be willing to sell your work on this. thanks

Tekkaman_Slade

@mrvanes

Very observant. You are correct. I had the backlight mod done shortly after I originally purchased the GBA many many moons ago.

Space is definitely the biggest challenge. The 2500mAh battery I'm using already last a very long time, so no complaints here. I'd be interested to hear more about your project and the larger battery.

janaktull

So im trying to go for it and make one of these.. could you explain how you wired the controls to the raspberry pi (which GPIO pins) and what software you use to emulate along with how to configure it to the GPIO pins? I think I found most of the hardware at this point. I may try to go without the additional buttons since the games I play only require four buttons. do you think its possible to use the start and select buttons that are on the original GBA?
Thanks

Tekkaman_Slade

@janaktull

I can't part with my NeoPiGamer, but I'm more than happy to answer any questions you have as you build your own.

I'll quote one of my previous posts to answer your questions regarding the GPIO pins.

@gamester_47 - I used the diagram below to wire the pinouts from the GBA's PCB directly to the GPIO pins on the Pi Zero.

I cut out the middle/green portion of the PCB in order for the signals to work properly. The Gameboy Pocket and Nintendo DS have the same issue. I needed the space for the LCD screen anyway so it all worked out.

The square pinouts under the right shoulder button and between the start and select buttons are ground.

Then I used the Adafruit retrogame utility described here to remap the buttons to keyboard presses.

You simply connect one end of a wire to a PCB pinout and the other end of the wire to a GPIO pin that's not power, reserved, or ground. Repeat for the remaining poinouts. Then you connect the ground PCB pinouts to ground GPIO pins.
GBA PCB Pinouts
Configure the retrogame utility linked above and you're ready to go.

There are PCB pinouts for the start and select buttons as well, so you can use them without any issues.

janaktull

Thanks for your help! I really appreciate it. If I can get this project to work ill make you a funky piece of clothing www.janaktull.com shows some of the stuff I make. The maps you sent me I forsee being extremely helpful, however im not sure i know what most of the abbreviations mean. will I be able to connect any TP point to any BCM pin? for example: TP0-> BCM2; TP1-> BCM3 and so on?
Also how did you cut the PCB board? i was planning on using a dremel but my friend told me i have to be careful of fusing layers of the board together and shorting the control circuit. And is there a specific place to cut the middle portion out? as in are there certain structures that I need to be sure to cut out?
thank you so much!

Tekkaman_Slade

@janaktull

Cool clothes. I have a good friend who would love the first one.

The corresponding control for each PCB pinout (e.g.: A, B, Select, Start, etc.) is designated right next to the TP# and is color coded to match the arrows pointing to the PCB pinouts in the diagram.

You can connect the PCB pinouts to any GPIO pins as long as it's not used for power, reserved (for your display, comms, etc.), and ground. Then you connect the two ground PCB pinouts to any ground GPIO pins.

I cut the PCB using a dremel tool right along where the green meets the white. You don't have to worry about shorting or fusing. In fact, the main reason for cutting the board is to terminate the paths so the pinouts work the way we want them to as briefly mentioned in the quoted post.

Zigurana

@janaktull said in NeoPiGamer:

Thanks for your help! I really appreciate it. If I can get this project to work ill make you a funky piece of clothing www.janaktull.com shows some of the stuff I make.

Funky indeed! The 80s have truly returned. Bravo!

obsidianspider

@Tekkaman_Slade

I love this. I personally think the GBA is the most one of the best Gameboys in terms of holdability (is that a word?), it was only missing the X and Y buttons to make it perfect for a SNES handheld and you solved that. Do you have any more photos or info about how you set up the X and Y buttons?

mrvanes

@obsidianspider You should check out http://sudomod.com/ for inspiration. Reading his blogs and watching his video's gave me a lot of inspiration to solve the problems I am facing while I'm trying this mod as well.

obsidianspider

@mrvanes

His SD card in a cartridge inspired me to make the cartridge slot functional in the Super Famicom build I'm working on. I haven't determined what I'll be putting in the cartridge yet, but darn it, it will do something. :)

Flavor

@obsidianspider said in NeoPiGamer:

@Tekkaman_Slade

I love this. I personally think the GBA is the most one of the best Gameboys in terms of holdability (is that a word?), it was only missing the X and Y buttons to make it perfect for a SNES handheld and you solved that. Do you have any more photos or info about how you set up the X and Y buttons?

I am also working on a similar project, and I'd love to know how you installed the X/Y buttons. We left that off of our initial build, but I know it's something we'll want to solve sometime soon.

If you'd like to see it, I plan to be adding more at http://gamepieadvance.com/

mrvanes

I'm planning on doing the X/Y using 6mm microswitches glued to the top shell, I don't see how to add a rubbermat like in the sudomod example without damaging the A/B mat. Maybe too easy, but hey, it'll work ;)

obsidianspider

@mrvanes said in NeoPiGamer:

I'm planning on doing the X/Y using 6mm microswitches glued to the top shell, I don't see how to add a rubbermat like in the sudomod example without damaging the A/B mat. Maybe too easy, but hey, it'll work ;)

What do you plan to use for the actual buttons?