PitchForkNinja's 1st GBZ!

[PitchForkNinja]

Hello! Welcome to my build blog thing! I saw this project a while ago, and I now have almost all of the parts. Thought I would give it ago!

NOTE: I am following Wermy's build pretty closely. I am now (see Part 2 Update) using a custom button PCB. The only differences are that I am using the Kitsch-Bent PWM audio filter http://store.kitsch-bent.com/product/easy_pwm_audio and Helder's power strip from OSH Park https://oshpark.com/shared_projects/tQqjx16m. I am not doing a cartridge reader either. Sorry!

[Part 1]

My dad helped me with some of the dremeling. It took a while, it was tough, but after about an hour (yes, an hour), the battery compartment was looking nice and smooth. We used a sharp knife a lot more than I thought we would.

Battery CompartmentShow

Next we moved on to the X and Y button holes. We found a drill bit that was the perfect size, but it was too big for our drill! We made a few pilot holes, drilled the biggest hole we could, and forced the big drill bit through the holes. They came out looking pretty nicely.
Update!: 3D printed button wells are in!

Then we moved on to the screen. We used a saw bit to cut most of the bezel out, used a grinder to get the large curve, and I used the knife and a straight and curved file to get the rest.

FrontShow

We drilled a hole for Micro-USB charging, and it was a good fit. Then we widened the EXT Port to fit the USB Port.

SidesShow

We did not drill/dremel the holes for the L and R buttons, but we will when they come in from China (Banggood)

Update!: The buttons are here and we have drilled the holes!

[Part 2]

So I desoldered a couple of things on the button board, and that went pretty well.

BoardShow

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I cut the board in half with a dremel and I'm starting to solder my wires. (Didn't take a pic)

UPDATE: After fudging up and accidentally removing a copper trace while soldering, I will now not be using the original board. I figured this would happen since nobody else here is using the original board instead of a premade button board. This is--of course--after I had only one wire left to solder and had already burnt my finger... Whoops! I'll probably move on to the screen while I wait for the Kitsch Bent PCB. It was worth a try.

I will update when I move on to other steps. Feel free to ask any questions!
Bye!

[PitchForkNinja]

After fudging that up too, the screen has finally been fixed, and I should be doing way more stuff in the future.

[Lphillimore]

Keen to see how this progresses

[PitchForkNinja]

Finally, I'm back! I've been busy lately, so I'm trying to do as much as possible!

Some bad news: I removed a pad on my teensy. Woohoo. Mistake #3.

Good news: Because I couldn't finish the controls, I couldn't do just about everything on the front. Keyword just. However, I have pretty much finished the back (I will not be doing a cartridge reader)!

Pretty much, I've been able to do all of the power stuff in the back, L and R buttons installed, and I have the headphone jack, amplifier, and speaker wired up.

Here's all that I've done.

The back took a total of 2 days to finish, since I was pretty busy, and if I had to give any advice, I would say to be lenient on the glue. It's pretty easy to put a ton on and think you're safe, but you can end up putting way too much on, or clog a port or moving part.

Power Circuitry and L+RShow

Then I did the audio stuff as well. Same advice applies, here, I used WAY too much glue.

Audio CircuitryShow

Here is the screen installed into the case!

ScreenShow

And finally here is the front!

FrontShow

I forgot to show the screen modification, after it was fixed. You can see the things that I removed and had fixed.

Modification and FixShow

[muniosi]

Looking good!