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Re: GB Null

Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2018 8:57 am
by Botisaurus
Hi there!

I also need some little support with one GB Null build.
I've built two GB nulls, one works just fine but the other one has a weird display glitch.
When it gets turned on it works fine for a couple of minutes then suddenly the screen glitches out completely.
See picture and video attached.

What I have tried so far:
  • Checked every relevant solder point of the display & pi.
  • Replaced the Pi - same thing.
  • Other SD card - same thing.
  • Loaded a default retropie image, connected via HDMI - works flawlessly.
  • Turn it off and wait a couple of minutes - still glitches.
  • Turn it off and wait a couple of hours - It's okay again, but a couple of minutes later it glitches again.
It maybe a hairline crack in the pcb/temperature thing? Is there anything I could try or am i out of luck?
Best, b

Image normal: https://www.dropbox.com/s/iiwzp52hv1noy ... l.JPG?dl=0
Video with glitches: https://www.dropbox.com/s/h5wje4j3upo9g ... v.mp4?dl=0

Re: GB Null

Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2018 4:20 am
by Ampersand
Botisaurus wrote:
Sun Oct 14, 2018 8:57 am
Hi there!

I also need some little support with one GB Null build.
I've built two GB nulls, one works just fine but the other one has a weird display glitch.
When it gets turned on it works fine for a couple of minutes then suddenly the screen glitches out completely.
See picture and video attached.

What I have tried so far:
  • Replaced the Pi - same thing.
  • Other SD card - same thing.
  • Loaded a default retropie image, connected via HDMI - works flawlessly.
  • Turn it off and wait a couple of minutes - still glitches.
  • Turn it off and wait a couple of hours - It's okay again, but a couple of minutes later it glitches again.
It maybe a hairline crack in the pcb/temperature thing? Is there anything I could try or am i out of luck?
Best, b

Image normal: https://www.dropbox.com/s/iiwzp52hv1noy ... l.JPG?dl=0
Video with glitches: https://www.dropbox.com/s/h5wje4j3upo9g ... v.mp4?dl=0
Have you checked the soldering on the screen?

Re: GB Null

Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2018 6:10 am
by Botisaurus
Ampersand wrote:
Mon Oct 15, 2018 4:20 am
Have you checked the soldering on the screen?
Yes I did, everything is where it should be. Sorry forgot to mention that.

Re: GB Null

Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2018 9:31 am
by Ampersand
Botisaurus wrote:
Mon Oct 15, 2018 6:10 am
Ampersand wrote:
Mon Oct 15, 2018 4:20 am
Have you checked the soldering on the screen?
Yes I did, everything is where it should be. Sorry forgot to mention that.
My guess is that the screen is probably busted. Send me a message on here/tindie with your order number and I'll post you a new one.

Re: GB Null

Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2018 1:58 am
by Botisaurus
Ampersand wrote:
Mon Oct 15, 2018 9:31 am
that the screen is probably busted. Send me a message on here/tindie with your order number and I'll post you a new one.
Meh that's unfortunate. Thank you very much!

Re: GB Null

Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2018 12:08 pm
by not_simple_si
I'd be interested. Nice project.

Re: GB Null

Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2018 1:12 pm
by Ampersand
not_simple_si wrote:
Tue Oct 30, 2018 12:08 pm
I'd be interested. Nice project.
It's been on sale for a few months now:
https://www.tindie.com/products/Ampersa ... -null-kit/

Re: GB Null

Posted: Wed Oct 31, 2018 11:35 am
by XpertXP
Hi all,

Ordered all the parts to build a GameBoy Null, is there a guide on adding audio? I see in the posts here some people have added it. Can anyone point me in the right direction?
Thanks!

Re: GB Null

Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2018 4:05 am
by brasstacks
I'm currently 1 for 3 out of these GBN kits.....Looking for assistance on getting my other two working.

GBN#1 - First I assembled....went together great except for one pad was bridged to ground....currently running just fine

GBN#2 - Assembly #2 went fine....both right and left direction pads will not work. Both trace just fine, one I can manually bridge the button and get it to work, the other is completely non functional

GBN#3 - There is a bridge between the power switch and ground, no signal to screen....even a de-soldering gun isn't removing this bridge. I'm also running into issues trying to pin out the traces from the 5v charging board...

It seems as the solder pad method just isn't reliable and there is almost no way to fix it once there is an issue....I've run into issues with creating more problems in other pads.

Suggestions
-Document the test points for the display....Once I realized that the needed pins are broken out to test pads the testing process went much smoother
-Add test points for the lower row on the header so that you can test the connection easier
-Ditch the method of attachment completely? Maybe some pogo pins or just solder pins in place?

Any suggestions that I could try short of binning+$100 in parts?

Re: GB Null

Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2018 2:00 pm
by Ampersand
brasstacks wrote:
Fri Nov 02, 2018 4:05 am
I'm currently 1 for 3 out of these GBN kits.....Looking for assistance on getting my other two working.

GBN#1 - First I assembled....went together great except for one pad was bridged to ground....currently running just fine

GBN#2 - Assembly #2 went fine....both right and left direction pads will not work. Both trace just fine, one I can manually bridge the button and get it to work, the other is completely non functional

GBN#3 - There is a bridge between the power switch and ground, no signal to screen....even a de-soldering gun isn't removing this bridge. I'm also running into issues trying to pin out the traces from the 5v charging board...

It seems as the solder pad method just isn't reliable and there is almost no way to fix it once there is an issue....I've run into issues with creating more problems in other pads.

Suggestions
-Document the test points for the display....Once I realized that the needed pins are broken out to test pads the testing process went much smoother
-Add test points for the lower row on the header so that you can test the connection easier
-Ditch the method of attachment completely? Maybe some pogo pins or just solder pins in place?

Any suggestions that I could try short of binning+$100 in parts?
GBN#1 - Good to hear!

GBN#2 - If you bridge the traces at the button, does that work?

GBN#3 - The blue charging board goes to the power switch, and then from there to the 2 pins at the top left of the pi.

Your suggestions:
The build guide shows you the pads you need to test the pi's connections against, colour-coded and (i think) clear.
The pads on the PCB can actually be used to attached a header if that's what you wanted to do.

Do you have discord? Come join us over here https://discord.gg/r9xekuP so we can talk more easily, someone else may have had and solved your problems.