Want to build the GB Zero - where to get parts in germany?

[mr.john_doe]

Hello,

I want to build the zero but have a bad feeling about grinding through a game boy board. Also my father uses my old game boy those days on vacation so I have to buy a case either way.

So in the videos are shown costum boards for the controls so I want to ask if I can spare a lot of time and blood and buy some custom boards for the project and where I can buy them in germany or without spending a lot of money for shipment.

Regards

[DirtyBullets]

I live in the UK and i had to get a lots of parts from China and US, took me 6 weeks to get all the parts i needed, but in the end it works because i used good quality parts,

i mostly ordered from eBay, Banggood and a PCB manufacture site for the customer keyboard PCB.

[Kilren]

...where I can buy them in germany or without spending a lot of money for shipment.

@fleder is a fellow German of yours. I'm sure he has a lot of great insight, he's quite knowledgeable in this project. Also search the buy/sell forums for UK sellers. There is quite a big following across the pond. A lot of good people doing awesome stuff.

[Popcorn]

I bought two broken gameboys on Klein angezeigen for 10€. Exp-tech.de and flikto.de and conrad.de have many of the components available. For the screen, Amazon is your best bet. Also check the buy, sell, trade forum as many people have spare parts for sale. Myself included.

[Fleder]

Hello,

I want to build the zero but have a bad feeling about grinding through a game boy board. Also my father uses my old game boy those days on vacation so I have to buy a case either way.

So in the videos are shown costum boards for the controls so I want to ask if I can spare a lot of time and blood and buy some custom boards for the project and where I can buy them in germany or without spending a lot of money for shipment.

Regards

Willkommen

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to write me a PM here.
You can find a lot of good online shops on the wiki here.

Your best bet is to buy a used/broken gameboy somewhere for around 20€. For if you are new to this, you do not want to buy every single component you are going to use, seperately, for the cases only come with a few buttons.
No potentiometer, no on/off switch, no button board, no speaker and so on.

Sure, the Common Ground Button PCB that is offered here in the forums is a great way to save some time.
Also it is much cleaner and you will know exactly where to drill your holes.

So, if you have decided what road you want to walk, in terms of what to leave and what to add (SD Card Reader, additional buttons),
feel free to post here or write a PM. The forum is always eager to help.

Good luck!

Edit: For the broken Gameboys, just be sure that the critical components are not broken.
A broken display is no problem, but if the aduio is not working or the on/off switch is damaged, then you would need to buy a new one.

[mr.john_doe]

Thank you. The thing is that I want to order the most parts in one order (means on one day) so I have all parts needed when I start.

I have the biggest respect off the screen mods. Since there is a lot of soldering I fear that I damage something and this is one of the expensive parts.

So I think I will order the board for the buttons. Also I think about a better sound mod. It would be nice if there would be stereo when I pug in headphones.

So my first order would be the Pi zero, the button-board, the triggers for R and B, the display (I have no glue which one) and the controller board for the buttons. So I can build the basic setup befor bringing everything in the case.

What do you think about using small jacks on the cables for making everything interchangable? I mean soldering a connector between the cables.

Regards

[Kilren]

What do you think about using small jacks on the cables for making everything interchangable? I mean soldering a connector between the cables.

Look at jst connectors. That's probably your cleanest solution for modularity. They come in 2, 4, 6, and 8 pin really easily. I'd recommend using 2 and 4 pins.

Only thing I'd suggest heavily avoid putting in any jst connections is your display wires because it adds potential interference.

[mr.john_doe]

Thank you. And another question. He uses a cardridge to extend the SD-Slot. Is it possible to cover a small USB-Hub there? Or in the battery casing? I think a bluetooth and wireless lan adaptor would be great (maybe optional with a switch).

[mr.john_doe]

So I think about buying those two parts from this shop.
Is there an alternative (since the shipping cost a lot and maybe there is a store where I can buy the other parts too)

http://store.kitsch-bent.com/product/kk_gb_zero_a
http://store.kitsch-bent.com/product/co ... -y-version

Also I will buy a old gameboy and the arduino and the rasp Pi Zero soon. What else should I buy on the first place to start?

Regards

[Pulsar]

Sine you're German: there's a facebook community for the zero project. It's entirely in German, and people there tend to buy parts in bulk (like screens and custom pcbs) to save on shipping, then resell to other people in Germany.

Look up "Raspberry ZeroBOY Projekt" on Facebook.