Another GBZ build yay!

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ptitneo
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Another GBZ build yay!

Post by ptitneo » Tue Jul 19, 2016 7:44 am

Hello everyone,

just another GBZ project, nothing very new here :)

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I took pictures all the way through the build if you're interested, the album is here.
And here's the detailed parts list (including the bits I broke or didn't end up using).

I'm also taking the opportunity to say thanks to everyone on this forum (I silently took a lot of advice from many of you), and specifically @dominator for his great screen covers and stickers, and of course @wermy for taking the time to make this very website and of course his super-awesome videos.

For this project I mostly followed Wermy's guides. Here are the few things that differ in my build:

- I'm using Recalbox 4.0 beta instead of Retropie in this project. It's got really cool features and works great in the GBZ :)

- Unfortunately I had to kill a DMG-01 in working state (the screen was very tired though) but after a full month of unsuccessfully searching for a broken one that was otherwise in good overall condition, I gave up. Back then I didn't know that there are brand new empty cases available on eBay, and that there were such things as custom made GBZ PCBs.

- Even though I did all the cutting and wiring, I didn't end up using the original board for the buttons because Dominator sold me one of the red PCBs @Helder makes along with the stickers and acrylic screen protector I was ordering from him. That screen is really what gives the build a finished look!

- I didn't use a teensy and wired the PCB to the Pi's GPIO directly. Works out of the box with Recalbox. Didn't really see the added value of the teensy vs lost space and energy.

- However I did use an USB audio card, for 2 reasons: I don't like how PWM audio sounds (although I never tried with a filter), and the USB card's output is strong enough that I don't need to use the mono amp for the headphones jack and give up on stereo. As a result I was able to use the DMG's original stereo pot for volume control and get stereo sound in the headphones. The mono amp is only used for the speaker. There is a thread somewhere on the forum with a great Fritzing schema for this setup (with one mistake: the volume pot's 5th pin must be connected to GND or it won't work properly).

- I killed my original Pi Zero :( Worst part being that I'm not even sure how. I suspect it was when trying to close the GBZ. As Wermy says in his video, it's a very, very tight fit and while looking for a solution I might have applied some pressure at a weak point on the board and micro-cracked it somewhere. The project went to a stop and I had to order a new Pi off Pimoroni. Once I got to install the new Pi I was super extra careful, and I also removed the micro USB power input plug from the new Pi in an attempt to have it fit better in the case. Also that might just be a coincidence but the cartridge hack seems to work better with the new Pi (which is a rev 1.3) than with the old one (rev 1.2).

- For power I started with the cheapo alternative charger/converter listed in the wiki then found a Powerboost 1000C from Adafruit in stock when I was looking for my replacement Pi Zero so I ordered it and replaced it in the build. The chinese charger worked OK (a battery must always be plugged in though, unlike the Powerboost) but it has no low battery led nor LBO pin and I think I'll have a use for them in a future update of my GBZ.

- Instead of using the connector on the Powerboost, I built an extension cable with a male JST-ish connector using a couple of header pins, a piece of prototyping board and some hot glue. Now the battery can be changed without having to open the case.

That's pretty much it. It was a fun project, thanks again Wermy for the inspiration and all the work you put in making the guides :)
Cheers,
Last edited by ptitneo on Tue Jul 19, 2016 8:41 am, edited 2 times in total.

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alien0matic
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Re: Another GBZ build yay!

Post by alien0matic » Tue Jul 19, 2016 7:58 am

Oh, how sad, the tiny RPi with the cross :cry:

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Ninjameep
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Re: Another GBZ build yay!

Post by Ninjameep » Tue Jul 19, 2016 1:35 pm

Where did you find the 'drill 10.8mm' Drill sheet/helper o:

ptitneo
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Re: Another GBZ build yay!

Post by ptitneo » Tue Jul 19, 2016 5:52 pm

alien0matic wrote:Oh, how sad, the tiny RPi with the cross :cry:
:cry: indeed...
Ninjameep wrote:Where did you find the 'drill 10.8mm' Drill sheet/helper o:
That was provided by @dominator with the acrylic screen. Free of charge :)


Tonight I made some wiring adjustments and added another USB connector in the battery compartment. I've just added a few pictures of the finished build to the photo album.

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statikeffeck
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Re: Another GBZ build yay!

Post by statikeffeck » Thu Jul 21, 2016 4:47 pm

Nice going!

Question: what do people mean when they say the volume potentiometer 5th pin must be connected to ground? Which ground? The ground gpio pin on the pi zero or some other place?

ptitneo
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Re: Another GBZ build yay!

Post by ptitneo » Thu Jul 21, 2016 7:44 pm

statikeffeck wrote:Question: what do people mean when they say the volume potentiometer 5th pin must be connected to ground? Which ground? The ground gpio pin on the pi zero or some other place?
Well I don't know about you but in my build all grounds are connected together. So any GND, be it on the pi, usb hub or on your powerboost would do since they're all the same.

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Re: Another GBZ build yay!

Post by ptitneo » Wed Jul 27, 2016 11:17 am

Yesterday I received the speaker (from my parts list) to replace the original part with something a little beefier. It's thicker and unfortunately also slightly (~1mm) larger than the original so I had to shave off about half of the plastic ring that holds the speaker in the case to fit the new one. I compensated that loss with hot glue. The sound is noticeably better, with a larger frequency response, but it's still a cheap laptop speaker so don't expect miraculously deep bass and THX surround sound either.

I also took the opportunity that the case was open once more to plug the push tiny screen settings board that came with my LCD and that I forgot to plug. The cable length is perfect and the board comes nicely inside the battery compartment.

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I found I still had the tiny IO port cover so I carved the plastic so that it could fit in the USB port

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Finally, I fine-tuned my Recalbox config with proper overscan settings, correct screen rations and nice shaders.

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So now it looks almost exactly like a million hours ago when I started this.
Well tbh the screen is a bit larger and clearer than before. And the sound too ;)

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