Build Log (of a total and complete newb with 0 electronics expierence)

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TorroesPrime
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Build Log (of a total and complete newb with 0 electronics expierence)

Post by TorroesPrime » Sun Aug 25, 2019 9:52 am

Let's watch a monkey try to build a GMZ
So I am a model builder with only slightly more than 0 knowledge when it comes to electronics. I know enough to wire an LED to a battery and, more often than not, have it work for more than 5 seconds. But I was checking out various videos when I ran across Wemy's GameBoy Zero build videos. So I thought I'd give it a shot. I re-watched his videos several times, watched other soldering tutorials, watched various basic electronic videos and looked up the different parts he mentioned. And I felt like I was about as ready to start as I was going to get. So I bought a couple of GameBoy after-market cases off ebay, the screen from Amazon, and assorted other parts from various other providers.

How am I doing?
Well, I started working on modifying the case:
Image

I think it turned out... alright. Could do better, but for a first try... okay yeah I'm just joking. That's just the scraps from said modification.

Image
This is the modified front of the case.

I also modified the battery compartment to be about 1/2 as deep as it was originally designed to be.
Image

The battery pack fits in the compartment well enough but there was a lot of extra space. Originally I was planning on gluing some foam in there to keep the battery from rattling around, but that meant I was just wasting space. So instead I took the back of the battery compartment from one body, removed the back of the battery compartment, cut down about half of the height and mounted the cut out back. In hind sight, I would use a sheet of styrene instead of transplanting the back of one case. But experience and all that.
Image

The screen
So I used the backup camera screen that Wermy mentioned in his Custom Parts video. As he warned, the screen I got had a different board confirguation to it then the one he demonstrated with. I spent some time looking through the forums on here to see if I could find the informaiton I needed... but as I hinted at before, I have basically 0 electronics knowledge and was really just kind of hoping that I would know what I was looking for if I found it. Which... yeah. An hour or so of searching with that mind-set... not a great expecation of results.

so I hijacked a thread where someone else asked for help but didn't actually post any information or pictures of their board or anything. VeternGamer was good enough to point me at the exact information I needed in regards to the screen mods.

Aaaaand I think this is where the monkey screwed up.

I made the mods the article laid out,
Image

and used Wermy's guide to connect the wires to the Pi Zero W...
Image

and I get nothing from the Pi. I plug it in with a noobs card in the slot.

As far as I can tell, I tried the Raspberry pi Zero W somewhere along the line. I'm hoping that's not the case... but yeah. Not looking good in this regard.


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infinitLoop
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Re: Build Log (of a total and complete newb with 0 electronics expierence)

Post by infinitLoop » Sun Aug 25, 2019 11:36 am

first: you have connected the yellow wire to a ground input on the pi - disconnect that. the white wire (av2) is connected to the correct spot. you can just leave the yellow one disconnected. (you probably want to shorten up the wire too - looks like it's going to bridge some of those other pins)

second (if the above alone doesn't fix it): you may have to clip off that chip where you bridged the 5v to, completely, and then just run the power to that pin there.

also, when testing, you can use hdmi to make sure the pi is booting up ok, and that its just the screen that's the issue and not your os

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Re: Build Log (of a total and complete newb with 0 electronics expierence)

Post by TorroesPrime » Sun Aug 25, 2019 2:16 pm

So tried removing the yellow wire. No change.

Went to remove the IC where I bridged the 5v line to... and I was greeted by a very interesting surprise:
Image

the chip, and the bridge I put on, is gone.

So... wtf and wtf (what and when)?
It looks like I tore the chip off at some point. I would think I would have noticed something like that. But yeah. No clue when that happened.

On the plus side, the Pi Zero W works now.

so I guess this attempt is a wash. I've ordered a new screen.

Any chance I can bridge the connection on the board with what's left? Or did the etching get torn out too like I'm guessing from the look of it?

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Re: Build Log (of a total and complete newb with 0 electronics expierence)

Post by infinitLoop » Sun Aug 25, 2019 2:34 pm

TorroesPrime wrote:
Sun Aug 25, 2019 2:16 pm

so I guess this attempt is a wash. I've ordered a new screen.

Any chance I can bridge the connection on the board with what's left? Or did the etching get torn out too like I'm guessing from the look of it?
maybe.. if you can find where that pin was, and scrape it to expose some of the copper trace, you can solder just to that...

but what i'd recommend before getting another BW screen, is that you try one of the gearbest screens - you do not have to do anything special to get them working on 5v, and the screen quality in general is better than those BW screens:

here is the typical one, but shipping can take a few weeks...
https://www.gearbest.com/development-bo ... id=1433363

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Re: Build Log (of a total and complete newb with 0 electronics expierence)

Post by TorroesPrime » Sun Aug 25, 2019 3:05 pm

infinitLoop wrote:
Sun Aug 25, 2019 2:34 pm
TorroesPrime wrote:
Sun Aug 25, 2019 2:16 pm

so I guess this attempt is a wash. I've ordered a new screen.

Any chance I can bridge the connection on the board with what's left? Or did the etching get torn out too like I'm guessing from the look of it?
maybe.. if you can find where that pin was, and scrape it to expose some of the copper trace, you can solder just to that...
So I tried doing that, used an exacto knife with a type 11 blade to the spot. The feeling I'm getting from the blade, I don't think I'm scratching at anything other then perf board. I don't think there is anything there where the bridge was.
Image

infinitLoop wrote:
Sun Aug 25, 2019 2:34 pm
but what i'd recommend before getting another BW screen, is that you try one of the gearbest screens - you do not have to do anything special to get them working on 5v, and the screen quality in general is better than those BW screens:

here is the typical one, but shipping can take a few weeks...
https://www.gearbest.com/development-bo ... id=1433363
I'll give the gearbest screen a shot... when it comes in. Estimated shipping time is 15-30 days. But that may be a good thing in the long run. I've been thinking about building a GBZ for my sister in law's birthday. If I get this first one built and feel I have a better understanding of the process, I'll use the gearbest screen in her GBZ. Thanks for the link.

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Re: Build Log (of a total and complete newb with 0 electronics expierence)

Post by infinitLoop » Sun Aug 25, 2019 3:09 pm

try more just outside/above that area, like where the pin was connecting to, under the blue part. it's likely there's nothing left in that rectangle area where the pad was. but, there might be something left under that blue area, if it didn't pull out of there too

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Re: Build Log (of a total and complete newb with 0 electronics expierence)

Post by VeteranGamer » Mon Aug 26, 2019 12:10 pm

TorroesPrime wrote:
Sun Aug 25, 2019 3:05 pm
infinitLoop wrote:
Sun Aug 25, 2019 2:34 pm
TorroesPrime wrote:
Sun Aug 25, 2019 2:16 pm

so I guess this attempt is a wash. I've ordered a new screen.

Any chance I can bridge the connection on the board with what's left? Or did the etching get torn out too like I'm guessing from the look of it?
maybe.. if you can find where that pin was, and scrape it to expose some of the copper trace, you can solder just to that...
So I tried doing that, used an exacto knife with a type 11 blade to the spot. The feeling I'm getting from the blade, I don't think I'm scratching at anything other then perf board. I don't think there is anything there where the bridge was.
Image

infinitLoop wrote:
Sun Aug 25, 2019 2:34 pm
but what i'd recommend before getting another BW screen, is that you try one of the gearbest screens - you do not have to do anything special to get them working on 5v, and the screen quality in general is better than those BW screens:

here is the typical one, but shipping can take a few weeks...
https://www.gearbest.com/development-bo ... id=1433363
I'll give the gearbest screen a shot... when it comes in. Estimated shipping time is 15-30 days. But that may be a good thing in the long run. I've been thinking about building a GBZ for my sister in law's birthday. If I get this first one built and feel I have a better understanding of the process, I'll use the gearbest screen in her GBZ. Thanks for the link.


you don't need to scratch anything....
you might end up making things even more worst....


that point of the IC (the track) also goes to the capacitor nearest to it.....


Tx4TKeE.jpg
Tx4TKeE.jpg (1.06 MiB) Viewed 4604 times


try making the connection there.....
(go easy and try not to dislodge the capacitor as well)






.

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Re: Build Log (of a total and complete newb with 0 electronics expierence)

Post by TorroesPrime » Mon Aug 26, 2019 7:42 pm

VeteranGamer wrote:
Mon Aug 26, 2019 12:10 pm
you don't need to scratch anything....
you might end up making things even more worst....
I can't help but chuckle in reading that. It's like I've already screwed it up as bad as I could without it being totally and completely obvious... but there's a chance I can screw it up even more.
VeteranGamer wrote:
Mon Aug 26, 2019 12:10 pm
that point of the IC (the track) also goes to the capacitor nearest to it.....
Tx4TKeE.jpg
try making the connection there.....
(go easy and try not to dislodge the capacitor as well)
Well, I think I can stick a fork in this screen as I'm pretty sure it's done. I ran a new bridge from the 12v line to the capacitor. Since I was using really thin wire on this, I encased it in some hot glue to insulate it from anything else.
Image

Got it all wired up, and hooked up and...
Image

a whole lot of nothing on that screen. HDMI works just fine. Tested that, no problem. I tried flipping the ribbon cable over thinking maybe I had in upside down, no change. I tried reconnecting the adjustment controls thinking their absence may cause a fault or something. No change.

So yeah, I'm thinking I either killed the screen at some point or it was dead on arrival.

Well I'll make sure the next one I get works before I do anything else with it.

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Re: Build Log (of a total and complete newb with 0 electronics expierence)

Post by infinitLoop » Tue Aug 27, 2019 8:40 am

i had one of these screens laying around here, so i just gave it a try on this new build. if you end up with another one, this is what worked for me - clipped the chip off with a flush cutter, desoldered the white wire, and then moved the red up to where the second leg was attached... worked right away...
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