DirtyBeagles Gameboy Pi2 [95% Completed]

Show off your completed Game Boy Zero, or post your build logs here!
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dirtybeagles
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Re: DirtyBeagles Gameboy Pi2

Post by dirtybeagles » Fri Jul 08, 2016 5:39 pm

Tamasco wrote:Exactly. It looks much more easier to connect to the USB port.
Weird, that came standard from when I ordered the powerboost. They give you one in case you want to solder it to the powerboost. I just had two of them handy. I am sure you can order them like that if you just look around.

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dirtybeagles
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Re: DirtyBeagles Gameboy Pi2

Post by dirtybeagles » Fri Jul 08, 2016 6:12 pm

Well... I did not see anyway around it but I had to drill some holes in my poor case and I had only one change to not screw up. Because it was such a snug fit with the larger display, I decided to do two screw holes. Turned out pretty well I think.

Being very careful in drilling the holes. Used 1/16th drill bit
[spoiler="Screw Holes"]
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[/spoiler]
Needed to cut some Styrene because the screw brackets are not high enough.
*I needed to use 2 cuts of .060 Thick Styrene. Seemed like the right size after testing a few times. Was a pain in the butt to cut through because the width had to be pretty small.
[spoiler=".060 thick styrene for screw brackets"]
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[/spoiler]
[spoiler="Added some epoxy glue"]
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[/spoiler]
[spoiler="annnnddd Added some MORE epoxy"]
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[/spoiler]
[spoiler="Screwing it together, it worked"]
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[/spoiler]
[spoiler="Success"]
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[/spoiler]

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chiz
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Re: DirtyBeagles Gameboy Pi2

Post by chiz » Fri Jul 08, 2016 7:05 pm

Great solution, @dirtybeagles!

I noticed however that the cartridge isn't flat against the case due to the screw heads. You may want to use a countersink screw to make the screw head flushed against the GB case.

Btw, have you checked the hottest temperature you got from your GB RPi2?

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Re: DirtyBeagles Gameboy Pi2

Post by dirtybeagles » Fri Jul 08, 2016 8:09 pm

chiz wrote:Btw, have you checked the hottest temperature you got from your GB RPi2?
Thanks for the tip.

I am testing it now for the next few days. The powerboost gets hot, but the pi is only warm to the touch from outside. Don't you have a Pi2 build you are working on? What is your experience?

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chiz
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Re: DirtyBeagles Gameboy Pi2

Post by chiz » Fri Jul 08, 2016 8:24 pm

In my GB Pi2, the CPU gets really hot after around 15-20mins of continuous use/gameplay even with the cartridge cover removed. I documented my overheating issues and observations here: Overheating Causing Random Freezes (was Emulation Issues)

When the temperature reaches 60+ degress C, any emulator would freeze and can't go back to EmulationStation.

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Re: DirtyBeagles Gameboy Pi2

Post by Tamasco » Sat Jul 09, 2016 4:15 am

dirtybeagles wrote:
Tamasco wrote:Exactly. It looks much more easier to connect to the USB port.
Weird, that came standard from when I ordered the powerboost. They give you one in case you want to solder it to the powerboost. I just had two of them handy. I am sure you can order them like that if you just look around.
You are absolutly right. I just check my usb ports, and they are the same. Akward moment haha. I do not know why I thought they were different :lol:

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dirtybeagles
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Re: DirtyBeagles Gameboy Pi2

Post by dirtybeagles » Sat Jul 09, 2016 5:40 am

chiz wrote: When the temperature reaches 60+ degress C, any emulator would freeze and can't go back to EmulationStation.
Wow. I can say I have not had this kind of problem yet... I played a few games yesterday for 30 minutes and I do not believe mine got that hot, but I am still testing.

FYI: I ordered these. https://www.amazon.com/GeauxRobot-Raspb ... PCZ15NRG2V doesn't hurt to put one on there as an extra measure. If I can get my script working I will report back on my temperature readings before and after adding a heat sink.

19 minutes of testing temperature with the wifi dongle attached:

Code: Select all

Temperature Log - Sat  9 Jul 14:07:54 UTC 2016
40.6'C
43.3'C
44.4'C
46.5'C
47.1'C
47.6'C
50.3'C
50.3'C
50.8'C
51.4'C
51.9'C
51.9'C
54.1'C
53.0'C
55.1'C
56.2'C
55.1'C
56.2'C
57.8'C
56.2'C
57.8'C
57.8'C
56.8'C
Will continue to test.

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dirtybeagles
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Re: DirtyBeagles Gameboy Pi2

Post by dirtybeagles » Sat Jul 09, 2016 10:09 am

This is the script I used to write the temperature top a file every 60 seconds.

Code: Select all

Setup temperature script at boot:
Note: do not copy the "#" from my commands. It is just an indicater for my notes only. You DO need it for the #!/bin/bash command, but the other ones in this doc do not copy. Just select the text after it. 
-----------------------------------------------
1. SSH to raspberry pi

2. Created script: #sudo nano temperature_log.sh

3. Paste temeprature script to file you created. The logs get saved to /pi/home/logs/ directory of your pi:

#!/bin/bash

timestamp=`date +%F_%H-%M-%S`
echo "Temperature Log - $(date)" >/home/pi/logs/temperature_log_$timestamp.txt
while :
do
    temp=`/opt/vc/bin/vcgencmd measure_temp`
    temp=${temp:5:16}
    echo $temp >>/home/pi/logs/temperature_log_$timestamp.txt
    sleep 60
done

FYI: Changed sleep from 10 seconds to 60 seconds so it will log every 1 minute (or 60 seconds)

4. #CTRL+O
5. #Enter
6. #CTRL+X
7. Change permissions: #sudo chmod +x temperature_log.sh
8. Test the script: #./temperature_log.sh
FYI: I used WINSCP to check the temperature_log_$timestamp.txt to confirm it is writing every minute.
9. Enable script at startup: #sudo nano /etc/rc.local
10. Paste the following before "exit 0"
#( sleep 10; sudo bash /home/pi/temperature_log.sh ) &
11. #CTRL+O
12. #Enter
13. #CTRL+X
14. Reboot and confirm script is running and writing at startup: #sudo reboot


-----------------------------------------------

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chiz
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Re: DirtyBeagles Gameboy Pi2

Post by chiz » Sat Jul 09, 2016 10:33 am

@dirtybeagles
Thanks for testing and reporting back.

So as not to hijack your thread, I responded to you on the RPi2 overheating thread.

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Re: DirtyBeagles Gameboy Pi2

Post by Governor Hippo » Mon Jul 11, 2016 3:14 am

Hi,
not sure if I am right. But on your Button PCB I see you have the PWM -Mod used for getting normal audio from the PWM-outputs of the zero.
I had the same idea. can I somewhere download your Layout (or better not only the gerber file but the whole Eagly project?).

Thanks

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