Collecting information on alternative displays - please contribute

[jsawhite]

I have this board and was able to make it work with some trimming, regulator removal, and one trace to re-route (although I'm not sure if it's critical or not yet). I'll take some pics and upload this evening when I get home.

Ok, took some pics last night... It turns out that the cap and choke on the far left side of the board are filtering for the 12V line (automotive power is noisy), so once I bypassed the regulator (remove chip, route power directly), those were no longer used and could be removed. There was one trace on the right side that I had to chop off, so I just scraped the board (to expose metal) and soldered a small wire to replace that one. I also removed the push buttons and white connector for power/video. Sadly, the last thing I had to do was to thin the GB shell a little to make the board fit. Didn't have to remove a ton, and it's not visible from the outside. Not pretty, but works. Maybe it would be worth spending another $16 on a different one? But it could still be a crap shoot... Besides, my poor dremel doesn't get enough love anymore...

Pics (sorry, I see they aren't the greatest, let me know if you want a better/higher res one):

original board:

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After:

IMG_5023.JPG (314.55 KiB) Viewed 8008 times

IMG_5025.JPG (223.84 KiB) Viewed 8008 times

Trace repair:

IMG_5027.JPG (141.93 KiB) Viewed 8008 times

IMG_5026.JPG (167.51 KiB) Viewed 8008 times

Shell thinning:

IMG_5030.JPG (248.27 KiB) Viewed 8008 times

IMG_5029.JPG (233.21 KiB) Viewed 8008 times

Installed:

IMG_5028.JPG (316.06 KiB) Viewed 8008 times

[Bigtimbers]

Maybe this is a silly road to go down, but does anyone know if there is an interface board you could use with a Gameboy Advance SP screen?

I know the screen is only 2.9" but they could be a cheap alternative if a compatible board is available.

Or maybe it would be possible to hack the original GBA board to use the screen?

[Rog585]

That's perfect, you have been a great help and will give it a go, just to confirm for option 3 the white wire should go through the hole to the right of tv which is marked up as U3?

Yup. On the Pi0, TV output and the ground for TV output have the little white box around them. (like you, I think the U3 refers to the ground pin, but the label is placed kind of funny, so it might technically refer to a component(s) under it).

Also, again note that I fixed my error on which wires go to the Powerboost: Red & Black

Hi RxBrad, I have done as you said and when I power the pi, the screen goes a darker black so I know it is receiving power. I don't get anything else after that as if no picture signal is coming through? Can you please help!

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[RxBrad]

@Rog585 -- I don't see anything obviously wrong. You stripped quite a bit off the wires, so be sure the exposed wire isn't accidentally making contact with some other component on the PCB. Also, make sure you didn't accidentally bridge between any of the solder pads on the PCB when connecting the wires. If you did, you might need to use a solder sucker or desoldering braid to clean it up.

Some people have noted that they had trouble running this screen off the power from the Pi. Try moving the red/black wires and using the PowerBoost as a power source. The post linked at the end of this paragraph shows you how it's hooked up. Ultimately, you'll want it hooked up like this before you're done. Using the Pi for power is only temporary to test it: http://www.sudomod.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=137

EDIT: It also looks like you used fairly thin gauge wire for the jumper and AV inputs. If everything else fails, maybe try thicker wire on these: at least 26 gauge or so.

Also, I think i fried my first Pi Zero and screen doing the initial USB & display wiring (or it was faulty when I got it). Hook it up via HDMI and make sure the Pi actually works. That's how I eventually realized my first Pi didn't work. Alternatively, you can remove the SD card from the Pi, then plug a micro USB port into the Pi's USB port (not power port -- don't plug anything into the power) -- then plug this into a Windows PC. If the Pi is working, Windows should identify it as a USB device.

[Rog585]

@Rog585 -- I don't see anything obviously wrong. You stripped quite a bit off the wires, so be sure the exposed wire isn't accidentally making contact with some other component on the PCB. Also, make sure you didn't accidentally bridge between any of the solder pads on the PCB when connecting the wires. If you did, you might need to use a solder sucker or desoldering braid to clean it up.

Some people have noted that they had trouble running this screen off the power from the Pi. Try moving the red/black wires and using the PowerBoost as a power source. The post linked at the end of this paragraph shows you how it's hooked up. Ultimately, you'll want it hooked up like this before you're done. Using the Pi for power is only temporary to test it: http://www.sudomod.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=137

EDIT: It also looks like you used fairly thin gauge wire for the jumper and AV inputs. If everything else fails, maybe try thicker wire on these: at least 26 gauge or so.

Also, I think i fried my first Pi Zero and screen doing the initial USB & display wiring (or it was faulty when I got it). Hook it up via HDMI and make sure the Pi actually works. That's how I eventually realized my first Pi didn't work. Alternatively, you can remove the SD card from the Pi, then plug a micro USB port into the Pi's USB port (not power port -- don't plug anything into the power) -- then plug this into a Windows PC. If the Pi is working, Windows should identify it as a USB device.

Sorry to be a pain, which ports do I use on the power boost for red and black as a test?

[RxBrad]

@rog585

See the post I linked. The round + and - holes on the end of the Powerboost where the USB plug would be soldered on.

[Rog585]

@rog585

See the post I linked. The round + and - holes on the end of the Powerboost where the USB plug would be soldered on.

Just tried that with no luck. I will tear down and try again. I don't think it's the pi is I have tried it with 2!

[Rog585]

@rog585

See the post I linked. The round + and - holes on the end of the Powerboost where the USB plug would be soldered on.

Looking at the board I think I bridged one of the wires with the circuitry above it, may need a finer iron tip, I did notice it was easier to solder the wires through the holes then solder the power wires on the pad below the holes. I have another screen coming so will start from new. I am new to soldering so learning as going along.thabks for you help.

[Crizzly]

@rog585

See the post I linked. The round + and - holes on the end of the Powerboost where the USB plug would be soldered on.

Looking at the board I think I bridged one of the wires with the circuitry above it, may need a finer iron tip, I did notice it was easier to solder the wires through the holes then solder the power wires on the pad below the holes. I have another screen coming so will start from new. I am new to soldering so learning as going along.thabks for you help.

Hey, I have the same problem with the same display-board. Any news?
In your picture I noticed that you haven´t removed the chip where you connected the jumper wire, as it is told in the instruction for this board. Maybe thats the problem?

[KaiKona808]

@Rog585

I have the same screen as you. I am no expert so just sharing info from how I was advised in wiring my board for this same screen.

From the video driver board:
AV source (yellow wire): connect to TV on Pi (where you have it now)
GND (black): connect to TV ground on Pi - where you have the orange wire going (Note: you have it wired to two places on your Pi. Remove the one you have to the USB ground).
5v (red): connect to 5v on powerboost (though you can wire to a 5v on the Pi to test, but recommend for the long run wire to 5v on powerboost)

Also trim those leads. You can easily see the 5v jumper wire at risk of touching other parts easily.

It took me a few tries of reading and testing and this is what worked for me.