Full VGA resolution (640x480) 3.5" display, composite in

[Ganreizu]

Wow DHL is fast as hell. They're estimating i'm going to get this screen in on monday all the way from china?! (tuesday their time)

Questions for [mention]cannikin[/mention]: Do i have to cut up the button board or can i just lay it next to the battery area and press them from there? Really hoping i can just press buttons from right next to the battery but it seems like a long board so i can't tell. Also what do the buttons do exactly? Is it menu | up | down | sound up | sound down?

[Cannikin]

Do i have to cut up the button board or can i just lay it next to the battery area and press them from there? Really hoping i can just press buttons from right next to the battery but it seems like a long board so i can't tell. Also what do the buttons do exactly? Is it menu | up | down | sound up | sound down?

The board buttons are: power, menu, select, up, down. I think select is also the input selector when you're not in the menu.

The little button board is the same width as the controller board, so you could fit it lengthwise inside the GB shell, but you'd have to make plenty of room... the ribbon cable attaches on the far left side and the buttons go all the way to the right edge.

Depending on how you think the screen looks maybe you won't even need the button bar. I haven't tried it in bright sunlight though...maybe we'd want to increase the brightness in that case. You should experiment and see if changing brightness in the menu really makes much of a difference. You may be able to just pick a brightness and then leave off the button bar altogether.

If I make a new custom one I'll probably use some low profile buttons like these: https://www.sparkfun.com/products/8720

[Ganreizu]

the ribbon cable attaches on the far left side and the buttons go all the way to the right edge.

Yeah the cable seemed extremely long; not surprised that it's long enough for that kind of extension.

The little button board is the same width as the controller board, so you could fit it lengthwise inside the GB shell, but you'd have to make plenty of room... Depending on how you think the screen looks maybe you won't even need the button bar. I haven't tried it in bright sunlight though...maybe we'd want to increase the brightness in that case. You should experiment and see if changing brightness in the menu really makes much of a difference. You may be able to just pick a brightness and then leave off the button bar altogether.

Phew! Regardless of the screen i chose i was pretty sure I wouldn't actually NEED buttons but the option is definitely attractive regardless. I would probably only use the GBZ either in bed, inside, or in controlled environments in general (plane, house, car, etc) so I wouldn't expect to need buttons to change brightness or contrast since i'm not a child and wouldn't play with it in complete darkness.

Thanks for the confirmation! I will play around with it on monday and see how it incorporates into my build!!

[Fleder]

Mine came Saturday and it is a bit different.
Sadly, one difference is it is not working with 5v
7,1v and it goes dark, so I will need a step up module.
I don't think it's possible to modify this board to run with 5v.

[codacious]

Ordered! I tried offering $55 (never hurts to try!) but they didn't take it. I followed up with a $65 offer and they took that. Total was $82 after shipping.

[Popcorn]

I was actually thinking of exposing just the menu button and then cross wiring up, down, and enter for the display with up, down, select on the gamepad. Anyone know if this will cause any issues being wired to two boards simultaneously?

[Cannikin]

I was actually thinking of exposing just the menu button and then cross wiring up, down, and enter for the display with up, down, select on the gamepad. Anyone know if this will cause any issues being wired to two boards simultaneously?

hahahaha Again, thinking the same thing! I thought about maybe adding a little switch on the back that would convert the buttons on the front to either talk to the Pi or talk to the screen, depending on which position it was in. As long as they don't do anything unless the menu is active then I guess you could have them hooked up to both the GB and the screen at the same time. Assuming that "ON" is ground for both the GPIO pins on the Pi and the monitor controls.

On the other hand I've got so many wires running every which way I think I might skip that for now and see how annoying it is to not have controls for the screen and see if it even matters...

[Ganreizu]

[mention]Cannikin[/mention] can you share a picture of your screen wiring? I'm not sure where the composite wires go (or how to separate them from the composite port) and a picture of the power wires would be helpful as well

Also the button board connector is 100% in the way of the contrast port where the HDMI will go. What do?

[Cannikin]

[mention]Cannikin[/mention] can you share a picture of your screen wiring? I'm not sure where the composite wires go (or how to separate them from the composite port) and a picture of the power wires would be helpful as well

Also the button board connector is 100% in the way of the contrast port where the HDMI will go. What do?

I haven't wired mine up inside the GB shell yet, but the labels on the back of the control board should show you exactly where everything goes. For the composite you want the one labeled CVBS1 on the back (and the GND next to it). 5V to one of the +5V holes and one of the GNDs next to them.

I removed the white plastic connectors completely from mine and that made the board nice and flat (turn it so that the ribbon cable is at the top rather than the bottom). Unfortunately with the cut original GB PCB (the one that contains the power jack, power switch, volume knob and cartridge connector) there wasn't quite enough room between the two boards once the case was assembled to have the HDMI jack lined up with the contrast port. I don't see myself hooking this up to a TV though, so I was willing to sacrifice that in order to have all of the rest of the ports stay connected to that cut board.

[Cannikin]

I'm not sure where the composite wires go (or how to separate them from the composite port)

Yeah I removed the sockets from the board completely and am just going to solder bare wires onto the pads on the controller board. You shouldn't have to worry about removing any wires from the separate little boards they give you.