Spruc3Moose's GBZ

Show off your completed Game Boy Zero, or post your build logs here!
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Spruc3Moose
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Spruc3Moose's GBZ

Post by Spruc3Moose » Fri May 13, 2016 6:38 am

So here is my GameBoy Zero so far. I have been following the guides pretty closely so far, but may be doing things a little different later on. I got most of my parts from Amazon, but some I had to get from Adafruit's store. I got the Pi Zero from the local MicroCenter :D , luckily I had one close by. This is my first project doing this type of thing and I am very excited to complete it. Love the retro games and can't wait to play them on the go!

Differences so far: BW TFT screen sold by touchshop on amazon, 2500 mAh lipo battery...

I used the buttons from a NES controller to add to the gameboy. I put them in the spot where the original gameboy buttons go because they felt better there when pressed in. I had to cut some of the silicon button pads to get the controller board to fit back inside the case. This was due to my overuse of hot glue!! Fair warning to everyone, be aware of how much your putting down. I was tired of my soldered traces coming loose, so I over did it. I may have to shave some the glue off to make fit nicely once I mount the screen above it.

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Everything fits nicely inside the case! I had to shorten some of the teensy wires to make it fit. Can't wait to add the power switch and try and tackle the audio filter.

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wermy
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Re: Spruc3Moose's GBZ

Post by wermy » Fri May 13, 2016 8:42 am

Nice! Looks like your metal bracket came off a pci modem card? Clever :D
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Spruc3Moose
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Re: Spruc3Moose's GBZ

Post by Spruc3Moose » Fri May 13, 2016 9:07 am

wermy wrote:Nice! Looks like your metal bracket came off a pci modem card? Clever :D
Yep! had an old computer laying around that I scrapped for parts... :D

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dirtybeagles
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Re: Spruc3Moose's GBZ

Post by dirtybeagles » Fri May 13, 2016 9:24 am

wermy wrote:Nice! Looks like your metal bracket came off a pci modem card? Clever :D
I love that idea! good job, I might steal this myself.

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Re: Spruc3Moose's GBZ

Post by Kilren » Sat May 14, 2016 12:56 am

Seems like the community is really taking a preference to that $15 amazon screen. Don't blame them!

This is coming along nice. good job.

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Re: Spruc3Moose's GBZ

Post by Spruc3Moose » Sat May 28, 2016 6:19 pm

Here is my updated progress...I kinda stared before Wermy's guide part 4 so I got ahead using the wiring diagrams on the forum

[spoiler="power switch mounted"]Image[/spoiler]

[spoiler="2500 mAh battery placement"]Image[/spoiler]

[spoiler="micro usb and power switch wired"]Image[/spoiler]

[spoiler="micro usb gap"]Image[/spoiler]

[spoiler="USB port mounted and wired"]Image[/spoiler]

[spoiler="L and R mounted and powerboosts wired"]Image[/spoiler]

[spoiler="audio wired and mounted"]Image[/spoiler]

[spoiler="teensy wired and mounted"]Image[/spoiler]

[spoiler="everything so far"]Image[/spoiler]

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Re: Spruc3Moose's GBZ

Post by Spruc3Moose » Wed Jun 01, 2016 8:53 pm

My updated GBZ...successfully got all the ports wired up using the diagrams and pics of wermy's build. All of my buttons work now (had to resolder some gnd connections on the controller board). There is a little light coming in on the sides of the screen that I will need to address at some point too.
Emulation station works great and looks fine on my screen so far. I am deciding if I want to do the graceful shutdowns still...the low battery feature would be handy. Also, I am using the 2500 mAh battery and it just barely fits and I had trouble closing up the case, but finally got it to work. Still waiting to do the cartridge reader and audio filter...I think I could figure it out, but I will wait a little longer for the guide.

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Re: Spruc3Moose's GBZ

Post by Spruc3Moose » Wed Jun 08, 2016 6:39 am

modded the cartridge reader...was actually a lot easier than I expected. I had to expose some of the traces on the game cartridge so that all of my pins were sequential. It was a pain soldering wires onto the pins because they were in order, so I recommend spreading out the pin selections a bit. I had to use heat shrink tubing due to how close my pins were. I clipped off the unused pins on the reader.

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