I'm clueless about my button pcb

[Ghost-Guy]

Hello everyone,

I am a complete noob when it comes to these kinds of projects, but when I found out about the GBZ I just had to try it. But because I don't have a pay pal nor a credit card I had to get my stuff from weird places. I found everything I needed on ali-express, but now I have a button pcb which I do not know what to do with. Here are some pictures:

SpoilerShow

IMG_20180630_164303.jpg (3.36 MiB) Viewed 5045 times

IMG_20180630_164340.jpg (2.94 MiB) Viewed 5045 times

The boards came with a 3,5mm jack, joystick, flat cable thingy and some other stuff.
It would be easier if you checked it yourself:

SpoilerShow

https://nl.aliexpress.com/item/Voor-Gam ... autifyAB=0

If someone could point me in the right direction, you're a hero.

edit: https://sudomod.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=57 Just found out that the configuration of the gpio pins in this post line up with the pins on my small board.
editoftheedit: I am a stupid human being

[VeteranGamer]

edit: https://sudomod.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=57 Just found out that the configuration of the gpio pins in this post line up with the pins on my small board.
editoftheedit: I am a stupid human being

i saw this board a while back....
and just ignored it as its a really badly designed.....


you were better off buying a bog standard Common Ground PCB for about half the price....
because thats basically what it is that you have
(and dont buy the 6 button PCB this seller sells, buy the one from the Sudomod community, like Erik Gees)



the only saving grace is the joystick (and i have a feeling that might be upside down, but could be wrong on this)


the ribbon connector part is a good idea, and something i was going to implement....
but on this board its designed really poorly as its on the side of the PCB rather that in middle facing straight up....
the part you solder to the Raspberry Pi is also poorly designed, and justs adds extra height if using the connectors that come with the kit....
plus you have the half a mile long ribbon cable, just in case you actually need to wrap the Pi in something .....
(but once you've got it all working, if you do get it working... you can always buy a shorter cable to make things look a little more cleaner)



if you have any trouble figuring out what GPIO are used for the controls, just ignore the ribbon connector part of the kit....
and just wire up the controls yourself to whichever GPIO you want to use



the audio circuit is also as basic as it gets, and its nice that the headphone socket is there...
but it means your limited to the design, or you'll have to start adding bits to make the audio better




but the kicker is that the board comes with no support, .....



its not worth the money IMHO.....





.

[Ghost-Guy]

edit: https://sudomod.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=57 Just found out that the configuration of the gpio pins in this post line up with the pins on my small board.
editoftheedit: I am a stupid human being

i saw this board a while back....
and just ignored it as its a really badly designed.....


you were better off buying a bog standard Common Ground PCB for about half the price....
because thats basically what it is that you have
(and dont buy the 6 button PCB this seller sells, buy the one from the Sudomod community, like Erik Gees)



the only saving grace is the joystick (and i have a feeling that might be upside down, but could be wrong on this)


the ribbon connector part is a good idea, and something i was going to implement....
but on this board its designed really poorly as its on the side of the PCB rather that in middle facing straight up....
the part you solder to the Raspberry Pi is also poorly designed, and justs adds extra height if using the connectors that come with the kit....
plus you have the half a mile long ribbon cable, just in case you actually need to wrap the Pi in something .....
(but once you've got it all working, if you do get it working... you can always buy a shorter cable to make things look a little more cleaner)



if you have any trouble figuring out what GPIO are used for the controls, just ignore the ribbon connector part of the kit....
and just wire up the controls yourself to whichever GPIO you want to use



the audio circuit is also as basic as it gets, and its nice that the headphone socket is there...
but it means your limited to the design, or you'll have to start adding bits to make the audio better




but the kicker is that the board comes with no support, .....



its not worth the money IMHO.....





.

Thanks, I think...

I'll try to get it working by connecting directly to the pi.
I wasn't planning on using the joystick anyway (it didn't even come with a cap, so I reckon it would be a pain in the butt to find a good fit)

This lil project doesn't start all too well for me...
A simply bad pcb and a screen with a ripped cable (the one which connects the screen to the circuit board)

but, oh well

Thanks again

[rodocop]

It really doesnt look too bad. You would solder the connectors onto both boards. And solder the pi direct to the smaller pcb. Connect via ribbon.

Or you could just solder each gpio to the corresponding pins on the pcb if you dont want to use the ribbon connector etc...also if you dont want the joystick. Just dont use it.

Using a guide like this: (edit. Turns out you posted this link already!)

https://sudomod.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=57

Keep us posted on the progress!

[VeteranGamer]

I wasn't planning on using the joystick anyway (it didn't even come with a cap, so I reckon it would be a pain in the butt to find a good fit)

the joystick isnt that bad....

i'm actually incorporated it into a board i have in my next build......


you can use a PSP cap with it, its snug but does fit.....


https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4pcs-Mu ... autifyAB=0




id suggest to test the joystick first (if you do decide to use it)
before you start to drill out the hole in the case/shell....




.

[Ghost-Guy]

I wasn't planning on using the joystick anyway (it didn't even come with a cap, so I reckon it would be a pain in the butt to find a good fit)

the joystick isnt that bad....

i'm actually incorporated it into a board i have in my next build......


you can use a PSP cap with it, its snug but does fit.....


https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4pcs-Mu ... autifyAB=0




id suggest to test the joystick first (if you do decide to use it)
before you start to drill out the hole in the case/shell....




.

Thanks, might have to look into that

[Ghost-Guy]

IMG_20180705_195032.jpg (146.67 KiB) Viewed 4934 times

Anyone any advice on how to convert to 5V?

I tried the method on the wiki, but it won't work. Multi-meter displays 0,32V whenever I have it hooked up in that way.

This might be because I have it form a different seller, maybe some chips are moved around... who knows (i don't)

[VeteranGamer]

IMG_20180705_195032.jpg

Anyone any advice on how to convert to 5V?

I tried the method on the wiki, but it won't work. Multi-meter displays 0,32V whenever I have it hooked up in that way.

This might be because I have it form a different seller, maybe some chips are moved around... who knows (i don't)

this method by the looks of it is tried and test.....




if your not getting luck by doing this, i doubt that its the method at fault.....

check that the mod has been done correctly
check that your power line (5V), GND line & composite line (only one of these is needed) is soldered/connected properly at both ends

and most importantly make sure your actually providing enough power to the whole setup....



try a fresh image of Retropie...




.