My New PCB Prototypes

Show off your completed Game Boy Zero, or post your build logs here!
User avatar
RxBrad
Posts: 278
Joined: Fri Jul 22, 2016 9:10 am
Has thanked: 125 times
Been thanked: 160 times
Contact:

Re: My New PCB Prototypes

Post by RxBrad » Mon Jul 08, 2019 9:37 am

EDIT: I managed to get my issues worked it. It seems that I possibly didn't have a good solder joint on the 5V pad on the back of the Pi (or I had damaged that pad during soldering). As a result, power was not making it to the USB-A plug and the sound chip. Ultimately, I was able to fix it by running a wire from an active 5V pad to the bottom solder point of the capacitor right next to the USB-A port. Sorry about hijacking the thread...

Well, I got everything working. Initially, USB was acting flaky (no USB devices would connect, including the sound). Then it just started working, and was fine for a couple weeks.

A few days ago, I remapped my buttons in RetroGame so they'd work with the snes9x (non-libretro) core, and all of my Retroarch settings got messed up. So, I reflashed my SD card with Retropie 4.5 (and then downgraded the kernel because of the composite video issue).

After I reflashed the SD card USB, is missing again. No sound, & keyboard is not recognized when I plug it in. Any ideas to get it back up? Not sure if it's a kernel issue or a hardware/soldering issue. (EDIT: Kind of sounds like hardware to me... I may need to rework my USB pin solders -- which doesn't sound fun or easy -- and see if it helps)

Here's the obligatory command line attempts to see what's connected when keyboard is plugged in...

Code: Select all

pi@Gameboy-Zero:~ $ lsusb
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 1a40:0101 Terminus Technology Inc. Hub
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

pi@Gameboy-Zero:~ $ cat /proc/asound/modules
 1 snd_bcm2835
Last edited by RxBrad on Mon Jul 29, 2019 6:00 am, edited 1 time in total.
Image
Image Image

Dividion
Posts: 95
Joined: Fri Mar 30, 2018 5:42 am
Has thanked: 58 times
Been thanked: 69 times

Re: My New PCB Prototypes

Post by Dividion » Mon Jul 08, 2019 11:15 am

RxBrad wrote:
Mon Jul 08, 2019 9:37 am
Well, I got everything working. Initially, USB was acting flaky (no USB devices would connect, including the sound). Then it just started working, and was fine for a couple weeks.

A few days ago, I remapped my buttons in RetroGame so they'd work with the snes9x (non-libretro) core, and all of my Retroarch settings got messed up. So, I reflashed my SD card with Retropie 4.5 (and then downgraded the kernel because of the composite video issue).

After I reflashed the SD card USB, is missing again. No sound, & keyboard is not recognized when I plug it in. Any ideas to get it back up? Not sure if it's a kernel issue or a hardware/soldering issue. (EDIT: Kind of sounds like hardware to me... I may need to rework my USB pin solders -- which doesn't sound fun or easy -- and see if it helps)

Here's the obligatory command line attempts to see what's connected when keyboard is plugged in...

Code: Select all

pi@Gameboy-Zero:~ $ lsusb
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 1a40:0101 Terminus Technology Inc. Hub
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

pi@Gameboy-Zero:~ $ cat /proc/asound/modules
 1 snd_bcm2835
There should be a USB sound card listed when you run the lsusb command. The Terminus Technology line is for the USB hub, so it looks like the board is connected to the Pi correctly.
I'd suggest checking/reflowing the solder connections between the hub and sound card chips, since that's just 4 wires/traces (5V/D-/D+/GND). Just two of those (D-/D+) come from the hub. (For the Ultra board, you'd need to make sure the 5V pad is connected to the Pi also, since the sound card on that one doesn't use the same 5V trace as the USB hub.)
There's really no point in working on the software side until it shows up with the lsusb command.

If you can post a picture it might help us pinpoint the problem.
Check out my store for GBZ boards and accessories: http://pocketadventures.com

User avatar
RxBrad
Posts: 278
Joined: Fri Jul 22, 2016 9:10 am
Has thanked: 125 times
Been thanked: 160 times
Contact:

Re: My New PCB Prototypes

Post by RxBrad » Fri Jul 12, 2019 6:57 pm

EDIT: I managed to get my issues worked it. It seems that I possibly didn't have a good solder joint on the 5V pad on the back of the Pi (or I had damaged that pad during soldering). As a result, power was not making it to the USB-A plug and the sound chip. Ultimately, I was able to fix it by running a wire from an active 5V pad to the bottom solder point of the capacitor right next to the USB-A port. Sorry about hijacking the thread...

In trying to reflow the USB pads, I managed to bridge them. I was unable to fix that problem with any of the resoldering tools I had, so then came the sphincter-clenching process of removing the Pi from the board. After the carnage was over, the USB - through-hole & test pad didn't survive. Everything else seems to be functioning.

The microUSB plugs still work okay in the Pi Zero, so I'm going to use those to reconnect instead of the pads. With the original connection gone, is there somewhere I could solder the USB - wire onto the board to get back up and running? I'm guessing the lower-left pin on U8, opposite from pin 1?
Attachments
IMG_20190712_203551.jpg
IMG_20190712_203551.jpg (2.33 MiB) Viewed 9320 times
Last edited by RxBrad on Mon Jul 29, 2019 6:01 am, edited 2 times in total.
Image
Image Image

Dividion
Posts: 95
Joined: Fri Mar 30, 2018 5:42 am
Has thanked: 58 times
Been thanked: 69 times

Re: My New PCB Prototypes

Post by Dividion » Fri Jul 12, 2019 11:11 pm

Correct. The lower left pin is for D-. The pin next to it is D+. Those go to the Pi.

On the opposite side, the fourth pin from the left is D+ going to the sound chip, and the one next to it is D-. You can see both of those going through the FB1s into the CM102S+. (the next two go to the external USB jack, and the next 4 go to the pads on the right) From the picture it looks like all of the solder joints on the USB chip are good.

The CM102S+ gets its power from GPIO 2 (upper-right corner) passing through the Pi to the top "PI PWR" pad. So you'll want to make sure that one reads 5V. If it doesn't, then the sound chip isn't getting power, which would explain why it didn't show up with the lsusb command. It looks like all of the solder joints on that are still good too.
Check out my store for GBZ boards and accessories: http://pocketadventures.com

User avatar
RxBrad
Posts: 278
Joined: Fri Jul 22, 2016 9:10 am
Has thanked: 125 times
Been thanked: 160 times
Contact:

Re: My New PCB Prototypes

Post by RxBrad » Sat Jul 13, 2019 6:33 am

EDIT: I managed to get my issues worked it. It seems that I possibly didn't have a good solder joint on the 5V pad on the back of the Pi (or I had damaged that pad during soldering). As a result, power was not making it to the USB-A plug and the sound chip. Ultimately, I was able to fix it by running a wire from an active 5V pad to the bottom solder point of the capacitor right next to the USB-A port. Sorry about hijacking the thread...

Thanks a lot. I really think it was as simple as faulty soldering on my part to the D+ and D- pads on the Pi, because devices plugged into the USB port weren't being recognized either. I'll blame the fine pointy soldering tip on my cheap iron and not user error. Yeah, that must've been it. :)

Alright then, let's do this. Fingers crossed.
Last edited by RxBrad on Mon Jul 29, 2019 6:01 am, edited 1 time in total.
Image
Image Image

Dividion
Posts: 95
Joined: Fri Mar 30, 2018 5:42 am
Has thanked: 58 times
Been thanked: 69 times

Re: My New PCB Prototypes

Post by Dividion » Sat Jul 13, 2019 9:44 am

That's odd. If the USB hub itself wasn't connected to the Pi, it shouldn't have shown up in lsusb, but it did (Terminus Technology hub). I was thinking it was more likely that the culprit was one of the two 5V pads that needed to be connected, which would've prevented it from recognizing the sound card, but anything plugged into the USB port should've shown up.

Fingers crossed indeed. Good luck!
Check out my store for GBZ boards and accessories: http://pocketadventures.com

User avatar
RxBrad
Posts: 278
Joined: Fri Jul 22, 2016 9:10 am
Has thanked: 125 times
Been thanked: 160 times
Contact:

Re: My New PCB Prototypes

Post by RxBrad » Sun Jul 14, 2019 6:59 pm

EDIT: I managed to get my issues worked it. It seems that I possibly didn't have a good solder joint on the 5V pad on the back of the Pi (or I had damaged that pad during soldering). As a result, power was not making it to the USB-A plug and the sound chip. Ultimately, I was able to fix it by running a wire from an active 5V pad to the bottom solder point of the capacitor right next to the USB-A port. Sorry about hijacking the thread...

Welp, now I can't even get lsusb to even show the Terminus hub. The D+ & D- pins have continuity with the pads on the Pi, so I'm not sure what's up. Got some FE1.1S's on the way. Might as well try the nuclear option and swap out the chip altogether... (EDIT: The Terminus USB hub showed up again after I replaced the chip that I probably fried)
Attachments
IMG_20190713_145144.jpg
IMG_20190713_145144.jpg (1.77 MiB) Viewed 9248 times
Last edited by RxBrad on Mon Jul 29, 2019 6:03 am, edited 1 time in total.
Image
Image Image

Dividion
Posts: 95
Joined: Fri Mar 30, 2018 5:42 am
Has thanked: 58 times
Been thanked: 69 times

Re: My New PCB Prototypes

Post by Dividion » Sun Jul 14, 2019 10:28 pm

The left side of the capacitor right below the hub should be reading 5V, as should the red wire.
Check out my store for GBZ boards and accessories: http://pocketadventures.com

User avatar
RxBrad
Posts: 278
Joined: Fri Jul 22, 2016 9:10 am
Has thanked: 125 times
Been thanked: 160 times
Contact:

Re: My New PCB Prototypes

Post by RxBrad » Mon Jul 29, 2019 6:22 am

All's well, and I'm back to enjoying my Gameboy Zero. Thanks for your help, Dividion.

Ultimately, it seems that my no-sound/no-USB issue was probably related to a bad soldering job to the 5V pad on the back of the Pi (my fault). As a result, power was not making it to the USB-A plug or the sound chip. I probably should've suspected this, because when it was working previously, the unit would cut power if I squeezed it just right. This was probably flexing the PCBs enough to intermittently lose contact with my shoddy solder joint.

Because I fried that 5V pad & the connected trace on the GPIO Assist board while separating it from the Pi Zero, I ended up needing to run a jumper from one of the 5V pads to the bottom pad on the capacitor next to the USB-A plug. After that, the USB was back up and running.

I also found that separating the boards broke traces to the A button GPIO and the safe shutdown keep-alive GPIO (not surprising -- that was a brutal process with the tools I had available). A jumper from GPIO 16 <--> the A button pad on the Button Board fixed the A button. A jumper from GPIO17 <--> lower-right pin of U7 on the GPIO Assist fixed the safe shutdown.
Image
Image Image

User avatar
FirstTimeGBZ
Posts: 14
Joined: Fri Jun 28, 2019 6:23 am
Has thanked: 12 times
Been thanked: 1 time

Re: My New PCB Prototypes

Post by FirstTimeGBZ » Mon Aug 12, 2019 2:26 pm

Hi,

I'm having some touble getting the screen to work, its just black, no backlight or anything. I already posted in this other thread viewtopic.php?f=44&t=8279&p=76861#p76861 but this may be the better place to get support with your board.

Thanks,

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest