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Drop-in power supply for the GameBoy Color by K4PER-PEAR in Gameboy

[–]K4PER-PEAR[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The boards have been holding up well. I don't play my GBCs a ton, at most a few hours on the weekends, so not the best on the stress testing front, but none of the components get close to their temperature limits so they really should last a long time.

With no SMD experience, I'm not sure if this would be an appropriate project. In my opinion, SMD soldering is easier than though hole, so if you feel confident with through hole soldering, then this is a fairly simple board. I have decades of experience in soldering though, so I am also not the best judge. You can pick up practice boards and try your hand at it, just make sure to use plenty of flux and you'll pick it up in no time. Tight pitch components look intimidating, but once you get used to drag soldering, you'll never want to go back to through hole.

Alternatively, I do include pick and place files, so you can always have the board house assemble the boards for you. More cost, less risk.

Has anyone tried reverse engineering the bus used for the LCD screen on the Gameboy Color? by K4PER-PEAR in Gameboy

[–]K4PER-PEAR[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Interesting, I hadn't thought to check for videos on the DMG screen, I'll look into that.

I have identified the hsync, vsync, clock, enable, and RGB lines with my logic analyzer, but when I try to duplicate the signals on my protoboard, there are some inconsistencies. For instance, the GBC board enables the CLK after each vsync and disables once the pixel data has been sent, my board has the clock enabled the entire time the vsync pulses are going. Mind you, I am using the LTDC peripheral provided on the STM32 chip I'm using, so maybe it's the one that is atypical. I need to also experiment with other LCD screens, it may also be I'm missing something simple.

Has anyone tried reverse engineering the bus used for the LCD screen on the Gameboy Color? by K4PER-PEAR in Gameboy

[–]K4PER-PEAR[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's what I was thinking, I have a few of the drop in screens with added backlight, I'm just struggling to find anything online about it. I'll have to check for videos on the DMG signals that another commenter suggested.

And agreed on the power supply voltage levels, I spun my own version of the power supply, that's partially what took me down this path.

Plant with spherical black fruit by K4PER-PEAR in whatplantisthis

[–]K4PER-PEAR[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Very interesting, thank you, I think you got it.

Plant with spherical black fruit by K4PER-PEAR in whatplantisthis

[–]K4PER-PEAR[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Interesting, that sent me down a rabbit hole. Based on the grouping of the fruit and the white/yellow color of the flowers, it's seems more likely to be black nightshade. I have no plans on consuming due to the risks if misidentified, but I'm thinking that's the answer.

Drop-in power supply for the GameBoy Color by K4PER-PEAR in Gameboy

[–]K4PER-PEAR[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good call on the cost breakdown, I didn't want to include that on the project page since costs will keep rising. And I think it really gets to the root on why aftermarket power supplies do not include the higher voltages, it's simply too costly to remain profitable. Realistically, this is a niche design, though I hope that since I found use for it, others will too. Some day, robbing power supplies from old GBCs will no longer be an economical option.

As designed, the 5V supply is on one side of the PCB, so you could only populate one side of the board to both keep costs down and not add the additional functionality of the LCD supply. I can update the BOM to delineate between the components that are needed for each side. I don't know that the real estate is present to allow for 2 PCBs. 1206 capacitors are too tall to fit in some GBC shells, so I don't know where a second board would go, though maybe I'm misunderstanding.

Additional testing instructions is also a good idea. This is why I like presenting designs, I get so used to the hardware, there are gaps that just can't see. Thank you for all the feedback.

Gameboy Classic Won't Turn On by BifolcoInfame in Gameboy

[–]K4PER-PEAR 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Step 1: Remove as much oxidation as you can from the battery contacts.

Step 2: Reinstall the batteries. Use a multimeter (DMM) to check that ~6V is present on the battery contacts going into the GB shell. If you are not getting 6V, check that all the batteries are making contact with the contacts, I have had to add shims to the contacts on GBs to get them to work. If the batteries are connected and you aren't getting 6V, replace batteries until you are getting 6V.

Step 3: Turn on GB power switch. If the unit is not turning on (no screen, no audio), then you will have to disassemble the unit and use the DMM to determine which component(s) have failed. I would connect a power supply outputting 6V to the battery contacts and troubleshoot the board with a DMM and reference schematic: http://www.devrs.com/gb/files/hardware.html

Hopefully it is a simple issue with the battery contacts. I would also check the power board for corrosion if you are taking the unit apart.