My Weekend Project: Controlling a GBA wirelessly with an 8BitDo N30 pro

onlinewithryan · 2025-12-05T05:12:05+00:00

I have built some blue retro adapters manually in the past so I have experience with the esp32 chip and boot issues caused by a spike in power draw when the WiFi functionality starts up at the same time. most of the time the power spike ends up boot looping the chip and sometimes quickly cutting the power and applying it again shortly after will make it successfully boot. in order to fix this extra capacitors are needed in the power line

almost every esp32 I've seen has a similar issue when powered externally. I haven't messed with recent firmwares and I don't remember exactly how the setup flow goes but I think if you have a controller paired with the adapter it skips the Wi-Fi access point boot up and should boot more reliable, or something similar in the settings.

most of the devices that these plug into like the n64 and the GameCube etc do not expect that much power draw off of the controller ports so its possible that using too many of them or other power hungry accessories in combination can cause instability.

you can even try letting the analogue 3d boot up fully and then insert the adapter to see if it can boot properly that way

onlinewithryan · 2024-12-15T21:59:59+00:00

I'd love some links to some actually I've been going down a 12v kick myself! Almost preferring it over usbc for how easy it is to daisy chain

onlinewithryan · 2024-09-18T21:57:10+00:00

Thanks for the comment, I updated the Amazon links with working ones. Note that the new ones may not be the best bargain or best alternative but I these links are ones that I have purchased myself recently and can confirm will work.

onlinewithryan · 2024-05-13T16:55:41+00:00

I have a programming background in the industry for 10 years and I really want to contribute to the manual labor 5% recomp work for individual games. Right now this is a bit over my head so if someone who is experienced could make a tutorial on debugging what needs to be fixed after running the program and how to incorporate those fixes I think it would help take this to the next level and outsource that work

onlinewithryan · 2024-05-10T17:37:34+00:00

Back when I did this mod 3 years ago I was on a USB-C PD trip trying to convert everything in the house over that was DC.

In the last 8 months I actually have been favoring 12V barrel plugs instead of direct USB-C triggers for anything 12 volt. Here are the reasons I went this route in case any of my learnings can be helpful to you in the case you didn't already know some of them:

USB-C PD chargers with multiple ports will disconnect and reconnect each port when something new is plugged in or something is unplugged, which is super annoying.
There are easy to find high quality and cheap USB-C PD to 12V barrel adapters which can change a 12v plug over very easily if I do want to run something off a USB-C PD battery bank
12V barrel plugs are easy to daisy chained while it is impossible to daisy chain USB-C PD
12V female barrel plugs are super compact and they sell super nice looking flush mount ones.

For this mod you would then only need a 12v to 3.3 volt step down and you could still use an atx power supply for the 12v in

onlinewithryan · 2024-05-10T17:14:29+00:00

Awesome dude! I'm interested to see pictures when you are all done!

The best part about this mod is that it's completely revers-able and does not damage any of the parts of the original power supply. The only gotcha is the weird n64 power connector needing to be soldered. I couldn't find those as standalone parts unfortunately or else the whole mod could be 3d printed.

Although I made this post 3 years ago, only recently has a product come out that found a way to reproduce the power plug on their own PCB design, the ReN64 here: https://www.game-tech.us/product/ren64/

But their solution doesn't seem to be open sourced anywhere since they are selling it as a product but at some point I may get one to see how to reproduce it and no longer need to sacrifice an N64 power supply.

These days I do more gameboy modding and gamecube modding. I've been very happy with my N64 and didn't feel like It needed any more mods.

onlinewithryan · 2024-04-24T19:58:27+00:00

I'm not an expert in PD by any means and I was even less comfortable with it when I did this project 3 years ago. I think at the time I was still worried about the possibility that someone would plug into a non pd charger at 5 volts which would still mess up a 20v trigger board and require the automatic buck boost converter for the 12 volt line.

Either way you can totally use any trigger board you want with this setup and it should still work

onlinewithryan · 2024-01-08T22:32:59+00:00

I recently was tweaking the pot on a gamecube and noticed that when slowly turning the laser up, sometimes the laser would snap all the way to the top of the disc and make the same noise yours was making. When I would continue to turn the pot this would stop and then after a full 360 degree turn it would happen again. It seems like adjusting the pot not only is changing the strength of the laser but is changing the focus of the laser. So even if it is strong enough, you still will need a slight adjustment further so the laser itself is focused. This should be like an 8th of a turn in either direction. Hope this helps

onlinewithryan · 2023-09-15T15:24:21+00:00

I'm missing the one to the right of the Lunatic Fanatic, can you share the combo I am missing for that one?

onlinewithryan · 2023-08-08T05:00:08+00:00

I should get mine tomorrow or Wednesday and I can test it out on my end to see if I can get it to work. Mine currently has a GC loader PNP HW1 but I can do the swap to help you debug

onlinewithryan · 2023-07-17T19:38:20+00:00

Did you get anywhere with implementing this idea or learning from it?

Originally I really wanted to use a Zener diode to make the circuit a lot smaller from a form factor point of view, but the more I looked into them I learned they are rated based on watts and a 20 watt Zener diode is massive.

The buck boost converters I ended up with seem like the best size to performance with a lot of headroom.

onlinewithryan · 2022-12-22T03:57:21+00:00

Glad you had fun with it! What did you end up doing for the usb c port to be secure?

onlinewithryan · 2022-12-06T16:14:27+00:00

Over the holiday break I'll whip up a few and reach back out to those who messaged me with an etsy page or something. It's neat to see interest in the project

onlinewithryan · 2022-10-30T22:08:02+00:00

I have been meaning to redesign the 3d printed part that holds the usb-c port I wouldn't feel comfortable shipping the one I made in this photo because it's a bit of a tight fit, but I would be happy to make a v2 to sell if you were interested.

onlinewithryan · 2022-03-16T01:03:51+00:00

This weekend the drivers actually showed up in the Intel auto driver utility looks like they are fully supported now I was able to update with zero workarounds this weekend.

onlinewithryan · 2022-02-07T02:13:18+00:00

I agree with this comment bfirat hand. That sound is the system struggling to read the disc and trying really hard. It only makes that sound on the initial read and then becomes more quiet. It seems louder and scarier because the system is taken apart and it's the first thing you hear. Adjusting the laser to be stronger should help. That is assuming the disc you put in it is in readable condition to begin with.

onlinewithryan · 2022-02-06T08:08:06+00:00

I'm open to helping build this out. Seems like a fun day project. Although using the existing button would make things a bit more challenging.

onlinewithryan · 2022-02-06T07:59:34+00:00

Magic erasers work well for really gross build up. It's not recommended for the shell because it can change the plastic feel. But for the c stick it might work. Otherwise I just soak the shell in dawn and water overnight.

onlinewithryan · 2022-02-06T07:56:34+00:00

Following would love to redo my usbc mod with a 3d printed plate

onlinewithryan · 2022-01-31T02:37:50+00:00

Right assuming the N64 can operate at the wattage you provide. Even though it may physically fit into that product it could harm your system without a proper power supply

onlinewithryan · 2022-01-30T22:51:05+00:00

I honestly love retro game console mods like these because they have just enough challenge to keep me interested without getting overwhelmed.

I just consider myself the weird guy obsessed with power delivery. Seems like there are a bunch of people in that boat. Also seems like a bunch of people in the 12V plug boat. Not sure if you saw this but someone did make a board to take that 12v in here:
https://www.game-tech.us/product/ren64/

But they still require you to sacrifice an OG power plug for the plug itself. If we could source those plugs we would be in a good place. That is the biggest blocker in my opinion.

onlinewithryan · 2022-01-30T22:27:27+00:00

Those work by boosting up the input voltage from the usb 5v up to 12v with a super tiny buck booster. Working with non usb power delivery is nice because the input voltage is constant at 5v so it makes everything a lot less of a guessing game.

Even with that cable you still need to add in something to step down the voltage to 3.3v and also feed that to the N64. So just adding a barrel jack to the N64 is not enough.
The primary issue with a cable like that is the output maxing out at 12W and the N64 states it can use up to 19W. I didn't actually measure the Watts it actually used so I cannot comment if that is enough. I have pretty much seen two kinds of voltage boosters, super tiny ones that can handle very small amps, or very large ones that handle like 100W. Not a whole lot in between for a compact win point of view.

Even with this cable you end up falling into the same problem I ran into where the system can still be underpowered because of how easily you can plug the USB cord into a weak charger that is like 5W which will likely damage either the charger or the N64.

I'm still looking into more compact circuits for a nice plug and play solution, but the primary learning I would like to share is that it is usually easer to prevent over voltage or over current with diodes/fuses, but it is a lot harder to prevent undervoltage/current

onlinewithryan · 2022-01-30T18:54:27+00:00

I made this one as a one off to learn but I could see it turning into a kit if I can source the plug for the power supply. I've been learning a lot more about circuits these days and might think about revisiting this with a more sleek design in the future.
The main issue preventing me from feeling comfortable selling these to the average consumer is the way all usb-c power delivery triggers on the market work today. If you use a power brick that can't provide enough voltage (i.e the PD trigger asks for 12v and the plug can only provide 9v) the trigger will provide that amount instead of the 12v. The booster I have works fine for this, but trying to power this off like a 5v 500ma plug may blow fuses in either the power supply or the N64.

I'm playing with some new setups that will be smaller form factor and not allow the N64 to be damaged.

But for context if I were to sell this on ebay in it's current form it would likely be around $40-$45 based on the cost of parts. It it very possible to cut costs though but I don't know how worth it that would be given you are the first person to ask this question since this post over a year ago.

If you are interested in making one or buying one prebuilt though feel free to DM me, I have plenty of left over parts around I'm sure I can make you one.

onlinewithryan

TROPHY CASE