Worklog [2024 Contest Entry] Gameboy Macro Pro

[Senor Avocado]

My project for the Summer 2024 competition is going to be the Ultimate Gameboy Macro. I wanted it to be as if all the switch like features were available for the Gameboy Advance, one of my childhood consoles that I spent quite a bit of time with. The bones of it will be this beat up DS Lite. Below is what I am trying to achieve:

Design Goals:

• Custom shell
  • Will have indents on either side of usbc port and big grove directly in the middle behind the port to help with aligning with the dock
  • Resin Printed in Black
• Has all ABXY buttons
• Utilizes original light pipe that is sanded down
• Has touch screen digitzer
• Original Charging port will be sealed off
  • In its place Will use Sleep magnetic IC to trigger dock mode, will have magnet in dock, ic inside Macro
• Will have 3 way button PCB in stylus:
  • Press down is manual screen swap
  • Press in is sleep (only in ds mode)
  • Pull out is Bluetooth connect, can wire it if it is a long hold it turns on and off the Bluetooth module
• Mono Speaker with Helder Amp and Speaker
  • In top left
• Has microphone on front bottom right (next to start and select buttons)
  • Will be embedded in bottom right corner of faceplate, connected with glue
• Also still has wifi antenne
  • Will be embedded in bottom left corner of faceplate, kept in place with glue
• Have Bluetooth audio board
  • Will sit under WIFI board, make sure you cut off shielding to make room, isolate with Kapton. Antenna will be towards top of board
• Custom PCB that will sit where Slot 1 used to be
  • Uses active DAC and amplifier to generate composite signal
  • USB-C Jack PD compliant
    • Will have charging
    • audio pass through to dock
    • video pass through to dock,
    • snes controller data lines
  • Use Attiny 85 to switch screen automatically, turn on and off headphones when appropriate jack is plugged in, provide delay of video on to avoid popping
  • Have snes gamepad controller board sitting on top of custom board
  • Keep DS cartridge slot 1 by cutting out slot, but hardwiring 128 in 1 flash cart
    • Will sit on top of board, the sd slot will be available in the top too
• Will use Sleep magnetic IC to trigger dock mode, will have magnet in dock, ic inside Macro
• Will have a dock
  • that converts composite to HMDI
  • and be able to connect to wireless or wired SNES gamepad
  • powered via usb-c 5v 3amp supply
  • uses usb-c as connector
  • will use pen springs to help with plugging in and taking out
  • will have window in top of dock to allow screen to act as indicator light

We will see how it goes! It feels ambitious but I work well under deadlines haha

 

[EL_GERRY]

That is one impressive project! Really exited for the docking and stylus part

 

[Senor Avocado]

Got the Bluetooth board and Helders audio amp wired up, next is finalizing the main pcb and 3d modeling the flash cart.

I had an issue with the Helder Flex amp, I have never soldered a flex pcb to vias before so I thought it was user error, but i eventually found that one of the legs to the smd IC was not even soldered Quality Control Issue lol.

Also I found a perfect placement for the bluetooth board, i snipped the shielding from the wifi/bios board and slipped it under there. it is near all the audio vias and is tucked away. connection is good too, I thought maybe it being surrounded by PCBs could cause interference, but it was crystal clear! the 5v line is long because eventually i will have it connected to a pfet and a microcontroller to toggle it on and off. I don't want it always on sucking the battery life.

 

[Senor Avocado]

I was trying to figure out the flashcart aspect of this, I wanted to see if i could omit having to put a switch to manually turn on and off an internal flash cart. I got one of the cheap 208 in 1 ds games as they could have different firmware loaded onto it. After a lot of firmware searching and settings tweaking, I think I have something that works well. I will eventually hard wire the slot 1 flash cart to its contacts on the motherboard, and it will sit stacked on top of the usbc port that will have all the video out/dock stuff. This link is the firmware i was using as a starting point. Releases · flashcarts/AOS (github.com)

I can choose in the software either to load up ds games, gba roms, a hard copy of a GBA game in slot 2 or the various emulators that are on here. This video shows a little bit of the options https://photos.app.goo.gl/WceBCaMRXXHa5Lw16

The green pcb is from my initial composite out board, and was helpful in getting the jist of how thing would be placed

Now i need to cad this stuff and modify the faceplate to accommodate these ports on top!

 

[EL_GERRY]

less go man! keep it up!

 

[orzeus]

Same here what I‘m doing...

1.Console and handheld mode switch

2. AVOut & Charge via usbc (use dac ic to output better video)

3. Export button signal pins to a blueretro board (Bluetooth gamepad supported)


All fully built-in

 

[Senor Avocado]

that's banging! You should make your own thread to showcase it! Thanks for sharing