^ i've been toying with a usb breakout board (small/simple) for this since reading the thread earlier today, very much along those same lines.  this is such a good idea, i think, i know i'll do this to a couple/few.

awesome!

You know, you might be able to harvest some link ports off of the DMG mobos you will soon be obtaining (I am shipping you mine tomorrow). Good for prototyping.

^ i've been toying with a usb breakout board (small/simple) for this since reading the thread earlier today, very much along those same lines.  this is such a good idea, i think, i know i'll do this to a couple/few.

awesome!

oh that's awesome news that would totally eliminate the problems I'm facing. Should you have a spare or two left over after experimenting I'd be happy to include them in my next order

Just to clarify why I actually want to build the adapter into the Game Boy instead of modifying the adapter or building a cable:
1) USB cables are cheap to replace (2 bucks at most)
2) USB cables are easy to find (e.g. in my local electronics store)
3) I can get USB cables pretty much any length I want
4) and in arbitrary quantities (if I have more than one computer I want to carry the Game Boy between)
5) I won't lose the USB-MIDI adapter

I don't know how easy you can come by a link cable in other parts of the world but in Germany at the last six flea markets nobody had one, not even the resellers, and you have to get them online for 9 Euros plus shipping and have to wait for the package to arrive. Pricing on ebay is similar and plain utopian.

I chose the A socket for now because it seems I at least have a chance getting it to stay in place without creating a breakout board (which I have no tools for). All the other socket types look like they need support from the inside (i.e. a PCB), this is the only type that looks like it might hold on from the outside with the help of some super glue or hot glue.

I'd love to be corrected on the socket issue, because I'd indeed much rather have a USB mini (or B) socket since the cables are even easier to come by (though I've bought an male A to male A cable today for 2 bucks to try the female A to female A adapter idea out that I showed in the photo above)

Putting the USB socket where the link cable socket used to be sounds like a good idea, if I can find a way to fix it in place there.

P.S.: The adapter I got yesterday (presumably the newest version) doesn't have a flimsy connection at all, in fact it sits rock solid in the link cable's plug, it's even an effort to push it in and pull them apart.

awesome!

For inspiration:

Derpie USB fix by nitro2k01 (Gameboy Genius), on Flickr

I had to fix my derp cart after I managed to rip the USB socket (and the underlying traces) off of it. The way I managed to do this was through a Gameboy drop test from 0.5 meters and more where I left the USB cable plugged in. I didn't anticipate that the force would ripp off the USB connector, but it did. (It didn't fall on the connector or anything. This was just from the sheer force of the cable moving.) I put no blame on the cartridge since I was deliberately abusing it.

Anyway, I'm justing posting this image for inspiration. And this is assuming I would actually do this mod, which I wouldn't.

My solution to the flimsy connection problems one might have with the NL adapter is as follows. Get a spare link connector and solder it to the adapter.

USB Nanoloop adapter improvement 2 by nitro2k01 (Gameboy Genius), on Flickr

Then add some heat shrink tubing around the adapter for isolation, and some hot glue for mechanical stability, and you're good to go. I would recommend not doing this unless you actually need to, to avoid stealing link connectors from perfectly working DMG boards. (Well, it was a GBC in my case.)

USB Nanoloop adapter improvement by nitro2k01 (Gameboy Genius), on Flickr

Another option is to solder the wires of a link cable to the adapter. I have thoughts on how to do this right, as well.

try one of these:

Thanks, I bought one of those at the electronics store. I also found this nice USB A to A adapter, but I'm not sure I can fit the length it has with the USB-MIDI dongle inserted anywhere in the DMG... since I'm still waiting for my triwing to arrive I can't open one up and look.

probably something like this

...

search for "case mount" or "panel mount" usb female connector

Good luck finding room for that inside a gameboy

search for "case mount" or "panel mount" usb female connector

What you could do is get a USB port (female) that you can mount in your DMG case, and wire that to your USB midi adaptor. Then you can just place that somewhere inside without the need to fix it to anything.

that's my plan, but how to mount the port? I find parts like this one, that gives me a port but no idea how to keep it staying in place...

I'm sure somebody must have done this before but I got the idea to add a USB port to the DMG, put the nanoloop USB MIDI adapter directly into the Game Boy itself and use its pins as solder pads. Bam, USB Boy.

Now I'm not very electronically savvy but I think I can pull the soldering off, sounds easy enough. The only thing I'm not sure about is how I would fix the USB port in place. In other electronics that I've opened up their USB ports were mounted on PCBs that were held in place by screws.

Any ideas?