RGB boy (Page 1 of 4)

hi all,

this is my RGB gameboy, it was inspired by the RGB backlight that Nonfinite sent me to test. I really recommend these backlights there is a lot that can be done with them, i don't know if they are on sale just yet but the shop is at: www.nonelectronics.com

again huge thanks to nonfinite team for this one, the project would have never happened without you guys!

this gameboy comes complete with everything ever! here is a mod list:

3.5mm pro sound factory style
1/4" pro sound
RCA pro sound
maintained 3.5mm headphone jack
gameboy pocket retro fitted screen
XOR style bivert chip
Super gameboy CPU for quick silent boot
clear buttons
normal and underclocked switch
pitch bend
full midi support
built in LSDJ keyboard socket
25way data port socket
removed text
RGB case lights
RGB backlight
self strobing LEDs
secondery arduino for RGB control
tactile switches and stereo pot for input control
maintains original features including speaker
modified power regulator for extra low interferance

so yea this gameboy was built to replace my other gameboys so i wanted to make sure that every feature on my other gameboys was included in this one. the only thing it is lacking from the other gameboys is an overclock switch, there was space for the crystal but i didn't have any kind of switch that would have worked.

HERE IT IS IN ACTION!! YOUTUBE VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAzT11PbrIQ

first job was prepairing the XOR chip, this chip was used so that the contrast could be inverted by the Arduino to show mode changes in the midi arduino.

this shows the new board with the super gameboy CPU fitted and the massive modification to make room for the extra stuff. you can see it next to a normal board to see how much has been removed.

the XOR chip is held in place by metal legs from old components, it turns out i had to move it later because it fouled the D25

i tried to lower it as much as possible but it was still a problem

here you can see the pitch bend chip fitted, the 5v and ground pins on the gameboy are exactly the same spacing on the pitch chip making it very easy to mount

the pocket screen prepaired with nonfinites RGB backlight. the pocket screen is clear, unlike the normal DMG screen which has a yellow tint, this means the colours from the RGB backlight come through much better.

prepairing the case, a lot of plastic has already been cut out but much more to go. the original headphone jack and the factory pro sound have the tactile mode switches mounted on top of them.

wiring the pocket gameboy screen to the DMG daughter board. even using 30 gauge wire the screen failed 2 times because of stray solder.

the pocket screen fully wired in and working. i had to wire the screen directly to the board because there was no space for the socket.

RCAs and 1/4" jacks added as well as the PS/2 socket

another view of the RCAs the power switch had to be modified to make room for the RCAs but very worth it because its a great out of the way location

the 1/4" jack socket is from a 1/4" to 3.5mm adapter, it is much smaller than a panel mount jack making it easier to fit. more importantly it is flush fitting, as i wanted to make sure i could still fit my delay box to the bottom of the gameboy.

the pitch pot in place, this was later changed to a much smaller duel 50k pot

holes drilled in the upper half of the shell so that it all fits together notice also the text has been removed from the shell.

the shell was rubbed all over with a mild abrasive to frost the clear shell, this was because i wanted the colour of the case to be chosen by the LEDs and not by the colour of the circuit boards.

Arduino number two in place on top of the gameboy CPU, huge amounts of room here. i later changed the SMD resistors to normal sized resistors and there was still room.

RGB front LEDs fitted and screen glued in place. i later had to move the screen 2 times to make it line up.

screen board fitted with arduino 1 in place and the clear buttons. i had to take it apart many times again because of things like dust getting on the screen and the program on the arduino not being right.

started wiring the back half, you can see the underclock crystal on top of the battery compartment. a lot of this wiring was changed later due to power issues with the arduinos causing the gameboy to reset. also note the RGB chip LED behind the D pad.

another view of the crystal. some of the case had to be modified for this to fit.

all the parts coming together slowly, making sure i labled everything so i knew which LEDs were which.

wiring the two halfs together, i had to make sure that all the wires went down the left side of the gameboy so i could open it and close it easier. this really made a difference with the number of problems i kept running into. the underclock crystal was a last minute idea when i found i had enough space.

here i was changing the code on arduino 2, the code took two weeks to write, but i had no way of testing it. when i had everything in a position that i could test it i found loads of problems. also note that the midi parts are now in place

a view of the heavily modified power board next to a stock one. the larger caps made a big difference.

i was running out of room for the caps for the headphone jack, i decided i would make some space by drilling out the gap between the battery compartment and the bottom of the gameboy. i thought i would regret it as the plastic was bending a lot, i thought it would snap but it was fine

another view of the caps

almost done. just need to wire the D25

D25 wired and all nicely tested

first few test runs

back

top

side

bottom

side

front

everything plugged in!

.

Last edited by NeX (Aug 28, 2010 7:38 pm)