m00dawg
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Texas

I assume the game-link connector isn't exactly standard so I was curious as to if these are able to be had in the wild (other than by stealing it from a GameBoy) or if people are just cutting the game-link cables?

I was originally going to just cut the cable and just tie it up inside whatever case I end up using. But now I am thinking using a DB9 connector would be nice instead, assuming of course I can't get my hands on a jack.

Any thoughts on that? For the curious, my current (work in progress) board layout is:

http://www.moocowproductions.org/tmp/ArduinoBoy.zip

I used a blank "shield" and went from there. I am debating on making a whole board instead, perhaps using dimensions of some standard cases, but I kinda wanted to get something up and running first. I did have to extend the board out a bit, meaning whatever case I use will look a bit funky since the connections on either side won't be even with each other.

I guess as an aside, are there any GB stores that have kits or finished ArduinoBoy's for sale? Otherwise I'm going to have to wait a month for BatchPCB to print my (untested) design smile

kitsch
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matt's mind

the link ports aren't being made anymore...

i sent off an arduinoboard design to the fab house 2 days ago, so yes and no to get to the last question...  not yet, i guess i what i should say.  just need to test the new features.  wink  then yes.

nitro2k01
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Sweeeeeeden

The problem with building an ArduinoBoy using a link cable socket is powering it. If you're using a big fat 'duino board with a shield, that may not be a problem, but if you're building a stand-alone unit, you'll want to do the pin swap mod so you get power supply from the Gameboy. You can't do this with a socket, as a standard cable doesn't carry the power wire.
And even so, link cables are cheap. Buy one and cut it in half. No big deal.

Another thing, why do you insist on mixing top and bottom layers as much as you can? Try to keep everything to the top layer so people who make PCBs at home can make a single-sided board. So far, the design can trivially be made to use only one side.

Why the top and not the bottom side? Because the first thing you need to consider for a single-layer shield design is connecting the pin header. You can't solder the pin header to a single-sided board if it's on the same side as the copper, since the plastic would be in the way.

Most of the components, yes, including both the opto-coupler and all the passive components can be placed on top and soldered on the top. The one thing that can't is the MIDI jacks. These would need to be pointing down and possible moved out as not to collide with the 'duino main board.
For inspiration: http://www.stephenhobley.com/blog/2011/ … lipshield/

m00dawg
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Texas

I hadn't thought of moving the MIDI connections out and flipping them actually, that's a good idea.

In regards to the layers, I originally tried to keep it as a single layer though I had to make a few bridges. I got stuck on one connection and since I was already thinking about using BatchPCB for this board I ended up just going with a two-layer.

I did go a bit crazy with the layers, mostly on the LED section. I figured "why not?" and I thought that staggering the traces would help with interference (as if there would be enough to mess up simple signals, but I mean if I was going for a 2-layer anyway).

I was also trying not to expand the shield out more than I had to which was proving to be a challenge since I kept running into cases where I would have to wires along the top of the header to avoid using a bridge or a 2nd layer.

In hindsight I think a standalone board might be a better option, although I was unaware that the cable didn't supply 5V by default, doh so that kinda tips the scales back over to a shield style design.

herr_prof
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kitsch wrote:

i sent off an arduinoboard design to the fab house 2 days ago.


!!!

m00dawg
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Texas
herr_prof wrote:
kitsch wrote:

i sent off an arduinoboard design to the fab house 2 days ago.


!!!

Haha yes, agreed! I'm likely go grab up whatever Kitsch ends up making, though I was likely going to move forward with this design, in part for fun, and also so I can have something up and running in case it takes Kitsch a while to end up having a solution.

kitsch
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matt's mind

wink

in theory, everything should work fine.  the power supply is the iffy bit...  with wall-wart, battery, USB, or gamelink power possibilities i want to do a bit of stress testing...  and see if i can kill it. because if it can be done people will do it. 

and almost everything is a new footprint in my library for this project, yikes!

toss in a fair bit of adhd and you've got fun times.