Project DCGBA: DEAD :(

kungpow12345 · Post by **kungpow12345** » Tue Jun 29, 2004 8:16 am

Hey Gang!
Well, after many many months and thinking what my next mod should be, I figured it out and it's going to be quite possibility the best mod I've ever done and it'll work too

My goal is to put a Game Boy Advance into a Dreamcast controller case and with the controller, control the game as if the DC controller was made for it. I've already done some preliminary stuff for the mod, or as I like to call them conflicts, and I will tackle them when I get to a point where I can do them one at a time.
Conflicts:
I had to remove the trigger buttons because the GBA mobo will not fit in there without them being removed.
I also noticed that the VMU port is not long enough to house a GBA cartidge so I have to come up with some method of trying to get that to work.
...and last, but not least the power switch, the volume control and the headphone jack are all inside of the controller and can not really be extended out.
I do think that this mod will work but it will take a lot of time and effort and when I have some decent pictures of the mod, I'll definitely show them off. ...oh and for those of you who are curious, the GBA screen will sit just above the controller buttons like it was the VMU screen.
Any suggestions as to how I should continue would be appreciated

Matt · Post by **Matt** » Tue Jun 29, 2004 8:24 am

Im a bit confused on wether the GBA and screen are going to be in the DC case or the controller but anyway..
For the controls:
The easiest method would be to have 2 wires for each bottom required. It would work, but is gunna take patience. Also the cable may end being quite thick (could use tubing) and you may need a big connector.

To extend the power switch, volume control and headphone jack:
You could easily buy a separate headphone jack and wire it on. Same with the power switch. Volume control however, depends on how you want to do it and where you want to place it...First place to start would be working out what value resistance that potentiometer is (will need a multimeter if there aren't any markings).

To make the cart fit I think the best and only way would be to get some small needle files or sandpaper..And that plastic filler stuff. Then once you've got the shape you want sand down to a smooth sureface (with high grit paper) and paint

Good luck with the mod man

kungpow12345 · Post by **kungpow12345** » Tue Jun 29, 2004 8:31 am

Sorry, one of my little typos that I had to fix. It's all going to be into a controller. Sorry bout that bud!

But yeah, this mod would be pretty difficult but can be done

Matt · Post by **Matt** » Tue Jun 29, 2004 8:34 am

Wow. That will be tricky. Do you want to be able to use the analog stick?

kungpow12345 · Post by **kungpow12345** » Tue Jun 29, 2004 8:45 am

I think I have no choice at this point. I have to figure out a way to get the Start and Select buttons to work and if I want to use the Analog Stick instead of the D-Pad. The only problem I have is I have no clue what the analog skematic is and I really need an updated skematic of the controller. I have a veeeeery blurry one riva16 made but it's not very detailed as you can imagine. If I had that then I can definitely tell you if there's a way I can make this mod work out for the best

Matt · Post by **Matt** » Tue Jun 29, 2004 8:49 am

Yeah I think the easiest way to make it compatable and working with the GBA's buttons. Is to do what you would do if you were hooking the DC's controller upto a NES one...Anything else would require circuits and probably impossible to find schematics. Analog stick I think is pretty dependant on other circuits

Have you got any idea's on how the screen is going to fit?

kungpow12345 · Post by **kungpow12345** » Tue Jun 29, 2004 8:59 am

Yeah I got it figured out. That one was easy but it's the controller layout is what's going to be hard because once I wire it once, I can't change it back and I won't have the feel of the Dreamcast controller that I wanted. I'll let you know how I plan to do the modified controller with some

stupid sensitive pictures probably tomorrow.

Matt · Post by **Matt** » Tue Jun 29, 2004 9:00 am

Ok can't wait

riva16 · Post by **riva16** » Tue Jun 29, 2004 10:14 am

To extend the volume knob... simply buy some breadboard, and desolder the knob... Re-solder it onto the breadboard, and use wire to link the correct solder points back to the GBA board... Its easy...

Post by **Quzar** » Tue Jun 29, 2004 10:16 am

Wow, i was thinking of this mod since those pictures for the GBA emulator over at dcemu.co.uk were put up. good luck, it will be hard cause of the screen size

Matt · Post by **Matt** » Tue Jun 29, 2004 10:19 am

Yeah I think the ribbon cable for the screen is pretty short too which will make it a lot harder.....Still possible though

muffinman943 · Post by **muffinman943** » Tue Jun 29, 2004 11:18 am

cant wait for pics

kungpow12345 · Post by **kungpow12345** » Tue Jun 29, 2004 4:34 pm

As you'll see in the pics tomorrow, there's just enough room to put the screen soundly in the controller case, but yes the ribbon cable really limits what you can do with the screen. riva16, I need two things from you: one: an updated, clear skematic of the dc controller, including the ground connection and two: where can I get some breadboards?

Matt · Post by **Matt** » Tue Jun 29, 2004 4:44 pm

Breadboards, try Radioshack if your in the US or Maplin if your in the UK.

Im about confused though, don't you mean strip boards. Breadboards are big chunky plastic things....Stripboards are like PCB's but with lots of holes.

Disheveled DrFreeze · Post by **Disheveled DrFreeze** » Tue Jun 29, 2004 5:14 pm

i got another few suggestions:

- modding a rumble pack for slot 2 to hold batteries, thus making a seperate power pack
- modding a vmu/mem card for slot 1 to hold the gba cart, maybe even lead the cart pins trough the vmu pins, so it will look authentic on the outside

this is gonna be one kick ass mod, keep us up to date plz

(this shop near us sells refurb gbas and cubes sometimes, onnly 35 bux a pop, next time they have em, ill pick some up)

kungpow12345 · Post by **kungpow12345** » Tue Jun 29, 2004 8:57 pm

Interesting suggestions DrFreeze! ...could work those into the mod and it might solve some other "conflicts" that are coming up. I'll definitely keep you guys updated for sure!

After all, this is a tribute to the GBA emulator that GPF is putting together for us DC loyalists

...and I think he means stripboards. ...still need the controller skematic tho

Disheveled DrFreeze · Post by **Disheveled DrFreeze** » Wed Jun 30, 2004 2:20 am

yeah kungpow, you could solve the size problem of the gba cart by placing it inside a vmu, rotated 90 degrees, so its long side is no longer in the width of the con, but the length

kungpow12345 · Post by **kungpow12345** » Wed Jun 30, 2004 2:13 pm

...How exactly would I go by doing that DrFreeze? Enlighten me ole freezy one

Disheveled DrFreeze · Post by **Disheveled DrFreeze** » Wed Jun 30, 2004 3:16 pm

take the gba cart slot, and place it in a vmu, rotated 90 degrees, then use the pins of the vmu slot to connect the cart to the mainboard

(that was my idea, but after studying both the gba and vmu connections, i see the vmu has not enough pins to relay the gba cart to the mainboard, maybe even 2 vmu's wouldnt even be enough, so thats one less idea on the list, unless you use a different way to get the cart pins to the mainboard)

the power module however can still work, just work two batteries into a vmu/mu/rumble pack and use 2 vmu pins to get the power to the mainboard

kungpow12345 · Post by **kungpow12345** » Wed Jun 30, 2004 4:34 pm

yeah I can definitely do that power module for sure but my knowledge of the VMU skematic is a little bit vague. Would you mind working that up for me DrFreeze? ...and I still need a controller skematic so I know where to wire up my wires...the side I really need is the d-pad side and the analog stick skematic...and the ground connection on the d-pad side...the rest I got.