GB Flasher PCB's

Discussion of programming and development for the original Game Boy and Game Boy Color.
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bazz
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GB Flasher PCB's

Post by bazz »

Hi Guys,

In a month or 2 or 3, give or take approx. , I am going to order GB Flasher PCBs. Details on pricing to come, If anyone would like to combine the order, I can ask him to ship for me to difference places, or I can ship them to you, provided you paypal me the cost of your board + shipping. I really don't look to make any profit out of this.

The board will likely be like the following:
I plan to add six plated holes to the pcb file, connected to the microcontroller, to place pin headers in, for easy ISP (in-system programming).
Image

On a personal note, this pcb was designed by someone in spanish, with no contact info I couldn't find on the page it was hosted at. However, it seems the only distinction between this pcb and the original GB flasher is the use of the FTDI ft232R instead of FT232B, whereas the R internalizes more components (see http://www.ftdichip.com/Products/ICs/FT232R.htm
http://www.ftdichip.com/Products/ICs/FT232B.html

I have no guarentee of the original GB flasher software in performance with this device, however, the guy who created this PCB has released specific firmware and software(multiplatform iirc), for this device. I did a diff of his firmware and the original and i looked them in a hex editor, they didn't even RELATE. I wonder if the format was different? Either way, I believe I will try this one out. Worst comes to worst, I plan to design my own firmware, for fun.
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bazz
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Re: GB Flasher PCB's

Post by bazz »

Hey guys, little update

I went to the discussion forums on Eagle Cad to get some help working with the schematics and board files. I didn't get approved of my modifications yet, however here is my mod for the ICSP (in-circuit-serial-programming) pin headers.

Image

For any guys that wanted a strictly 1-layer board, fear not. You could always modify the board and take out the top layer stuff, and replace it all with wires.

Let me know what you guys think?

Oh, I took a look at site for producing 10 pieces of pcb for $25. That would come down to $2.5 a board, neglecting shipping.
qwertymodo
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Re: GB Flasher PCB's

Post by qwertymodo »

You should add a ground fill to the top layer. In EAGLE, that means creating a polygon that follows the board outline on the top layer, then use the name tool to name it GND, then hit the ratsnest button.
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Re: GB Flasher PCB's

Post by qwertymodo »

I've seen this cart flasher design around for awhile... frankly, I'd like to see one made out of something like the PIC18F45K50. On-chip USB transceiver, so no need for an FTDI interface, no crystal needed (a bit of a rarity for USB operation), comes in DIP or QFP...

...maybe I'll have to try it :P
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bazz
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Re: GB Flasher PCB's

Post by bazz »

qwertymodo wrote:I've seen this cart flasher design around for awhile... frankly, I'd like to see one made out of something like the PIC18F45K50. On-chip USB transceiver, so no need for an FTDI interface, no crystal needed (a bit of a rarity for USB operation), comes in DIP or QFP...

...maybe I'll have to try it :P
Qwerty, you inspired me to try this MCU out. However, I have never touched a PIC in my life. Any advice to get started, in light of using this chip in particular? I use a Macintosh laptop. I'm going to be researching, I'll post back my findings.
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Re: GB Flasher PCB's

Post by qwertymodo »

Microchip uses Netbeans as the base for their MPLAB X IDE, which should be cross-platform, but IIRC it doesn't come with a compiler, so you'll have to download that separately (they do have free compilers available, it's just a separate download, and different downloads for different chip families, so be sure to get the right one). Honestly, Microchip kind of (i.e. really really REALLY) sucks in the user friendliness department. They have code examples, including ones for their USB stack, but there are multiple options of compilers, and it's never clear which compiler the example is designed for. I finally got my hands on one of those chips, but so far I haven't even gotten it to enumerate. USB is a huge PitA :(
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bazz
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Re: GB Flasher PCB's

Post by bazz »

I am looking into obtaining a pickit3. This USB PIC chip in particular needs the TQFP package for ICSP.
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Re: GB Flasher PCB's

Post by qwertymodo »

bazz wrote:This USB PIC chip in particular needs the TQFP package for ICSP.
I'm not sure where you got that idea... the ICSP pinout for the DIP package is:

Vpp: pin #1
ICSPCLK: pin #39
ICSPDAT: pin #40

Also, if I remember correctly, you mentioned you're an undergrad college student, right? Buy your PICKit directly from Microchip, they offer student discounts (order with your *.edu email address).
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bazz
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Re: GB Flasher PCB's

Post by bazz »

qwertymodo wrote:
bazz wrote:This USB PIC chip in particular needs the TQFP package for ICSP.
I'm not sure where you got that idea... the ICSP pinout for the DIP package is:

Vpp: pin #1
ICSPCLK: pin #39
ICSPDAT: pin #40

Also, if I remember correctly, you mentioned you're an undergrad college student, right? Buy your PICKit directly from Microchip, they offer student discounts (order with your *.edu email address).
See page 12 of the datasheet, Dedicated ICD/ICSP port
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Re: GB Flasher PCB's

Post by qwertymodo »

No, that just means that they used the extra pins on the QFP-44 package to move the ICSP pins off of the GPIO's. On the DIP package, the ICSP pins are shared with GPIO's and therefore "use up" those pins (RB6/RB7). However, if you're careful with your design, you can share the pins without any issue. The DIP package absolutely does have ICSP capabilities, it just doesn't get its own dedicated pins for it. Look at the bottom of Table 1 on page 5 for PGC and PGD (aka ICSPCLK and ICSPDAT).
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bazz
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Re: GB Flasher PCB's

Post by bazz »

Do i share much the same way i share miso mosi lines on AVE?? I didn't have to do anything special, although those pins shared gpio. Will it be the exact same for PIC? What kind of design precautions must i take to share a pic icsp with gpio rather than dedicated icsp pins.
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Re: GB Flasher PCB's

Post by qwertymodo »

Basically, yeah. Just make sure that whatever you're using the GPIOs for won't be bothered by the programming. I believe that the PGC/PGD lines use logic levels for programming, but make sure of that if you're going to be connecting those pins to any other peripherals/indicator LEDs/etc. Or, if you just connect them directly to the cart socket, the easy solution is just don't have a cart connected when you're reprogramming the microcontroller because having those lines open bus pretty much alleviates any potential issues.
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bazz
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Re: GB Flasher PCB's

Post by bazz »

Thanks for the advice qwertymodo i always appreciate your clear help.
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