DMG/Classic Gameboy Enclosure!? n_n'

[Gearsoul]

*copy;paste;edit*

Soooo... Digging through some drawers, I came across my old Gameboy.

Consequently I have a large number of questions; apologies in advance?

I'm a complete newbie to modding, so I'm really gonna need some help here! n__n;; Please & thank you?


The DMG/Classic Gameboy (I presume external) dimensions googled up at 5.82 inches tall, 3.54 inches wide and 1.25 inches thick...

The Pine64 is 5 inches flat by 3.125 inches.


So, I think it might be possible to gut my Gameboy and squidgy the Pine64 and the battery into the case!? =D


I'd need help from Google, too, to actually *do* it, but I think this would be super cool! :3 

Or would it? :0c How do I deal with potential overheating? Is it too small a space for this? Or would heat production not be significant enough to be of concern?

And what about data storage... 


Awhile ago it was said the hard drive was 2.5"? A laptop one I believe. 
And while it wasn't confirmed by Pine64, someone else said it would probably be 7mm thick?

Is that accurate? Would I be able to sneak a hard drive in there, too? 

How big are the wifi/Bluetooth components? :0c The idea of connecting it to my (hand-me-down-i)phone to offload all my pictures(because my phone is weird or my laptop sucks(?) and it rarely shows up when I plug it in, making cleaning it out even harder) that take up a huge amount of my phones space is super appealing!

Or do you think it'd just be too tight to fit and it'd be a waste of money to add on additional components for this?

SkairkrohBule pointed out the USB ports stick out a fair bit, and thus gave me the idea of having them poke out of the game cartridge slot, so thanks for that! :D

(I wonder if I can use part of an old game cartridge as a cover for the slot, to protect the ports~ n__n Much as I love it, I'd probably sacrifice my semi-faded Pokémon Blue version for that job! Just so I can look at it all the time :P)

:0c I'll also have to look into replacing the screen, so it has a colour display...

Most results pertained to installing a backlight mod. 

So then I wondered if I could fit a GBA screen into the case; I have an old GBA laying around somewhere, too! After that, while searching for (another hand-me-down) my GBA, I came across my (also hand-me-down 'xD) DS lite! 

Now... That got me thinking... It would surely have a much higher quality screen/colour -- and *touchscreen!* =D

A bunch of googling later and I had the name of something else that I came across... SSD1289! :3

A 3.2 inch LCD touch screen(with some kind of card slot... Micro SD?) that I wouldn't have to carve out of another system and would be brand new! :D

I'd just have to remove the painted-on plastic screen so the whole thing is accessible/visible.

So, can someone tell me, am I completely barking up the wrong tree, here, or could this actually work?? :3


I also found a store that does modding/parts for retro consoles/handhelds: 
http://store.kitsch-bent.com/

It has some stuff that would be important, like GBAmp and Soundpro kits to improve the volume and quality of the sound. 

But then, perhaps I need not be constrained by (Classic Gameboy)DMG-specific hardware because I'm gutting it to stash the Pine64, and you guys might have some better suggestions for audio hardware? 0.0?


n____n;;; Sorry for this huge post, hope you guys can help me out!

[Ghost]

Hey! Gearsoul! Long time no see! 

I really like your idea to use a Gameboy case for your Pine. Sounds like you want to go further than that, though, and make it into a fully-functional portable unit. 

If you've not done much modding like this before, you've given yourself a tricky first project. But that does not mean you should give up straight away. I am searching eBay for my own original Gameboy and intend also to try and do something similar to what you're doing, so maybe we can help each other out along the way 

A couple of things straight away - firstly, you will not need any of that Gameboy-related stuff (GBAmp, Soundpro kit). We can maybe re-route the speaker into the relevant connections on the Euler Bus on the Pine A64, since there is a port for that. You will basically be gutting out everything in the Gameboy save for the buttons and the speaker. The rest of the room will be needed for Pine stuff. And believe me, you haven't got a lot of room.

Secondly, hold off on buying that screen! The size may be good, but the screen will also need the Pine to have the necessary drivers in order to make it work. There was talk on another forum thread about Pine64 Inc making or commissioning a company to make them some small screens. This would be preferable to buying a random screen, as you could be sure it would work.

Thirdly, given the space constraints, you are probably better off in this instance buying a slightly larger micro sd card and running/storing everything from/on that. A hard drive would take up too much space.

[Gearsoul]

Ah, yeah, a fully functional portable unit is what I have in mind! :3

Those are all some great suggestions! YAY! Community!

That website I linked, while it may not be necessary for what I have in mind, it *does* have empty Gameboy cases for, I think, $10-$15! Though I think the only options are white/black, unless you wanna shell out $30 for one of the spiffy, pre-painted ones.

I'll keep an eye on the purpose-built screen you mentioned; I'd much prefer something officially supported of course! n__n

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Ah, another thought I had; There's a link cable port on the side of this thing... I wonder if I could add another USB port, or micro SD card slot or something there? :3c

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... HDMI/RCA? :0c

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OMG just checked my tier and I don't get my spiffy playBox pine64 until Maaaayy! 'xD Gah!

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And anything I preorder for my Gameboy is gonna come after the campaign preorders, right? 'x3

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More development time, at least. Maybe by then they'll have worked out the smaller screens!

[Ghost]

Yeah, you could probably repurpose the ports on the Gameboy to fit Pine stuff

Have you done soldering before? I have a feeling this project may end up involving soldering somewhere along the line...

And any accessories you order for the Pine (LiPo battery, for example) will ship along with your kickstarter reward (not sure if this is what you meant).

Ouch...May will be a long wait, but don't give up hope!

I will get my board in March(ish), I will surely let you know how easily the Pine fits into the Gameboy case

[Gearsoul]

Oh! That's a good point(about shipping with my campaign reward), didn't think of that! n__n;

I will follow your progress with great excitement/anticipation!

I can make the claim that I've used a soldering iron before -- my dad owns one, but likely too large for a project as delicate as this seems to be -- but I literally only melted some soldering wire. I didn't bond anything together.

As to add-ons... $29 for the 2gb board, $11 for the wifi/Bluetooth combo, $7.50 for an international kit power supply, $3 x 2 for a real time clock battery module for each unit, $17 for the 8k mAh battery(is this a power bank? Or do I need one each of these?), and possibly $17 for the air mouse remote or $9 for a basic remote. I need to look into what exactly the remotes do/are for. Any clue?

Well, I'm in for another $80 USD(about $113 AUD presently) but that's the maximum(unless I need two of those 8k batteries, in which case $97 USD is about $137 AUD) to get everything for each unit, as far as I can tell(not including the potential mini touch screen. I'd like to get a new 3.5 jack, though; the DMG one doesn't feel as snug as I'd like).

[Ghost]

The 8000mAh LiPo battery plugs into a specific port on the Pine. If you also have your power supply plugged in, it will recharge the LiPo battery! So it will be ready to go when you want to go portable

It is not a power bank, the latest update shows/mentions a power bank, but that is a separate thing.

If you are buying two Pines and want both to be portable, you may want to get two of the batteries. However, if you are only ever going to be taking one Pine around, and the other will likely be static/stationary, then you really only need one battery.

The air mouse remote, you can point it at the tv screen and the cursor on the screen will correspond to the position of the air mouse. Useful if you are using the Pine on a tv screen, not so much on a portable unit.

The basic remote is for media functions, I think. Haven't really looked into it, though...

...just sourced a faulty original Gameboy for cheap! Woohoo!ヽ(°◇° )ノ

[Gearsoul]

Hmm... I'll just get the one, then; can I fit that inside the Gameboy do you think?? :0c It's a far more portable size, though technically the playBox houses a 7 inch screen which is fairly portable as well... It just won't fit in a sizeable pocket like the Gameboy does

But if I *don't* get two, does that mean my playBox will forever have to be tethered to a power point via a cable? I won't be able to just pick it up in my room and plonk down in a corner in the lounge room; I'll need to unplug and replug it every time I move locations? :0c

As to the remote... I suppose I'll want to use the pine64 with a TV if I'll be watching shows or playing games on it, unless they're little things like 8-bit, 16-bit, that sort of thing. That'd be better on the screen itself.

Hmm..


Going back to the Pineboy, I'd love to be able to switch it on/off with the original power button~! :3c I think I read something about a port being available for an on/off switch if people so desired?


I'm gonna have to cover the clasp for the battery cover, too. I love the nostalgic clacky sound it makes when I tap my fingers against it, but there's a sizeable gap on either side of the fold of plastic that holds it in place(which I'll have to cut off, making the entryway for dust etc. even bigger, since it definitely goes too deep to *not* be in the way). Hopefully it'll still clack after it's been tacked up, like having a tape-like hinge there instead.

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... I should say *we'll* have to

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=DD YESS~! Congrats! Phase 0 complete?

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...... I need to get some glow in the dark paint... and airbrush some 'galaxies' all over my case!

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... On *both* sides(internal/external)! =D For 3D effect~

[Ghost]

I think it will fit. It's a little difficult to be sure from this image (http://bit.ly/1QFRku8) but I think it will just about fit (obviously in the picture it's to one side of the Pine, but the battery looks very flat, not rising above the screw mount points).

If you want to be able to move your playBOX without losing power, I would get that second battery

There would be no problem wiring the Pine on/off circuit to the Gameboy power switch. Would just require a spot of soldering...

Why have you (we) got to cover the battery cover clasp? Without seeing the unit in front of me, it's a little difficult to gain the right perspective on what will/won't need to be ripped out... I was just thinking about the possibility of buying a different shaped LiPo battery separately/or a small power bank, and use the existing battery compartment to house that...though the compartment itself probably takes up too much depth, that's why it would have to be removed, right?

Gotta have that clacking sound

[Gearsoul]

Okay, two batteries it is! 'x3

Yeah, I figure even though it has that chock which locks the game in, either I'm not using the USB ports and don't need to move the cover, or I'm already using it and the cover is already off... Of course, this could be problematic if one decides that use of the USB is required after already powering up and getting into things... Well, I'll brainstorm the layout a bit more.

I took a photo of mine so you can see the gap. As to the battery compartment, it's nearly the full depth of the Gameboy and about half the height nearly.

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Photo! :3

[Ghost]

Thanks for the photo!

Yeah, the space occupied by the battery compartment might be an issue...I guess we won't really know how much of an issue until the Pines turn up...

Anyway, interesting! I am looking forward to tearing Nintendo's beloved first handheld apart!