I couldn't post it on BenHeck yesterday as the site was playing up again, so I uploaded this to AcidMods and the GP2x site. The main site http://www.gp32x.com/ for the GP2x obviously liked it as it was posted on their main page! It is getting very good responses from both sites.
I initially wanted to incorporate batteries into this system (see my BenHeck thread for project details), however I should have used Li-ions and not NiMH cells, and for some reason the GP2x was power draining powerful C cell 5500NiMH cells in an hour (perhaps it has a faulty capacitor?), which is awful. Hence, I am running the system off mains power. I have since got some camcorder Li-ions which I will use in my next project.
Components:
GP2x mobo
GP2x TV-out cable
PSone screen (5" - I find the GP2x screen a bit small), modded to take S-video
2 x 55mm speakers
12mm tact switches for buttons
Casing made of 2mm perspex
NES D-pad
Tools needed:
30w soldering iron, solder, desoldering braid, lots of wiring.
TI step-down regulator (using one PSone power supply of 7.5v, the TI card converts to 3v for GP2x)
12mm tact switches and 6mm tact switches
Dual polarity switch (on/off)
2 x 55m speakers
3 sheets of A4 sized 2mm perspex
UHU glue; hot glue, electrical tape
Mounting board and textured thick paper
Scissors, craft knives, pencils, paper, felt pens, black paint, paint brushes
Excellent TV-out program from boot
SD card
220uf capacitor (for S-video mod)
Thin and thick pliers
Dremel and various bits
NES controller
Some project pics:
Buttons - flat, recessed, initially I wondered how good they would be, turns out they work great!
I can easily print out the button inscriptions and stick new ones on the existing buttons; but I thought hand-written ones look fine.
One thing I did which was rather clever (as well as the screen rotation itself), was to make the GP2x controls different depending on whether the screen was landscape or portrait; for example, in portrait mode Left on D-pad is Left but in landscape mode is down; and the A and B buttons change with the volume + and - buttons. I achieve this switch automatically by using rotating cotton buds, making contact with tin foil:
Finished system:
...playing a game (Galaga90 on TurboGraphics) (old emulator, not tried the new one yet!)
Screen rotation:
Reason? MAME old games like PacMan, Galaga, Pengo, Gorf, and others! (best played vertical and not horizontally).
The system is comfortable to hold, buttons laid out so that A and B (used most often) are in the place my thumb rests; the shoulder buttons work well and located in logical places, the case is thick enough for adult hands to hold comfortably, unit is fairly light.
The only restriction is games in TV-out mode, most work excellently, especially as the PSone screen is 320 x 240 resolution (640 x 480i), emulators like Pictodrive (Megadrive), TurboGraphics, MAME and a host of other games look very nice.
The extra buttons above the Start and Select buttons are there to exit games quicker or their menus (some games need LS + RS + Select to exit - one finger now can do this).
I just need to put a couple of coats of clear varnish on the casing to protect it.
)
, Nice project!
