GBA HDMI Adapter + RGB output (WIP)

[opt2not]

It can play any game a real GBA can, since it's a real GBA :p

You have the choice between direct digital stereo audio, or analog stereo audio.

Awesome, have been looking into ways to play GB/GBC games on the big screen, any plans in the future for 240p RGB output for us who prefer to play on CRT TV/monitors?

And the nice thing about this is you will get the proper GBC palettes for GBC games, rather than the SNES Super Gameboy's funky palettes.

[opt2not]

I don't have any others plans for GBA at the moment.

Are you going to be finishing off this project? http://stephens-projects.com/projects/n ... r-console/

I'm really stoked for an NGPC console. I hope it's not an abandoned project.

[Lawfer]

I don't have any others plans for GBA at the moment.

I see, that's fine, I hope at least there might be in the future an option to disable scaling, or at the very least be able to choose the scaling amount, it looks as of right now you can only choose 4x scaling resulting in windbowboxed 720p, windowboxed 480p and 240p would have been nice too, even if it's only HDMI (there are some ways to convert HDMI to RGBS anyways).

It would be a DIY kit, so you'd have to solder the kit to your GBA and assemble the enclosure.

So in this case, how would you be able to control the games then? It seems that as of right now, you are using a SNES controller soldered on a GBA? But with the enclosure thing, how will you be controlling the games then? With the enclosure, would it be possible to turn it into a micro-console by adding a GameCube controller ports? Or maybe a Wii EXT Classic Controller Pro port?

[nmalinoski]

It would be a DIY kit, so you'd have to solder the kit to your GBA and assemble the enclosure.

So in this case, how would you be able to control the games then? It seems that as of right now, you are using a SNES controller soldered on a GBA? But with the enclosure thing, how will you be controlling the games then? With the enclosure, would it be possible to turn it into a micro-console by adding a GameCube controller ports? Or maybe a Wii EXT Classic Controller Pro port?

That's a bit of an oversimplification. From what I saw in Bob's video, the SNES controller input is soldered to the FPGA/HDMI board, which is connected via detachable flex cable to a separate interface board, which then has a handful of wires that get soldered to the GBA motherboard.

That said, with the FPGA processing the SNES controller input (per the first post in this thread), I think a variant with a different type of controller input is feasible. You'd probably need to design a new board with a GameCube controller port and a new casing to accommodate the difference in port shape, and then write a translator that can interpret the GC controller inputs.

Or, y'know, you could just ask Raphnet to build a GameCube->SNES adapter and be done with it.

[opt2not]

Why the heck would you want a Gamecube controller to play GBA games anyway? The Gamecube controller's d-pad is tiny, and GBA/GBC games don't support analog controls.

[Lawfer]

Why the heck would you want a Gamecube controller to play GBA games anyway? The Gamecube controller's d-pad is tiny, and GBA/GBC games don't support analog controls.

Because why not? It doesn't have to be GameCube either, a Wii Classic Controller/Classic Controller Pro support would be nice too, it's already set to support both the Wii U Pro controller and the Switch Pro controller, so why not GameCube or Wii Classic Controller too?

[Einhandr]

Why the heck would you want a Gamecube controller to play GBA games anyway? The Gamecube controller's d-pad is tiny, and GBA/GBC games don't support analog controls.

Because why not? It doesn't have to be GameCube either, a Wii Classic Controller/Classic Controller Pro support would be nice too, it's already set to support both the Wii U Pro controller and the Switch Pro controller, so why not GameCube or Wii Classic Controller too?

It’s only “compatible” with WiiU Pro and Switch Pro controllers because the FPGA board has an SNES controller port soldered to it. The compatibility of those two controllers is because of the ability to use an 8bitdo wireless adapter which also happens to support those two controller types via Bluetooth.

[opt2not]

Why the heck would you want a Gamecube controller to play GBA games anyway? The Gamecube controller's d-pad is tiny, and GBA/GBC games don't support analog controls.

Because why not? It doesn't have to be GameCube either, a Wii Classic Controller/Classic Controller Pro support would be nice too, it's already set to support both the Wii U Pro controller and the Switch Pro controller, so why not GameCube or Wii Classic Controller too?

It’s only “compatible” with WiiU Pro and Switch Pro controllers because the FPGA board has an SNES controller port soldered to it. The compatibility of those two controllers is because of the ability to use an 8bitdo wireless adapter which also happens to support those two controller types via Bluetooth.

^ This right here.

You could get the 8bitdo retro receiver and connect whatever bluetooth controller it supports. I believe 8bitdo also has a Gamecube adapter that turns your original GC controllers into bluetooth ones.

But again, i don't see why someone would go through all the trouble to connect an inferior controller scheme, just for the purpose of "why not". But hey, it's your time and money, to each their own. I just think it's foolhardy to ask Woozle to add that kind of support for those of us who want to be experimental.

[Elrinth]

I think this is awesome and I immediately jumped and preordered one! I'm really interested in seeing how we can tweak games such as Final Fantasy 6 which was superlightened for the GBA. The graphics settings seem to be quite robust. Also the SNES-controller port is brilliant. The GBA is basically just mimicking the SNES controller anyways, and I love the fact you can flip the A/B. The controller will sit much better, cuz you know, holding down B to run while A to jump. You place the tip of your thumb on the B button (holding down run) and the middle above the A-button to do the jumps. Having the normal GBA layout for A/B makes R button really tricky. But having the B/Y layout of the snes makes it a bit more natural for the R-button.

Holding controllers badly reminds me of this

[Lawfer]

But again, i don't see why someone would go through all the trouble to connect an inferior controller scheme,

Inferior? Yeah, well, you know, that's just like, your opinion.

just for the purpose of "why not". But hey, it's your time and money, to each their own. I just think it's foolhardy to ask Woozle to add that kind of support for those of us who want to be experimental.

Not sure why you are being so aggresive, it was a mere question asking if more controllers can/will be supported, not an order.

[opt2not]

But again, i don't see why someone would go through all the trouble to connect an inferior controller scheme,

Inferior? Yeah, well, you know, that's just like, your opinion.

just for the purpose of "why not". But hey, it's your time and money, to each their own. I just think it's foolhardy to ask Woozle to add that kind of support for those of us who want to be experimental.

Not sure why you are being so aggresive, it was a mere question asking if more controllers can/will be supported, not an order.

Sorry. I'll tone it down then, I sometimes forget how sensitive some folks can be. I just find these kind of questions pretty baffling. Woozle is building us an awesome product, making the best decisions he can for play-ability, cost, and time for him to create, to have people ask questions about their specific needs. If he were going to support other controllers, or RGB output, no doubt he would have mentioned it. Surely he'd love to make the best product he can, to fit all our needs, but as a creator you have to make compromises sometimes to fit certain a criteria. I've said this stuff all before here, so I'll just stop now.

But I still gotta ask, do you seriously think the GC controller is better fitted for this application than the SNES controller? It's fine that you do. I just wanna hear the reasons why, other than "why not".

[Harrumph]

I just find these kind of questions pretty baffling. Woozle is building us an awesome product, making the best decisions he can for play-ability, cost, and time for him to create, to have people ask questions about their specific needs. If he were going to support other controllers, or RGB output, no doubt he would have mentioned it. Surely he'd love to make the best product he can, to fit all our needs, but as a creator you have to make compromises sometimes to fit certain a criteria. I've said this stuff all before here, so I'll just stop now.

But I still gotta ask, do you seriously think the GC controller is better fitted for this application than the SNES controller? It's fine that you do. I just wanna hear the reasons why, other than "why not".

+1

[Lawfer]

Sorry. I'll tone it down then, I sometimes forget how sensitive some folks can be. I just find these kind of questions pretty baffling. Woozle is building us an awesome product, making the best decisions he can for play-ability, cost, and time for him to create, to have people ask questions about their specific needs. If he were going to support other controllers, or RGB output, no doubt he would have mentioned it. Surely he'd love to make the best product he can, to fit all our needs, but as a creator you have to make compromises sometimes to fit certain a criteria. I've said this stuff all before here, so I'll just stop now.

I just thought about these being normal questions about an upcoming product that I am interested in, everybody does it, this way the creator can know what some people might like and might take ideas to further fine-tune the product and/or add some features that were originally not included, if everybody would just shut up, not ask any questions and just say "shut up and take my money" for years on, products would just ship as they are and no futher improvements nor change would be made and no new features would be added, ever.

But I still gotta ask, do you seriously think the GC controller is better fitted for this application than the SNES controller? It's fine that you do. I just wanna hear the reasons why, other than "why not".

It was just a question aimed at Woozle asking if more options for additional controller support might be possible in the future, I am sure you can add an EXT controller port just like you can add a SNES controller port, either option would requires soldering anyways.



Now if you are asking my personal opinion about my preferences, then no I personally am not a big fan of the GC Controller because I find it's sticks and buttons too stiff and playing for a long period of time the more intense action-oriented games (such as Sin and Punishement) start to hurt my hands, which NEVER happens with say a Dualshock controller.

But I DO quite like the Wii Classic Controller/Classic Controller Pro.

Anyways, I am not sure why you blew this out of proportion, it was a mere question that could have easily been answered by Woozle with either a positive or negative answer and I would have been fine either way, afterall it was just a question and the end decision rests in it's the creator's choice. But as I said the question was aimed at Woozle, so not sure how you came into the mix though since you seem unrelated to the project? I am sure Woozle's a big boy who can handle a few questions without you barging in on his behalf and basically telling other people to shut up and not ask questions.

[spmbx]

Are you two married by any chance?

[Lawfer]

Are you two married by any chance?

Hell no, worst one night stand EVER.

Btw, it seems that Game-Tech is trying to gauge interest in the GBA Consolizer Casing by having people sign up to their mailing list, they posted a few pictures and it's looking pretty slick:










And there might be more casing coloring later on.


Here's the product page:

https://www.game-tech.us/product/gbacon ... full-case/

[fernan1234]

That looks nice. It would be even better if they offer a pre-assembled kit + console board already inside the case. Basically a plug-and-play solution is what I'm hoping for.

[Woozle]

I appreciate the curiosity about different controller options, but I won’t be making any more changes to the hardware. Look at the date when I started the thread, I think it’s about time things were wrapped up :p

[Lawfer]

I appreciate the curiosity about different controller options, but I won’t be making any more changes to the hardware. Look at the date when I started the thread, I think it’s about time things were wrapped up :p

Understood.

That looks nice. It would be even better if they offer a pre-assembled kit + console board already inside the case. Basically a plug-and-play solution is what I'm hoping for.

I would prefer a pre-assembled plug and play one too as I don't have any soldering skills and I don't know if I can manage to put it together properly or make it look nice and tidy like it is in the pictures, but I definitly want one of these, it'll make you feel like you are really playing on a console that can play GBA and GB/GBC games.

[thebigcheese]

The case idea is pretty cool, though I feel like with just a little more design work they could leave access to the volume control intact. Also does the speaker still need to be there? I suppose it might for load reasons, but doesn't seem particularly useful anymore :p

[Lawfer]

Also does the speaker still need to be there?

If you only want digital audio, then nope you can remove it (well desolder it), it won't affect the HDMI (digital) volume.

I suppose it might for load reasons, but doesn't seem particularly useful anymore :p

Yeah I was thinking the same, I wouldn't be needing it myself if I am gonna get all the sound from my receiver through HDMI output.

[Woozle]

The case idea is pretty cool, though I feel like with just a little more design work they could leave access to the volume control intact. Also does the speaker still need to be there? I suppose it might for load reasons, but doesn't seem particularly useful anymore :p

The speaker normally sits under the board. I put it on the top because I thought it looked cool, plus without it you just see the GBA motherboard and in that particular spot there's nothing of interest (blank board). Absolutely not needed for this mod and the speaker can be desoldered if you want to.

The volume control isn't easily accessible, but since it should always be set to max volume anyway I don't see this as a problem. Less places for dust/debris to get in.

Keep in mind, I'm not a mechanical engineer and I spent about a week total designing/building that case (the 3D printed screws should be a giveaway). Still has plenty of refinement left to do. I'm hoping others with more experience will try designing a 3D printed case for it.

[Lawfer]

The speaker normally sits under the board. I put it on the top because I thought it looked cool, plus without it you just see the GBA motherboard and in that particular spot there's nothing of interest (blank board).

Pardon me, I know that later there might be more color options for the case, but have you also thought of more color options for the plexiglass? Rather than just a transparent plexiglass, maybe some other coloring might be nice where you won't see or won't fully see the "guts" of the console? Like some smoked colors to give it a more translucent stylish look, or plexiglass with a more solid coloring.

Mixing colors between the casing and plexiglass to mimick the GBA coloring schemes might be nice too:

[opt2not]

Are you two married by any chance?

Hell no, worst one night stand EVER.

Hey baby, I'm an amazing one-night stand. I'd rock your world so hard, you'd be ruined for all other men.

[ApolloBoy]

That case is a great idea, I’m tempted to get a junk GBA so I can tackle this project. However, I do have a GameCube/GB Player combo with a GBI disc so I’m wondering if I should get an HDMI adapter for the GameCube or get a rough condition GBA to mod instead...

[opt2not]

Got my hands on a cheap 40-pin GBA recently. It's the Glacier version, with a motherboard serial number starting with "0", which is what I was looking out for.
Everyone else got their GBA ready? I'm so excited about this, I've been re-playing some of my GBA titles recently and it still has a stellar game selection.

One thing I'm planning to do is connecting this thing to a Gamecube for Pacman Vs. I know the game was released on Switch recently as part of a namco games collection, but I haven't tried it yet and don't know how they're handling the multiplayer. But having all the ghost players on one screen, while Pacman on another screen is just perfect.

[Lawfer]

Will there be a difference in quality and/or sound between getting a 40-pin GBA, or getting a 32-pin version and using an adapter? What about the 34 pin version (GBA SP), will it have differences?

[Kyristor]

Soo I have been trying to figure out how to create my own HDMI output from the GBA.

I ran into a few unknowns for me.

So i was looking into the datasheets and schematics,
but I couldn't get any wiser on which pins from the LCD Connector are the VSync and HSync

I figured out that the DCK = pixel clock, but I'm unsure which are the VSync and Hsync



Do you guys have any idea?

[Kyristor]

Okay, so I figured...

SPS = the vertical sync,

but that still leaves me with SPL, CLS, LP and PS.
I'm confused though what these signals do, looking another Sharp lcd schematic (https://www.mouser.com/ds/2/365/LQ035Q7 ... 184021.pdf)
with I guess the same concepts, CLS and PS seem to be quite similar also LP and SPL seem to be quite similar,

Similar enough for my knowledge that I can't really figure out what these signals represent.

[HashBrownJM]

Just stumbled upon this - I think it's great, barring the ability to actually be able to buy the board! Do we know when that will be going on sale again? I think the plexi-case is cool, but part of me would almost prefer keeping it in a GBA case and just standing that up on a little acrylic display stand.

There was also some mention of the 8BitDo Bluetooth controller - what about the 8BitDo GBros. adapter? Turns a GCN controller (or Wii/NES Classic/SNES Classic) into a wireless solution (for me, great for Switch). Although were some people saying a Switch Pro controller will natively connect via BT? I have the SSBU one, so I could just use that.

Thanks!

[fernan1234]

@palette comment.

You can use palettes without a reboot if you press left+B when the gba starts up to put the gba into grayscale. If a palette option has been saved in memory the fpga presses the grayscale key combo for you.

If the gba isn’t put into grayscale mode by you or the fpga palettes are disabled.

Thanks Fudoh, I spent a lot of time trying to make the menu easy to understand.

Sorry for the necro post, but I couldn't find a more recent GBA Consolizer topic here. Was a solution ever figured out to get palettes working with the GB Everdrive? As pointed out by others, it seems to be detected automatically as a GBC cartridge from boot, so the GBA Consolizer never goes into grayscale mode even with the key combo.

If there's no solution for this, does anyone know of another GB flashcart that doesn't present this limitation?