Kyosho
NOT KYO
Here's the link to my original PGPC video and here's part 1 and part 2 of the disassembly. I apologize in advance for the longass post. If you're familiar with me, this is par for the coarse.
Right, so, as I've said in those videos, etc. the PGPC was too heavy really. Especially since I got tired of waiting and cut a lot of corners to get it done quickly. In my original thread, I thought it would take me another 2 to 3 weeks to finish it, at one point. Instead it was 3 days. That's how many corners were cut. You can see in the disassembly videos what I mean, especially part 2. So much that could've been smaller, lighter, if only I'd had patience. Now, you might think it might be better to just improve the PGPC as is, and put it back together. I mean, it can emulate most systems, right? Well, I think you guys, of all people, know how bad emulation can be at times. Especially for more obscure games that the emulator developers never bothered checking out properly. Winback, on N64 for instance. You get those damned grey boxes and other graphical glitches, no matter the emulator. Also, with this new plan, I'll be able to pop in systems that it couldn't emulate very well. Such as the Wii/gamecube and PS2.
The plan, as it is currently, is to remove what's not going to be needed (360 controller board, for starters) and then wire all the controls and video signals into a DVI-I connector. Why DVI-I? It's fairly common (though not as much as DVI-D), and has 29 pins. Which means it'll have enough for all the controls (the controller with most buttons would be PS2, which would need 21 connections (which includes the "analog" button and both sticks). One connection for power, one for ground. One for composite video, two for left and right audio. Three for RGB. I think I can just use the composite input line for C-sync, though I may have to solder a wire onto my screen's board to connect them (which shouldn't hurt it, I don't think). May even already be connected. DVI-I cables will be easy to get(one cable will do 2 systems), and I can just hack them rather than doing the extra soldering that would be required if I bought the connectors from Mouser.
This plan counts on having controllers for each system that have common ground. So for some systems I may need to use third party controllers, or whatever. It would also mean that the RGB lines couldn't have their own grounds. Which could be an issue... In my original PSOneP, it wasn't an issue to tie them together. But I'm using a very different screen this time. Speaking of which, I'm not sure the screen can take just regular RGB as opposed to VGA. It should, I think, but it requires testing. Here's a picture of the important portion of the board (luckily labeled):
In the upper part of the picture, you can see the connector for the composite audio/video. I assume AV1L is the left audio channel (white, if we're talking RCA cables). There doesn't appear to be a right (red) channel. Which means I may have to use a separate audio amp for games with composite to have stereo. Which sucks. Unless there's a pin on the board somewhere for the AV1 right input channel. You can see that the connector they used is fairly limited in connections, so it might be there somewhere. It was a USB connector, funnily enough. That's two fake connectors, including the fake HDMI (pictured). Then again, I can't talk, since I'll be making a "fake" DVI connector. I'm not sure what the ACC input is. Hrm.
Another thing to consider, is that each system will have different power requirements. I only have room for one power wire on the DVI connector. I'm keeping the mini ITX PSU in the system, which has 12v, 5v, and 3.3v. I'm thinking I'll have to install a three-way switch to change the power line to one of those voltages. Systems that need multiple voltages, well, I'm not sure yet. I could build a power regulator for each of those, or I could find a way to connect the voltages it needs from this PSU.
Here's the idea for the system:
The "Possible pins?" are maybe something I could do, for the different voltages, in addition to the one on the connector (or do all 3 and use that one on the connector for an "RGB ground"). So the box for the console in question would slide into the back of the portable, and plug into the DVI-I connector and perhaps make contact with those pins as well, if I use them. I am undecided.
At this point, I'm planning on doing a box for Genesis, NES (I have a tiny crappy yobo board sitting around), N64, PSOne (I don't have a PS2 slim currently), GBA (I have a transverter), and Wii (this one will probably stick over the top so the sensor bar will be integrated). I will probably start with the PSOne, funny as that sounds. But that would allow me to test every single button connection and also RGB.
If anyone has any thoughts, or concerns, or suggestions, please post them. Thanks.
Right, so, as I've said in those videos, etc. the PGPC was too heavy really. Especially since I got tired of waiting and cut a lot of corners to get it done quickly. In my original thread, I thought it would take me another 2 to 3 weeks to finish it, at one point. Instead it was 3 days. That's how many corners were cut. You can see in the disassembly videos what I mean, especially part 2. So much that could've been smaller, lighter, if only I'd had patience. Now, you might think it might be better to just improve the PGPC as is, and put it back together. I mean, it can emulate most systems, right? Well, I think you guys, of all people, know how bad emulation can be at times. Especially for more obscure games that the emulator developers never bothered checking out properly. Winback, on N64 for instance. You get those damned grey boxes and other graphical glitches, no matter the emulator. Also, with this new plan, I'll be able to pop in systems that it couldn't emulate very well. Such as the Wii/gamecube and PS2.
The plan, as it is currently, is to remove what's not going to be needed (360 controller board, for starters) and then wire all the controls and video signals into a DVI-I connector. Why DVI-I? It's fairly common (though not as much as DVI-D), and has 29 pins. Which means it'll have enough for all the controls (the controller with most buttons would be PS2, which would need 21 connections (which includes the "analog" button and both sticks). One connection for power, one for ground. One for composite video, two for left and right audio. Three for RGB. I think I can just use the composite input line for C-sync, though I may have to solder a wire onto my screen's board to connect them (which shouldn't hurt it, I don't think). May even already be connected. DVI-I cables will be easy to get(one cable will do 2 systems), and I can just hack them rather than doing the extra soldering that would be required if I bought the connectors from Mouser.
This plan counts on having controllers for each system that have common ground. So for some systems I may need to use third party controllers, or whatever. It would also mean that the RGB lines couldn't have their own grounds. Which could be an issue... In my original PSOneP, it wasn't an issue to tie them together. But I'm using a very different screen this time. Speaking of which, I'm not sure the screen can take just regular RGB as opposed to VGA. It should, I think, but it requires testing. Here's a picture of the important portion of the board (luckily labeled):
In the upper part of the picture, you can see the connector for the composite audio/video. I assume AV1L is the left audio channel (white, if we're talking RCA cables). There doesn't appear to be a right (red) channel. Which means I may have to use a separate audio amp for games with composite to have stereo. Which sucks. Unless there's a pin on the board somewhere for the AV1 right input channel. You can see that the connector they used is fairly limited in connections, so it might be there somewhere. It was a USB connector, funnily enough. That's two fake connectors, including the fake HDMI (pictured). Then again, I can't talk, since I'll be making a "fake" DVI connector. I'm not sure what the ACC input is. Hrm.
Another thing to consider, is that each system will have different power requirements. I only have room for one power wire on the DVI connector. I'm keeping the mini ITX PSU in the system, which has 12v, 5v, and 3.3v. I'm thinking I'll have to install a three-way switch to change the power line to one of those voltages. Systems that need multiple voltages, well, I'm not sure yet. I could build a power regulator for each of those, or I could find a way to connect the voltages it needs from this PSU.
Here's the idea for the system:
The "Possible pins?" are maybe something I could do, for the different voltages, in addition to the one on the connector (or do all 3 and use that one on the connector for an "RGB ground"). So the box for the console in question would slide into the back of the portable, and plug into the DVI-I connector and perhaps make contact with those pins as well, if I use them. I am undecided.
At this point, I'm planning on doing a box for Genesis, NES (I have a tiny crappy yobo board sitting around), N64, PSOne (I don't have a PS2 slim currently), GBA (I have a transverter), and Wii (this one will probably stick over the top so the sensor bar will be integrated). I will probably start with the PSOne, funny as that sounds. But that would allow me to test every single button connection and also RGB.
If anyone has any thoughts, or concerns, or suggestions, please post them. Thanks.
