Gamecube/ zeldaxpros hdmi plug in solution

So This is that new plug in solution to get HDMI output from a DOL-001 Gamecube, and to be honest the build quality in my opinion isn't great. The shell is shooty looking and comes apart easily, the connector isn't keyed and can be inserted the wrong way around, and I know the Digital connector on the gamecube has specific power rails. The board has exposed pins and there is hot glue tacking the main board down.

Here's a link to some photos of a tear down from someone who bought one.
https://imgur.com/a/yzD73

I just wanted to get some opinions on it, from those who would be a bit more familiar with something like this.
Also considering the pluto x II FPGA solution exists and in my opinion is a cleaner and more reliable solution. I also acknowledge that the Pluto route requires hardware modification and some people either don't have the technical skils to mod, or don't have the time/ incentive to do so.

If this doesn't really belong in this forum I'll remove it if need be.

 

Zeldapro's is a straight shuriken design as far as I know. He asked me questions a while ago about how to add a surface mount voltage regulator instead of the one the shuriken was designed for. I guess he never figured that out.

I have a few different designs, but my newest one works well. And is much easier to install than the plutoII

 

Interesting. I knew he was going around on forums a while back asking for what I can assume was advice for his design, or at least the implementation. Most of the criticisms I found were based around the sandwich style connector as it has no guide ways for the pins.

Also, you new design does look very clean.

You seem to do a lot of board designs for multiple projects, do you do this as a profession or is it just a hobby?

 

Just a hobby. I have my own personal collection of consoles I mod, and that is where the origin of these projects start from.

 

Neat. I've always been interested in console modding and I've only recently been able to get into it. I happen to go to school for mechanical engineering but the program is very hands on, and I've learned a lot about soldering and board level troubleshooting and repair, as a result of ripped pads and traces. It also helps when you blow up three speed controllers for an AC motor like I have.

 

Is this the same one Metal Jesus rocks just did a video on

 

It is.

 

Me and other people have been mentioning these design issues from when this thing was introduced. The maker of this board does not seem to have much knowledge of electronics; before introducing his V1 product he had been having issues to program the board for weeks.

Meanwhile, a lot of YouTube channels are featuring this board without doing any proper research... Is YouTube money that strong?

 

no, just most of them aren't into electronics

 

Imo, they can still do research. The concerns have been posted on at least three of the major forums.

 

I don't think they should be held accountable for not doing that sort of in-depth research, besides, because someone has issues initially programming the board doesn't mean they can't make a decent product. Who knows how many cock-ups are made in large companies' R&D departments that nobody knows about because they're not documented in public forums.

I did find Metal Jesus' last remarks about wanting one for the original Xbox (because they both have component output) a bit annoying though and thought that showed far more of a lack of understanding about the product than anything else.

 

Does anyone have a link to the exact pcb zeldaxpro used? Or is it a custom design by himself?

I can only find the small top part of the pcb connector sandwich: https://oshpark.com/shared_projects/7QCoP0Si
And the Shuriken Video that is missing the bottom part of the connector: https://oshpark.com/shared_projects/BZYBxM07
But not the Shuriken Video with the angled pcb connector.

Sure this kind of connector is not perfect but it's very cheap and easy to make and I would love to build myself a gc video.

 

You'll be surprised how little someone will care when they're all hyped up over a product. Unfortunately this is the case for this since people in the GameCube community have been clamoring for a plug and play GameCube component cable replacement for years.

 

The problem with the connector is that this design allows the pins to bend and short each other, as there is no guide ways built in to the connector.

 

Its an almost exact copy of the shuriken V3. But the inputs are moved to the side. I'm not sure what type of contacts he's using on the connector. The overall design of it, is kind of a sloppy.

He should be using a surface mount voltage regulator and IR. That way he wouldn't have to use kapton tape. You can also decrease the overall size of the board substantially by pulling out all the unused I/O headers. Not to mention also using micro HDMI connector.

I've considered building something like this but edge guides would be a requirement for me on the connector. I don't have a 3D printer so can't really do any experimenting with that and I'm not messing with plastic injection.

 

I started a design for a plug using pcie pins from a salvaged pcie connector, it was a pet project which I had no intention of mass production. My print resolution couldn't handle the very small separators between pins. I do plan on building a SLA system when I have like a month of solid free time, when/if that happens I do want to revisit it.

 

I decided to just try my printer, it actually did better than I figured it would do. The pins line up with their respective contacts. Inserting the pins is not easy, so I didn't load them up quite yet. I ordered a print from a print shop. I'll probably post a new topic for it and post files, for the final design after I get my test back and check it for accuracy.

 

Very cool. I'll be looking for your thread. I'm thinking this connector combined with an entire 3d printed shell. I'd like to see how small I can make my GCHDMI

Or a breakout box, like the dreamcast vga boxes.

That way it could have Toslink/RGB/HDMI etc.

 

I'm on board with helping on a project like that.

 

Drop me a PM here when you get the connector back just in case I miss the thread on here. In the meantime I'll do some thinking about the best way to tackle it.