How to order and build the GB Interceptor

[@breandanvallance3107]

You deserve to be drowning in coffee. This is exactly the sort of thing we've been looking for in the GB Tetris community. Thank you buddy!

[@TransistorBased]

That's how I wanna die

[@martynrandles]

Thank you once again for all of your work on the Interceptor & also for taking the time to do this guide. I've never ordered anything like this before & the only soldering I've ever done is on my G3 Powerbook power adapter board many, many years ago, which is a full tear down just to get to that board. My 1st tear down too! I think I'll order 10x and hopefully I'll make at least one that works lol. Oh I was such a novice solderer back then that I didn't know about flux. Years later I discovered Ben Heck hacks & went ahhhh flux, that makes things so much easier! I can't thank you enough for your service to the DMG Tetris lovers of the World. I can't be the only one who has brothers who still require evidence of scores & levels complete. Photographs are no good as I studied B&W Art photography back in the 1990's & my fakes are so good that I can provide a (fake) negative along with the print. Live streaming &/or capture using your amazing Interceptor will not only provide the evidence I need but has actually inspired me to go after my holy grail once again... ...B-Type level 9 heart 5 will be mine!

[@LerrySanders]

Holy smokes. Thanks for not only releasing this but making a step by step so idiots like myself can get some made.

[@megabusterretro9203]

Got my boards from JLCPCB Today! Just waiting on the 32 Pin Connector. Cant wait to build this! Thanks again for such a great, in-depth video. The whole process was quick and painless.

[@ThereOughtaBe]

Wow, really excited to see others building my project. I hope you won't run into too many early bumps. If you do, please let me know, so I can fix stuff or add details to the instructions.

[@megabusterretro9203]

@@ThereOughtaBe Will Do! I already plugged one up to my PC and can load the firmware on it! I just wish the place I bought the 32 pin connectors from shipped as fast as JLCPCB!

[@joe-raysix]

I know this was made for the Tetris community, but I am so looking forward to utilizing this for video capture on other games straight from the Game Boy itself. There's something cathartic about using the original hardware without the need to modify it to get what you're looking for. Thank you so much for your investment of time and effort, it's greatly appreciated more than I can properly express!

[@GameInterest]

We're at the end of 2022 and this is the most awesome thing I've seen this year.

[@hosseruk]

I had an email from them after ordering asking if I needed 45 degree chamfering on the pins, despite selecting "No" in the order process. I've replied that I don't need it, so fingers crossed it all shows up and works.

[@ThereOughtaBe]

To be honest, I was unsure myself whether chamfering would be a good idea or not, but came to the conclusion that it does not matter. The PCB's edge connector is behind an edge of the case anyway, so I think that chamfering neither hurts nor helps. But it makes sense that JLCPCB asks about this if they notice it, I guess. I wonder at which point their engineers realize that they are getting many orders for the exact same PCB and just keep the prepared production files around without asking anymore :)

[@DanielQwerty]

This is soooo cool. I can’t believe the first person to do this so effectively has so little subs. Ich werde dir einen Kaffee (in desc.) kaufen.

[@LetsPlayKeldeo]

Moinsen zurück ! Heilige Kacke ich gehe kaputt ich schwöre ! Das ist einfach genial ! Ich werde mir gleich ein paar von JLC bestellen ! Danke !

[@green64]

Sauber erklät alles, danke!

[@420Pikachu]

Bro this is seriously so damn cool

[@attackemartin]

thanks for the tutorial!

[@mortenmoulder]

I see what you mean, when you say it doesn't make sense to order fewer quantities. I just added 50 to the cart and they're now $8 per product shipped. That's insane. Wish I knew people in this community, because I just need 1. Group buy, anyone? :P

[@ThereOughtaBe]

Jepp, it really is mostly a $5 rPi Pico on a differently shaped board plus a few extra components that in total are not more expensive than $2. It is only expensive when someone has to set up all machines just to build a single one of them.

[@carlosagorreta5276]

Amazing job! Would be so cool for gameboy color games as well.

[@drivenspirit416]

Save the Hero said they would build these too, so maybe that's an option for people who are interested. They currently make Sanni's cartridge reader

[@Gerenocidiac]

I have an order for 5 PCBs ready to go for later this week. Saved in my cart. Would not have been able to do this without you. This is great, I'll have a use for 3 of them, and I can give the other 2 away to some friends. Appreciate the detailed steps, this kind of stuff is not my expertise, but was easy to follow. When it comes to soldering the cartridge slot to the PCB, you said not to use too much solder. Does it matter if the solder runs across multiple gold connectors, or does there require a gap between each small pin? I can solder, but the tiny stuff is a bit tricky for me.

[@ThereOughtaBe]

There has to be a gap. This is where flux helps a lot as it "magically" keeps the solder where it should go. Using as little solder as necessary also helps because the solder mask of the PCB also prevents the solder from going between the pins as long as there is not so much solder as to bridge it anyway. If you are unsure, I just realize that ordering a few more cartridge slots might help as you can train on the extension board before soldering the main PCB. They usually are not that expensive.

[@thesogo64]

You're a legend

[@LOCKEYJ]

This is absolutely fantastic. If anyone wants to sell a prebuilt one for total tech novices please let me know!

[@1Rot]

well well well, look who made another gameboy project :D

[@Geeksmithing]

Is it possible for JLCPCB to still include all of the components without assembling them if I didn't mind soldering them on myself? Or should I just get the board from them, and source the components elsewhere? Thanks!!

[@ThereOughtaBe]

I would think that you should probably get them elsewhere, but you would have to ask their support to be sure. But it should be no problem to get everything from a different supplier. There is nothing exotic on the BOM. Some generic components might be a Chinese brand that is not found everywhere, but there should have identical variants. If you feel confident to solder the rp2040, then you probably have more experience with this than me anyway :)

[@kingofthedarkarts599]

Now we need one for the ds

[@theoneandonly100k]

THIS IS AWESOME!11!!1!1

[@green64]

14:25 Ok, on the 3D Print Case, how i am able to get the skrew on top in? i have M2,5x4 skrews, but the head is to big for this hole. Can't find any other 4mm types on Amazon DE. 4mm is quite short, will 5 or 6mm fit too?

[@ThereOughtaBe]

The screw on the top is supposed to go all the way in and then it should go into the thread about as far as the other ones. Tbh, I am not sure if screw heads are normed and if yours might be wider. Different printing tolerances or some remains from supports might also be messing with the fit. If it is so tight that the head absolutely dies not go in, you could of course use a long screw and keep the head flush with the case, but I have never tried that.

[@green64]

@@ThereOughtaBe Oh sorry with the length I have caused confusion. The other length I asked only to have a higher selection. Because there are hardly 4mm screws on Amazon, but there are 5mm (only 1mm, I think that also fits). Thanks for the mega quick answer. exactly, I also understood that, the screw goes all the way through to the level of the other screws, but mine are just too wide for the channel, they do not go in. Your Idea with the Werry long Screw is maye a good one too. thx

[@ThereOughtaBe]

Ah, I see. I think that 5mm screws should also work. I am a bit conservative with the length because of the heat-set inserts. The holes for them are a bit deeper then the length of the inserts, so there is a bit of room for the molten PLA to do into, but I was a bit worried that some might still flow back into the thread, reducing the room available for the screw. But this is my first design with such inserts, so these design choices are mostly based on what I read and not on experience.

[@FanboyOVER9000]

I've been looking for something like this for years, but unfortunately I have no idea about soldering chips.

[@DJ_SaHKu]

Zwei Fragen hätte ich: Erstens: GB Color Module werden - in einem GB Color natürlich - auch farbig auf dem Monitor angezeigt? Zweitens: GB Advance geht damit ja wohl nicht, oder? Aber: heftig geile Sache :)

[@ThereOughtaBe]

Erstens: Nope, der Interceptor unterstützt nur klassische Spiele. Bei Modulen, die beides können funktioniert es dann nur wenn diese "klassisch" betrieben werden. Zweitens: Der Interceptor funktioniert im GBA, aber auch nur mit klassischen Spielen. Also im Sinne ob GBA-Spiele damit gehen ist das ein klares nein. Beim Game Boy Color ist die Geschwindigkeit des rp2040 nicht ausreichend - lässt sich vielleicht noch optimieren. GBA-Spiele funktionieren aber grundsätzlich anders, sind nichtmal elektrisch kompatibel (im GBA ist ein kleiner Schalter, der im Grunde einen integrierten Game Boy Color einschaltet wenn ein altes Modul drin ist) und vermutlich lässt sich das Konzept des Interceptor hier gar nicht anwenden, da der GBA (wie alle moderneren Geräte) den Code erst in den RAM lädt und nicht direkt vom ROM ausführt (nur "vermutlich" da ich kein GBA-Experte bin, aber von den Specs bin ich mir da ziemlich sicher).

[@DJ_SaHKu]

@@ThereOughtaBe Danke für die Antwort :) Ich hab nach meiner Fragestellung (und Aboknopf drücken ;) ) dein anderes Video zum Interceptor gesehen, da wurde die Colorfrage schon beantwortet. Aber ich find das richtig geil...im Endeffekt könnte sich damit ja ein Nachbau-Kiosk realisieren lassen...die Original-Teile aus den Kaufhäusern der 90er sind ja mittlerweile unerschwinglich teuer.

[@tilleibstarr]

Hast du noch einen über und 4 sale? Cooles Projekt!

[@danisaurio_ms7965]

Hello is anyway to buy the Interceptor complete and working? Thanks.

[@ripast2605]

Hello, I am from South America and I was interested in your video, however I see that the device does not play with the native monochrome colors of the gameboy

[@S_TN]

What about aluminum and copper core materials. is it suitable?

[@Mr.Plutonium]

I wish someone offered a completed option.

[@ODShic]

Anyway to just buy one off you?

[@slicedchicken4806]

is there a gameboy color version of this.

[@goggleheroomegamaple53]

will this work with gameboy colour?

[@OCPyrit]

Would it be easier to intercept only the inputs and let the simulation run on an emulator on the computer?

[@ThereOughtaBe]

Do you mean the controller input or the bus data that I use as an input for the emulator on the rp2040? The controller input from the player is not visible on the bus, so that won't work (besides some desynchronization problems) and the data on the bus is way too much for the rp2040's USB. To reconstruct the game at least the address (16bit) and the data (8bit) pins are required. At a clock rate of roughly 1MHz that sums up to 3MB/s - about two to three times of what the rp2040's USB 1.1 can handle. Interestingly, the rendered image is smaller and it would be even smaller if there was a common format for 2bit colors. But that's the final argument for emulating on the device itself: Anyone can use it without additional software.

[@bravomobil]

How do you shoot the beginning and the ending of your video? The rotating part? Thank you

[@ThereOughtaBe]

This is done with a little motorized camera dolly. Mine is an Andoer L4 Pro, but I think that the same device is sold under different budget brand names, too.

[@bravomobil]

@@ThereOughtaBe thank you! 🙏🏻

[@kmichael9787]

Should this work with Windows 10? I'm having a real hard time making the device come up as anything other than USB storage when I plug it in

[@ThereOughtaBe]

If it shows up as USB storage even if you do not press the flash button, it has not yet been flashed with any firmware. This should be normal if you ordered a new PCB like in the video. If you bought an assembled Interceptor somewhere I would have expected them to flash it, but you should be able to just flash it with a uf2 file as shown in the video.

[@kmichael9787]

@ThereOughtaBe it says that it contains two files 'INDEX' and 'INFO_UF2' when it gets detected as a regular USB, but the first file just opens a link to rasberrypi's website, and the secons opens as a notepad with the message 'UF2 Bootloader v3.0 Model: Raspberry pi RP2 Board-ID: RPI-RP2' is that what it would be expected to contain, or should i wipe it and try to set it up from scratch?? (P.s really appreciate the help, your creation is cool as hell, and was gifted to me by my brother!)

[@ThereOughtaBe]

Yes, these two files are normal and they will always be there. The Interceptor is based on an rp2040, which is the microcontroller behind the Raspberry Pi Pico. These pretend to be mass storage device in flash mode, so new firmware can just be dragged onto the device without the need for any special flashing software. It shows these files to point new Pi Pico users to instructions on how to do it, but these are no real files. If you delete them, they will just show up again next time and any file you drag into the folder will be gone the next time. Only if you drag a valid firmware into the folder, it will be used for flashing (and still not show up as a file the next time). Long story short, simply follow the instructions from 12:34 in the video: Download the latest uf2 file from github (github.com/Staacks/gbinterceptor/releases/latest) and drag it into the folder. It should then start acting like a webcam instead of a mass storage device. (Only difference to the video is that it is now firmware version 1.2.0, but absolutely make sure you use 1.2.0 and not 1.0.0 as shown in the video as there have been a lot of improvements.)

[@kmichael9787]

@@ThereOughtaBe Hey man, you're a total legend, this has worked! I really appreciate you walking through a technological novice like me through this so patiently, you've really made my day! I hope you have an awesome one, and a great new year

[@FreddyONG]

would this work with gameboy advance?

[@ThereOughtaBe]

It works on the GBA but only with classical games.

[@FreddyONG]

@@ThereOughtaBe That makes sense. Thank you!

[@MrGingerPirate]

Where can I buy it? Wo kann ich das kaufen??

[@ThereOughtaBe]

Sorry, my original answer did not fit because I thought your question was referring to the short video about the wooden Game Boy cartridge. However, in case of the GB Interceptor it is similar: I do not produce or sell them myself. You can build one following the instructions here or look for a shop that produces them using my files.

[@nathannationanimations]

Couldn’t you technically use any PCB service, like PCBway?

[@ThereOughtaBe]

Of course. If you know what your doing and have a preferred one, just go ahead. I am not only offering the Gerber files, but of course the KiCad file so you can export it for any service. This video is a click guide for those who have no idea what all these terms on the order page mean and who cannot match a BOM to the components offered by their PCBA service.

[@nathannationanimations]

@@ThereOughtaBe Interesting. Thank you!

[@Log4Jake]

Thanks how much does the board cost usd?

[@ThereOughtaBe]

As far as I know Euro and USD are currently almost 1 to 1, so aside from tax and customs it should be similar to what is mentioned in the video.

[@Log4Jake]

Thanks for the info I'm thinking about ordering a bunch. What are your thoughts on other people selling them?

[@ThereOughtaBe]

I don't mind and the open source licences I chose allow this.

[@Log4Jake]

Ok I just wanted to make sure before I did anything I think well see alot of these online on the future. This is an amazing creation and can be quite useful.

[@Alex_DeltaDev]

@@ThereOughtaBe Great work here! Are there any reasons why you dont want to sell them yourself?

[@aquieomax]

this is on aliexpress

[@1988JesseV]

Too much to do. I would prefer to buy it build

[@AshitakaYakul]

Is there something similar for gameboy advance? I'd like to play pokemon games with one.