Making a REAL GBA From Scratch! (New Motherboard!)

I really hope they do this for the GBC next!
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Jake Simmons
311 SW 2nd St #2502
Corvallis, OR 97333
Songs:
• Dj Quads - You're The ...

[@DBStudios2819]

He's peaked in his insanity, he's started building GBA's from scratch

[@JakeSimmons]

I will continue to lose my mind even further in a few of my upcoming videos don’t you worry

[@trustworthydan]

I want to get into modding and was going to make one from scratch for my first project.. is that not what this community is about?

[@thepaper888]

This is what I've been waiting for. Making one from scratch period.

[@zhuguidai]

well scratch period would not use existing components like the cpu and ram, etc but its close-ish

[@christopherdecorte1599]

Hot air station would make quick work of swapping those chips over.

[@JakeSimmons]

I used hot air to remove it but I’m not confident enough to use it to place the chip down with it

[@christopherdecorte1599]

@JakeSimmons only way to become confident is to do it.

[@christopherdecorte1599]

Good job on the soldering

[@Stiffeno]

Just protect the nearby components on the board from the heat using aluminium foil and kapton tape!

[@wakcedout]

@@christopherdecorte1599yea, all he’s gotta do is get the board hot enough so that the solder is liquid and it’s a matter of dropping the chips. From videos I’ve seen it’s mainly just wave it around so you don’t put all the heat in one spot, let flux and solder do the work for you. Clean up and check connections. And there’s plenty of tutorials to learn how to.

[@leggomyfroggo]

Good job! Quick tip on soldering the CPU/RAM -- pre-tinning the pads is likely why you had difficulty lining up the chips. That's not gonna be an issue with hot air since you can just nudge it while everything is molten, but with an iron it gets tricky.

[@JakeSimmons]

Yeah I’m just not super comfortable with hot air yet but I’ve been practicing more lately. Maybe I’ll work my way up to a frog boy one of these days!

[@drivenbyfate]

Yep I learned this eventually with chip swaps. If hand soldering, don't pre-tin the pads. Just line of the pins, tack on a couple corner pins to hold it steady, and then drag solder each side.

[@solalbijaoui2214]

i have been looking everywhere for a tutorial like this thanks so much

[@lvgs7348]

Ever heard of division 6’s GBAccelarator? I love that mod! Unfortunately these new FP IPS V3.0 screen aren’t compatible with it:/ that over clock mod works with stock and other IPS kit, FP V2s worked perfectly fine for me😎🤪

[@josephroach2495]

I think I might give it a try after watching this!!! I was skeptical about it too! Thanks for the info!!!

[@Yuzuki1337]

That shell is a beauty! ❤️

[@kode4420]

The advance used to do that to me on certain games when I was a kid. I'd clean the contact on the game then it'd boot normal. Pokemon Emerald did it to me often.

[@RAPTOR948]

You ever do a GBA mod that just adds a second speaker for legit stereo sound? Because I've never seen anyone do that yet.

[@Helladamnleet]

The funny thing is it's an actual mod that gets done, just nobody has done a video.

[@JakeSimmons]

I rarely have the sound up on handhelds so I don’t care enough to do it haha

[@purpasmart_4831]

The showstopper for me is the headphone jack, it's only mono.

[@JakeSimmons]

I didn’t know that but I also rarely have the sound up and never listen with headphones

[@osakakasuga]

​@@JakeSimmonsmono audio is when the same sound is output to both ears as opposed to stereo where different sounds can be output to either of the ears, even if what you're using doesn't actively take advantage of that stereo just sounds better regardless

[@hawkfeather6802]

​@@osakakasugaisn't it impossible to have stereo sound because there's only one speaker?

[@achillebracciantini4438]

@@hawkfeather6802every gameboy has stereo through the headphone jack so funny playing didn’t include that for that reason maybe? Idk but i’ll be happy if someone ever finds out how to include it on the fp board would be awesome

[@uziikari5308]

​@hawkfeather6802 the headphone jack on the gameboy provides stereo support. This board doesn't.

[@SianaGearz]

You don't have to ever hold things down with your finger and be scared to burn it. Just use eraser side of a pencil, or a stick/pen eraser. But me personally i'm quite comfy just using 7sa tweezers :D A safe way of desoldering is using bismuth-containing alloys such as Wood's or Rose's but then you have to do extensive cleanup on the IC to wick up all of that.

[@djfernando16]

When I read "from scratch!" in your video title, I actually thought you'll go out in the woods and get some sticks and leaves to make a real gba.

[@michaelaugust8232]

They did actually give you a setting to change all of the LEDs at once, I don't remember the button commands but tito at macho nacho showed it off when he installed the motherboard

[@VanguardRaven]

This definitely seems like a good experience step towards doing a Pocket Color or DMG Color mod. I recently got myself a hot air station so it would be some good practice. I just need a GBA with a shot board and good CPU/RAM.

[@DarkroeTech]

I am currently trying to see if I can combine the laminated screen kit from funnyplaying, the HDMI Out through USB c docking mod, and this motherboard. Already combined the first two I listed (yes I know there's a mod that does both now; that's NOT the one I have, lol), but now I need to see if there's a way for the new motherboard to connect to the HDMI docking mod, because the ribbon cables for that mod are designed for the original motherboard, not this one, and I already know the button solder points will be a little more tricky to get to. The main thing I have to look into is that the HDMI docking mod has you desolder a fuse from the GBA (since it uses a fair bit of extra power), so I am wondering if anything needs to eb done with the funnyplaying motherboard, or if it just works by default with no fuse removals.

[@VaultClown]

I wonder if they'll ever male these for the other models

[@JakeSimmons]

I hope!

[@ENNEN420]

There's an open source version of this but with the GBA SP switches and NOT $70 and constantly out of stock called the AGZ-CPU-01 just for anyone who wants a cheaper solution that has better buttons and can be modified to your needs so long as you have some electrical engineering skills.

[@JakeSimmons]

That project seems to be a one off with no releases of any kind. I can only find a GitHub page and a few articles on it. Does not seem to be open source

[@Darkwolfsbane]

Reviving an amalgam of the busted GBAs' machine spirits. I approve of this mechanical necromancy.

[@LibertyFixxxer]

It costs way too much for the board compared to just buying a working GBA.

[@JakeSimmons]

I feel like it’s a more than fair price with all the upgrades + the engineering but it’s definitely cheaper to go stock

[@Helladamnleet]

Yeah if you ignore all the benefits

[@retro_jandro7530]

I might try one of these. Got an old GBA just collecting dust. It's not able to display but powers on with sound.

[@SonicBoone56]

I can finally repair my broken GBA now with these motherboards.

[@Kng__Wzrd]

I would love to do this, i just dont know how to solder. Plus fp is sold out of the purple board. The glass shell with purple board and buttons would be nice to have

[@JakeSimmons]

Definitely not a first soldering project haha but it is cool!

[@Helladamnleet]

Hopefully we see more of this kind of thing in the retro scene. I feel like a lot of "too far gone" systems could be saved this way (I have a few. I'm too much of a pack-rat to throw out what could be vital parts)

[@JakeSimmons]

Yeah so many more systems could be saved I really hope we see more of these

[@SianaGearz]

I can't think of many PCBs that are so "too far gone" that you can't just patch them up in-place. But i think we also need to develop better techniques for some of the faults. Cartridges are a strong case though, many of those PCBs would definitely benefit from a full replacement. But you should also order real 30µ hardgold bevelled edge and not the usual ENIG (electroless nickel immersion gold), which is not something that happens a lot. Console PCBs with ENIG are just fine, i wish you could get hardgold on rubber button contacts but i don't think you can.

[@RetroGamerAdy]

that intro dude, u just earned a new sub, keep it up

[@JakeSimmons]

I have versions for GBC and DMG too

[@skinpixel.customs]

Thanks for the work on the GBA, It arrived yesterday and looks amazing 🤩

[@devonwilkinson9718]

I wonder if this also supports the 101 screens out there or the ita laminated screen?

[@astrovewlix5929]

you need better flux (particularly tack flux) for this kind of work. I suggest Amtech NC-559 or ChipQuik SMD291

[@boostaddict_]

This might be what I need. Been looking at getting a GBA for a while, but working ones are too expensive considering I plan to fully mod it anyways. Are these chips the same as an SP? I have a GBA SP that's pretty beat up, would be cool to give it a new life.

[@JakeSimmons]

Unfortunately it’s a different chip :/ I wish it was the same

[@SimpleEnigma331]

Ok Jake, People reading these comments, the best trick to lining the RAM and CPU up is using a piece of tape. I use kapton because its at my station. Tape it up, tack the corners then solder all the pins without bridges and its painless.

[@samuraivader3814]

Did they ever fix the headphone mono audio. GBAs can do stereo audio with headphones, I heard people mention this issue but no acknowledgement by Funnyplaying or fix.

[@JakeSimmons]

Since it’s funnyplaying, I’m gonna assume they didn’t fix it

[@________mr.empty________]

Would FunnyPlaying be preparing the ground with this this PCB to realease a FPGA GBA in the future?

[@Brokevwap]

Where can I find that shell?

[@mindcraft432]

I have a trick for you: take a Razor blade and hold it between the pins you want to solder together

[@somedude3601]

Couldn't you use thin double sided tape to hold the chips in place?

[@gl1tch3r55]

Where i can find that blastoise shell??

[@jeremym8748]

Now you gotta do a pocket color. I cant choose between n64freak or bucket mouse

[@JakeSimmons]

Check out the video before this👀

[@SunnyDeLite]

Could you not have just used hot air to resolder it after tinning the board and chip? Edit: I saw a bunch of people ask the same and saw your answer. Love the apple-watch btw, the nike band is such a good look, main reason I went for this version

[@JakeSimmons]

I cannot express how much I appreciate you looking at the rest of the comments and putting the edit! And thanks!

[@mike1989libra]

where can we buys i want a pokemon one

[@SmashBrosmike85]

I really wish I could do things like this, but I’m too lazy and stoopid to try.

[@lil.elmo21]

Im the 1K Like, I Love the retro gaming handhelds. good job Jake. :)

[@DarthPooh]

Sleep mode cool but it’s sucks it doesn’t work with flash cards I mostly use flash cards

[@brake_4_cake]

You have a hot air gun, why did you reattach the chips with a soldering iron?

[@fiffy6572]

Do you think it's possible to use a motherboard like this with GBA SP parts? so transform a broken gba sp to a gba form factor

[@JakeSimmons]

Someone would need to alter it to work for the SPs cpu but yes

[@fiffy6572]

@@JakeSimmons thx!

[@scaryman9000]

8:37 yes yes i do 😊

[@Jhasbun]

Where’d you get that blastoise shell 😭😭😭

[@senkensu]

Genuine question, can I use components from a gba sp board on the funnyplaying board?

[@JakeSimmons]

It’s a different cpu entirely but I’m pretty sure you could use the ram still

[@SianaGearz]

You know what, reach out to the author of AGZ-CPU-01, maybe they have something for you. Unfortunately they haven't published the PCB CAD files so you can't just order your own and i don't think they have been sellng them this far.

[@mahmoudnadi1992]

So expensive, plus your gonna buy an ips kit too which adds another huge expense.

[@JakeSimmons]

Definitely on the pricy side but it’s perfect for GBAs with bad boards

[@LelandHasGames]

Bruh. I saved a dead GBA with this method. I was actually pretty proud of myself

[@JakeSimmons]

Isn’t it super satisfying?!

[@jaaxc1036]

The next step is actually FunnyPlaying building a FPGA motherboard like their GBC one. Then we can finally get rid of the future issue where we will lose CPU units since they are not made anymore.

[@JakeSimmons]

As long as it’s better than their GBC one haha

[@Zanlan.]

1:30 Where is that GBA Switch controller video?

[@JakeSimmons]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/gGSaiXSqd9p2rtU

[@Zanlan.]

@@JakeSimmons My hero

[@davidtapia192]

Does this work with the GBA SP CPU?

[@JakeSimmons]

Nope

[@DriftingSands]

could you use a broken SP's processor and ram, and turn it into an original?

[@JakeSimmons]

Unfortunate they are different CPUs :/ someone could make an SP board in original form though if they really wanted to

[@drivenbyfate]

The SP CPU has a different pinout, so it won't work. Still possible though if someone made a little adapter PCB.

[@fgmenth]

1:25 I mean, Nintendo has 8 different official ways to play GBA games, all of them on different systems and form factors. I don't think there ever was a specific way they were meant to be played.

[@JakeSimmons]

Fair enough

[@Helladamnleet]

Nah, fam, you can def tell when a game is designed with a certain controller in mind, and just because there were Nintendo endorsed ways to play the software doesn't mean it was the originally intended way by the developer.

[@fgmenth]

@@Helladamnleet You had GBA, GBA SP, GB Player, NDS in the span of just 4 years since the console came out. All wildly different in terms of screen and form factor, even within the GBA console lineup itself (especially if you add the GB Micro in the mix)

[@zevtillian4120]

Now is it possible for those chips to be recreated? that would be insane to completely make a gba without touching any real gba hardware

[@JakeSimmons]

Yeah with fpga it’s possible

[@smashpro1]

​@JakeSimmons FunnyPlaying already has an FPGBC motherboard. Just waiting for FPGBA.

[@mr.shplorb662]

​@@smashpro1now is there something like this video for the gbc?

[@andrewn889]

The mod is sensational, but I'm too stupid to adjust the LED colors.

[@JakeSimmons]

It’s a little confusing haha

[@Chimp_Assassin]

Will this work with the CPU and RAM from a GBA SP?

[@JakeSimmons]

Nope :/

[@Chimp_Assassin]

Damn, guess I'll have to figured out how to fix my SP, or wait for them do an SP motherboard.

[@user-vp3sf7vj3s]

Can you make Game Boy Color with new Motherboard?

[@frankwhite2072]

I'm not as look as I dumb either.

[@Null_Experis]

FPGA isn't hardware emulation, it's hardware replication. A properly programmed FPGA is transistor-accurate to the original hardware. From an electrical standpoint, it is exactly the same. FPGAs and their programmable logic device forebears are used to develop the ASIC chips inside machines like the GBA. The Neo Geo core for MISTer is an example of a transistor-accurate FPGA core, and would translate directly to an ASIC that is a perfect match to the real hardware.

[@SianaGearz]

Problem is we don't know the logic/gate net of original hardware that you're trying to recreate in most cases, there's only a few pieces of hardware where we have a high degree of confidence. Even reverse engineering original chips by decapping occasionally results in bugs from misreading, since you're more guessing the structure than actually seeing all the etch and material layers, some of which can be well hidden, and people can potentially make mistakes when marking up embedded mask ROMs sections, and then you rely on a potentially brainfarty human programmer translating the potentially faulty net into the programmable logic, so cycle-exact software emulation and logic gate level recreation can have the same accuracy issues. A particularly tough problem is buses which are occasionally tristated on all sides or which have interesting transition behaviour - this is say the reason C64 PLA replacements work just fine on old GAL chips and some old CPLDs, while those using more modern chips and the same exact logic function don't match real hardware behaviour. Decaps almost never result in a complete transistor by transistor markup and read; instead they're used to verify assumptions and clear up doubts, but not all assumptions will be verified. The amount of manual decoding that would be needed is just too much. Generally projects target the existing game library, and can achieve extremely high compatibility coverage, but say new experimental/demoscene code can still reveal undiscovered differences. Some approaches are just fundamentally different. Like say making a synthesizable representation of classic Yamaha FM chips would result in a prohibitive footprint of FPGA used if you did it like it is taped out on the real IC, by replicating the channels. Instead you only create one channel, give it some extra flexibility, and just run it several times faster with buffering in and out. So that is very certainly not replication. I doubt any FPGA project ever will try to exactly replicate Megadrive's slightly bonkers reset logic which results in several ICs being out of phase with each other by different number of cycles every time. It's fundamentally parasitic analogue behaviour. Sure you can make digital emulation of a similar effect but it won't be a replication then. There is basically never the case where original code that was used to prototype the original system using FPGAs got preserved and is available to us. A huge advantage of FPGA systems is high timing determinism (not subject to the whims of the operating system) and latency which is true to original systems.

[@Null_Experis]

@@SianaGearz In the case that transistor maps aren't available, they base the behavior of the FPGA gates on the behavior of the chip itself. Specific output = specific output It's replication of effect, if not replication of internal electrical structure.

[@SianaGearz]

@Ex You cannot explore all inputs and outputs sufficiently to create a perfect Black Box model of any sufficiently complex chip exceeding the complexity of a handful 74s since there is a nontrivial amount of hidden state, some of which can be parasitic nondeterministic analogue behaviour rather than a logic function. But yes a combination of Black Box and decap techniques helped get many emulators (and FPGA systems) "close enough" to cover the existing commerical library.

[@keiyakins]

No, it's emulation. It's an alternative implementation that *is not* the original design. The advantages to FPGAs are more about being parallelizable the same way as the original hardware (that is, you can just have an emulated PPU and CPU doing their things, rather than needing to interweave their operation like a software based emulator) and not having to deal with an operating system scheduler.

[@Null_Experis]

@@keiyakins You obviously don't understand what a gate array is or what "logic level" means.

[@emisorano]

Actually, since you didn't actually print the board...

[@LuisPerez-5]

You didn't make it from scratch though

[@IllyasArt]

I have nothing to say, but I wish to break the regal looking, 100 comments total. Some will hate me for this, but it is a sin that I am willing to be burdened with.

[@JakeSimmons]

Comment as much as you’d like. It helps boost me lol