My Gp2x X-arcade Bob Mod

[pauljohn]

Hi all,

Thought some of you may appreciate my GP2X - X-Arcade mod / fusion. This project is still a work in progress, so no apologies if the final finish seems somewhat half-arsed.

I did this mod about a year ago and since then it has been stuck in my attic awaiting for me to find some precious time to dig it out again (who thought having kids (x2) would be easy). I must remind you that the memory card has long since been removed, and so all programs and menus I once had auto-load have all but vanished. Therefore this post is to show you the physical changes I have made to the GP2X and the X-arcade stick. (I have forgotten how to make the menu auto-load on the TV-out)

A bit of background - Due to the fact that I no longer have any time to play the GP2X or the X-arcade stick, I thought why not join the two to create the ultimate portable (kind of) MAME cabinet whilst maintaining the functionality of the GP2X to play other consoles such as Amiga, ST, SNES and Megadrive.

I would appreciate receivng no replies asking why I turned a portable system into a non-portable one. I know that already - it was intentional. I simply wanted an all-in-one plug-into-your-telly entertainment system.

As already stated, this is a work-in-progress, so the paint job is not final!!

I hope the following pictures inspire some readers to try their own mods. Please let me know any thoughts you may have (whether positive or negative) and I'll try to revive this project for 2008.


http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/8988/dscf2174pv5.jpg

http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/8883/dscf2164ak3.jpg

http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/3118/dscf2168eq0.jpg

http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/3791/dscf2166tf5.jpg

http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/8813/dscf2177np6.jpg


Also, let me know how to embed images into posts rather than using imageshack. It's good but not ideal. See you in the new year. And REMEMBER, try to keep those new year resolutions. At least for a few mniutes!!

Paul John

 

[astro]

Hi all,

Thought some of you may appreciate my GP2X - X-Arcade mod / fusion. This project is still a work in progress, so no apologies if the final finish seems somewhat half-arsed.

I did this mod about a year ago and since then it has been stuck in my attic awaiting for me to find some precious time to dig it out again (who thought having kids (x2) would be easy). I must remind you that the memory card has long since been removed, and so all programs and menus I once had auto-load have all but vanished. Therefore this post is to show you the physical changes I have made to the GP2X and the X-arcade stick. (I have forgotten how to make the menu auto-load on the TV-out)

A bit of background - Due to the fact that I no longer have any time to play the GP2X or the X-arcade stick, I thought why not join the two to create the ultimate portable (kind of) MAME cabinet whilst maintaining the functionality of the GP2X to play other consoles such as Amiga, ST, SNES and Megadrive.

I would appreciate receivng no replies asking why I turned a portable system into a non-portable one. I know that already - it was intentional. I simply wanted an all-in-one plug-into-your-telly entertainment system.

As already stated, this is a work-in-progress, so the paint job is not final!!

I hope the following pictures inspire some readers to try their own mods. Please let me know any thoughts you may have (whether positive or negative) and I'll try to revive this project for 2008.

http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/8988/dscf2174pv5.jpg

http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/8883/dscf2164ak3.jpg

http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/3118/dscf2168eq0.jpg

http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/3791/dscf2166tf5.jpg

http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/8813/dscf2177np6.jpg


Also, let me know how to embed images into posts rather than using imageshack. It's good but not ideal. See you in the new year. And REMEMBER, try to keep those new year resolutions. At least for a few mniutes!!

Paul John



Thats pretty cool. I use one with my gp2x that i made myself a few years ago.

http://img195.imagevenue.com/img.php?image...4_123_409lo.jpg

 

[midget35]

I love it! Great job! I think you're being hard on yourself on the finishing - looks well attached and its tidy enough.

I wish I could get this arcade control with a trackball and spinner

 

[bacteria]

Neat. It is a good idea to hot glue soldered wires to mobos, I do it quite a lot.

Powering the system - I presume you aren't using AA batteries; are you using large cells or powering off mains? I presume off mains?

If you put in an SD card slot extension, you could have the ability to slot in your SD card without opening the case (see my sig if you need to make one).

Embedding pics in the forum - use the pic of the tree in the icons above where you enter text for your postings - you need to reduce the size of your pics though to about 600 or 700 pixels width, they are too big at the moment anyway.

 

[iCeD00D]

Awsome job man ... you actually gave me an idea about my rig.. I'm in the process of building a MAME rig myself and have everything except the cab........ I think I'll try to include the GP2X in it some how... and 2x? try 4x and time... ...

 

[BORIStheblade]

I like it.
I was thinking about doing the same, but just console games.

 

[pauljohn]

Hi all,

Thanks for your kind comments.

To answer Bacterias question - the unit is powered from a mains adaptor. There is a single power switch at the back which sends power to the GP2X and the B.O.B. I didn't include a battery option as the unit can't be considered portable anymore (not to the extent of using it on the bus anyhow!) so plugging it in isn't a problem.

As already said, the unit is far from finished. Here are a few jobs still to be completed.

- Extend the video output cable (from the B.O.B.) to the backplate as I have with the L+R audio.
- Wire a USB joypad to player 2's controls
- Completely reinstall all menus and games, etc... and have the unit automatially switch to PAL tv out at power on.

Ideally ( and I don't think this one is even possible) I would like to extend the flexible ribbon for the LCD and then mount the LCD in the top of the box. Even though the unit is designed for a desktop using TV out I would still like to have the LCD as a backup, as TV out isn't the best I've ever seen.

Does anybody have any ideas regarding my suggestions? Does anybody know where I could get a flexible ribbon long enough for the LCD idea?

Any help would be much appreciated,

Paul

 

[bacteria]

Good, thought you would use mains. I am using batteries in my project so am having to use a TI step-down regulator as I need 7.2v+ for the PSone screen and 3v for the GP2x (one set of batteries). Just using mains for your project is sensible.

Your system can boot automatically into tv out mode, PAL; tvonoff is an application which does this for you. It works!

No, you won't be able to extend the ribbon cable; however if you get an LCD screen (eg PSone screen), you can output to it via composite or s-video (the PSone screen is composite or RGB, but there is a mod to make it take s-video signals, see my GP2x mod in my sig - works). You can therefore have two signals, one for the PSone screen and one for your tv; and if you want, have a switch to disable the image on the PSone screen if you want.