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Hardware > Questions About Xboo

#34251 - dist0rted - Sun Jan 16, 2005 3:19 pm

Well, here's an image of the cable I'm using for this device:

[Images not permitted - Click here to view it]

Anyway, if I were to cut it at one end of the box thingy in the middle (pardon my non-computer illiterate terms :D) , would I be able to boot up the GBA if it was connected on the other end of it?

Also, I need a DB25 Male Connector, and there's no Radio Shack here. (I might get one at a computer shop, but have no ride.) Anyone know of where to get one online?

Thanks,
Steven Welch
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#34253 - dist0rted - Sun Jan 16, 2005 3:21 pm

Also, I've never soldered wires before. I've removed the big grey protection part from about two inches of the wires (and pealed back some copper and strings that were also appearently guarding the wires). I have five of the required wires, and was wondering if I have to remove the color-coded outer layer from them too. (They're very tiny heh.) Won't the iron just melt that away as needed?
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#34256 - bahnhof - Sun Jan 16, 2005 4:21 pm

For the DB25 Male Connector, don't you have an old printer cable? Most (if not all) printers have usb cables now anyway.

You can use your teeth to remove the colored coating from the wires (I learned that from someone else too).

#34267 - dist0rted - Sun Jan 16, 2005 9:10 pm

All my printers are USB (can't find the old one).

And about the teeth, I'm trying :)
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#34271 - dist0rted - Sun Jan 16, 2005 10:52 pm

I can't get the thingies off with my teeth :).
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#34272 - ampz - Sun Jan 16, 2005 10:53 pm

bahnhof wrote:
You can use your teeth to remove the colored coating from the wires (I learned that from someone else too).

Yeah, and you can use coated wires to pull out your teeth..
Seriously, be careful. Many people have damaged their teeth trying to remove wire insulation.

#34273 - Tim Schuerewegen - Sun Jan 16, 2005 11:10 pm

dist0rted wrote:
I can't get the thingies off with my teeth :).

lighter > teeth

#34274 - dist0rted - Sun Jan 16, 2005 11:24 pm

So I can hold a lighter under them and they'll melt off?
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#34276 - Tim Schuerewegen - Mon Jan 17, 2005 12:28 am

dist0rted wrote:
So I can hold a lighter under them and they'll melt off?

Yep, use the lighter to heat up the end of the wire for a second or two, then quickly remove the melted insulation with yer finger while it is still hot :)

#34277 - dist0rted - Mon Jan 17, 2005 12:43 am

Alright, being the newbie that I am to this... I'm going to guess you're joking :D
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#34278 - Tim Schuerewegen - Mon Jan 17, 2005 1:21 am

dist0rted wrote:
Alright, being the newbie that I am to this... I'm going to guess you're joking :D

Am I laughing? No. Why? Because it's not a joke. Try it.

#34283 - dist0rted - Mon Jan 17, 2005 2:16 am

I tried, but there's no way I could touch it until it hardened and got all black.
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#34316 - dist0rted - Mon Jan 17, 2005 8:19 pm

Alright, I've got a DB25 cable. How do I tell which wire goes to which pin though?
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#34367 - Lord Graga - Tue Jan 18, 2005 4:12 pm

dist0rted wrote:
Alright, I've got a DB25 cable. How do I tell which wire goes to which pin though?


Take a look at my sexy page. There you will find this sexy picture concerning where to solder things together.

#34402 - dist0rted - Wed Jan 19, 2005 12:45 am

No I mean is there an easy way to figure out which wires come from each little pin of the DB25 / GBA Link Cable.
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#34404 - Joe_Sextus - Wed Jan 19, 2005 1:15 am

Quote:
No I mean is there an easy way to figure out which wires come from each little pin of the DB25 / GBA Link Cable.


Use a multimeter. Connect one lead to the wire and place the other one on the pin.

#34409 - dist0rted - Wed Jan 19, 2005 3:07 am

?

This confuses me. Is there any tutorial explaining this? Perhaps a previous post?
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#34599 - dist0rted - Sat Jan 22, 2005 2:20 am

What is / how do you use a multimeter?
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#34604 - tepples - Sat Jan 22, 2005 3:25 am

Using a multimeter

A multimeter is a handheld, usually battery-operated device with a small display and wires going to two probes, + and -, which are placed at various points in a circuit. It can measure voltage across an element in a circuit, current between elements in a circuit, or resistance across an isolated element. To measure continuity of a cable, put one probe on a pin on one end of the cable and the other probe on the corresponding pin on the other end, and tell it to measure resistance. Low resistance means connected; disconnection will show up as maximum resistance.

Everything else is explained in the multimeter's manual.
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#34605 - dist0rted - Sat Jan 22, 2005 3:49 am

Thank you *so* much. That was a wealth of info you just gave me.
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#35631 - xproductions - Tue Feb 08, 2005 4:55 pm

i've heard that the pc parallel uses 5 V, and the gba uses 3.3 V. Dont you need some voltage conversion chip (or at least a register) to link xboo with out burning?
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#35645 - dist0rted - Tue Feb 08, 2005 9:59 pm

Nope.

http://www.thepernproject.com/ - look at the first tutorial
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#35646 - ampz - Tue Feb 08, 2005 10:24 pm

xproductions wrote:
i've heard that the pc parallel uses 5 V, and the gba uses 3.3 V. Dont you need some voltage conversion chip (or at least a register) to link xboo with out burning?

Strictly, yes, but only if the 3.3V interface is not 5V tolerant.
There are a number of reasons why it is not necessary in this particular case.
The GBA use 3.3V CMOS levels while the PC parallell port use 5V TTL levels. 5V TTL levels do not actually reach 5V, they usually end up somewhere around 4.2V. The outputs are current limited to some degree.

Then consider the fact that a GBA in GBC mode will have 5V signals on it's link port. Think nintendo would design a product that breaks if two GBAs are hooked up to each other with a link cable with a GBA cart in one and a GBC cart in the other? I think not.
So chances are good the GBA link port is in fact 5V tolerant.

However, there is one thing to watch out for. Don't leave your GBA hooked up to the PC while the GBA is powered off for any longer periods of time. In this state the PC will force some amount of current into the GBA by the signal lines. This is not a very good thing.

#35686 - xproductions - Wed Feb 09, 2005 5:35 pm

i bought a link cable, and when i cut it, it has six wires. i'm new to hardware hacking, can anyone can explain this and can it be used. serial no is BJGBA-0103.

heres a pic
[Images not permitted - Click here to view it]
_________________
If you would not be forgotten
as soon as you are dead and rotten,
either write things worth reading
or do things worth writing.

-- Benjamin Franklin