Gaming Modding a DS or DS lite for GBA multiplayer

[Oti]

I was prying open an old DS lite of mine and in the search for the components to get it to work just like new i thought: is there any way to solder a gba link cable port into the mainbord of the DS and make it work? for what I see in the lite's board, there is not much space for it but it's still worth asking. In a regular DS, however, i wonder if there is in any way to make it work. You know, these sockets. Please, can anybody with some knowledge about DS hardware (and software, in any case), and soldering tell me if it's possible without making a big mess?

 

[FAST6191]

"without making a big mess"

If you mean "is there some unpopulated header I can solder something into" then no. I have not got a proper analysis to hand but back when it first hit, and with the subsequent fad for the "GBA macro", there were some people that went looking and multiplayer GBA games are a very desirable thing to have*, especially if you could just steal a port from a worthless fat GBA (nobody wanted one then and they were going for next to nothing). http://problemkaputt.de/gbatek.htm#gbacommunicationports covers the GBA link protocol and despite having discussion of a few other hardware aspects and unpopulated parts of the GBA and DS hardware there is nothing.

I don't even have a decent attack approach for those wanting to add such a thing with the effort of a lot of micro soldering and some extra components. It might be that you could do it with some wires attached to traces and a fancy programmable chip but I have nothing at present for it.

*most hackers learn not to care about pokemon (pretty much every flash cart patch maker, emulator author, general ROM hacker, forum question answerer... I have met tunes out pokemon related questions as they are so incessant and boring after a while) but even ignoring that there is masses of good multiplayer content on the GBA.

 

[Dragon91Nippon]

"without making a big mess"

If you mean "is there some unpopulated header I can solder something into" then no. I have not got a proper analysis to hand but back when it first hit, and with the subsequent fad for the "GBA macro", there were some people that went looking and multiplayer GBA games are a very desirable thing to have*, especially if you could just steal a port from a worthless fat GBA (nobody wanted one then and they were going for next to nothing). http://problemkaputt.de/gbatek.htm#gbacommunicationports covers the GBA link protocol and despite having discussion of a few other hardware aspects and unpopulated parts of the GBA and DS hardware there is nothing.

*Bump

Now I'm interested in finding out how to do this except unlike that other guy I wouldn't expect there to be an unpopulated socket to solder to (seriously who would think that?)
If you know a place where I could find a schematic or even better a guide that would be very helpful (I'm fine with just the schematic if there isn't a guide)

 

[FAST6191]

*Bump

Now I'm interested in finding out how to do this except unlike that other guy I wouldn't expect there to be an unpopulated socket to solder to (seriously who would think that?)
If you know a place where I could find a schematic or even better a guide that would be very helpful (I'm fine with just the schematic if there isn't a guide)

You would be surprised then about unpopulated sockets, especially back then though it is far from unheard of today either (see the GC port less Wiis). The DS is something of an overclocked GBA as well (most things are additions to the GBA hardware setup rather than a radical retooling) so there is also that.

Anyway I still don't have the analysis I read (might have been on a long dead forum or blog) but going by that (and the people that had that discussion knew their stuff) then even if you care to solder to pins and traces there is nothing short of massive efforts with active components and probably a ROM hack (naturally on a per ROM basis and GBA link protocol is horrifically sensitive to latency, as in you add a little button activator hack to the vblank routine and it usually knocks it out, and dropped packets) to make it work.

 

[tempestry]

DS Lite schematic

 

[kingjinxy2]

DS Lite schematic

I'm sorry to bump this thread, but is there a higher-quality version of this PDF? It's illegible.

 

[Dragon91Nippon]

I'm sorry to bump this thread, but is there a higher-quality version of this PDF? It's illegible.

Yeah, I don't know if a better one exists and if it does I don't think anyone is willing to help this cause because to many people out there this seems stupid (according to the second post link cable functionality is just seen as a pokemon gimmick).

 

[Kubkubs3234]

Theres something like this but for original gb and gbc through an emulator on a flashcart

 

[indianaliam1]

Theres something like this but for original gb and gbc through an emulator on a flashcart

huh? wdym