ArdunioBoy Advance Rack

Overview
Prerequisites
Bill of Materials
Supplying Power
Board Layout
Rackmount Panel
TODO
Revision History

Overview

The ArduinoBoy Advance Rack is an all-in-one rackmount-friendly ArduinoBoy. It builds and improves on some of the ideas of our ShieldBoy to make it more suited for a live environment. Specifically, it is meant to be mounted directly to a 1U panel and uses a DB9 connector for the GameLink connector (though this may be replaced a more up-to-date connection method). It does not require an Arduino Uno baseboard though does still use the same microcontroller and Arduino firmware.

Prerequisites

This is considered a more advanced project and some details have been glossed over, many of which can be found on our ShieldBoy page. It is recommended anyone wishing to build this on their own read that first (and optionally consider building the ShieldBoy first as well).

Bill of Materials

This is still a work in progress so double-check the board/schematics and how you plan on mounting the ABA and make sure you have what you need.

Rack I/O Board

R1-R6	220 Ohm 1/4W Resistor (will vary based on type of LEDs used)
R7	1k Ohm 1/4W Resistor
LED1-LED6	3mm LED
S1	6x6x13mm Tactile Switch
IO, GAMELINK	2×5 DIL Female IDC Connector
DB9	PCB-Mount Male DB9

ABA Baseboard

C1-C2	100nF Ceramic Capacitor
C3-C4	22nF Ceramic Capacitor
C5	22uF Electrolytic Capacitor
R1	10k Ohm Metal Film Resistor (1%)
R2-R3	220 Ohm Metal Film Resistor (1%)
R4	270 Ohm Metal Film Resistor (1%)
R5	220 Ohm Metal Film Resistor (1%), Depending on LED Used – Optional
PLED	3mm LED – Optional
Q1	16MHz 18pF Crystal
OK1	8-pin Socket (Optional)
OK1	High Speed Photodarlington Optocoupler
IC1	28-pin Narrow Socket (Optional)
IC1	ATMEGA328P-PU Microcontroller (Same as on Arduino Uno)
D1	1N4148 Diode
IOBOARD, GAMELINK	2×5 DIL Male IDC Connector
GBPWR	2-pin SIL Header (and Jumper if using +5V from GB)
PWR, MIDI-IN	2-pin SIL Header / MOLEX Locking
MIDI OUT	3-pin SIL Header / MOLEX Locking

Mounting Hardware

6x M3 Male-Female Threaded Hex Standoff (6mm Length)
4x M3 Female Threaded Hex Standoff (12mm Length)
12x M3 Pan-Head Screw (8mm Length)
6x M3 Washer

Game Link Cable

DB9 Hood with Screws
DB9 Female Solder Terminal
Game Link Cable

Supplying Power

To keep the size to a minimum, the ABA requires direct +5VDC power supplied wither by the PWR header, or, optionally power may be supplied from the GameBoy. To use the GameBoy’s power output, be sure you have an appropriately wired GameLink cable and have performed the necessary modifications to the GameBoy itself. Having done that, simply use a jumper on the GB PWR header (and leave the PWR header disconnected). Note that powering the ABA from the GameBoy has never been tested by us as we prefer to use +5VDC directly. If someone has tried this with success, let us know!

Board Layout

The ABA is actually two boards sandwiched together with the top being used for I/O elements, including the connection to the GameBoy. Though the halves can be held together by their pin headers, we highly recommend using standoff hardware (which is needed to mount the ABA to a panel anyway).

EagleCAD files can be found here. We recommend using OshPark to have the boards fabbed.

Rackmount Panel

Though not absolutely required, the ABA is intended for being mounted behind a 1U panel in a rackmount configuration. Because it is so small, many ABA’s can fit in the same 1U space. Our panel design is not yet finished since we will be using the 1U panel for multiple items (notably extra BPM and step displays from a rackmount MBSEQ). Our current design in Front Panel Express format can be found here and modified to your liking. Though the measurements we have made in the panel seem to fit, we have only implemented a cardboard version of the panel thus far. As a result, it can’t hurt to double-check the measurements before ordering a panel.

Top Board

Bottom Board

TODO

Replace the DB9 connections with something easier to use and more modern
Add an audio input, optionally with noise rejection, and balanced output
Consider an all-in-one non-Rackmount ABA which can be installed in a small hobbyist case