John Tokash

Drawing power from the EXT port on the back of the micro, I installed a green LED under the faceplate. I also scratched a design into the black faceplate - the paint on the top comes off easily with a pocket knife. The light doesn’t diffuse enough to illuminate the whole design, so I purchased a bunch of tiny surface mount LEDs. They should arrive early next week.

Replacement black faceplates won’t be available until November, so I’m going to try to clean the paint off of another faceplate and paint it black. I should be able to try that on Monday.

Keith Kerlan(thanks Keith!) has been helping a lot with bouncing around ideas and such.

I emailed Nintendo about the mysterious jack and they haven’t been any help, yet. One rep thinks it’s a rivet.

I’ve been busy with family stuff for the past few days, but I’ve made some progress:

It turns out that my triwing screwdriver IS small enough to work on the micro’s screws. I just had to push hard enough while turning. I disassembled it and tested the leads heading into the connector. There is definitely 1.7 volts headed into the connector, but I still haven’t been able to get a reading from the jack itself. I now have some homemade test leads that are probably thin enough and I’ll try again tonight.

Update (9/28/05): Just tested with my new thin leads. There is no power coming from the strange jack.

Nintendo Japan has a flash app that shows 160 faceplates for the micro. Judging from the lack of a finished feeling to most of them, I’m assuming these are concept art or contest entries.

This one is a neat idea - imagine getting a custom-drawn, signed faceplate from your favorite artist!

More here.

Stephen Stair say’s it’s smooth sailing from here on out on his WIFI project. We’re all rooting for you, man!

OK, I picked up a Japanese Gameboy Micro tonight at Network Video in Burlingame, CA.

There is a jack accessible to the faceplate (under the faceplate, above the a button) that says V-5(5 volts, I assume) on the circuit board.

Questions: When will Nintendo or Third Parties release Smart Faceplates? Where can I buy a plug for the jack shown on this image(upper right hand corner)? [image is from this set of photos]

Update: Here’s a pic of the micro without a faceplate. The jack is above the a button -

Update: I haven’t been able to get a reading on the jack. The connection is really small, so I’m having trouble getting a clear shot at it with my multimeter. Meanwhile, my triwing(Nintendo uses ‘tamper-proof’ screws to keep us out) screwdriver isn’t working on the super small screws on the micro, so I can’t test the connections on the board, yet.

Update(9/26/05): I ordered a new triwing screwdriver yesterday. Hopefully it will arrive soon and will be small enough to open the case.

Update(9/26/05): Discuss at gbadev’s forums.

Update(9/26/05): Discussion at WarpPipe

Update(9/28/05): It turns out that my triwing screwdriver IS small enough to work on the micro’s screws. I just had to push hard enough while turning. I disassembled it and tested the leads heading into the connector. There is definitely 1.7 volts headed into the connector, but I still haven’t been able to get a reading from the jack itself. I now have some homemade test leads that are probably thin enough and I’ll try again tonight.

Update (9/28/05): Just tested with my new thin leads. There is no power coming from the strange jack.

WOW.

And much more info from IGN.

Stephen Stair(sgstair) is documenting his progress now:

Nintendo might release information about the Nintendo Revolution controller(which is supposed to have features that make it … er … revolutionary) on Thursday night(Friday morning in Japan). News comes from IGN and Spong.

I’m hoping for Gyro sensors, a camera and a touchpad.