GameBoul: Gamepad

To make the game pad, I used Fritizing. Fritzing allowed me to make the gamepad virtually using many of its tools, and then I was able to order a PCB (printed circuit board) from them. I based my PCB off the one I saw from the guide I am using.


I will go through the process of making my PCB.

Step 1: Getting the Components

First I got all of the components I needed and laid them out on the breadboard. I used the Cobbler, a battery, and 12 buttons. The battery is connected to the 5V pin on the GPIO.

Step 2: Connecting the Buttons

I then planned which GPIO pins I would use. At first I planned the GPIO pins on neatness. I wanted to be able easily see what button was connected to which GPIO. However, I later learned that some of the GPIOs were supposed to be used by the screen that I am using. I then had to re-plan which GPIO pins I wanted to use. I finally came up with the list below, and connected each button to its GPIO. The connections look messy on the breadboard, but you will see why I made it that way in the next step.



Step 3: Organize PCB layout

Once I finished the breadboard layout with the wire connections, I then switched to the PCB view. This is a preview of how the circuit board will look. I then placed the buttons in a way that resembled the model I was using.

Step 4: Make the Final Connections

After laying the buttons, I made the final connections for the PCB. There were two different ways to do this. One way was to right click a ratsnest (the dotted lines) and make a trace to where it was going. The other way was to have Fritzing do the tracing automatically for me. I chose to do the first method. This way I could edit the trace by bending it's lines as I went along, rather then editing everything afterwards. Also, I wanted to make the traces on the bottom layer, this is where the box header was but also, and the auto-trace feature didn't do that.

Step 5: Order It!

After I finished, I made the board the exact size I needed it to be and ordered it. It cost me a whopping 36.89 EUR! It's shipping from Germany, so I hope it gets here in time!