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https://github.com/HerrZatacke/wifi-gbp-emulator

A GameBoy printer emulator which provides the received data over a wifi-connection.
https://github.com/HerrZatacke/wifi-gbp-emulator

gameboy-camera gameboy-printer gameboy-printer-emulator

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A GameBoy printer emulator which provides the received data over a wifi-connection.

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# WiFi GBP Emulator

A GameBoy printer emulator which provides the received data over a WiFi connection  

This code has been created for a "LOLIN(WEMOS) D1 R2 & mini" [ESP8266 based board](https://github.com/esp8266/arduino)  



If you are proficient in soldering, there is now a [PCB/Shield to hold the ESP and the optional display](https://github.com/cristofercruz/gbp-esp-shield-pcb)  

The required (recommended) [gameboy printer web interface can be found on github as well](https://github.com/HerrZatacke/gb-printer-web/)  



## Setup

It's a good idea to follow the [detailed beginners guide](beginner_setup_guide.md)  

For uploading the Filesystem to the ESP you require the [SPIFFS Arduino IDE Plugin](https://github.com/esp8266/arduino-esp8266fs-plugin/releases). Follow the installation instructions [here](https://github.com/earlephilhower/arduino-esp8266fs-plugin/)  

Before compiling the project you need to create a `config.h` inside the project folder  

([`config.h.sample.txt`](/wifi-gbp-emulator/config.h.sample.txt) should be used as a reference)  

If you run the default setup (similar to the WiFi-Printer) that file can be left empty  

If your (hardware-)setup is different you can adjust the parameters there  



## Bootmode

The code is designed to check pin `D0` for high to boot in printer mode  

Through this it is possible to use the +5v provided by the GameBoy to switch the mode  

The default will alternate the bootmode automatically between printer and server on each boot, so you can use the reset-button to switch modes  

If you have the possibility to sense the 5V signal, from the GameBoy, you can uncomment `#define SENSE_BOOT_MODE` in your `config.h`  



## Configuration

If the device is not configured the default settings (AP only) will be used



### Default config

If not present the ESP will set up an accesspoint with ssid/password `gameboyprinter`  

It will output it's IP adress over the serial monitor and on an optionally connected display  

(usually the device should be accessible via `http://192.168.4.1`)  

It will also be discoverable via Bonjour/mDNS via `http://gameboyprinter.local`  



### Manual Setup via `conf.json`

Wifi setup can be done via a file `conf.json` in the `/data/` folder  

The basic format are as follows:

```` json

{

  "mdns": "gameboyprinter",

  "ap": {

    "ssid":"gameboyprinter",

    "psk":"gameboyprinter"

  },

  "networks": [

    {

      "ssid":"Your SSID",

      "psk":"Your wifi password"

    }

  ]

}

````



All config options are optional



#### `"mdns"`

Change the name by which the printer will be accessible via Bonjour/mDNS



#### `"ap"`

AccessPoint config  

Enter ssid/psk to open an accesspoint different to the default one.



#### `"networks"`

Array of objects with keys ssid/psk  

The first reachable network in that list will be used to conect to  

⚠ Do not use more than 10 elements. Otherwise you might see an "Out of Memory" error in the serial monitor  



### Manual Setup via web interface

The following will describe the "raw" interface for updating ther configuration. You will only need this if you decide not to use the existing web-interface



#### Reading

calls to `/wificonfig/get` delivers the actual config (passwords are omitted)



#### Writing

calls to `/wificonfig/set` will update the sent properties  

make sure to send the data as a JSON string in the POST-Body



##### Updating existing networks

* Networks are based on the `ssid`-property

* Existing networks do not have to be sent if they should remain unchanged.

* If the update for a network contains `"delete": true`, the networek will be deleted

* If the update for a network contains a `psk` it will be updated otherwise left untouched



## Automatic update of the webserver content

* You can run [`update_w.ps1`](./update_w.ps1) (windows-powershell) or [`update_w.sh`](./update_w.sh) (bash) to download the latest release of the [gb-printer-web](https://github.com/HerrZatacke/gb-printer-web/releases/) and automatically unzip it to the correct folder  

* After doing so upload the content of that folder to the ESP via the [arduino-esp8266fs-plugin](https://github.com/esp8266/arduino-esp8266fs-plugin/releases/) in the Arduino IDE.



## Hardware Setup

Gameboy Original/Color Link Cable Pinout

```

 __________

|  6  4  2 |

 \_5__3__1_/ (at cable)



| Link Cable | ESP8266 |

|------------|---------|

| Pin 1      | D8      |

| Pin 2      | D7      |

| Pin 3      | D6      |

| Pin 5      | D5      |

| Pin 6      | G       |



```



Additionally an [OLED Display](https://github.com/HerrZatacke/wifi-gbp-emulator/#oled-display) can be added via D1 -> Display SCL / D2 -> Display SDA 



## ToDos

Enhance performance while saving (maybe by constantly writing all data to a single file instead of buffering and flushing it) 



## Links / Research

* Best "all in one" pcb for this project is [cristofercruz's gbp-esp-shield-pcb](https://github.com/cristofercruz/gbp-esp-shield-pcb)

* Original GPB-Emulator by [mofosyne: Arduino Gameboy Printer Emulator](https://github.com/mofosyne/arduino-gameboy-printer-emulator)  

* Tutorial on how to work with an ESP8266 by [ttapa: ESP8266 Beginner's Guide](https://tttapa.github.io/ESP8266/Chap01%20-%20ESP8266.html)  

* Potentially faster library for data transfer [applefreak/esp8266-gameboy-printer](https://github.com/applefreak/esp8266-gameboy-printer)

* ESP8266 D1 Mini [Pinout](https://escapequotes.net/esp8266-wemos-d1-mini-pins-and-diagram/)

* SPIFFS/LittleFS [Filesystem Docs](https://arduino-esp8266.readthedocs.io/en/latest/filesystem.html)

* [Link cable breakout board](https://github.com/Palmr/gb-link-cable)

* [Lots of helpful GameBoy and GameBoy Camera resources](https://github.com/gbdev/awesome-gbdev)



## OLED Display

You can add a [tiny oled display like this](https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B07BDFXFRK) or [(probably) this](https://de.aliexpress.com/item/32672229793.html)   

To use it, you need to uncomment `#define USE_OLED` and the following lines   

The display will show the current wifi-config while in server mode, as well as the number of printed images  when in printer mode  

**Please note the image count in printer mode only regularly updates while idle, and not while printing a batch of images**



## Demo Video

~~An earlier version of this code did stream the received image-data to a browser via websockets. This is shown in [this older video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHPHkeio85U).~~    

### ⚠ Take care ⚠

You should not power the ESP from the GameBoy, as this might damage the GameBoy itself. What you see in the video was meant as a proof of concept which is basically not implemented anymore