Shinobi is a reimagined, miniaturized GBS8200 for portablizers. Like the original GBS8200, it can convert 240p and 480i RGBs to 480p/720p/960p/1080p VGA, making it perfect for connecting retro video game consoles to modern LCDs.
[x] 0.1" PTHs for power and IO (can be mounted with pin headers on a carrier PCB)
[x] TV5725 scaler IC and 64Mbit SDRAM from GBS8200
[x] Integrated ESP8266 with PCB antenna
[x] Integrated CH340C USB-Serial for programming
[x] Integrated Si5351A clock generator
[x] Draws 650mA @ 3.3V (2.15W) when scaling 240p to 480p
[x] Power from 3.3V directly, or supply 4-15V to onboard high-current 3.3V regulator
Gallery
Shinobi PCB
1Chip SNES RGBs upscaled to 640x480 VGA, displayed on ZJ050NA-08C LCD
Ordering
Recommended fabrication specs:
1mm-thick 2-layer PCB
ENIG finish
Solderpaste stencil for top side highly recommended
Note: There are multiple revisions of the ESP-06 (ESP8266 module). Only the most recent revision is compatible with Shinobi. Make sure your ESP-06 has three "Wi-Fi lines" inside the A.I. Thinker logo circle, and that three of the four corner pads are not connected to GND.
You will still need to source a TV5725, ESP-06, and CH340C elsewhere. Cheap GBS8200s are available from AliExpress, eBay, DHGate, and Amazon if you'd like to harvest the TV5725 and SDRAM from one. I get my TV5725s and CH340Cs from AliExpress. ESP-06s can be obtained from Eckstein-Shop.
Update (11/3/22): ESP-06s have been relisted on the AliExpress Keli-te Store.
Update (1/25/23): TPS621351RGXR is available for purchase on TI's website.
Update (2/4/24): TV5725 and ESP-06 links have been updated.
As mentioned previously, you can harvest the TV5725 and SDRAM from a GBS-8200 if you'd like. Please note that previous advice to harvest the 0603 ferrite beads from the GBS-8200 is outdated. Use 220Ω @ 100MHz 0402 ferrite beads as called out in the BOM.
Note: There is an 0805 zero-ohm resistor (R19) in series with the output of the onboard 3.3V regulator. If you intend to power Shinobi from an external 3.3V supply, you can omit this resistor to avoid backfeeding the onboard 3.3V regulator. If you choose to remove the zero-ohm and/or U7 (TPS621351), the board will need to be powered with an external 3.3V supply during programming.