Connecting a TI-84+CE to a GBA [gba] [nintendo] [ds]

u/Yuki January 25, 2016, 08:01:30 PM

You probably could use 6-pin USB cables, but you'd violate the USB protocol and you wouldn't be able to plug it to anything USB.

u/Dream of Omnimaga January 26, 2016, 07:59:19 AM

Quote from: Streetwalrus on January 25, 2016, 07:58:02 PM
Forget about USB, the GameBoy came out long before that was a thing.

Erm, actually the Game Boy Color came out after USB. Unless Wikipedia is wrong, USB became a thing in the mid 90's and the Game Boy Color came out in 1998.

Anyway I don't think the port is USB either. It has to be the link port for multiplayer/file transfer (Pokémon, for instance) or infrared port.

u/caleb1997 January 27, 2016, 06:18:10 PM

UPDATE: I now have a Gameboy ΛDVΛПᄃΣ .

Quote from: KermMartianIt appears that the Gameboy Advance has a similar serial link port that is also not a USB port, but you should definitely explore interfacing it with a calculator!

This I will definitely look into.

Something even more interesting to do would be to link the two wirelessly, as the GBA is wireless-capable. (It would need at wireless adapter though, and I'd have to mod one of the adapters to fit a micro USB port.... but boy, that would be interesting.)

But I'm not ΛDVΛПᄃΣD enough to do that (yet), so it'll have to wait.

In the meanwhile, one question: Since the GBA is different from the GBC, I'm guessing that I would have to write the communication protocol (to communicate between the C(S)E and the GBA) differently?

u/Dream of Omnimaga January 27, 2016, 08:03:06 PM

I'm willing to bet this new topic title will mess up on IRC

As for the GBA, I don't know much about it, but perhaps @Ivoah could help you, since he got into GBA homebrew at one point (unless he quit?)

u/caleb1997 January 27, 2016, 08:04:10 PM

Quote from: DJ Omnimaga on January 27, 2016, 08:03:06 PM
I'm willing to bet this new topic title will mess up on IRC

As for the GBA, I don't know much about it, but perhaps @Ivoah could help you, since he got into GBA homebrew at one point (unless he quit?)

I'm pretty sure that he could, if he was willing.

u/novenary January 27, 2016, 08:33:27 PM

He's still into it, I stalk #gbadev where he seems pretty active.

He also used the link port for GPIO so he does know how it works. Programming the GBA is going to be pretty different from the GBC though.

u/caleb1997 January 27, 2016, 08:35:16 PM

Quote from: Streetwalrus on January 27, 2016, 08:33:27 PM
Programming the GBA is going to be pretty different from the GBC though.

Indeed.

Idea: Should I program for the GBC, and use that program with the GBA, or would the programming protocols not be compatible?

u/novenary January 27, 2016, 08:36:17 PM

If you make a GBC program it will work on the GBA since it has backwards compatibility.

u/caleb1997 January 27, 2016, 08:37:37 PM

Quote from: Streetwalrus on January 27, 2016, 08:36:17 PM
If you make a GBC program it will work on the GBA since it has backwards compatibility.

So I should program for the original Gameboy, since that would ensure compatibility with the GB, GBC, and the GBA.

u/Dream of Omnimaga January 27, 2016, 10:10:58 PM

The original Gameboy and Super Gameboy will only run Gameboy games
The GBC will only run Gameboy and GBC games
The GBA and Game Boy Player will only run Gameboy, GBC and GBA games
The Gameboy Micro will only run GBA games.
The Nintendo DS and DS Lite will only run GBA and DS games (it has two cartridge slots)
The Nintendo DSi will only run DS games
The Nintendo 3DS will only run DS and 3DS games
The New 3DS will only run DS, 3DS and Xenoblade Chronicles.

But yeah, for full compatibility, making an original GB game would be the best. But then you don't have colors.

Last Edit: January 28, 2016, 03:13:20 AM by DJ Omnimaga

u/ben_g January 27, 2016, 11:02:41 PM

Quote from: DJ Omnimaga on January 27, 2016, 10:10:58 PM
...
The Nintendo DS Lite and DSi will only run DS games
...

The DS Lite still has the GBA slot and it still runs GBA games. Iirc it basically has an internal GBA connected to that slot, so it will only be able to run GBA games inserted in the GBA cartridge slot though.

u/SiphonicSugar January 27, 2016, 11:37:40 PM

Quote from: kegwaan on January 19, 2016, 09:25:22 PM
Absolutely. You could also try and condense a CSE into the housing of a GBC, but then you have the problem of all of the buttons not being able to fit onto the thing.

Why not put the Game Boy into the CSE?

u/Kid_Quasar_Gaming . January 28, 2016, 02:40:14 AM

What about a game boy micro?

u/Dream of Omnimaga January 28, 2016, 03:11:11 AM

Quote from: ben_g on January 27, 2016, 11:02:41 PM
Quote from: DJ Omnimaga on January 27, 2016, 10:10:58 PM
...
The Nintendo DS Lite and DSi will only run DS games
...
The DS Lite still has the GBA slot and it still runs GBA games. Iirc it basically has an internal GBA connected to that slot, so it will only be able to run GBA games inserted in the GBA cartridge slot though.

Wait, I thought that the DS Lite was the one that dropped the GBA slot, not the DSi?

Quote from: Kid_Quasar_Gaming . on January 28, 2016, 02:40:14 AM
What about a game boy micro?

This one only runs GBA games.

Last Edit: January 28, 2016, 03:12:46 AM by DJ Omnimaga

u/JosJuice January 30, 2016, 03:43:15 PM

Quote from: DJ Omnimaga on January 28, 2016, 03:11:11 AM
Quote from: ben_g on January 27, 2016, 11:02:41 PM
Quote from: DJ Omnimaga on January 27, 2016, 10:10:58 PM
...
The Nintendo DS Lite and DSi will only run DS games
...
The DS Lite still has the GBA slot and it still runs GBA games. Iirc it basically has an internal GBA connected to that slot, so it will only be able to run GBA games inserted in the GBA cartridge slot though.
Wait, I thought that the DS Lite was the one that dropped the GBA slot, not the DSi?

No, the DS Lite has a GBA slot just like the DS. The only difference is that the GBA slot in the DS Lite is smaller than a regular GBA slot, so any GBA games you put in it are going to stick out a bit from the console.