I decided to try to build one of these:
https://github.com/charcole/LCDZapper
The license is non-commercial so these will not be for sale, check out lightgunverter.com to buy one from the creator.
8/30/18
Edit: I exported the gerbers from KiCAD for upload to JLCPCB:
Main Board, Front Panel, Rear Panel
Ordered boards, cheap as always.
Case is an adafruit extruded aluminum case, part # 2230. $6 from adafruit.
I’ll be working on putting together a BOM from the silkscreen/kicad file.
9/1/18
Creator says there is no BOM, so I’ll need to piece it together from the schematics. Will post here when done.
9/2/18 (Past Midnight)
Here is a link to my Digikey cart.
I also have a BOM in Excel format which you should be able to upload to another site if you prefer, say, Mouser. I went with Digikey this time because their search tools are easier to use and their passives (which this build has a ton of) are a bit cheaper.
Total comes to $43, so we’re now up to $75 with all of the parts. I don’t plan on building the cables, I’ll just buy them prebuilt.
All in all, it doesn’t look like building it will save more than about $10-15, which I could increase if I sourced the parts from multiple places (too much work) or ordered parts to make more. I may do this to make one to give a friend if this one works out but seeing as the license is non-commercial I’ll probably only build one. Expect updates in about 2 weeks once all of the parts come in.
9/2/18 (Morning)
Heard back from the dev about the diodes, updated the cart link and excel file accordingly. Schottky diodes were fine, TVS diodes needed a higher standoff voltage.
9/3/18
Updated the LED type on the BOM to 940nm LEDs as Charcole (the dev) says these play nicely with Wii remotes, and with as wide a viewing angle as I could find. I also added the case to the BOM for completeness, even though it is a non-stocked part at Digikey (5 weeks lead time)
9/4/18
Got an email from Jlcpcb saying the front and rear panel had shipped, but not the main board. Turns out they had emailed me with a question before producing the board. The ESP32 BT+WiFi module footprint had some pads with mask on them:
The way the chip works (I think) is either it comes presoldered to an adapter board or you solder it on there?
Anyways, these pads aren’t connected to anything and I assumed they were covered on purpose, less chance of a short or something. I told Jlcpcb to continue with the file as is so it should be done in a day or two and then shipped out. If it turns out it was a mistake I can just scratch the mask off those pads.
9/4/18 (night)
Adafruit case and LEDs arrived (ordered the wrong ones from digikey originally so these are the correct ones from Amazon)
9/19/18
All of the parts from Digikey have arrived, as well as the front and back panels. The main boards should be here tomorrow. I soldered on the two resistors and four LEDs to the front panel.
9/24/18
I assembled the main board, and it turns out I made a few minor errors on the BOM. I ended up with one missing resistor and 4 extras. I have updated the link and excel file above.
Now all that’s left is connecting the front panel to 5V and Ground, connecting the back panel to shield, and programming. Then I will wait until cable designs are released, which hopefully won’t be too long.
9/27/18
Board fully assembled, and the lights come on when USB is plugged in. The magic smoke stayed inside too, so that’s a bonus. Just waiting on a programmer to complete this build for now.
Tinkerplunk 