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Step 4First Test
It is time for two very important tests: the smoke test and the function test.
The first test is quite easy. Simply connect your GameBoy to the device, switch on the GameBoy, and watch the ArduinoBoy's LEDs. If the pin13 LED flashes briefly, followed by the remaining LEDs lighting up in sequential order, sweeping from highest pin to lowest and back two times, ending with two flashes from the LEDs all at once, then chances are good that your ArduinoBoy is in working order. Also be sure to test the mode select button. When you press it, the currently-lit LED should turn off and the next in the sequence will turn on. If, instead, the lights refuse to light up, parts feel abnormally warm to the touch, you see or smell smoke, and/or any part of the circuit explodes or bursts into flames, then refer back to the schematic, double-check all your connections and wiring, replace the damaged components, and perform the smoke test again.
The second test is a little more nerve racking, mainly because if anything goes wrong here, it won't just be the Arduino that will be turned to toast. Load up mGB into your GameBoy, plug the ArduinoBoy into your GameBoy, and connect the MIDI out of your MIDI-compatible device to the MIDI in of the breadboarded ArduinoBoy. Turn on the GameBoy, then the MIDI device, keeping your fire extinguisher close at hand lest anything happen. Try playing a few notes on your MIDI device on channel 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5. If your GameBoy makes a noise reminiscent of an instrument or a sound effect, then proceed to jump out of your chair, staring up toward the heavens, arms outstretched, bellowing "IT'S ALIVE" while laughing manically.
A note on both testing and using your ArduinoBoy: there are web sites out there that offer free MIDI files of popular songs, and you will be temped, sorely tempted, to use them for both testing and in your composition sessions. Resist that temptation. First off, some of the MIDI tracks offered by these sites are not well made. I once found a MIDI copy of the Gorillaz's "19-2000", and one of the instruments did not cut out or fade out, so eventually, this one instrument would overwhelm the rest of the instruments until you stopped the player and started it again. Plus, using these pre-made songs encourages you to continue using pre-made songs. You won't make anything original. You are better off learning how to compose your own music right away.
The first test is quite easy. Simply connect your GameBoy to the device, switch on the GameBoy, and watch the ArduinoBoy's LEDs. If the pin13 LED flashes briefly, followed by the remaining LEDs lighting up in sequential order, sweeping from highest pin to lowest and back two times, ending with two flashes from the LEDs all at once, then chances are good that your ArduinoBoy is in working order. Also be sure to test the mode select button. When you press it, the currently-lit LED should turn off and the next in the sequence will turn on. If, instead, the lights refuse to light up, parts feel abnormally warm to the touch, you see or smell smoke, and/or any part of the circuit explodes or bursts into flames, then refer back to the schematic, double-check all your connections and wiring, replace the damaged components, and perform the smoke test again.
The second test is a little more nerve racking, mainly because if anything goes wrong here, it won't just be the Arduino that will be turned to toast. Load up mGB into your GameBoy, plug the ArduinoBoy into your GameBoy, and connect the MIDI out of your MIDI-compatible device to the MIDI in of the breadboarded ArduinoBoy. Turn on the GameBoy, then the MIDI device, keeping your fire extinguisher close at hand lest anything happen. Try playing a few notes on your MIDI device on channel 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5. If your GameBoy makes a noise reminiscent of an instrument or a sound effect, then proceed to jump out of your chair, staring up toward the heavens, arms outstretched, bellowing "IT'S ALIVE" while laughing manically.
A note on both testing and using your ArduinoBoy: there are web sites out there that offer free MIDI files of popular songs, and you will be temped, sorely tempted, to use them for both testing and in your composition sessions. Resist that temptation. First off, some of the MIDI tracks offered by these sites are not well made. I once found a MIDI copy of the Gorillaz's "19-2000", and one of the instruments did not cut out or fade out, so eventually, this one instrument would overwhelm the rest of the instruments until you stopped the player and started it again. Plus, using these pre-made songs encourages you to continue using pre-made songs. You won't make anything original. You are better off learning how to compose your own music right away.
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