Nobble made a Portable Raspberry Pi? Yes.

[nobble]

Hai thar!

I haven't been around the forums lately, but I really wanted to update you all on my latest creation.

The whole thing started last winter when I really got on a kick about the RPi. I decided to undergo making a portable programming device with the B+ model board. I wanted something that used as much of the Pi's outputs and functions but with minimal interface. With the help of my lady, we built a slate-styled mini computer. The whole thing took until just recently to be completely finished. But it was worth it.

The case is made from a Pactec enclosure I got years back when I was making my N64 portable. I hand cut most of the ports so I wouldn't wreck the plastic. After, I applied hi-build polyurethane primer and then the poly topcoat. A 5" adafruit resistive touch tft hdmi backpack was used for the screen, and a 8000mah portable battery pack to run it all. It has backlight control and a headphone jack on the sides. There is a switch on top to run power to the Pi, and a button to turn on the battery pack. Also added a micro usb charge port in the bottom corner to recharge the pack. It has the Picam fixed to the back casing and full access to the GPIO pins, all unused.

I can't wait to use this to it's fullest! It was a fun build and I really took my sweet time making this one. I will post more pictures later if you all want. Feel free to ask me any questions if I missed some details. I hope this inspires some people to build their own PRPi's.

 

[grossaffe]

Well there's a name from the past! Three years you don't call you don't write?

 

[BoFoSho]

Well there's a name from the past! Three years you don't call you don't write?

Nobble,

You missed your curfew...

 

[nobble]

WHAT!!! I thought it was only a few months... time sure flies.

Although I do miss the good ol' days back on chat, I suppose I needed to adult-the-flux-up!

 

[BoFoSho]

By the way, it looks extremely clean! I am loving the red... seems to me that is the only color paint you own.

What is the battery life like?

 

[nobble]

Thanks Bo! I really tried to spend a lot of time on the case and built up coats of primer and the topcoat with much sanding in between. I actually work at a paint shop now so I have access to high end finishes and the ability to spray it all in a ventilated booth. Makes for a very good application. I just have a thing for red electronics, because most gadgets bought in store are just white or black. BORING...

Plus Red was my favorite color as a kid, so nostalgia feels.

The battery actually lasts a very long time, most Pi batts recommended are around 4000mah or so. I can use the thing for weeks without charging it, depending on how cpu intensive it is and whether or not I use wifi or full back light brightness. Charging takes like 6 or more hours though.

I'll try to get more pictures under the hood when I can. My camera is an old Evo phone atm.

 

[nobble]

Post-worthy update:

I decided to make a blog page for this little PiP. http://rpism.blogspot.com/

Also I recently bought a mini blue tooth keyboard and an ipega tablet style BT controller. Still need to actually connect them, I'm working out the whole command line-based blue tooth interface. But hopefully all goes well, I wanna get my emulation on!

 

[nobble]

Hello? Hello? What's this? A Pi Portable Gaming System???

I finally got my Bluetooth and Ipega gamepad working with Chocolate Doom. I had to cut some of the plastic on the part of the controller that holds the "tablet" in place so the Pi case would fit snug. It holds alright, probably going to add something to secure the PiP better.

Here's a shot of the guts.

I also made a hackaday project page as well.

https://hackaday.io/project/6478-pip-raspberry-pi-portable-slate-computer


I'm still trying to get Emulation Station up and running, just need a reliable ethernet connection. I will find one. Hopefully.