PiSP Pocket

[TheLuthier]

About 6 months ago, I stumbled onto the Ben Heck Show and binge-watched several episodes before stumbling into this fascinating world of hardware modding. It wasn't long before I deciding to try a project, and here it is: The "PiSP Pocket"! I.e. a raspberry pi crammed into a gameboy pocket. The Pi-inside-a-GBP isn't an original idea but I think the dual analog sticks is unique, at least in terms of execution. I was inspired by this photoshopped image.

The specs:

• Raspberry Pi 3 Model B
• RetroPie 3.6
• 2.2" SPI TFT display
• 32 GB microSD storage
• 3000 mAh battery with Powerboost 1000c (about 3-4 hours of battery life)
• Battery status indicator circuit
• 1 regular USB port, 2 micro USB ports (one for charging)
• Original GBP power switch, D-pad, start, select, A & B buttons with additional L1, L2, R1, R2, X, Y buttons sourced from a TV remote (all interfaced via Teensy 2.0)
• 2 PSP analog sticks
• PWR and ACT LEDs
• 2 mono speakers (no output from headphone jack unfortunately)

The rpi3 plays N64 perfectly, Dreamcast mostly perfect, and PSP surprisingly playable with a decreased frame rate. I'm quite impressed with the performance compared to the rpi2. It's been fun playing these retro systems on the nostalgic GBP form-factor.

Thanks for looking!

 

[Prog]

This is probably one of the top five first posts on this site. Very nice work!

 

[samjc3]

Really clean looking. Always enjoy seeing a portable that I'd genuinely consider copying.

 

[TheLuthier]

@Prog - Sheesh, that's very generous of you to say - Thanks!

@samjc3 - Haha, thanks - copy away

 

[vskid3]

11/10
That thing is sweet. Every time I look at it I find more features.

 

[Cojiro]

Oh wow, that is amazing. I'm making a pi in a regular dmg case so I can fit a 3.5" screen, and everything will be a bit easier to fit inside, but I was underwhelmed with the n64 performance on the pi 3 and had resigned myself to the pi 2 because it uses less power. But now that I'm seeing this, I'm having second thoughts. I must need to tweak the settings. GREAT WORK!!!

 

[TheLuthier]

Thank you @Cojiro! The magic is definitely in the settings. Running mupen64plus standalone - not the lr-mupen64plus version - is a must. Also, I'm using the glide video plugin but all 3 work pretty well as standalone.

 

[Retrohead95]

Thank you @Cojiro! The magic is definitely in the settings. Running mupen64plus standalone - not the lr-mupen64plus version - is a must. Also, I'm using the glide video plugin but all 3 work pretty well as standalone.

Do you have any heat problems? How did you wire both of the PSP analog sticks? Since the power consumption is so high does the Powerboost 1000C supply enough current to play and charge? Sorry for all the questions, I've been wanting to do a PI 3 for a while now but have been persuaded by many to do otherwise. Could you show a schema of how you wired this up?

 

[TheLuthier]

@Retrohead95 - Surprisingly, I haven't experienced any heat problems. I do feel the system get warm after an hour+ but the system has never seized up on me or crashed. Maybe it would if the battery lasted longer than 4-ish hours..

I wired the PSP analog sticks to the Teensy 2.0's analog inputs. It was very straight forward.

Again, surprisingly, the Powerboost 1000c does handle the power supply beautifully. I was worried when the rpi3 was released with higher power consumption, but I've yet to experience a power issue and I've extensively play-tested the thing.

I don't mind the questions at all! I'm glad I didn't read much resistance before trying the rpi3 because it has really impressed me with this application. I busted 2 rpi2's along the way, but the rpi3 was victorious in my experience. No doubt much of that was user error, but it still makes me prefer the rpi3.

I'd love to do a wiring diagram but I've never made one before and I fear I'm a little far removed from it to recall precisely - and I have no desire to crack this thing open again to interpret the mess. But I do plan on building a new-and-improved version in the near future and work-logging the whole process. So the wiring will definitely be covered there. FYI: While my wiring isn't identical, I did exhaustively reference this worklog.

 

[Retrohead95]

@Retrohead95 - Surprisingly, I haven't experienced any heat problems. I do feel the system get warm after an hour+ but the system has never seized up on me or crashed. Maybe it would if the battery lasted longer than 4-ish hours..

I wired the PSP analog sticks to the Teensy 2.0's analog inputs. It was very straight forward.

Again, surprisingly, the Powerboost 1000c does handle the power supply beautifully. I was worried when the rpi3 was released with higher power consumption, but I've yet to experience a power issue and I've extensively play-tested the thing.

I don't mind the questions at all! I'm glad I didn't read much resistance before trying the rpi3 because it has really impressed me with this application. I busted 2 rpi2's along the way, but the rpi3 was victorious in my experience. No doubt much of that was user error, but it still makes me prefer the rpi3.

I'd love to do a wiring diagram but I've never made one before and I fear I'm a little far removed from it to recall precisely - and I have no desire to crack this thing open again to interpret the mess. But I do plan on building a new-and-improved version in the near future and work-logging the whole process. So the wiring will definitely be covered there. FYI: While my wiring isn't identical, I did exhaustively reference this worklog.

Thanks . I also guess that you used the right analog in place of the speaker?

 

[TheLuthier]

@Retrohead95 - Yes, the right analog stick only left room for 2 small rectangular speakers to hug the rounded corner.

 

[Retroyus]

Thank you @Cojiro! The magic is definitely in the settings. Running mupen64plus standalone - not the lr-mupen64plus version - is a must. Also, I'm using the glide video plugin but all 3 work pretty well as standalone.

Hi bro i wanna ask how much does it cost and is there any guides of this building?