RetroPi Pocket

A portable console for playing retro games, using a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W. Heavily inspired from projects like the Null 2 and PiGrrl Zero.

Adafruit PiTFT 2.2" HAT Mini - Screen

Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W - Brains

Adafruit Custom PiGrrl Zero Gamepad - Controls

Adafruit PowerBoost 1000 - PSU

Lithium Ion Battery - 3.7V 2000mAh

Adafruit SPDT Power Slide - Power switch

Adafruit 6mm Tactile Buttons - Buttons for buttoning

Adafruit Tiny OTG Adapter - Tiny OTG adapter for adapting OTG

2x20 Male Header - do I need to explain?

802.11n Wireless Internet Dongle - Dongle for wireless interneting (any brand should work, simple usb)

26 & 30 AWG Wires - Wires

Some sort of heat-shrink tubing - for shrinking heat tubing

#4-40 x 3/8" UNC Phillips Flat - Screws

Any USB-C to USB cable - for transferring files (setup FTP if you want wireless transfer, explanation at bottom)

This part's probably the second hardest, next to all the wiring and soldering. Tons of these files exist online from people making hobby projects of very similar proportions, so if you don't know how to CAD, feel free to grab some off the web. No, you can't have my files, I'm very protective of them.

Parts finished modeling, but not printed. Will get them printed by 4/6.

Grab the buttons and the Gamepad PCB. Insert each button on the side of the PCB with the "BUTTON PAD" writing. Make sure the orientation of the legs on the buttons are positioned with the pins. Push them into the holes so they're all the way in, flush with the surface of the PCB. After that, figure out a way to keep them in as you solder them down.

Do not have this part. Will get part and finish by 4/6.

Line it up, and solder the header down. Using something like tape, tack, or the previously mentioned Helping Hands will make this a lot easier. It's incredibly similar to what you did with the screen.

You saw the step, you're wiring them to the screen, not the Raspberry Pi. I used this wiring graph throughout my work, and it took a while, so don't try to rush it. Do things slowly, making sure to cut the wires to your appropriate length to prevent wire sag.

Do not have this part. Will get part and finish by 4/6.

Here's the big step. Slot the Pi's 2x20 Male Header through the slots on the screen. Use tack, or Helping Hands, or anything, to keep the two together as you solder. Go slowly, these are probably the most important parts of your project right here. After you're done soldering the two, add ground connections from the gamepad to the Pi.

Time to really start constructing! Get the bottom half of your enclosure, and put the Powerboost (PSU) onto the four standoffs on the bottom right of the case. Grab the 26 AWG wire and cut two pieces down to a good size to stretch from the smaller hole to the left of the standoffs, because that's where the power switch is gonna go. Solder each wire to the EN pin and the GND pin.

Deadline April 6th, when I print my case.

Grab the slide switch, and snip off the middle and right pins. Then, snip the left-most pin to about half of it's length. Solder the wire connected to GND to the right-most pin, and the EN wire to the middle pin.

(p.s.: The photos show a different PSU, but the instructions are the same. Look at the pinouts on the 1000c's diagrams and follow the text, not the photos.)

Do not have this part. Will get part and finish by 4/6.

Since batteries are one of the most volatile parts of modern electronics, you're gonna want to test this. Most people disregard tests, me included, but I couldn't skip this one.

Plug the 2000mAh battery into the JST connector on the PSU. The little blue light should turn on, and should be toggleable with the switch. If it doesn't work, try again. I'm sure that will fix it.

Do not have this part. Will get part and finish by 4/6.

This step's very similar to the Power Slide step. Grab the 26 AWG wire again and figure out a suitable length to connect the PSU to the pins on the Raspberry Pi. Solder the wires to the positive+ and negative+ pads on the PSU. After that, solder the pins to the pins in the photo. In the photo reference, Red is Positive and Blue is Negative.

Do not have this part. Will get part and finish by 4/6.

The project's nearly done now! Grab the Female USB from the Powerboost's packaging. Remove the legs, since they're used for mounting the port to a PCB, you won't need them because it's being mounted to a case. CAREFULLY bend the USB pins to 90 degrees.

Will do by April 4th, since I don't have this part yet.

Wire up a few wires to match the photo. Connect them, then use heat-shrink to connect them.

This part's easy; all you have to remember is Black/Blue is ground, Red is 5V, Green is Data negative, and White is Data positive.

Will do April 4th.

Grab the 6mm tactile buttons, and cut wire to match your desired length; the buttons will connect to the last 2 available pins, which are pins #20 and #21, as well as the ground pins on the gamepad PCB. Solder wires to the terminals on the buttons, then wire them to the buttons.

Do not have this part. Will get part and finish by 4/6.

All the soldering is done now, pat yourself on the back! Go and plug the OTG adapter into the Pi before you start mounting, and make sure to test the system while deconstructed to make debugging easier.

Place the PSU into the standoffs in the bottom right of the case, and make sure the microUSB port is facing the hole.

Deadline April 6th, when I print my case.

Insert the switch at an angle to make sure it's nice and flush. No standoffs or anything to worry about here. Insert in the hole to the left of the PSU.

Deadline April 6th, when I print my case.

The USB port is snap-fit using the case, so make sure to put it at an angle and apply a good amount of pressure to get it in. It should mount to the left of the slide switch.

Deadline April 6th, when I print my case.

There's no actual dedicated mount to the battery, because trying to screw something into a battery will only cause problems, so tape this down. If you want, you can do this step after mounting everything else to make sure there's no conflicts, but putting it in the top center works fine.

Deadline April 6th, when I print my case.

Grab the top half of the case, and put the D-Pad and other buttons into the corresponding slots.

Deadline April 6th, when I print my case.

Line up the PiTFT's holes with the standoffs on the top half of the case, screwing it in using the screws. Using 3D printed washers here will prevent damage.

Deadline April 6th, when I print my case.

Very similarly to the previous step, line up the gamepad PCBs on either side of the PiTFT, screwing them in not too tight. Screwing them too tight will cause problems, making it hard to click buttons, or worse, break your PCB.

Deadline April 6th, when I print my case.

This part's kind of weird, since there aren't mounting holes for the shoulder buttons, you're going to have to tack, or double-sided tape them down. Put them on the little slats right above the gamepad PCBs.

Deadline April 6th, when I print my case.

Now, CAREFULLY close the case. Make sure not to squish any wires, watching the battery as well to make sure it doesn't get punctured.

Deadline April 6th, when I print my case.

To install the shoulder buttons, make sure to squeeze the case together so it doesn't fall apart, as you carefully slot in the shoulder button covers. It should press-fit and just stay in there. Once you're done with this, you're done!

Deadline April 6th, when I print my case.

Incorporate the drone to take a cinematic video of the project to show it off. Has to be done before April 11th.