Here you can select your WiFi network name and enter a password. It’s not beautiful, but gets the job done.

Select “Exit” when done to return to the EmulationStation UI…

From the main EmulationStation screen, press whatever key was assigned to the “Start” button to access the main menu. You’ll find an option here for “CONFIGURE INPUT.”

Go through the control setup process again using the PiGRRL buttons now instead of the keyboard; assign the D-pad directions, Start and Select buttons, A, B, X and Y. For anything else, hold down a key or button to skip it.

Using 3D Hubs App on Thingiverse

The easiest way to do this is to use the "Print" button on the Thingiverse page. Then, click on the Launch App button to automatically load the STL files into 3D Hubs. From there, you can select colors, materials and enter your shipping address. A total price will let you know how much the parts will cost. A list of local hubs will appear and you can select which ever looks good to you. Hubs have different prices, ratings, reviews, and sample photos so you can narrow down your choice.

Install Buttons on Gamepad PCBs

Let's start by setting up our buttons. 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.

Solder Buttons to Gamepad

Flip the PCB over and secure it to a Panavise Jr. or Helping Third Hands. Then, add solder to all of the pins.

Repeat this proceedure for the second gamepad PCB.

Install Headers to Pi Zero

The Raspberry Pi Zero ships with no headers installed on the GPIO. Insert the 2x20 (or two 1x20) headers into the GPIO like shown the photo. The black plastic bit should be on top of the PCB. 

Tack Headers to PCB

Use tape or mounting tack to hold the header onto the PCB. Then, secure the PCB to a pair of Helping Third Hands or a Panavise Jr. This will make it easier to solder.

Flip the PCB over and solder all of the pins to the GPIO.

Soldered Headers

Inspect each connection and ensure there are no cold solder joints. If you find it difficult to apply solder to the pins, try tinning the tip of the soldering iron.

Cut Trace on Pin #18

In order to properly use Pin #18 (left button) we'll need to cut the trace on the back of the PiTFT. Using a sharp hobby knife, you can score in between the pads to cut the trace. 

I recommend testing the connection with a multimeter using the continuity mode. Press the probes onto the pads. If the multimeter beeps, then the trace isn't completely cut. It's best to ensure the trace is cut now than later in the build.

Measure Gamepad Wires

Grab one of the gamepads and position it close to the PiTFT (In the photo, we're doing the DPAD first). We need to measure a piece of wire to see how long it needs to be for the first button (The left button on the DPAD). I recommend making it slightly longer so we have some slack and wiggle room.

In the photo, I have inserted a long wire into Pin #18 on the back of the PiTFT. By flipping the PiTFT over, I can see which pin is labeled.

Once we've determined a good length for our first connection, cut the piece of wire.

Strip & Tin Wires

Use wire strippers to remove 5mm of insulation from each tip. Then, apply a bit of solder to the tips to tin them. This will prevent the stranded wires from fraying and make it easier to solder to the pads.

Inserting Wires to PiTFT

To make wiring a bit easier, I suggest inserting the wire into the corresponding pin (#18 for the left button in this case) and threading it through until the tip from the other end is touching the hole. Then, bend the tip at a right angle so it can be held in place.

Solder Wire to PiTFT

Now that the wire is in place, you can solder the connection to secure it.

Solder Wire to Gamepad

Now we can apply some solder to the header pins on the Gamepad PCB. I suggest tinning the pads on the header of the PCB before soldering wires to them so it's easier.

Although the photo shows the wire orientated from the top, I recommend positioning the wire from the bottom. This will make securing the PCB to the 3D print case easier.

Wired Gamepad

Repeat this process for the rest of the buttons, up, down and right. Each button requires a different length of wire. I recommend referencing the wiring diagram closely and double checking each wire is in the correct positon. Also, try doing one wire at a time to prevent any confusion.

Test Gamepad Connections

It's a good idea to test your connections! Using a multimeter in continuity mode, you can probe the header pins on the PiTFT and gamepad to see if the connections have continuity - You'll hear a "BEEP" sound if the connection is solid.

Wired Gamepads

With patience and persistance, you'll end up with two gamepads wired up to the PiTFT. 

This part of the build is the most time consuming, so try not to rush it. Once complete, feel free take a break :-)

In the next page, we'll solder the Pi Zero to the PiTFT and sort out the other components.

Install PiTFT to Pi Zero

Now we can insert the PiTFT to the Pi Zero. You'll want to group the wires from the gamepad so they aren't kinked. Slowly guide the pins from the GPIO header on the Pi Zero and seat them through the pins on the PiTFT.

Connecting PiTFT to Pi Zero

Look at the HDMI and USB ports on the Pi and make sure they're flush with the back of the PiTFT. The wires from the gamepad should be behind the ports.

When you seat the GPIO header from the Pi to the PiTFT, try not to fully press them together. If you do, you'll see the Pi Zero PCB will be slightly angled. Try to keep the two PCBs as straight as possible.

Solder PiTFT to Pi Zero

Trim the pins from the header of the Pi Zero so they're slightly taller than the pins of the PiTFT. This will make it easier to apply solder. Once they're all trimmed down, go ahead an solder all of the pins! Take your time and be sure the solder joints are solid.

Soldered PiTFT to Pi Zero

Double check each pin and ensure they're nicely soldered.

Gamepad Ground Connections

Now is a good time to add ground connections for the two gamepad PCBs. We can add these to the back of the Pi Zero. Measure and cut two pieces of wires. Solder them to the available ground pads on the gamepad PCB. Then, connect those to the back of the Pi.

PowerBoost Connections

Grab the bottom half of the enclosure and sit the PowerBoost 1000C on top of the four standoffs near the bottom left. Then, insert the slide switch into the bottom center. These two components should just snap fit into the case.

Next, we need to measure two 26AWG wires for connecting the slide switch. They'll be connected to the EN and GND pins on the PowerBoost 1000C. Once you've sorted out a good length for them, strip and tin the ends of each wire.

Prep Slide Switch

Now that we have our wires sorted out, we can prep the slide switch. First, we don't need three leads, so remove one using a pair of flush snips (it can be any of the leads on the far left or right, but not the middle). Then, trim the remaining two leads to about half their length. Now we can tin them by applying some solder.

Solder Wires to Slide Switch

With the leads tinned, solder both wires to the two leads. Pieces of shrink tubing will insulate the exposed connections. Simply apply heat to "shrink" the tubing.

Connect Switch to PowerBoost 1000C

Solder one wire to the EN pin on the PowerBoost 1000C and the other to GND.

Now you can plug in the JST connector from the 2000mAh battery into the JST port on the PowerBoost 1000C. The switch will allow you to power it on and off. The blue LED will light up indicating it's powered on.

Photos show a PowerBoost 500C, but you should use a 1000C. Pinouts are different, so read the pin labels on the PCB, don’t just follow the photos.

PowerBoost Wires 

Next, we need to sort out a set of two 26AWG wires for connecting the PowerBoost 1000C to the Raspberry Pi Zero. We can do this like we did for the slide switch. 

Once we have a good length, cut, strip and tin the wires. Then, solder them to the postive+ and negative+ pads on the PowerBoost 1000C.

Photos show a PowerBoost 500C, but you should use a 1000C. Pinouts are different, so read the pin labels on the PCB, don’t just follow the photos.

Connect PowerBoost to Raspberry Pi

Now we can solder the positive and negative connections from the PowerBoost 1000C to the GPIO pins on the back of the Raspberry Pi Zero. Reference the photo for the right pins. Red is positive, and blue is negative.

USB Adapters

OK, now it's time to work on the USB adapters. Grab the USB OTG adapter and the USB female port (this came with the PowerBoost 1000C). We need to create a set of 4 wires that will connect these two components together.

This is necessary for connecting peripherals to the Raspberry Pi such as WiFi adapter, USB Audio adapter and more.

Remove Legs from USB Female Jack

Use a pair of flush snips to cut off the legs from the female USB jack. These prevent the port from being able to fit into the case. They're normally used to secure the jack to pins on a PCB, but since we're mounting to it the case, we don't need them.

Prep USB Pins

Next, we need to bend the four connectors on the USB female jack so they're right-angled. As they are now, it wouldn't fit in the case. Use a pair of flush pliers to carefully bend each connector. You'll want to be cautious while doing this. The connectors MUST NOT touch the metal housing - if it does, it'll short out the connection. You can optional remove the metal back piece from the USB jack.

USB Wires

We'll need to make a set of four wires for connecting our USB adapters together. I found 13cm to be a good length. Like we've done previously, strip and tin the ends of each wire. A piece of heat shrink tubing will keep these four wires together.

Connect Wires to USB OTG Adapter

Most microUSB cables follow the same color coded wiring. 

• Black / Blue – GND
• Red – VCC 5V
• Green – USB Data -
• White – USB Data +

Follow the photo to reference which wire to connect to the correct pin. Tinning the four pins on the USB OTG adapter will make it easier to solder the wires to them.

Connect Wires to Female USB Jack

Following a similar method, connect the four wires to the pins on the Female USB jack. Note the colors are reversed. That's because we have the USB jack fliped. Make sure you familarize yourself with the top and bottom of the USB jack. The bottom has the white plastic bit.

Shoulder Buttons

Now it's time to work on the shoulder buttons. The two buttons I used in this project are 2-terminal versions that come with extra long legs. The ones included in the kit have four legs. You only need to use two of them.  

Measure Shoulder Button Wires

Layout the two buttons and plan out the lengths of each wire. The L and R shoulder buttons will need to be connected to the last two remaining pins on PiTFT (#20 and #21) and the remaining ground pins on the Gamepad PCBs. 

Shoulder Button Wires

Once you've measured each wire, we'll prep them by striping and tinning the tips. You'll also want to tin the leads on each button.

Connect Wires to Buttons

Solder the wires to the terminals on each button.

Connect Wires to PiTFT

Connecting the left shoulder button to the PiTFT is a little tricky because it needs to be threaded through the PiTFT and Raspberry Pi. Using the similar method we did when connecting the gamepad PCB wires to the PiTFT, the tinned tip of the wire should be able to poke through pin #20. Once it is, solder it in place. The right shoulder button is much easier to connect since pin #21 is close to the edge. 

Ground Shoulder Buttons

With the two buttons connected to the PiTFT, solder the remaining connection to the ground pins on the gamepad PCB.

Connect USB OTG Adapter

Before mounting the components, go ahead and plug in the micro USB OTG adapter to the Raspberry Pi.

Test Final Circuit

OK, now is a great time to test the circuit. Make sure the PiGRRL Zero IMG has been properly burnt to the SD card and inserted into the Raspberry Pi. "Flip" the switch and the PiTFT should turn on. The Pi will take about a minute to boot up. 

The controls are premapped so you can test the gamepad PCBs. Try a play test with one of the games in the PORTS section. Use the "A" button to select. To exit a game, hold down the two middle buttons (select and start) on the PiTFT.

Mount PowerBoost 1000C

Let's start with the PowerBoost. This is mounted to the bottom half of the enclosure, near the bottom right. The microUSB port should be pointing towards the opening. Simply lay the PCB over the standoffs and press it down so the pegs are seated into the mounting holes.

Photos show a PowerBoost 500C, but you should use a 1000C. The battery connector will be on the opposite edge.

Mount Slide Switch

The slide switch can be installed into the bottom half of the case by inserting it at an angle.

Mount Female USB Jack

Similar to the slide switch, you'll need to insert the female USB jack at an angle. A slight amount of force is required to snap fit the housing of the USB jack into the opening.

Install Battery

There isn't a dedicated "holder" for the battery, but a good location for the battery is near the top center. I suggest using either double-sided tape or mounting tack to keep the battery in place.

Screws and Washers

We'll need two #4-40 3/8 flat Phillips machine screws to install the PiTFT to the case. 3D printed washers will help prevent the screws from poke through the enclosure. Fasten each screw into these washers. 

Install Actuators

Grab the top half of the enclosure and insert the DPad, action buttons and 4-grouped menu buttons.

Install PiTFT to Case

Position the full circuit into the top half of the case. Line up the mounting holes of the PiTFT with the standoffs in the center of the case. 

Fasten Screws

Insert one machine screw into one of the bottom mounting holes of the PiTFT. Hold the PCB down to the case while fastening the screw through the PCB and standoff until the washer is flush with the surface. Repeat for the second machine screw.

Gamepad PCB Mounting Holes

There's two mounting holes on each gamepad PCB needs to be tapped. Using a #4-40 machine screw, you can create the threads by slowly fastening through the hole. I suggest doing this before mounting the PCB to the stand offs on the case - It'll make it easier.

Mount Gamepad PCBs

With the mounting holes tapped, position the PCB over the standoffs on the case and hold it in place. Then, fasten screws through the mounting holes. Do not fully fasten the screws into the standoffs – They only need to be fastened half way. The screw may poke through the case if it's fully fasten through.

Mount Shoulder Buttons

A small piece of mouting tack will keep the shoulder buttons in place. Near the top of the gamepad standoffs is a holder for the shoulder buttons. Insert the shoulder button into the holder with the actuator pointing towards the top.

Close Case

Carefully join the two halves of the case and press them firmly together. Ensure all of the wires are inside the enclosure to prevent kinking any of the wires. 

Install Shoulder Actuators 

The shoulder buttons printed in TPE filament is easy to install. Squeeze the actuator and press it into the openings. Hold the two halves together while installing the actuators to prevent the case from coming apart.