The gameboy is an iconic portable gaming device that most adults will probably remember dedicating hours of their childhood playing games on one.
This DIY project isn't about hacking or modding an old gameboy. In this project, we're building a completely new gaming device using 3D printing, the Raspberry Pi A+ and components from Adafruit.
Please note this is not a professional product! It's a DIY kit, and is great fun to build, but it may not have great emulation, video, audio etc.
3D printing allows you to design custom enclosures for your projects. The design and form factor are very much inpsired by the gameboy, but by no means meant to look exactly like it.
Raspberry Pi
Our first PiGRRL project used the Raspberry Pi Model B and and Adafruit 2.8' PiTFT.
In this project, we're using the Raspberry Pi 1 Model A+ and a 2.4" PiTFT HAT. The small size of the A+ and the compact display really allows this project to be one of the smallest builds yet.
- Raspberry Pi 1 Model A+ (does not currently work with Pi 3 A+)
- PiTFT 2.4" 320x240 Touch Display
- Retropie w/ Emulation Station
- Mono Audio Amp + 8 ohm ~1W Speaker
- Tactile Buttons w/ Perma-Proto
- Powerboost 1000C w/ 2000mAh lipo battery
This Guide
This tutorial will walk you through the assembly and wiring. It's a challenging build but it's not the most hardest thing ever. Our intent was to make this project easier than our previous PiGRRL build.
So, if this is your first DIY electronics + 3D Printing project, you might want try a simplier project with less wiring and soldering. That said, you shouldn't feel discouraged to take on the project.
Prerequisite Guides
We recommend walking through these guides to get familiar with the software and components. You don't have to, but it's a good idea to check them out if you're not sure what all these things do.
Parts
The parts below were used in this project. You don't have to use the exact same parts but the enclosure was designed to specially fit these parts - so if you want to use different components, you can but just know it may not fit in the provided enclosure. You can of course tweak the CAD files.
- Raspberry Pi 1 Model A+
- 2.4" PiTFT touch screen
- Powerboost 1000C
- 2.5W Class D Audio Amplifier - PAM8302
- 2000mAh lithium polmyer battery
- Perma-proto half-sized
- GPIO Pi Ribbon Cable - 26 pin
- 6mm tactile buttons (square)
- 6mm tactile switch buttons (slim)
- 12mm tactile buttons
- Mini metal speaker
- Slide switch
Tools
Having the right tools makes this build easier and more fun. Most of these are available in the shop but use whatever tools you have on hand.
- 3D Printer
- Soldering Iron
- Flush cutters
- Wire strippers
- Panavise Jr.
- Helping third hand
- Screwdriver
- Rotary cuttting power tool
Supplies
Wires, screws, magnets, filament - The supplies listed below are both helpful and necessary for completing this project.
- 30AWG silicone cover stranded-core wire
- Heat shrink tubing
- 3D printing filament
- Blue painters tape
- Solder rosin-core
- 12 #4-40 flat phillips machine screws or here
- 2 Neodymium Magnets 1/4 x 1/16 inch Disc N48
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