Jeremy W. Langston

Personal Website

Portable Console Emulator using a Raspberry Pi

Here’s a couple pictures from my last project:  tablet-based teleprompter with 15mm support rods and a quick disconnect camera system.  It turned out very well.  One of these days I’ll post up some more detail.

image image

 

But that project’s over and my shop is missing me.  This time I’m getting back to electronics.  Lately I’ve been playing the old NES games.  Well, when I say playing, I mean with my original NES.  I left a cartridge in the console the last time I played it and all of the pins got stressed, resulting in the blinking display.  This is typical when the pins connecting to the cartridge don’t make a good connection.  Bending them back was an easy fix, and didn’t even require the removal of the security chip.

Anyways, now I’m trying to make a portable system based on a Raspberry Pi.  Having installed the RetroPie distribution, running NES/SNES/Genesis/etc. emulators are a breeze.  I bought a few other components to make sure everything would work, and then started designing.

Portable Console v3 - 1Portable Console v3 - 2

Here’s what I’ve come up with.  I went through several revisions, trying to maximize space and portability.  At the same time, I tried to keep ergonomics in mind.  The size is a bit chunky, but feels good in the hand so far.  The enclosure is made of two pieces of polypropylene.  Originally I wanted it all milled out of solid aluminum.  Not wanting to spend 500 hrs making billions of passes milling, I chickened out for something much easier to machine (set RPMs low and make heavy cuts).

The parts I’m using are, mostly, shown below:  a Raspberry Pi, a 12V-5V switching regulator from eBay, a 4.3″ TFT car monitor from Amazon, a 12V LiPo battery with integrated charging and power switch components from eBay, and the little silicon pads from a Logitech Gravis Gamepad Pro that doesn’t work.  Oh, and a Teensy v3 to make the gamepad portion.

image

 

Since I’m splitting up the buttons from a traditional gamepad with the monitor in the middle, I needed some custom PCBs.  Gamepads work by closing circuits to ground via silicon pads with bits of carbon in it.  I could use some pushbuttons, but wanted to retain the nice action of a gamepad button.  Once I got the dimensions and button positions from Inventor, I made the PCB layout in DipTrace.  Then I used the tried and true laser toner, copper clad PC board, and ferric chloride PCB solution.  It took a few tries, but I like the results.

image  image

The 4.3″ TFT monitor is a great deal for $18.  I just need to make some changes to get it how I wanted.  First was to remove the case and hardwire the power to the battery and to the regulator.  Next I needed to remove the pushbuttons on the back of the monitor.  Eventually I’d like to control them via my Teensy microcontroller because they bring up the menu for setting things like brightness, etc.

image  image

When I first got the regulator I was a bit suspicious since it looked like there was a big glob of solder bridging a couple nodes.  Metering it all out it appears OK.

image  image

 

I then hardwired power and NTSC video directly to the Raspberry Pi.  The main regulator pads were the best place to supply 5V and bypass the USB port.

image  image

Lastly I started fabricating the front of the enclosure.  I’ve got about 8 hrs into it now and haven’t made any mistakes – yay!  Unfortunately I ran out of polypropylene and had to put in a new order.  In the meantime, I am going to make the buttons.  Well, that’s all for now…

 

52 Comments

  1. Great sale for booking Chamran Hotel Shiraz . This 5-star hotel in shiraz is one of the best choice for hotel reservation in Shiraz. Chamran Hotel Shiraz provides free parking and free WiFi.

  2. thanks alot for writing this post its helpful.

    https://musiceto.com/
    https://roozaneh.net/

  3. This is a site with high interaction we love it here also thanks a lot for sharing

  4. This site is a site with good sharing thanks

  5. Browse shiraz hotels reviews and find the guaranteed best price on shiraz hotels for all budgets.

    Find cheap shiraz hotels and discounts when you book on Hotelyar.com

  6. It’s really a nice and helpful piece of information. I am happy that you shared this useful info with us. Please stay us informed like this. Thank you for sharing.
    http://www.ucakkargo34.com

  7. Amazing blog post thanks for shasring it

  8. Thank you for sharing the details of such a great project!

  9. k;k;k
    Spectrum TV App for Windows is the best choice for watching live tv shows. this app made by united states and other countries.
    The spectrum TV app is available for the Android device and iOS devices.
    nowadays this a most popular in worldwide. – https://nex1music.ir/page/3/

  10. Yazılım ve SEO ile ilgili ipuçları, faydalı bilgiler içeren bloguma hepinizi beklerim.

  11. That is a great tip especially to those new to the blogosphere.

    Simple but very precise information… Appreciate your sharing this one.
    A must read post! – https://nex1music.ir/آهنگ-علیرضا-قربانی-عاشقانه-نیست/

  12. Activatehulu.com help you to activate your hulu. you can watch hulu shows online. hulu com activate or http://www.hulu.com/activate are related words for hulu activation.
    https://hulhuluhulu.com/news

  13. betbir bahis sitesi online bahis siteleri arasında en saglam bahis sitesi betbir

  14. I was after a few lines of code where the server would automatically escape/filter POST data before inserting into database.
    It turns out that mysql_add_slashes() does the job but it causes more problems than anything and it is not advisable to use
    this function and it has been discontinued since PHP 6.0 – https://nex1music.ir/آهنگ-مهراد-جم-چتر/

  15. Şişli Çilingir beşiktaş anahtarcı

  16. I was after a few lines of code where the server would automatically escape/filter POST data before inserting into database.
    It turns out that mysql_add_slashes() does the job but it causes more problems than anything and it is not advisable to use
    this function and it has been discontinued since PHP 6.0 – https://nex1music.ir/آهنگ-میثم-ابراهیمی-معلومه-کجایی/

  17. Largest students avoid the building essay get your essay written by Homework writing services with 15% off! Full confidentiality. Blank fraud. Affordable pricing from our expert.

  18. Amazing post. I’m a regular visitor to your site and appreciate you taking the time to keep the superb website. I’ll be a regular visitor for quite a while.

  19. Accept the quick help you require from our skillful economics Don’t accentuate about thinking nominal GDP on your private—our expert economics homework help can help you answer the difficulties you are working with on your time.

  20. Spectrum TV App for Windows is the best choice for watching live tv shows.
    this app made by united states and other countries. The spectrum TV app is available for the Android device and iOS devices.
    nowadays this a most popular in worldwide. – https://nex1music.ir/آهنگ-بهنام-بانی-قرص-قمر-2/

  21. Chamran Hotel Shiraz is a great hotel in Shiraz, especially with all the amenities and modern decor. Booking Chamran Hotel Shiraz with best reservation Prices for all of the year.

  22. Buy research chemicals or synthetic cannabinoids online with one of the largest stock providers in the market. Our catalog is extensive, we have buy Flake Cocaine online, buy Biphetamine online, Crystal Methamphetamine online , buy Ketamine online, buy Peruvian Cocaine online, buy Crack Cocaine online, buy LSD blotters online, buy LSD capsule online, buy MDMA pills online, buy Hydrocodone online, buy Xanax bars online, buy Valium online, buy Morphine pills online, buy Percocet online, buy oxycontin online, and so much more.

    The percentage of the assay of our synthetic cannabinoids for sale and research chemicals that we sell is at a minimum of 98% and more. We ensure the delivery of products with the highest possible quality, a key factor in buying research chemicals. We have partnerships with producers from India, Europe, and China, increasing the chances of meeting up with the demands of our customers. 

    Buy heroin online | Buy Cocaine online | Buy crack Cocaine online | buy pure Cocaine online | Heroin on sale | cheap Heroin | order Heroin online | Heroin for sale in uk | where to buy Heroin | white Heroin | brown Heroin | powder Cocaine | crack Cocaine | Cocaine for sale uk | legit online pharmacy | Buy LSD online | LSD for sale | Where to buy LSD online | LSD for sale online pharmacy | order Heroin online | Buy LSD online | LSD for sale | buy LSD online | LSD for sale online pharmacy | Buy Quaaludes Online | Lemmon 714 Online | Buy Methaqualone Online | Buy Amphetamine online | Amphetamine best sale Amphetamine powder for sale | MDMA for sale uk | buy MDMA pills | order MDMA online without prescription | Pure MDMA Powder | morphine online | Morphine for sale.

    https://deepwebsales.com/product/peruvian-cocaine-for-sale/https://deepwebsales.com/product/xanax-for-sale-online/https://deepwebsales.com/product/ketamine-for-sale-online/https://deepwebsales.com/product/valium-for-sale-online/https://deepwebsales.com/product/molly-for-sale-online/https://deepwebsales.com/product/lsd-for-sale-online/https://deepwebsales.com/product/crystal-meth-for-sale-online/https://deepwebsales.com/product/biphetamine-for-sale/https://deepwebsales.com/product/alpha-php-for-sale-online/https://deepwebsales.com/product/percocet-for-sale-online/https://deepwebsales.com/product/mdma-pills-for-sale/https://deepwebsales.com/product/buy-crystal-mdma/https://deepwebsales.com/product/buy-ritalin-online/https://deepwebsales.com/product/flake-cocaine-for-sale/https://deepwebsales.com/product/cocaine-for-sale-online/https://deepwebsales.com/product/crack-cocaine-for-sale-online/https://deepwebsales.com/product/hydrocodone-for-sale-online/https://deepwebsales.com/product/hydrocodone-for-sale-online/https://deepwebsales.com/product/heroin-for-sale-online/https://deepwebsales.com/product/morphine-for-sale-online/https://deepwebsales.com/product/buy-lsd-online/https://deepwebsales.com/product/oxycontin-for-sale-online/

    Delivery time 2–3 days. ..we sale both in wholesale and retail prices.Please visit us below for info: visit our

    CONTACT US

    -whatsapp: +14086570350

    -Telegram: +14086570350

    -wickr: delphy77

    -website: deepwebsales.com

  23. Wiktionary has grown beyond a standard dictionary and now includes a thesaurus, a rhyme guide, phrase books, language statistics and
    extensive appendices. We aim to include not only the definition of a word, but also enough information to really understand it.
    Thus etymologies, pronunciations, sample quotations, synonyms, antonyms and
    translations are included. – https://nex1music.ir/آهنگ-امین-بانی-زیبای-تماشایی/

  24. AllHomeworkHelp is an online assignment help company that provides homework assignments help solutions to students in attaining more in their grades. https://www.allhomeworkhelp.co.uk/human-resource-homework-help.html

  25. Good way of explaining, and good piece of writing to take facts on the topic
    https://www.allhomeworkhelp.co.uk/human-resource-homework-help.html

  26. I am really happy to found such a helpful and fascinating post that is written in well manner. Thanks for sharing such an informative post

  27. I truly appreciate people like you! Take care!!
    tiktok izlenme satın al

  28. You have a good site. It is really easy, and nice to navigate.I think the website is great, looks wonderful and very easy to follow. 엔트리 파워 볼

  29. Are you having issues when it comes to getting programming assignments drafted? IdealAssignmentHelp is here to cover all your programming assignments without any kind of glitches at all. Yes, you can get connected to their Nursing Assignment Help team and make it easy for yourself to submit the respective paper within the given deadline and that too matching with the university stated instructions.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

© 2024 Jeremy W. Langston

Theme by Anders NorenUp ↑