DsPiZero (On Hold for another project)

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Yo! I have been absent from the forums for almost 4 months, and I am getting back in business baby!.. kinda. I have said this already, but I have zero experience. (See what I did there? Zero? Pi Zero? Ha! Ill go jump off a bridge now) So, I decided to start simple, no Wii portable (Ill get into that when I finish this), just a Pi project.
Ill use the Zero because it is the smallest out of all the pi's, and because thats enough for me. Also, cheap as heck. (Lets go! Broke and wasting money on this!). Besides, I'll probably just play Metroid Zero mission and Sonic games. As for the case, I am thinking of a DSi XL Shell. However, ill have to buy one from Ebay. I would like to use the original buttons. I dont have much more planned, but ill most likely get one of those keyboards fruity_grebbles is selling, or two, yolo. I want to give you guys the not so hard task of choosing good components for someone who cant even afford a soldering tool. I can change the case If needed, but im hoping not (If I do, ill use a USB SNES controller). I need a screen, a battery, you know, basic stuff (Im not good at choosing components).
I will most likely start buying parts in 2-3 weeks, so I need a full plan by then. If you have any suggestions, let me know! (My budget is around 100$ and I have to get the Pi kit of 25 us, so that leaves roughly 75$, i need cheap components, but ill spend more for better quality)
 

Madmorda

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Check out this project, it sounds like what you're describing so you can see what all goes into it :)
https://bitbuilt.net/forums/index.php?threads/a-side-project.808/

If you don't have access to the tools you'll need (like a soldering iron) then you may have to up your budget to work that in. If you're looking including keyboard in the same way as Luke, a dremel would be the best tool, although you could probably work around it with a drill and a saw. But you'll definitely need a soldering iron, solder, a couple sizes of wire, and other basic tools like a multimeter (for the dsi buttons), sandpaper, wire strippers, a couple of screwdrivers for taking apart the dsi.

There's really no way we can choose specific parts for you since there isn't one way to do it. You will have to decide what you want more specifically, like screen size and picture quality, battery life / capacity, what controls it'll have, and then make sure that the components you pick are able to fit in your case since it's limited in size. It's just too general of a question :P
 
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Check out this project, it sounds like what you're describing so you can see what all goes into it :)
https://bitbuilt.net/forums/index.php?threads/a-side-project.808/

But you'll definitely need a soldering iron, solder, a couple sizes of wire, and other basic tools like a multimeter (for the dsi buttons), sandpaper, wire strippers, a couple of screwdrivers for taking apart the dsi.

make sure that the components you pick are able to fit in your case since it's limited in size.
Yeah, I saw luke's project, I like the way it looks, and apparently everything fits inside a regular 3DS, so ill probably have some space to work with. I may include the keyboard that way, but ill also drill a hole for an external USB port or two if needed.
Ok, getting the small things is no problem, but I definitely need help with the soldering iron. What should I look for and what should I avoid? (Specially need help with all those tip sizes, how big should it be)
That is my main concern, I dont want to have to re-buy components, and im pretty paranoid about the thickness of the PI, considering I have to get a USB hub and put it inside. Do I? Or is there some way to bypass the USB ports and connect the keyboard directly?
Well, sorry for bombing you with questions, im just a total noob. Thanks regardless :)
 

Acronell

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Bare minimum you'll need the micro USB to standard USB adapter, this allows you to connect a keyboard, or USB hub.

Some hubs can be used without external power, however the power consumed is usually only good enough to use a keyboard, and a USB flash drive.

The USB lash drive is necessary in order to transfer ROMs to Retropie, but it does it in a very simple way.
1)with the pizero on, with retropie, connect your USB flash drive.
2)the pi will automatically populate the flash drive with the folders you'll need
3) now connect the flash drive to your pc, and you can then place ROMs into the corresponding folders
4) reconnect your drive to the pizero, and it will automatically copy/move all the files over, so long as there is enough space.

The keyboard is needed for setting up parameters and customization of RetroPi.


If you use the GPIO pins, you can connect your controller through them, so you can still have a single USB port available for use.

The PiZero is about the same thickness as 3 nickels stacked (literally just checked this with my own PiZero and the change on my work desk, couldn't find a quarter), and the length is about the same as 3 nickels laying in a line (slightly longer, but not enough for any coin size).


In order to build in the keyboard I would suggest using one of these, while connecting the controller to the GPIO pins, in order to connect the keyboard and having an open USB for data transfer: USB Dual Port Cable

These is another one out there somewhere that actually is dual like that one, but has a male micro USB end, which is perfect for the zero

Edit:

: Dual USB OTG Cable

Found it. So with that you should be all set, without needing to buy an actual USB hub.
 
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Bare minimum you'll need the micro USB to standard USB adapter, this allows you to connect a keyboard, or USB hub.

Some hubs can be used without external power, however the power consumed is usually only good enough to use a keyboard, and a USB flash drive.

The USB lash drive is necessary in order to transfer ROMs to Retropie, but it does it in a very simple way.
1)with the pizero on, with retropie, connect your USB flash drive.
2)the pi will automatically populate the flash drive with the folders you'll need
3) now connect the flash drive to your pc, and you can then place ROMs into the corresponding folders
4) reconnect your drive to the pizero, and it will automatically copy/move all the files over, so long as there is enough space.

The keyboard is needed for setting up parameters and customization of RetroPi.


If you use the GPIO pins, you can connect your controller through them, so you can still have a single USB port available for use.

The PiZero is about the same thickness as 3 nickels stacked (literally just checked this with my own PiZero and the change on my work desk, couldn't find a quarter), and the length is about the same as 3 nickels laying in a line (slightly longer, but not enough for any coin size).


In order to build in the keyboard I would suggest using one of these, while connecting the controller to the GPIO pins, in order to connect the keyboard and having an open USB for data transfer: USB Dual Port Cable

These is another one out there somewhere that actually is dual like that one, but has a male micro USB end, which is perfect for the zero

Edit:

: Dual USB OTG Cable

Found it. So with that you should be all set, without needing to buy an actual USB hub.
Thank you for that! Ill probably use it.
I have been measuring stuff and I can probably fit it all on the ds XL, I just have to find a way to make the controles work, Specially L and R triggers, no idea how to do them only having the buttons.
 

Acronell

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Thank you for that! Ill probably use it.
I have been measuring stuff and I can probably fit it all on the ds XL, I just have to find a way to make the controles work, Specially L and R triggers, no idea how to do them only having the buttons.
Well, if you use the GPIO pins, you can use tact switches and wire them directly, just mount the tact switches in the normal location of the L and R buttons from the DSiXL housing. Most housing replacements at least come with the buttons and triggers.
 
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Well, if you use the GPIO pins, you can use tact switches and wire them directly, just mount the tact switches in the normal location of the L and R buttons from the DSiXL housing. Most housing replacements at least come with the buttons and triggers.
Ok, thanks for the info
Micro update: Made a rough sketch for dimensions. Looks like I can fit in everything. Screen will be 5 inch, and im working on a design for the exterior. Ill probably add the raspberry pi logo where the camera is, and ill add a bigger logo made for the project, or just leave it like that, cause simplicity makes me horny.
 
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So, after looking for components, I need reccomendations. First, I need a good screen that can fit on the top screen (thickness), speakers, and a battery. I have one in mind, a LiPo 2500mAh from adafruit, but its 3.7v, and it may not be enough for the screen, so if you have any reccomendations, I would appreciate it.
Also, since im the noob here, just asking this now before I start buying things, should I change the case? I mean, it would be cool to have a pi on a dsi xl, but it seems hard, specially because of the hinge. Should I switch to a case with no hinge? (Honest opinions only please)
EDIT: This screen looks like it might work if I remove the ports (connect directly) and that black thing that I have no idea what it is. still need the other things
 
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YveltalGriffin

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So, after looking for components, I need reccomendations. First, I need a good screen that can fit on the top screen (thickness), speakers, and a battery. I have one in mind, a LiPo 2500mAh from adafruit, but its 3.7v, and it may not be enough for the screen, so if you have any reccomendations, I would appreciate it.
Also, since im the noob here, just asking this now before I start buying things, should I change the case? I mean, it would be cool to have a pi on a dsi xl, but it seems hard, specially because of the hinge. Should I switch to a case with no hinge? (Honest opinions only please)
EDIT: This screen looks like it might work if I remove the ports (connect directly) and that black thing that I have no idea what it is. still need the other things
Unfortunately, the screen you linked is gonna be a PITA to hook up with a hinged case, since it uses the HDMI connection. I like this screen more. The driver board can be slimmed down a lot if you remove the tact switches, which is nice.

If you go with composite and stereo speakers, you'll only need to run 5 wires (ground, screen power, video, and 2x audio signal) through the hinge. I think that's more than doable if you use thin, flexible wire. The only thing is that the LCD takes at minimum 7V, so clearly you'd need 2x lipos. I would not recommend buying Adafruit lipos. They are overpriced. This 2500mAh from BatterySpace is only $9, versus $15 from Adafruit. (Of course the Adafruit has a fancy PCM built in, but you can get one for $2 on eBay.) @GC64 just recommended these speakers to me, so you probably can't go wrong with 'em.
 
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Wow, seems like a few people are doing this kind of project now.

Will 2500mAh be enough to power your project?
 

fibbef

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With a Pi Zero, 2500 mAh should last awhile. I had a 2200 mAh li-ion pack (2 cells for 7.4v) last ~3 hours in a Pi 2 project.
 
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Pi Zero has ~120ma draw with minimal peripherals (this spec is from someone monitoring with a USB wifi module plugged in).

That screen claims to draw a whopping whole amp (1000ma), but another source I found for a similar model from Waveshare draws only 235ma with the backlight enabled.

So lets say maybe 400ma@5v once you add a USB controller and such, and that's a total of 2000mW.

The [email protected] battery gives you 9250mWh.

So a rough idealized battery life is a little over 4.5 hours.
 
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