I wanted to fit a Raspberry Pi running Retropie into a Gameboy Advance SP case. I didn t want to cut any new holes and it had to close up completely; no wires sticking out, no extra buttons in places they re not meant to be. It had to look as much like a normal Gameboy as possible. This build doesn t have any sound. The backlight button was programmed to be a lights out button on mine, and shuts down the Pi so I can turn it off easily. This isn t a complete guide, but it should show you enough to figure out how I did this and that. This was not an easy build. Parts list: Gameboy Advance SP aftermarket case Gameboy Advance SP hinges Raspberry Pi Zero Micro SD card Adafruit perma-proto half-sized https://www.adafruit.com/products/1609 Adafruit Powerboost 500 https://www.adafruit.com/products/1944 1000mAh Battery (Dimensions: 5 cm x 3.4 cm x 0.6 cm) http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/171247223018 Adafruit PiTFT - 320x240 2.8" TFT+Touchscreen for Raspberry Pi https://www.adafruit.com/products/1601 GPIO Ribbon Cable (any wire will do but this was thin and flexible) https://www.adafruit.com/products/1988 Power switch 4x4x0.8 SMD tactile push buttons http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111726375227 4x4x1.5 SMD tactile push buttons http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111726375227 Optional: Gameboy cartridge Probably the biggest job was carving out the innards of the Gameboy case without breaking it (really need to buy myself a dremel).
For the programming, I used exactly the same image that I used for my previous Pi handheld http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1496185 (because it was efficient, and I m lazy) so you can follow the guide on that one to make this one work. I ll attach it to this thingiverse page too.
This is where the battery and Pi ended up (you can see how much I ve cut out of the case too): The battery was taped in place with electrical tape and was the very last thing I put into the case. I wasn t sure which way to put it so that the wire would be on the right corner. The battery cover for the Gameboy was screwed into place using the proper screws, so don t cut off any plastic that s need for that. The Pi was not glued or taped into place at all, it rests against some of the plastic and I left it free to move so that it would be easier to arrange wires as I closed it up. Here s the only picture I took of the perma-proto, showing where I soldered the buttons and where I cut the board:
Behind this I ve cut tracks in different places and soldered wires to make one of the top rails a common ground. Sadly I didn t take a pic of where I put the powerboost, there s a gap just below the A and B buttons, it s got 2 plastic ridges that it fit perfectly between (like it was made for it!). You ll need to make sure the perma-proto isn t too long or you ll be hitting the components on the board. This means that the powerboost goes under the board for the buttons as it s about as thick as the buttons themselves. I had to trim the edge off some of the rubber button bits to help this fit comfortably. Electrical tape is your friend. The micro USB socket on the powerboost can be accessed through the hole where the Gameboy s power switch was. I hot glued the powerboost into place first, after soldering on some wires that I would need for the power switch and wires for the Pi itself. Here s where to connect the wires https://learn.adafruit.com/touch-pi-portable-raspberry-pi/circuit-diagram The battery was attached
once everything was tested and working and ready to be closed up to avoid me shorting anything and frying it all. The start and select buttons are on a thin strip of perma-proto that I cut off. It was hot-glued into place and the ground wires were soldered to the main ground rail I d made on the other board. The shoulder buttons were rested along the top edge of the board and hot glued into place, you can just about see one here on the right (getting the perma-proto the right size was key to making this fit easily): You can also just about see how the powerboost fits under the board for the buttons at the top left (if you re looking closely, you ll notice that I ve got the power wires in the wrong holes on the powerboost, don t do this). The buttons use the proper rubber and plastic bits that came with the case. Here s the wiring guide I used, don t forget to wire ground for the buttons (the numbers by the button layout refer to the GPIO numbers):
Here s the screen wired up:
I split the wires into a group of 5, 3, and 1, then coloured an edge, this meant I d know which was which after it when through the hinge and I think it made them slightly easier to move around within the hinge. Here s my hideous soldering on the screen:
I trimmed down the screen to help it fit the case. Here s the back of the screen, showing where I cut it:
Test things when you can:
I didn t cut much out of the screen part of the case, the PITFT fit fairly well after being shortened. The screen sticks out the front a bit, but there isn t much I can do; it will still fold closed just like a normal Gameboy. I used some black electrical tape to hide the silver edge of the screen and the board below. The screen isn t glued into place at all; it just fits snugly between the plastic mouldings that the original screen uses. The power switch was hot glued into place so that it could be reached through the hole for the volume control slider. I cut up a Gameboy cartridge so that it would look the part. This can still be removed and is held in place by friction:
Had to be Doom:
After wrestling the wires into place and getting everything closed up, I made sure it all still worked. I put the hinges in place (make sure you put the plastic caps onto the hinges first, then push them in) and checked that it moved the way it was meant to. There s an extra piece of plastic that covers the wires in the hinge, make sure you screw that into place before you close it up. You will also want to put the shoulder buttons in. I super glued around the edge for the lower part. The screen part was screwed together using the proper screws. Final touch: put the Nintendo badge on the top and the sticker on the bottom so that it looks the part. Were I to build this again, I could do it a lot more neatly, but I really don t want to :P If I ve forgotten to mention anything, just leave a comment or send me a message directly on Thingiverse.