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| Retro Gaming Station Awesomeness; A Project I'm Working On | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Aug 18 2014, 10:43 AM (157 Views) | |
| Toegoff | Aug 18 2014, 10:43 AM Post #1 |
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So I was curious on building a real retro arcade. I'm a big fan of the older games for multiplayer especially. Especially good old arcade games. I wanted to then create something that could work with all of this, and I believe I have an answer. I'm going to use a briefcase combined with a Raspberry Pi to create a truly awesome gaming station. Here's a run down on what I plan to do if interested - My first step obviously is getting a Pi working with two blue tooth PS3 controllers. That part is a bit technical, but I've found some decent guides for it. Because that isn't really the building part, I'll skip that. As I don't have it working yet, I haven't purchased anything else. In theory - I'll get a fairly large brief case. Something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Alpine-Swiss-Expandable-Briefcase-Combination/dp/B008BC5IEW/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1408368200&sr=8-5&keywords=briefcase I'd gut everything inside of it leaving me with just the Briefcase. From there, I'd like to mount a small television screen that would be on the top of it. Something like this - http://www.amazon.com/Sceptre-E165BV-HD-16-Inch-720p-Black/dp/B008O5112Y/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1408369012&sr=1-2&keywords=16+inch+television The bottom half will contain the 'guts' of my setup. I'll use some type of pull away packing foam to get a nice tight fit in the bottom. The Pi and both controllers will rest nicely in the bottom. Here's where the coolness begins. I plan to buy a 1 input, 2 output HDMI adapter. The Pi will connect directly to this. Then, one cable runs to the small television, the other cable runs to a feed thru plate. I'd cut away a portion of the side of the briefcase to mount this thing. http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2875379&SRCCODE=WEBGOOPA&utm_source=google&utm_medium=paid_search&utm_campaign=paid_search_google_pla&scid=scplp629398&gclid=Cj0KEQjwyMafBRCU7OCRyc2vitsBEiQAKV4H9B6VaEJMGs_HeD0ZpiMOlfrmH2J2vbHOF_NDaAUof1YaApy78P8HAQ&gclsrc=aw.ds I then connect the Pi's audio feed to this plate as well. The purpose of this is now I have a 3.5mm audio input to use a male to male connector for external speakers. Now, my pi can play as a retro arcade completely internally using the TV screen, or I can hook this sucker up to a projector for some awesome fun. The power is the final bit that is a bit harder to work out... Ultimately I want a splitter (similar to an extension cord) that all power goes into. I have two main sources of power I must deal with - First I need a 3 port USB charger. This will run electric to power my Pi and to charge my PS3 controllers. Second, I must deal with the television's power itself. These two power sources will come to one, which will be a plug that comes nicely out of my suit case. At the end of the day, I should have a retro gaming arcade for about $400 that can connect to an external HDMI / Audio source as well as play completely on its own. Time to get working! ![]() Edited by Toegoff, Aug 18 2014, 10:44 AM.
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| Shadow Dragon | Aug 20 2014, 02:46 AM Post #2 |
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Chicka Bow!
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That sounds pretty awesome. Make sure to show us the final product. |
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| Toegoff | Aug 22 2014, 09:44 AM Post #3 |
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The Pi is now working with emulated games using the Retro Pi image. A bit of work setting it up, but not a ton. I've laid out the wiring design for the project as seen below - ![]() This obviously isn't the 'actual' lay out, just the conceptional so I could keep track of my ports / cables. The pi itself will be powered by a USB Hub (obviously with an external power source). The hub will expand the two ports native to the pi to a full 7 ports (+1). The two 'grey' ports on there provide a bit more power. This allows me to charge the blue tooth PS3 controllers. Despite the fact the controllers will be wireless, I'd like the ability to charge them contained in the box. The Hub I'm using is here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00008VFAF/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 The keyboard and mouse used will be this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JO80LUI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 It won't get a ton of use, but could be useful to keep for configuration issues. Otherwise, just a standard blue tooth dongle (for the PS3 controllers) and wifi adapter (so I can transfer stuff to the pi) I REALLY debated not putting in the keyboard and mouse component as it takes up a lot of room, but I ran into an issue. A bit use of thing thing will be traveling. If I need to configure something or change something, I'm a bit stuck. I'd have to pull the pi out, find and attach a keyboard and mouse, then do my configurations. This is as simple as just getting wifi on it. So ultimately, I thought it best to keep that component with it. Likely, it won't get a ton of use, but I feel that adaptability will be important with this. ESPECIALLY because of the pass through HDMI port. The pi can get temperamental with displays, and so it would be best to be able to quickly and easily configure those settings no matter what output is connected. MOVING ON: The HDMI output on the pi will head to a 1 in 2 out splitter. http://www.amazon.com/Splitter-compatible-swither-XBOX360-Blu-ray/dp/B0088HP93A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408369596&sr=8-1&keywords=hdmi+1+in+2+out One of the HDMI Outputs will head to a small monitor: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008O5112Y/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 This will be mounted to the top of the box to allow local playing of the system. In essence, open up the box, and the TV inside will allow you to play anywhere. DC Power will leave the TV and head to an extension cord along with the DC Power hub so that only one cord is leaving the box. That cord will be retractable so that it fits nice and comfortably inside the box without a big dangling wire. The second HDMI Output will head to a passthru: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2875379&SRCCODE=WEBGOOPA&utm_source=google&utm_medium=paid_search&utm_campaign=paid_search_google_pla&scid=scplp629398&gclid=Cj0KEQjwyMafBRCU7OCRyc2vitsBEiQAKV4H9B6VaEJMGs_HeD0ZpiMOlfrmH2J2vbHOF_NDaAUof1YaApy78P8HAQ&gclsrc=aw.ds This passthru will be mounted on the side of the box to allow external video sources to be connected to the pi. Sadly, I really wanted a small panel that did HDMI, 3.5mm audio, and composite RCA Video, but no luck in that so far. Still though, this should work well enough. On the top end, the only other thing is the 3.5mm splitter. A male to male cable will run to the splitter, then one side will head to a speaker set (still haven't found ones I like for this project), and the other side will head to the pass thru to provide better audio. That's the project so far! I'll post more pictures when I get to assembling the actual box of it. I wanted to get the programming stuff out of the way first. Edited by Toegoff, Aug 22 2014, 10:47 AM.
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| Toegoff | Aug 22 2014, 10:51 AM Post #4 |
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This by the way is what the bottom half may look like. I still want to figure out the wires a bit more cleanly. That will be a bitch. Otherwise, this isn't bad. The dimensions are only estimates as without the actual product, I can't tell for sure. Thankfully, if I build my own box, I'm not constrained by any physical dimensions. Honestly I just used power point to lay it out. 1 Grid space = 2 inches. It was enough to get me close enough to a layout that was workable. |
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| savepoints | Aug 27 2014, 02:16 PM Post #5 |
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Forum Hero
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Are you planning on splitting the bottom part up, or cover it up entirely? You said you wanted to make the controllers rest there, which makes sense, but I think that it obviously won't look as good if you have everything actually showing in the bottom part. So are you planning on doing the wiring itself and have most of the components (basically everything that doesn't need to be out and about) in the very bottom, then cover it up with some thin material, and then let the controllers and keyboard rest there? |
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| Toegoff | Sep 2 2014, 12:28 PM Post #6 |
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I agree with you. Actually what I plan is a false bottom. I'll have a 'false bottom' to the box that will conceal about 1/4 inch (ish) of under wiring. I plan to lay out multiple 'small boxes' within this one large box. I've thrown out the idea of using a brief case in exchange for actually just creating a box. The small boxes will house the components, and the wires will feed down into the false bottom. From there, they will run throughout the box interconnecting everything that needs to be. That way, when you open the box, all you'll see is the components and wires disappearing into the box itself. |
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This by the way is what the bottom half may look like. I still want to figure out the wires a bit more cleanly. That will be a bitch. Otherwise, this isn't bad. The dimensions are only estimates as without the actual product, I can't tell for sure. Thankfully, if I build my own box, I'm not constrained by any physical dimensions. Honestly I just used power point to lay it out. 1 Grid space = 2 inches. It was enough to get me close enough to a layout that was workable.
7:16 PM Jul 10