PiGRRL Zero Advance

thingiverse

The PiGRRL Zero Advance is a design that has been in development for over a year, following my modifications to the original Adafruit PiGRRL Zero project in creating the Plus version. This new design incorporates all of the ideas, suggestions and modifications that I and several others have come up with over the past couple of years. I'm hoping it will be one of the easiest and most comprehensive designs available in the DIY space right now. Detailed instructions for building and a bill of materials can be found at https://www.threedprintspace.com/pigrrl-zero-advance-tutorials. An introduction video is also available at https://youtu.be/rkm8HuDEK_c, as well as inside the prototype design at https://youtu.be/HpMabBAChXc. Pre-order PCB and other parts can be purchased on Etsy at https://www.etsy.com/shop/3dprintspace, while Patreon support can be found at https://www.patreon.com/3DPrintSpace. There were several goals that I wanted to achieve with this new project: 1. Lower the entry level for a DIY project and make it even easier to start and build. 2. Reduce the build time and minimize errors during fabrication. 3. Incorporate all of the design suggestions and ideas made since the first project. 4. Create a slimmer, cleaner and more professional design. LARGER SCREEN The bar has been raised in screen real estate with this new design featuring a 3.5" screen, up from the original Adafruit PiGRRL Zero's 2.2" screen and my original Plus design's 3.2" screen. The screen is direct from Adafruit, ensuring quality. THINNER CASE DESIGN This project successfully reduced the case size from 1.07" to approximately 0.80" thin, a 25% reduction that makes this design suitable for a legitimate device to carry in your pocket or backpack. SPEAKER, HEADPHONE JACK & HDMI OUT The original project had a speaker, but I always wanted to add a headphone jack. With Adafruit's recent release of an I2S Stereo Decoder, I was able to include a headphone jack in this design! Also included is a mini-HDMI out connection for displaying your gaming on the big screen. SNES BUTTONS Actual molded buttons used in the original controllers bring back that sense of nostalgia and provide a better gaming experience. These buttons work best with an original SNES or Famicon controller, but modern molded buttons will also work. CUSTOMIZED SOFTWARE Some of the biggest challenges to this design were getting the 3.5" screen to work with Retropie without stuttering or tearing. I've also included custom coding for a low battery icon and many other minor adjustments that make the image provided the best way to get your build started. ALL THE DETAILS Tons of details have been thought through in this design, including a toggle for the power button, LED low battery indicator/charging indicator, threaded inserts for the case and custom designed bumpers to emulate the original SNES controller. There are several other minor details when creating this from scratch, but they're hard to go over here.