Portable RetroPie - Raspberry Pi 4 console

thingiverse

I made this portable Retropie games console as a proof of concept before my main project which would be to make a fully integrated version (using an internally wired controller rather than the bluetooth controller this version uses). Although, I am very happy with the way this turned out. It uses a Raspberry Pi 4B(4GB) running RetroPie. All the software and media are stored on a 256GB SD card The controller is an iPega PG9023S which is a bluetooth controller designed to be used with a mobile phone. It was important to me that the controller had 4 shoulder buttons, not just two as I wanted to be able to play PS1 games, but they didn't need to be analogue buttons. It has a telescopic sprung body which is intended to hold a phone in place and seemed to be the best option that I could get "off-the-shelf". I got it from amazon at the following link: [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mcbazel-PG-9023S-Extendable-Wireless-Controller/dp/B07VB71D4Y/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=Mcbazel&qid=1641029967&sr=8-3](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mcbazel-PG-9023S-Extendable-Wireless-Controller/dp/B07VB71D4Y/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=Mcbazel&qid=1641029967&sr=8-3) The main body of the device, which is a case that includes a 7" touchscreen, stereo speakers and internal fan is the EVICIV UPi06. It's worth noting that this can be used with a Pi4 or a Pi3 as it comes with connectors and side panels to suit either version of the Pi. I got this from amazon some time ago, but the product page has since been replaced with a different product (grrr), but here is a link to the same product on Aliexpress (and I've included a picture for reference: [https://eviciv.aliexpress.com/store/5047327](https://eviciv.aliexpress.com/store/5047327) For a while I was running this from a mains power supply but ultimately wanted to make it truly portable so needed to get a suitable battery. The screencase supplies the requisite 5V power to the Pi but takes 12v DC power itself. It came bundled with a 12V 2A power supply. But when I measured the power consumption it seemed to draw only 1.25A, so I needed a battery that was capable of delivering at least that. I also wanted it to be able to last a long time so needed to be super high capacity. I eventually settled on a Yacikos powerbank from Amazon... which is also no longer available!! Though you might be able to find an identical one under a different name. I attached some of the sellers pictures so you can see what it was like. It claims to have 30800mAh capacity and although not explicitly stated in these pictures, claimed to be able to deliver 12v at 1.25A via the USBC PD and QC4.0 ports. Internally it uses 3.7v cells so, assuming the declared specs are correct the wattage capacity of the battery is 3.7V*30.8Ah = 113.96Wh. The screen-case draws 12V at 1.25A so 12V*1.25 = 15W per hour. 113.96Wh / 15W = 7.60 hours (to 2 decimal places) which is 7hours and 36 minutes I hope those calculations are correct! I also bought a USBC to 5.5mm DC barrel jack cable that was capable of carrying 12v and I'm happy to report that the battery and cable both functioned perfectly, delivering the required voltage and current to the device with no trouble. On first use I had an undervoltage warning briefly on startup, but I guess that was just because the battery didn't know to deliver 12v at that time. The pi quickly device rebooted itself and it's been perfectly fine ever since. I've had no further undervoltage warnings since then and the device works perfectly. Also, although I have not timed the duration of use I can get from a full charge, it does last a long time so it seems to be close to the anticipated 7.5 hours. i wasn't really expecting to get the full calculated duration of use, but whatever it is I am getting is truly amazing and I'm happy that the battery I bought was up to spec. I didn't want to hold the thing together with zip ties forever (seriously, that's how I did it!) so I needed to print some parts. I noticed that the case had VESA mount screw-holes. They were 75mm apart and accepted M3 screws. I printed a solid back plate with holes for the screws as a trial and it mounted the screen case to it. The plate was able to sit well in the controller's grip. But I realised that the fan intake vents were obstructed (although I will point out that I never got an overheating warning while the fan was running, even when the holes were fully obstructed. The mounting plate has since been through several revisions before the design you have now, with holes to expose the vents and channels to allow airflow to them as they would otherwise be obstructed by the controller's grip. I also made two mounting clips which serve two purposes - To hold the plate onto the controller (so pulling the grip apart doesn't release and drop the screen) and to hold the powerbank in place via the large loops. The clips are slightly different sizes to accommodate for the height difference on either side of the controller's telescopic grip. The loops have holes at each end to allow a screwdriver to be used before inserting the battery. The feet fit neatly into corresponding recesses in the mounting plate and it only takes 4x M3 screws to hold the feet, plate, case and controller all together. The battery can then be firmly slid into place through the loops of the mounting brackets. The fit is snug enough so that the battery can't fall out by itself, but it can be removed and replaced without difficulty. Finally, for cable management, I used an angled USBC adapter to keep the cable out of the way of my fingers, I cut the USBC cable short to remove the excess and keep it neat and replaced the barrel jack with an angled one to it to keep that side out of the way too. A simple press of the battery's power button is all it takes to get started The raspberry pi boots up as soon as it starts to receive power, and to shut down safely, Press the Start button in "Retropie", then "Shut Down" and "Yes". Once the pi has safely shut down (you should always safely shut down properly) a double-tap on the battery's button cuts the power. I know some of the major components of this build are hard to get now, but I wanted to show people what I achieved with mostly off the shelf parts and a little creativity. Hopefully it will give somebody a little inspiration and confidence to just try something out for themselves too. I started this project before I got myself a 3D printer so, as I said before, the components were held together with zip ties! So don't make excuses for not starting a fun project!