Custom Made Portable PC Engine

[Purple1308]

If you really want to sell off your device you'll need to make the screen 4:3, have a video output, keep a way to have a cd drive function and, make it cheaper than a usual turbo express and pc engine gt


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[roflmao]

If you really want to sell off your device you'll need to make the screen 4:3, have a video output, keep a way to have a cd drive function and, make it cheaper than a usual turbo express and pc engine gt

RetroPi outputs proper aspect ratio, have video output (HDMI and Composite), handle CD games fine (everything up through PS1). The most expensive Pi costs $35, but all the 8-16 bit stuff runs fine on the Pi Zero which is like $10.

If you've got a 3d printer, you can print your own case, or get one here for about $25.
https://www.etsy.com/market/pigrrl
A busted Gameboy might be cheaper?

This kit has everything else you need.
https://www.adafruit.com/product/3014

I've been wanting to build one of these for ages.

[Purple1308]

If you really want to sell off your device you'll need to make the screen 4:3, have a video output, keep a way to have a cd drive function and, make it cheaper than a usual turbo express and pc engine gt

RetroPi outputs proper aspect ratio, have video output (HDMI and Composite), handle CD games fine (everything up through PS1). The most expensive Pi costs $35, but all the 8-16 bit stuff runs fine on the Pi Zero which is like $10.

If you've got a 3d printer, you can print your own case, or get one here for about $25.
https://www.etsy.com/market/pigrrl
A busted Gameboy might be cheaper?

This kit has everything else you need.
https://www.adafruit.com/product/3014

I've been wanting to build one of these for ages.

Oh i wasnt talking about the retro pi i was taking about that video on the top the portable console
Sorry for the confusion.

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[ColinM]

So tell us more about this project? What kinds of parts do you source? How long does it take and how much does it cost to put one together?

Parts list:
Original broken Gameboy (modified the shell and the stock power switch, buttons etc)-Ebay
Pi Zero W -Adafruit
LCD display -Amazon
Gameboy control board from http://store.kitsch-bent.com
Glass screen cover (It's bigger than the stock one) http://store.kitsch-bent.com
Gameboy game you don't mind destroying for just half of the shell -Ebay
LiOn battery -Adafruit?
Charging circuit -Adafruit?
Audio circuit/amp -Adafruit or Kitsch I can't remember
new speaker - Kitsch I think
MicroUSB port to mount where the gamelink was -ebay
Amazon cheapie USB hub (3 port to mount where AA batteries went for USB port access to the Pi)


A decent amount of time, soldering, troubleshooting, etc. I made my first one that I posted the picture of for myself, then made 4 more assembly line style for my wife and a few friends. After the first one things got easier, I also only did 2 buttons, you can go as far as doing 4 button on the front and 2 on the back. No audio jack, just audio out through the speaker etc. I kept things simple.

I'm sure I forgot a few things but it was probably under $75 for all the parts including shipping from various places. I sourced things from ebay, Amazon, and http://store.kitsch-bent.com

There is Sudomod build using the original control board, it's a  completely different build than mine:
https://www.sudomod.com/wiki/index.php?title=Game_Boy_Zero


I know on the Kitsch Bent site there is a walkthrough or how to somewhere, but that site is blocked at work for some reason...maybe since I was on there so much before haha. If I had to do another one, i'd just buy a new Gameboy shell, or go the route of 3D printing a shell that you can just put everything in much easier. Modifying the Gameboy shell and getting everything to fit was a huge pain. It's a lot of wiring, cutting, test fitting, re-wiring and fitting stuff that wasn't designed to be in there. There are kits you can buy where you just supply the pi zero and everything else is ready to go in a shell that looks more like a GBA. DON'T waste your money on the Gameboys that they sell on ebay for $300, a friend of mine bought one and I opened it up to see how it was done in order to build my own...it was a rats nest of wires, hot glue, and piss poor soldering. His ebay one is sitting broken somewhere now and he uses the one I made for him instead.