Mod – ΩNΩNΩ

The Gameboy Pocket That’s Big On Content

The Raspberry Pi has quickly gained a cult following over the past few years, and this mod is not the first to squeeze the board into a Gameboy case. What really sets this mod apart is the fact that it is crammed into a Gameboy Pocket case and is an excellent compromise between aesthetics and function.

Original Pocket on left, modified shell with Raspberry Pi on the right — Original Pocket on left, modified shell with Raspberry Pi and other components on the right

The build, created by Travis Brown, features original Gameboy Pocket buttons driven by a Teensy 2.0 board to output button presses as if it were a QWERTY keyboard which interfaces with the Rasp Pi. The 2.5″ backlit color screen is suitable for emulating many consoles (NES, Gameboy Color, Master System, and Game Gear) and even playing games such as DOOM. Other aesthetics carried over include using the original headphone jack and AC adapter, as well as the volume potentiometer and power switch. Borrowing from its younger brother the Gameboy Advance (SP), the power indicator LED is two-colored to indicate charge level and charging status. The mod uses very little original code, just what was written for the Teensy to work with Gameboy buttons. Otherwise, everything made use of existing code created by the Rasp Pi community. The rechargeable battery provides about 3 hours of uptime per charge, but it can also be played while charging, extending its playability considerably. A brilliant application of thoughtful design and resourceful repurposement of parts that easily could have been discarded, this mod can be bragged on for authenticity as well as innovation. Check out the full build log here, and to see a the beginnings of a Raspberry Pi – Gameboy build in progress by OhmNohmNohm’s very own Michael Television, check out this post.

Overall, this thing looks really really good. I have a passion for hobby programming and retro games, and the pair of broken Gameboy Pockets in my closet make attempting such a project myself look very feasible. In the build log linked above, the parts list helps prove just how possible it is to do this mod on a tight budget. Perhaps one could be for gaming, the other a portable pirate box or music station. Let me know what you think! Please like, comment, or share!

Expect to be hearing more from me in the near future.
Max

Alley Beach – CMOY 1.0 and 1.1 – micro amplifier, massive sound

I recently received a parcel through the post with a California post stamp on it. I was super-pumped, because Scott was sending me one of his CMOYs: a tiny, symetrical board, mini-jack in and out, potentiometer and LEDs that amplifies anything you plug into it to the max. It was mounted, fairly neatly in a Tazo tin. Sadly, the California customs decided that even though it was leaving the country, it needed its face smashed in, even if it didn’t have one. It arrived broken with a few leads snapped. It must have been used as a football.

Brilliantly though, its a kit that you put together yourself, so I just fixed it under his instructions with a couple of solder spots and it was up and running.

Because I wanted to paint the Tazo tin, I got viciously annoyed with the amount of adhesive on the tin and set up a tiny replacement box instead while I wait to get some paint thiner. The replacement box originally came with a foam insert for the mouse. I ditched that. The beauty of this tin is that you can see inside the board and LED.

The sound that you get out of this thing is MASSIVE. Why would you need such a thing? It’s a fun piece of kit to have around. It’s small. It’s fun and simple to make and it can amplify a hell of a lot in such a tiny box. Perfect for amping up Gameboys, Toy pianos, Speak and Spells. There’s a revision coming shortly and we’ll make these available. With the kit placed at about ten dollars, it’s hella cheap and hella fun.