NODE Zero Terminal v3 could be cool with a controller add-on board

[mrdude42]

https://n-o-d-e.net/zeroterminal3.html

Came across this today and thought it looked pretty cool. I like the open source add-ons idea that could let you add a slide-out keyboard and swap it out with a slide-out controller maybe. Could make a cool portable gaming console with a good controller add-on. Kind of wish there was a board that utilized the Raspi Compute Module instead of the Zero. Overall pretty cool project though. What do you guys think?

[Sushi]

I'd love to build something similar. I'd make some changes though.

1. The display is too expensive (as nice as it is) and can't be bought without the HDMI driver board. If I'm going to make custom PCBs for it, I'd rather save space by eliminating the HDMI -> TTL conversion. I'm thinking about using the KD50G21 instead. It's relatively cheap and widely available.

2. Cell phone batteries are underrated for the kinds of projects around here. I bought a couple of LG G3 batteries for my portables a while back. They're awesome. High capacity, low volume, and designed to be swapped in/out of things. I've done some planning for this project with my on-hand parts. The G3 battery seems to be a perfect fit.

3. COMPUTE MODULE!

4. Switch or surface style expansion? The back seems like a silly place to put IO.

[gizmo]

I always find it odd when people throw high resolution panels at sizes such as these. Especially when taking into account the zero's computing power too. There is just no need for it, imo. Just stick to something like a native 640x480 or lower. Lower prices, widely available, perfectly viable given the size and taxes the cpu far less.