Atari Flashback Portable Pi ?

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dug1967
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Atari Flashback Portable Pi ?

Post by dug1967 » Thu Apr 27, 2017 2:39 pm

Has anybody seen a mod to put a Raspberry Pi Zero into one of these...

Image

or

http://target.scene7.com/is/image/Targe ... &fmt=pjpeg

one of these?

I am thinking of buying one of each to play with and maybe look at taking apart to see how much room is hidden in there.

I did some Google'ing and didn't find any hacking to do this. Also the company that makes these (Atgames) doesn't make a Nintendo version, seems strange to me...

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Re: Atari Flashback Portable Pi ?

Post by ICMF » Thu Apr 27, 2017 5:09 pm

I suspect packaging could be an issue. The handheld is about 140 x 60 x 20mm (and the plastic is probably about 2mm thick, so you're actually looking at 136 x 66 x 16mm). The Pi0 board is 65 x 30 x 4.5mm, so it will be a tight squeeze. Especially since there's not much space inside in the first place, and the battery's right in the middle of the device, which will make squeezing in a Pi even harder.

Might be possible with a custom AIO, but it won't be easy. In fact, it might be easier to see if you can hack it to load Retropie rather than trying to cram in a Zero. Seems pretty likely that they're using exactly the same hardware for the Atari and Genesis handhelds - and there are Megadrive and GBA versions that seem to be identical except for the button configuration, so there has to be a way to crack it. https://www.tomsretroshack.com/collecti ... -170-games

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Re: Atari Flashback Portable Pi ?

Post by moosepr » Thu Apr 27, 2017 11:34 pm

Yeah lots of unknown chips hidden under that resin blob. It could be possible if you made your own custom PCB, although the screen might be an issue these days. I'm guessing it's 2.2" or there abouts and they are getting harder to source. Unless you can get the screen it comes with to work, but that's a whole different kettle of fish!
Get a small cheep LCD in your project https://www.sudomod.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=2312
Wrap it all round a battery https://www.sudomod.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=2292
Or use a custom PCB to make it really small https://www.sudomod.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=2512
or make it really really really really tiny!! https://www.sudomod.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=2919

the antithesis
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Re: Atari Flashback Portable Pi ?

Post by the antithesis » Sat Jun 10, 2017 11:41 pm

Personally, I wouldn't bother trying to mod a portable Flashback. I have one and have poked around inside. Not a whole lot of space. Thing is, when making electronics it's better to make your own case or use something that's a brick with plenty of room, like the original Game Boy. It can be an interesting challenge, I guess. It is getting a little silly how many things people are planning to put a PiZero into these days.

Maybe I'll get the old model of b/w TV my parents used to have when i was a little kid and put a Pi in it.

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Re: Atari Flashback Portable Pi ?

Post by Helder » Mon Jun 12, 2017 10:48 am

moosepr wrote:
Thu Apr 27, 2017 11:34 pm
Yeah lots of unknown chips hidden under that resin blob. It could be possible if you made your own custom PCB, although the screen might be an issue these days. I'm guessing it's 2.2" or there abouts and they are getting harder to source. Unless you can get the screen it comes with to work, but that's a whole different kettle of fish!
http://m.gamestop.com/product/electroni ... yer/133612

Says it's a 3.2inch screen. So it's doable on that front.
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moosepr
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Re: Atari Flashback Portable Pi ?

Post by moosepr » Mon Jun 12, 2017 11:34 am

Might even be able to reuse the screen if we can find a datasheet
Get a small cheep LCD in your project https://www.sudomod.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=2312
Wrap it all round a battery https://www.sudomod.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=2292
Or use a custom PCB to make it really small https://www.sudomod.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=2512
or make it really really really really tiny!! https://www.sudomod.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=2919

Rabin
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Re: Atari Flashback Portable Pi ?

Post by Rabin » Mon Jul 10, 2017 4:31 am

By and by, I wouldn't try attempting to mod a versatile Flashback. I have one and have jabbed around inside. Not a mess of space. Thing is, when improving gadgets it's to put forth your own particular defense or utilize something that is a block with a lot of room, similar to the first Game Boy. I get it can be a fascinating test.

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