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GB Null

Posted: Sat May 05, 2018 9:55 am
by Ampersand
Inspired by all the stuff on here, I made this:
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I'm calling it the GB Null. It has a 2.8" ili9341 screen (thanks for the guide moosepr), 1000mAh battery (I'm getting about 2-3 hours battery life), TP4056 charger, and a Raspberry Pi Zero W. It's 134 x 56 x 17 mm (+nylon bolts).
I didn't want to layer the battery on top of the other parts as this leaves you with a thicker device, so I figured out a way to lay it all out side by side, I also made sure all the buttons were on the top and bottom edges as it really annoys me when a power switch or charge port is placed right in the middle of my palm.

I designed the PCB in Eagle and had it made through PCBWay. The boards came out great:
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The case and buttons are all 3mm and 5mm layers of clear laser-cut acrylic with only the buttons and back 2 pieces being bonded together (solvent). This made it about 5mm thicker than it would have been if I 3D printed it, but I REALLY like clear acrylic and this way the screen is covered and safe.
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The back part
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Close up of how the right-angle buttons work (excuse the slightly messy glue)
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And then a custom theme to finish it off
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Hope you all like it!

**ATTENTION**
When making a kit, put kapton tape across the bottom of the Pi to ensure that none of the other pads are connected.


Edit: Get a kit through Tindie here: https://www.tindie.com/products/Ampersa ... -null-kit/
Discord server for GBN: https://discord.gg/r9xekuP

Re: Game Boy Null

Posted: Sat May 05, 2018 10:07 am
by Lphillimore
Oh hell yes!! πŸ”₯πŸ‘

Re: Game Boy Null

Posted: Sat May 05, 2018 10:43 am
by Italian77
Nice work!

Re: Game Boy Null

Posted: Sat May 05, 2018 1:36 pm
by Gizard
Sell the pcbs and the acrylic glass in a kit and you will make loads of money.

Re: Game Boy Null

Posted: Sat May 05, 2018 1:39 pm
by ABH
Great workπŸ‘πŸ»πŸ‘πŸ»

Re: Game Boy Null

Posted: Sat May 05, 2018 4:27 pm
by ThompsonTinkers
I love it! Laser cut acrylic has such a nice finish.

Gizard’s right. You should consider kitting this out. It’s a brilliantly done project, and the custom theme is the icing on the cake. I can totally understand keeping it all to yourself, though :lol:

BTW, you could tap the screw holes in back case, and countersink them in the front case. Then you could save a little thickness in the final assembly.

Re: Game Boy Null

Posted: Sat May 05, 2018 7:34 pm
by Ampersand
Thanks everyone!

Countersinking some screws is a great idea, but I don't trust myself to drill them all perfectly (it would annoy me so much if just one were slightly off). I could cut 6mm off the thickness if I used 1mm acrylic as well, but it's another thing to pay for and it didn't feel as 'elegant' as using just two thicknesses.
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Re: Game Boy Null

Posted: Sat May 05, 2018 9:11 pm
by rodocop
This is a very cool project, good job!

Re: Game Boy Null

Posted: Sat May 05, 2018 9:22 pm
by djascher
Impressive.... Most impressive.

Re: Game Boy Null

Posted: Mon May 07, 2018 7:37 am
by ThompsonTinkers
Ampersand has posted this over in interest gauging.