mintyPi 2.0 News & Updates

[wermy]

Hey guys!
I'm still probably a week or two out from being able to put together a guide (mostly due to working with Helder on a custom button PCB for it to make it much easier and cleaner). I've had people messaging me every day here and elsewhere asking for more info, when the guide will be out, a parts list, etc. So, I'll keep adding to this post as there are updates to share. If you have any questions that are not answered in this post, feel free to ask here.

04-23: Waiting for test samples of the button PCB to arrive (should be later this week).

04-24: People are having a hard time getting ahold of the 2.2" screen, and there are reports of some suppliers saying they don't even know if they will be stocking it again. I'm going to see if the 2.4" screen will fit (will of course need to update the designs for the 3d-printed screen bits). I don't have one of those screens in hand (it's on the way) but should be able to 3d-print one based off the schematics people have posted for it.

04-25: It's looking more and more like the 2.2" screens are being retired. Multiple suppliers have said they don't expect any more stock of it. That sucks. But, Helder and I are looking into the option of using a bare 2.4" screen (meaning no pre-attached board, I did some testing with the board and it's just not a good option: viewtopic.php?f=30&t=2887&start=30#p30864 ), along with a tiny custom PCB that will make that screen a nice option. The 2.4" screen seems to be widely available, even in bulk. Should have some more info on this soon! Blog post here: http://www.sudomod.com/mintypi-2-0-scre ... -bad-news/

4-26: Not a very exciting update, but I got one of the Adafruit blank tins (https://www.adafruit.com/product/97) and it is indeed an exact copy of the Altoids tin, so that's an option if you prefer (or can't get ahold of Altoids).

5-5: Button PCB samples got here and they are a perfect fit! Now just waiting on screen samples and the accompanying board for it that Helder is working on.

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5-9: I meant to post this on here too but I guess I forgot: tested the button PCB out and it worked great! Soldering the pi to the board is actually very easy with the 3d-printed parts - I'll of course show how to do that in the guide. You can see below that things line up perfectly: just enough clearance for the camera connector and some other components on the board. Note that the tactile switches there are not necessarily the ones I'll recommend getting.

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5-18: I got some 2.4" screens in the mail (both bare and on boards). That extra 0.2" makes more of a difference than you might think (pic below)! I really don't think the on-board ones you can find on ebay will be an option with the 3d-printed parts. The only way you might be able to make it work is by cutting the corners as much as you can, and having the screen off-center (bleh).
I also found a supplier for DS Lite buttons and conductive pads. I've got a batch of black and white on the way (the only colors they had), so I'll have those available for folks as well.
I believe Helder's still waiting on some connector samples for connecting the screen to the add-on board. We're getting closer!

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5-31
I put up another quick video update:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n16oimWTdE0

6-8
I set up a wiki page for mintyPi and moved the parts list, software list, etc there and added an FAQ: http://www.sudomod.com/wiki/index.php?title=MintyPi
As for an update: I'm cranking out 3D-printed parts as fast as I can and waiting on screws to arrive.

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6-12
Nearly done printing the red/peppermint pre-orders. (waaaaay more black parts are off-screen). Also Hoolyhoo pointed me towards a script/app you can install on the pi to enable/disable wifi/bluetooth. Idling in emulationstation, a Pi Zero W with a USB keyboard plugged in went from ~35-36mA to ~31-32mA after disabling wireless. Not too shabby! I'll have an option added to the retropie menu in emulationstation for turning on/off wifi easily.

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6-23
Should be finished printing pre-orders early this next week. There were two shipments of screws on the way, one arrived today, the other is hopefully no more than a few days behind it. Once I have all that I can start packing/shipping pre-orders in the order they came in (finally!). Helder's expecting to have his stuff next week sometime as well, so once I get my hands on some of the final versions of those parts I can get busy on a guide (the final parts are slightly different [they have some test pads that people can use to make sure their soldering is correct, for example], so I wanted to wait for final ones before doing that). Getting so close!
I've also about finalized the setup script, which now sets up the enable/disable wireless menu options in retropie for you. I'll put that up for public scrutiny soon.

Final mintyPi board images:

SpoilerShow

Test Pads

LCD Boards

SpoilerShow

6-27
Finished re-printing the bezels to accommodate larger screw heads (more info here: viewtopic.php?f=30&t=3291 ). They look much better with the screws flush, and don't look weird with smaller screw heads in them either.

Tracking info says that the last package/size of screws I'm waiting on from China finally arrived in the US today, and should be here Monday. That's good timing as I'll hopefully be getting final production parts from Helder around then too (if not before), so I can record/write up a guide and start shipping pre-orders all around the same time.

7-3 The last screws finally got here! That means I can start shipping my pre-orders, and once final parts from Helder get here, I can finally put together a guide.

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Parts list, software used and FAQs are here:
http://www.sudomod.com/wiki/index.php?title=MintyPi

[VeteranGamer]

the screen may pose an issue (maybe just for now), it seem to be out of stock virtually everywhere



i've been looking at other options, and the only other viable option(not without issues) would be the 2.4... the 2.8 fits into the tin but you wont be able to close it

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BQLZR-2-4-240-x ... rkt%3D1%26


heres a mock up of it in a tin (very basic)




but this will pose issues as it is about 10mm longer than the 2.2, and will have an affect on the 3d printed parts (maybe more so on the latch)... and i suspect will have to be place in the tin more precisely for it not to catch when closing (its already a tight fit)

heres the dimensions of both

2.2




2.4





this all may be academic if suppliers get the 2.2 in stock tomorrow (i have contacted several suppliers already, asking when stock will be available.... still waiting on replys)


(NB: there is a similar 2.2 screen which is 176x220, dont buy that...or you'll be disappointed)

[wermy]

the screen may pose an issue (maybe just for now), it seem to be out of stock virtually everywhere

That's frustrating. Dozens of ebay sellers had it in stock just a few days ago. :\

Looks like it can be found on some places like Alibaba: http://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/2 ... 76919.html
They have a minimum order of 10, though (which I'm sure would be easy to get rid of on the forums).

I reached out to a couple guys who run shops with GBZ-type parts, and I know at least one of them will be stocking the screen.

ILI9341 screens should be fine software-wise (may need a slightly different configuration), but I'm not sure if the components on the back are any taller (there's not a lot of clearance behind the screen as you can imagine).

I've got a 2.4" screen on order to try out but it hasn't arrived yet. It would be nice if that worked out, as it seems much easier to find (bigger screen size would be nice too).

Adafruit's 2.2" screen looks like it might work: https://www.adafruit.com/product/1480
It's almost identical size-wise. But it's expensive and the pins are in a different order (meaning you couldn't use the screen add-on board Helder and I are working on).

Ideally the 2.2" one would just become in-stock a few places. :\

[Okay]

Hi,

With the addition of the AIO board, will there be enough room for a powerboost 1000c? I know this was discussed in the other thread but from what I can tell there was no clear answer whether the 500c would be able to play and charge at the same time.

PS: I only ask because I have a powerboost 1000c laying around and I would rather not spend money on a 500c if I have a perfectly good powerboost here.

Thanks

[VeteranGamer]

Hi,

With the addition of the AIO board, will there be enough room for a powerboost 1000c? I know this was discussed in the other thread but from what I can tell there was no clear answer whether the 500c would be able to play and charge at the same time.

You may be able to cram in a 1000c with or without the AIO ( not tried so don't hold me to it ).... The issue will be if you want it to resemble wermys build, you'll be also using the 3D printed additions and the 500c is intended with that build, your not getting a 1000c in if you go down that route

Personal, just buy 500c the 1000c can always come in handy for and future build/project...

You can always sell the 1000c, and then get a 500c

[WillBakesPi]

Hey all,

Long time lurker, just finally made an account. I just wanted to add with the 2.2 screens being out of stock since I originally purchased a few from the ebay link provided.

Here's the response I've received from the seller today verbatim.

We can not ship out this item from warehouse now. We found that the whole brunch of items get problems when we checked them again before ship them out. As a responsible seller, we never ship out the defective items to our customer. We have ask for the large cargo but it may need another 2 weeks to arrive.

I'm guessing it will be a month before the screens arrive from this specific seller. I may cancel and wait how development with the 2.4 screens goes.

Thanks wermy for looking into this for all us patient makers!

[VeteranGamer]

Looks like it can be found on some places like Alibaba: http://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/2 ... 76919.html
They have a minimum order of 10, though (which I'm sure would be easy to get rid of on the forums).

its a bit of a catch 22 with alibaba, i've purchased items from there before and things have been smooth, other times the delivery time to the UK can take over a month by then ebay seller and everywhere else may have them... however the cost on alibaba is fairly reasonable as usual

i've also ordered a 2.4,

and found a seller that has the 2.2 selling single units (I've place an order, but need that confirmed) and will provide a link (fingers crossed) if all is good....

[wermy]

Hey all,

Long time lurker, just finally made an account. I just wanted to add with the 2.2 screens being out of stock since I originally purchased a few from the ebay link provided.

Here's the response I've received from the seller today verbatim.

We can not ship out this item from warehouse now. We found that the whole brunch of items get problems when we checked them again before ship them out. As a responsible seller, we never ship out the defective items to our customer. We have ask for the large cargo but it may need another 2 weeks to arrive.

I'm guessing it will be a month before the screens arrive from this specific seller. I may cancel and wait how development with the 2.4 screens goes.

Thanks wermy for looking into this for all us patient makers!

Thanks for sharing! That's encouraging, I was worried maybe the screen was old enough that it wasn't being stocked anymore. Sounds like this could just be a hiccup in availability (with really bad timing).

[ICMF]

Although, if you order the stuff now, you should have it soon after Wermy gets the guide up. It might take a month, but if it takes a few weeks before the guide is finished, plus a couple of weeks to order the custom PCB, it'll be a month or more before you can start your build anyway.

If you wait until the guide is finished and the boards are ready then yeah, waiting on the slow boat from China will kinda suck.

----

[*]USB sound card (this one specifically because of its size and the fact that it puts out enough juice to not need a separate amp to drive a tiny speaker: http://www.ebay.com/itm/112304879364 -- again you may be able to find a cheaper seller)

How is the sound compared to PWM audio?

(also: LOL - that seller has moved a BUNCH of units this morning. Must be wondering where all the buyers are coming from. )

[wermy]

How is the sound compared to PWM audio?

(also: LOL - that seller has moved a BUNCH of units this morning. Must be wondering where all the buyers are coming from. )

Much *much* cleaner. No hissing at all. That particular card is also able to drive the speaker directly. It's not as loud as with an amp, sure, but I tested it compared to a GB Micro and it was louder than that. So good enough in my book.