sudomod

NES Zero

Parts list:
1x Original NES Controller (NES-004)
1x Raspberry Pi Zero W
1x 1.44" 128x128 SPI TFT Screen (ST7735 Driver Chip)
1x Adafruit PowerBoost 500C
1x CJMCU Micro USB Breakout Board
1x 4mm deep, 30mm wide, 40mm long, Lithium Ion Battery (043040)
3x Momentary Tactical Switch
4x Small Signal Diode (1N914, 1N4148, etc...)
1x 10k Resistor
1x 100k Resistor
1x 220uF 6v Capacitor

I have been thinking about attempting this for quite a while but have always kicked this project down the road, because let's face it, I have enough unfinished projects. But after cutting my teeth with getting the same screen working on the waveshare hat a couple weeks ago, I went ahead and dug in last night.

I picked the better of the three old NES controllers I have and started cutting. I have a little drill press that I use with a tiny end mill to cut the screen opening. I used needle nose pliers to remove the plastic screw studs. If you pinch them down low and slowly and gently rotate the pliers back and forth, the plastic weakens and breaks off very nicely.

The little 1.44", 128x128 LCD's PCB had to be trimmed a little to fit where I needed it. I used a very fine saw to cut it off right next to the screen (opposite of the pin end of the PCB). At that point I went to bed because I have learned the hard way to stop while I'm ahead when it gets late.
This morning I measured the active area of the screen and the opening I had cut the night previously in order to draw up a little screen bezel. The first one I printed fit perfect. At that point I used hot glue to attach the bezel from the inside of the controller, removed the screen protector and used hot glue to secure the LCD to the controller.
I went through some small batteries I had until I found one thin enough to fit where I needed. It's rated at 380mAh. Planning on using a powerboost 500c so I can charge and play simultaneously, I'm going to mount it just above the A & B buttons in some previously unused space. I desoldered the lone chip on the original NES PCB (a shift register) along with the original wires. I mounted a small micro USB port in the existing opening where the wire used to go. I think that I'm going to have to glue the pi directly to the NES PCB due to space constraints. Below is a mock up of the layout... Still need to figure out a plan for Start & Select, an on / off button and a tiny piezo somewhere.

Got the start & select buttons added and the connections all figured out. I think I'm going to wire the screen and buttons first and test before moving on to the power side of things. It all fits nicely in the case though. Hoping to wrap this up by this next weekend.

I stayed up late and got the wiring done last night and it booted straight away. That's a first lol
I still need to add the battery and the powerboost... it's just hard wired for now, but I'm really happy with it!

Good work

Nice!

Thanks guys.

Here is a circuit layout which I had entirely too much fun making in MS Paint.

Got the power all wired up last night... As soon as I get a chance, I'll add a parts list here too.

this is amazing! I love how much you managed to cram in there. I am really curious about how the piezo audio is going to sound.

Thanks jonbro. The audio is not the best (by far) but just having the audio there while playing adds a lot to the gameplay. At first I just connected a piezo element between pwm and ground, but as I could not keep the housing on the piezo due to size constraints, the volume was quite low. Low enough that I added a little piezo booster chip (74HC240) to double the voltage.