Need help to clarify over potential DS like book build

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Eraser
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Oct 12, 2018 8:56 am

Need help to clarify over potential DS like book build

Post by Eraser » Fri Oct 12, 2018 9:00 am

So I've been looking into starting a project and making a retro game console. The plan is to use a Raspberry Pi Zero and have the project contained within a book and work similar to a DS, with the exception being that it was a top screen and the buttons are where the 'button screen' would be. I'm looking to see if i could also include a small usb hub inside and connect wireless controllers there and have a available hdmi port so I can also play from a TV.

Because I have zero experience in electronics, I really want to make sure that before I make any purchases, I know that it will work when assembled (hopefully).

Now because I don't really understand how electronics work and stuff I'm having problems visualising how I would: 1) power the project 2) connect a screen 3) connecting buttons

I've looked into mintypi's, GBZs etc and when looking through forums, I feel like i'm staring at another language. It's nice having pictures but I want to really understand.

For the power supply I'm hoping to look for the cheapest method if possible. Because I want to make it compact and portable like a DS, I feel that lipo batteries are the only way of powering the pi, but they do not output enough power. So i know there's an adafruit powerboost which should work. I've seen Lipo shims and something called a tp4056 and I don't know if they could help. I did look into getting a powerbank that is something like this:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Krecoo-Portabl ... +powerbank

but again i'm not too sure. I feel like once I have a good enough understanding of what is needed then i can think about changing things.

With regards to the screen, I'm looking to use an LCD screen. But i'm not really sure what to buy. I think most screens use ribbon cables and I think they can connect directly to the Pi. Even then I think that the screen would need a powersupply and i'm not sure how that works, considering how compact some builds I've seen.

Lastly is how I do the buttons. From what i'm aware I believe they needed a shared ground or something and that you can buy the buttons and pads cheap. I was thinking that i could use perfboard to put the buttons on and stuff. But I'm unsure if that works and how to solder them.

Thanks in advance from a stranger in need

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