raspberrypi.org/magpi The Official Raspberry Pi Projects Book 59
PI0CKET-TINY PI Projects
Above You can get an idea of just how tiny the Tiny Pi
is when it’s placed next to a Nintendo Game Boy
Above top With RetroPie installed, the Tiny Pi can emulate
classic games machines such as the Sega Game Gear>STEP-01
Make a custom PCB
To keep the size down, Peter designed
his own slimline printed circuit board
and had it made by OSH Park, a
US-based custom PCB supplier.>STEP-02
Add a Pi Zero
The Pi Zero is mounted directly to the
rear of the PCB, its GPIO header soldered
to the connections. A LiPo battery and
TP4056 charger are strapped in place.>STEP-03
Make a case
Peter designed his own slimline case using
OnShape. It comprises a top, bottom, and
backplate, and covers for the joystick and
buttons. Find the files at magpi.cc/2qu0P6f.BUILD A TINY GAMES MACHINE
kids in their bedrooms could make
brilliant games. I tried it on my
GBZ project and it was good fun to
have a portable system that could
play all these games, almost like
having a part of my childhood
in my pocket.”
The PiOCKET-Tiny Pi
(magpi.cc/2sdhmf8) took him
two months to put together.
“The biggest hold up was getting
my hands on some screens. There
are many suppliers who sell them
attached to a PCB, but I didn’t
want that extra bulk.” Instead,
he designed his own super-skinny
PCB, a mere 0.8 mm thick, which
is mounted directly to the rear
of a Pi Zero W.
On the front of the PCB are a five-
way joystick (with push-in function)
and two push buttons. There’s also a
three-way navigation switch at the
top, which can be mapped to extra
functions. The device is powered
by a slimline LiPo battery, strapped
to the Pi Zero along with a TP4056
charger. Stereo sound is supplied
by two piezo transducers situated
behind the screen.
As well as Pico-8 software, Peter
has programmed the Tiny Pi to
run classic console games via the
RetroPie emulation system. “You
are restricted on the games you
can play. The 128×128 resolution
makes things like SNES or
Mega Drive games hard to see,
although the Pi is actually capable
of playing them.”The original version of the Tiny
Pi was ‘naked’, but Peter has since
clothed it in a 3D-printed custom
case. Designed using OnShape
(onshape.com), he’s made it as
slimline as possible, to match
the rest of the project. “It needs
a spot of refinement, but the
main change I would like to make
would be to the software side of
things. My real goal is to have it
like a Game Boy, where it starts up
quickly, you can play a few games,
then just switch it off, no worries
about shutting down and waiting
for it to finish things.”As well as Pico-8 software, Peter
has programmed the Tiny Pi to
run classic console games