GARETH HALFACREE’S
Hobby tech
The latest tips, tricks and news in the world of computer hobbyism,
from Raspberry Pi, Arduino, and Android to retro computing
T
he credit-card size Arduboy, reviewed
back in Issue 162, wasn’t the first
Arduino-compatible handheld
console – even discounting the delays
surrounding its crowdfunding campaign, it was
soundly beaten to market by the bulkier but
more capable Gamebuino (see Issue 134). Its
extremely compact dimensions – thin enough
to slide into most wallets, although at the risk ofscratching the plastic covering the single-colour
OLED display – ensured its popularity, though,
and now it’s back as the improved Arduboy FX.
There’s no massive overhaul of the
platform here – the Arduboy FX shares the
same physical dimensions and the vast
majority of the parts found in its predecessor.
Both consoles are driven by a Microchip
ATmega32U4 microcontroller with 2.5KB
of RAM, a 1KB EEPROM and 32KB of flash
memory. They both also offer a constrained
environment designed to be accessible
to newcomers, but also challenging to
experienced developers used to more
forgiving specifications.
As before, there are six button inputs – a
four-way D-pad and two fire buttons, plus a
physical power switch. Outputs are handled
by a single user-addressable RGB LED and a
four-channel sound system linked to a small
piezoelectric buzzer, with the top of the device
packing a compact OLED panel with a single-
colour 128 x 64 resolution. Finally, there’s a
micro-USB port for a data connection and to
charge the 180mAh battery.
It’s not a revolutionary upgrade, as with the
move from the Gamebuino to the full-colourGamebuino Meta (see Issue 178). However,
this evolution handily resolves the biggest
complaint about the original Arduboy’s design- its single-game capacity. The Arduboy FX
addresses the problem by simply adding an
external flash RAM chip, communicating with
the microcontroller via the Serial Peripheral
Interface (SPI) and boosting the overall capacity
from 32KB to 16MB – enough for 512 games.
REVIEW
Arduboy FX
CUSTOMISATION / HOBBY TECH
The Arduboy FX is near identical to
its predecessor, bar a new flash chipThe box puts the Arduboy FX’s main selling
point front and centre – 200+ games