My latest custom handheld console...

This time its ARM built & runs Linux (w/ Lua instead of BASIC).

Features :

- Bash & Codiad IDE programmable

- SSH over USB or WiFi

- Lua & cpp can be used to develop

- ARM core (400MHz / 128MB ram / uSD) that boots a Debian Jessie

- 320x240 px color Screen

- MP3 playback

- Original SEGA GameGear enclosure w/ fully working btns

- add USB Host to plug an ext. keyboard ....

How it's built :

- The Pad

The PCB was cutted then re-wired to keep original dir.-cross & btns

I found a tutorial here to perform that.

Then all buttons + GGear led were wired to a GPIO expander (SX1509 from SparkFun) that is readed by an Arduino ProMini 3.3v (8Mhz) because I had a lot of troubles by connecting it directly to the ARM SoC.

- The SoC

It's an AriettaG25 ARM SoC (not a raspPI one...).

It has 128MB of RAM, 400MHz cpu, SD slot & pluggable WiFi module.

no sound output, no HDMI output, so Why ?

Because is more even tiny than the RPI-0, it has 3 USB host ports, you can change the GPIO header layout. (& I've got 3 of those left in my toolbox...)

- The Sound Interface

I had 2 options :

- plug an USB SoundCard (but needed to rebuild a full kernel w/ good sound modules since the model that I have is not reconized )

- wire a DFPlayer Mini (Serial MP3 playback module that I already used in my previous console projects)

I choose the DFPlayer, it does require less POWER & requires no CPU resources... (& it's cheap !)

I finally plugged it onto the Arduino too to keep my others TTL lines free.

- The Screen

2 reasons to choose ILI9341 :

- I already used it in my projects

- there's an SD image file already built w/ Debian Jessie for the Arietta

It's SPI connecting, has 320x240px 64k colors

- The Whole Layout

Here a simple BUSes diagram :

Well, in reality, it looks more like this ....

- What does it do ?

At this time, it runs some Lua & natives Demos (PoC), I'm trying to port some simples emulators on it (nes,gb,...)

& whatever you may think, It boots ;-)

I know there is still a lot of work to do...

So maybe see you later !

Here is my Hackaday page

& the whole source code (Github)