SNES Pi Zero

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Hello Everybody!

So recently I was browsing reddit and came across a post on /r/raspberry_pi showing a raspberry pi zero and all the necessary usb/hdmi ports inside a NES cartridge as a retro emulator. It’s fantastic! and got great feedback from across the web.

Now, I own a two Pi’s, a Model B and… a ZERO! I bought one with the intention of creating a PiBoy Zero. This of course never happened, so I thought why not! I love retro games, me and my wife used to play Super Mario Bros 3 until our days were taken up with kids.

I embarked upon a quest the following day to find a NES cartridge suitable for the project. All the places in town with retro games did have a cartridge I’d feel happy about butchering or cheap enough in good condition. Then… as I gazed upon retro games from other consoles it hit me, at home I have a usb SNES controller. I then began to wonder if I could cram everything into a SNES cartridge, screw it! I thought as I picked up a £2 FIFA International Soccer game.

When I got home I instantly began to open upon the cartridge and find what I have and what I will need.

The parts list is as follows(with what I purchased)…

I already owned a 5v charger, so didn’t need to purchase one.

When everything arrived I began to cram and contort all the cables and find a way to fit everything in place. First thing I encountered was the opening at the bottom of the console wasn’t going to be wide enough. With a dremel I patiently whittled away until there was enough space to have the 4 USB hubs, the power micro USB port and the HDMI port all available in a row.

It was also important to have 4 ports available, one for asthetics and the other so I could potentially play 4 player games like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade!

Anything inside not needed was dremeled and removed to create space. I stripped down the cables and removed the USB hub from its housing. I partially glued everything down in place and prepared the cables for a test run closing it. It’s snug… not too snug though. It doesn’t feel like it will explode!!

Then came loading everything on to the micro SD card. I went with RetroPie and followed the tutorial here.

Once all loaded and an initial test run had taken place, I closed up the unit and considered it done!

I would say that I could have done a better job at finishing a few things cosmetically and I may go back do so if I find the time. But overall I am extremely pleased with the outcome, I posted it on /r/raspberry_pi and got great a response too!

If you have done anything similar or seen one you would like to share then leave a message in the comments!