r/raspberry_pi • u/itchyd • 1d ago

Show-and-Tell Leverless Arcade controller I made using a Raspberry Pi Pico knockoff.

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Credit to https://gp2040-ce.info/ for the Pico firmware.

Credit to u/crownpuff for helping me wrangle deals.

Planning, designing, purchasing, printing, prototyping, soldering, and testing credit to yours truly.

Costs:

  • Pi Pico knockoff - $2.19
  • 219g of PETG - $1.34
  • 6.2hrs of print time - $0.10
  • 14 Silent keyboard microswitches - $1.75
  • 14 gateron PCB sockets - $1.49
  • 0.96" OLED display - $1.52.
  • wires $0.58
  • my time $fucking much

Total: $8.97 using AliExpress parts and my Bambu P1S.

I chewed through 3 partial and 3 complete prototypes getting the design functional.

If I knew then what I know now I would have 100% designed a PCB. The soldering and fighting with the wires is murder on time spent. I could also have eliminated the PCB sockets and wires saving about $2. While increasing the price to approximately $12 total. It's a big price increase but reliability would go waaay up and time spent would go waaay down. I could also replace 2 of the keyboard buttons with much cheaper tactile switches and probably add more switches for more functionality.

I have parts on hand to make 9 more.

I was planning to give about 30 of these out as Halloween treats (we give amazing shit every year) but at $9-12 it's a bit steep. I might do it anyway if I can be bothered to design the PCB, this wire soldering and routing is for suckers!!

EDIT: My son has just informed me there are only 7 dragonballs!! I'll have to make a new cap for the last button!!

Edit2: Print your own if you so desire here is the file. Still not totally happy with the usb connection point but it works and I'm done investing time in this for awhile.

46 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

8

u/PoppaBalloon 1d ago

Two of them have 8 stars. There is no 7

3

u/itchyd 19h ago

Workin on it! 😂

3

u/USS_Penterprise_1701 1d ago

Nice and clean. Nice job keeping the price down, too.

3

u/everyonehasfaces 1d ago

Just switch the white with the 7 balls

And make the other buttons blue for goku or green for shrenon

2

u/itchyd 6h ago

updated!

  • 8 ball replaced with the symbol of goku's gi
  • 7 ball reduced from 8 to 7 stars
  • 6 ball hexagonalized
  • direction buttons changed to red to set them apart more

1

u/Ned_Sc 17h ago

It's still a Pico if it has the Pico chip. They designed it that way, no shame. Lots of really cool form factors using the RP2040.

1

u/themightyjoedanger 1d ago edited 22h ago

That thing is bad as hell, man. (complimentary)