Make your own Portable Retro Game Console!......which is also a Win10 Tablet!

**Creating a Retro Gaming Console with Modern Features**

I have to say that I really do enjoy playing my Nintendo switch. That is why one day I thought to myself, "How awesome would it be to have a device with a similar form factor that can not only play retro games but can also be used as a Windows 10 tablet." Sadly though, such a device does not exist. So, I had no other choice than to build one by myself.

**The Heart of the System: LattePanda SBC**

Let's get started! This video is sponsored by JLC Pcb, which offers cheap but still high-quality PCBs, stencils, and SMT assembly for your projects. They currently offer $7 coupons for SMT assembly and PCB prices that start at $2.

The heart of the system is this LattePanda single-board computer. It's a great device that can run Windows 10 and has a lot of features, such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and USB ports.

**Adding Modern Features: Speaker, Audio Jack, and Power Button**

To add some modern features to our retro gaming console, we need a small speaker and a 3.5mm audio jack. The speaker will be mounted inside the housing and wired up to the LattePanda's audio jack, which can be used to plug in headphones.

We also need to add a power button, which will be secured inside the housing using hot glue.

**Designing the Housing: A 3D Printed Masterpiece**

After trading a couple of sketches on how the game console should look like and where all the mandatory components should be placed, I started creating 3D models of all the important components with mounting holes. I used Fusion 360 to do that, either manually measuring the components or using the dimensions I found on the internet.

With those models, I was not only able to figure out the size of the game console but also create precise mounting holes for all of them. After 50 versions of my design and around 10 hours, this was the housing I was finally happy with.

**Printing and Assembling the Housing**

I printed the upper half with black PLA filaments, the lower half with white filaments, and all the button caps, shoulder pads, and holding parts with red filaments. Once I got all the 3D printed parts, I removed their support material and did a bit of extra treatment for some sections.

**Assembling the Buttons and Power Button**

I grabbed dozens of 9.5mm long tactile push buttons and soldered two wires to each of them. Then, I positioned the 3D printed button caps inside the holes, pushed the tactile switches into them, and used a bit of hot glue to create a common ground for all the buttons.

**Securing the Speaker, USB Type-C PD PCB, and Audio Jack**

I secured the speaker, USB type-C PD PCB, and audio jack inside the housing using two-component adhesive. Then, I finally secured the LattePanda as well as the screen in place with more M3 screws.

**Wiring Up the System**

I wired up most of the buttons to the Arduino board, connected to the screen, and the LattePanda power button. Don't worry if you didn't get all the details; you can find more pictures and information about this project as always in the video description.

**Closing the System**

It was time to close the system up and use more M3 screws to hold the two halves together. And, as you can see by powering it with the power bank, it all still works fine!

I hope you enjoyed this project and maybe I even inspired you to create something similar! If so, don't forget to like, share, subscribe, and hit the notification bell! Stay creative, and I would see you next time!

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enI have to say that I really do enjoy playing my Nintendo switchThat is why one day I thought to myselfHow awesome would it be to have a device with a similar form factor that can not only play retro gamesBut can also be used as a Windows 10 tabletSadly though such a device does not exist. So I had no other choice than to build one by myselfIt can be powered by USB type-c PD power source, like a power bankcomes with a touchscreen to easily control the Windows 10 operating systemand also features all important gamepad buttons, which are mandatory for some retro gamingSo sit back and enjoy the journey of me creating this device so that you can easily rebuild it at homeLet's get startedThis video is sponsored by JLC Pcb which offers cheap but still high quality PCBsStencils and SMT assembly year for your projectsThey currently offer $7 coupons for SMT assembly and PCB prices too as always start at $2So upload your gerber files today and try out their serviceLet's start off with the heart of the system which is this latte Panda single board computerNow it might not be the cheapest SBC on the markets, but it certainly comes with rather powerfulspecifications for its size has Windows 10 installsFeatures lots of ports just like a proper computer and even has a built-in Arduino which we will later use for the game pedsTo test it's all I had to do was to connect a 5 volt power sourceWait for the red LED to turn off and then hold the power button until the red LED starts glowing againBut obviously I forgot all about a display for this mini computerFor that I got myself this wave share 7-inch HDMI LCD with integrated capacitive touchscreenIts price was once again, not that lowBut I have to say that its picture quality is pretty goodThe touchscreen works perfectly and it even comes with an audio power amplifierWhich we will later use to add a small speaker to the gaming systemso next I use the small and flats HDMI cable to connect the display to the Lattepandaused in micro USB cable to connect the touch port of the display to USB ports of the Lattepanda andFinally used another micro USB cable hooked up to the power only portswhich I connected to separate five volt power sourceBut since I later only want to use one five volt power source for the gaming systemWhich powers both the Lattepanda in the screen. I cut up both power wiresRemoved the insulation of the red five volts and black ground wireGrab myself a micro USB break or ports and Soldered four wires to the corresponding five volts or ground pedsAfter then plugging this micro USB breakout in only one power sourceWe can see that the system does work just fineAt least until a certain pointsince the combined current draw of both devicesexceeds the current capabilities of our power sourceand since I light up on to power the system with a power bankWhich comes with the same current limit of two amps we might have a serious problem hereThankfully though I got one of those USB type-c PD PCBs laying aroundWhich I presented you in one of my previous videos about USB type-csimply puts by using a USB type-c cable and a compatible USB type-c PD power bankWe can get three amps of current instead of just twoSo I sold out all wires of the system to the circuitspowered it up and as you can see this time everything works without any problemsand after confirming that all functions of Windows 10 work flawlesslyBy also watching some of my own videosI went over to the retroarch websitesWhich is the software that I will be using for the retro gaming aspectsNow I will not go into detail here on how to set up the softwareBecause honestly speaking there are already enough videos about that topicBut as soon as you're basically done with setting the software up you can use the keyboards to play some retro gamesLike for example golden axe right hereNeedless to say though. We cannot fit the keyboards into our targets form factorWhich is why we can also hook up a simple game peds map its entire buttons and use that as an input controllerBut I really didn't feel like dealing with the gamepad PCB and buttonswhich is why I had a closer look at the Arduino of the Lattepanda andRealised that it uses the atmega 32u4 which is also used in the Arduino LeonardoWhich coincidentally you can also act as a game ped.so I installed the Arduino joystick librarian and used it to write a bit of codes, whichMaps the different pins of the atmega IC to a button of game pads afterThen opening the sketch on the Lattepandaselecting the arduino leonardo as a targetand uploading it. It seems like a new game peds got successfully recognizedhere you can see which pin of the Lattepanda Arduino acts a switch button andAfter soldering vires to attacked head push button and hooking it up between one of the shown pins and groundsYou can see that Windows successfully detects the button push and thus we can use it in the retroarch softwareThe last two components we need for the hardware setup are small speaker and a 3.5 millimeter audio jackthe audio check will later be mounted inside the housing of the game console andwired up to the Lattepanda audio jackWhich means it can be used to plug in headphonesThe speaker will obviously also later be secured inside the housing andDirectly up top to the screens audio amplifier through the help of its included connect a wireIts volume can then easily get adjusted through the push buttons mounted on the screens PCBBut wait a minuteThat means those push buttons along with the Lattepanda's power button also needs attackedI push button extension mounted inside the housing andThat was the pointI started trading a couple of sketchesHow the game console should look like and where all the mandatory components should be placed?with those blueprints and minds I started creating 3d models of all the important components with the mounting holes infusion 360to do that I either had to manually measure the components or use the dimensions I found on the internet andWith those models. I was not only able to figure out the size of the game consolebut I was also able to create precise mounting holes for all of them andAfter 50 versions of my design and around 10 hours. This was the housing. I was finally happy withSo I printed its upper half with black PLA filaments its lower half with whiteFilaments and all the button caps shoulder pads and holding parts with red filamentsAs soon as I got all the 3d printed partsI removed their support material did a bit of extra treatment for some sections andstarted the assembly by grabbing dozens of nine point five millimeter long tactile push buttons andsoldering two wires to each of themafter that was doneI positioned the 3d printed button caps inside the HolesPush the tactile switches into them for which and also later used a bit of hot glueCreated a common ground for all the buttons and used a mounting plate and m3 screws inOrder to tighten it all to the housingYou need to find adjust the distance of the mounting plates until you get a satisfying button push. IThen repeated this processFor the other sides as well as for all the buttons of the screen until our tape and a power buttonnext I hot-glued a tactile push button near each shoulder pads andDouble-checked whether they would mechanically work later onWhich they did at this pointI secured the speaker USB type-c PD PCB andAudio jack inside the housing with a bits of two component adhesiveThen I finally secured the latte panda as well as the screen in place with more m3 screwsEdit mail had asked to delay tape and Arduino and wired up most of the buttons to itsThe rest card connected to the screen all the Lattepanda power button, but do not worry if you didn't get all the detailsbecause you can find more pictures and information about this project as always in the video description andAfter wiring up the audio check and speaker. It was time to solder the Lattepanda microUSB cable to powerfrom which I used another chopped up USB cable to power the screen asYou can see there was a lack of spaceWhich also forced me to directly sewed on the data wires of the touch ports to another USB cable?which then got plucked into the latte panda andJust like that. The electrical wire ring was completed.which means it was time to close the system up and use more m3 screws to hold the two halves together andAs you can see by powering its with the power bank it all still works. Just fineI hope you enjoyed this projects and maybe I even inspired you to create something similarIf so, don't forget to Like share subscribe and hit the notification bellStay creative and I would see you next time