For us, quality starts with training

08.06.2017

Working independently and implementing your own projects during your training is the order of the day at spo-comm. This also became clear during the IHK final project of our trainee Erwin Seliverstov. A single-board computer in a Gameboy case? No problem for our budding IT systems electronics technician!

Project objective

The aim of the final project was to install a single-board computer with a display in a handheld housing of a certain size. The system should also have an easily accessible SD card and a rechargeable battery for mobile use.

The solution

As a classic Gameboy case was to be used, the external dimensions of 150 x 90 x 35 mm were fixed. This also influenced the selection of the other components. After some research, the Raspberry Pi Zero model was chosen as the single-board computer, as it fitted the requirements perfectly in terms of both dimensions and technical data. Power is supplied via a classic smartphone battery. Its voltage is converted from 3.8 to 5 volts using a Li-ion battery converter, a so-called PowerBoost Charger. As part of this, an on/off button and the option to charge the battery via a micro USB cable were also implemented.

And all that fits into a small Gameboy? Yes, it does. The housing only had to be slightly modified to accommodate all the components. The display has been extended, the battery compartment removed and additional holes added for the control unit. Incidentally, this is done via a specially manufactured control board, a so-called "all-in-one-button PCB", which is connected to a classic USB control board. A service flap has also been added to make it easy to change the SD card.

So much for the hardware. Now all that remained was to get the system up and running. Our trainee opted for a customized Linux operating system called EmulationStation, which makes it possible to configure the various buttons with the respective control commands. All that remained was to complete the installation and this very special mini PC was ready. With the help of so-called emulators (= programs that emulate a system to make software compatible), it can now be played with popular retro games.

Naturally, we want to retain this much expertise and motivation. We are therefore delighted that Erwin Seliverstov will continue to work for us after completing his training as an IT systems electronics technician. From August 1, 2017, he will support us as an employee in the areas of service and product management with his concentrated knowledge.

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