spo-comm goes gaming? Technician builds arcade machines

12.07.2018

Our IT systems electronics technician Erwin Seliverstov has already demonstrated his skills during his training and, as his final project, housed a single-board computer in a Gameboy case. Even now, after his training, he has completed another project and the results are impressive!

Project objective

At the beginning of the year, he built an arcade game machine and enthusiastically tells his colleagues about it. Michael Sporrer also hears about this and asks with great interest how Erwin built the machine and what components he used for it.

And so the project to build an arcade game machine for the spo-comm team's lunch breaks was born.

The implementation

After planning and designing the housing, the next step was to get the right materials. Planks were purchased, cut to the correct dimensions, filed and laminated.

Due to the consistently positive experience with the Raspberry Pi Zero, which was used for the Gameboy project, Erwin also decided to use a Raspberry Pi for the slot machine project. The latest version, the Raspberry Pi 3 B+, was the most suitable. At the heart of the system is the 64-bit 1.4 GHz Quad Core CPU, which is supported by 1 GB of RAM. The model is also equipped with integrated WLAN, Bluetooth and four USB 2.0 interfaces.

In addition to the 19.5" monitor, loudspeakers were also installed in the vending machine. This and the self-built controller board, which is equipped with two joysticks and various buttons to allow the multi-player function, give the machine its typical retro look. The USB hub, which is located in the middle of the controller board, can be used to connect various controllers or steering wheels for certain games, as well as keyboards for easier operation of the settings.

When choosing the operating system, Erwin opted for the latest version of a suitable Linux distribution called EmulationStation. This software makes it possible to configure the various control commands for the available buttons. Now the mini PC just had to be loaded with popular arcade classics and the project was a success!

Network with Erwin on LinkedIn