2nd RetroPi handheld build - the GamegearZero

Recently finished the second Raspberry Pi based handheld games console - this one based around a RasPi3 and a Sega Gamegear.

https://youtu.be/Mt1VP-AjSQU

My GameboyZero - build no. 1

I've been building a little RaspberryPi-in-an-old-Gameboy project for running lots of old console and handheld games. RetroPie is a superb project that unifies all of this and makes it very easy.

See my first video here.


3.5" Analogue Composite LCD 
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0056WJP1M/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
3w Class D audio amp: 
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111792407939?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT 
SudoMod: 
http://sudomod.com/game-boy-zero-custom-parts-guide-part-1/
Wermy:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRP1Zx7B4b66ZwkB2Ov5pMw 
Great Scott! 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MtN_s4tVK0&t=4s

Windows remote desktop for Raspberry Pi

It's not very open-source/Linux but the best remote desktop I've found so far for the Pi is the venerable Windows RDP (Citrix Winframe or whatever else you want to call it). I know you should be able to run an X-server and all would be well but I haven't been able to find a nice combo that works across all my Windows, Mac and Linux boxes; RDP is the only lingua franca.

So - to set it up on the Pi;

1. Start up your Pi to the terminal prompt. 
2. Type the following command "sudo apt-get install xrdp"
3. If promoted enter your password (the default is "raspberry")
4. Type "Y" and press enter.
5. This is now installing xrdp onto your Pi which is the software we are going to use for the remote desktop connection.  Wait for it to complete.
6. Restart your Pi.  We are going to check that xrdp is going to start up automatically.
7. When your Pi has booted to the command prompt look for [ ok ] Starting Remote Desktop Protocol server : xrdp sesman.  This shows you that xrdp is installed and automatically starting up on start up of your Pi

It takes best part of half an hour to extract and install but once running it's the most responsive experience - far better than VNC and even better than Apple remote desktop. Not quite as good as sitting at the machine (or over an Amulet/Teradici network connection) but excellent none the less. 

If you want to get to it via your router or firewall open one port - TCP; 3389.
Client for OS-X, Client for most Linux versions.

An alternative guide from May 2016;
http://www.circuitbasics.com/access-raspberry-pi-desktop-remote-connection/

RaspberryPi - OpenElec media centre, MPEG2 playback and iPlayer

A new version of OpenElec is out - it's reckoned to be the best build of XMBC for the Pi (very stable and lightweight). The two reasons I'd like to use the Pi (well, aside from it being a cheap AirPlay replacement) is that it can playback my MPEG2 off-air recordings and be a very competent BBC iPlayer.

Licenseing for MPEG2 playback - it's a very modest couple of quid to enable hardware MPEG2 decoding (MPEG4 and H.264 is there already);

the root p/w for it is openelec

With that done it's trivial to grab the iPlayer app and install it - so far it's played very nicely!

The other VOD apps you might like are;

• 4OD
• TWiT
• Blip.tv (feat. The Engineer's Bench podcast!)
• Youtube

These are all available from the Programs->Install AddOns menu.

Raspberry Pi - firmware

Apparently they haven't been that thorough on delivering them with up-to-date firmware;

So, many thanks to my colleague Dave "the Don" Poves for the following;

Phil,

I do not know if you know that Rapsbian will not update the firmware as ArchLinux does as part of the system upgrades. This is a manual process, but you can automatise it.

To find out your current firmware release you need to issue:

# /opt/vc/bin/vcgencmd version

If the build is not from the last two weeks it is outdated.


You can update it by doing the following:

$ sudo apt-get install ca-certificates git-core

$ sudo wget http://goo.gl/1BOfJ -O /usr/bin/rpi-update

(The short URL points to this one, it just saves a lot of typing: https://github.com/raspberrypi/firmware/tree/master/boot)

$ sudo chmod +x /usr/bin/rpi-update


Once the above script has been installed you can get the latest firmware by typing:

$ sudo rpi-update



Also I am a big fan of Mosh (http://mosh.mit.edu/) and the use of keys so you do not need to type your credentials every time you remote into your Pi. It is a really amazing product. I am getting a new one for some more nefarious objectives. :)

Regards,

 David

There we go, much better!

Adventures with the Raspberry Pi

Unless you've been under a rock for the last few months you can't have failed to have seen the Raspberry Pi; that credit-card sized ARM-based computer that sells for £25. Although it's modestly powered it does stand up as a small Linux computer for server, desktop or media-centre use. Remember; we had servers twenty years ago when no computer on Earth was this powerful!

So I've been monkeying around with a couple of these boards for a week or so and here are a few observations. To start with a few initial notes;

• Make sure the SD card you use is both properly formatted and has a valid OS image on it; I battled with one board for days before re-formating it and sticking a new copy of Debian on it. The board literally looks dead if the boot-loader is corrupt.
• I didn't find any of the problems a lot of online folks claim is an issue - power supplies; I've tried everything from iPhone, Kindle, no-name USB through to the USB-service port on the back of my TV. All powered the boards fine. I haven't measured it I imagine we're talking less than an amp at 5v.
• It's a lot easier to us one of the many tools to format the card and copy on the OS image. I've been using RPi-sd card builder v1.1

So - there are numerous pre-compiled OS images for download and I suppose it depends on what you want to do with it. My first port of call was a Debian build called "Wheezy" which seems to be the general Linux distro of choice that comes with the KDE desktop. The card must be partitioned into a FAT32 formatted boot partition (64 megabytes) and the rest of the card (at least two gigs) as an ext4 Linux partition. YaST allows you to max-out the main partition when it runs. So long as you know what IP address gets assigned at boot-time you can SSH into the board;

So with Debian installed you can use it as a proper desktop machine or a network server. There are two USB2 ports and so it makes for a very powerful NAS head for a regular USB drive.

The other application that seems to attract the most attention is XMBC for which there are several builds. I stuck OpenElec onto another SD card (this is the joy - you can switch £5 SD cards around and you've got a new machine).

The XMBC builds don't come with a desktop or even an X-client (it writes straight into the display buffer - and it has MPEG2 & H.264 decoding on the board). But it is just the job for a Media Centre.

Another feature of the OpenElec build is support for the Apple Airplay protocol so you can "throw" media playback to it from iTunes or iPad/iPhone;

Several folks online have commented about the poor output quality of the analogue audio 3.5mm jack. The HDMI audio is fine and although the mini-jack ain't great I discovered a couple of things that improved it to tolerable;

• Don't use a USB hub to power the Pi - most don't have a great regulation of the 5v rail which also tend to be noisy. A Kindle or Apple wall-wart suffices.
• Use a good-quality USB cable; I had a cheapie cable powering the board and it covered the audio output in hiss. A Kindle cable did the job.