A black box with the words "Steam BRICK" emblazoned in white and orange text. It sits on a grey surface with various electronic parts surrounding it.

Steam Brick Makes Your Steam Deck Headless

January 26, 2025 by Navarre Bartz 44 Comments

Handhelds are designed to be portable, but what if you need something smaller than OEM? The Steam Brick pulls basically everything off of a Steam Deck to make it as portable as possible.

[crastinator-pro] found they rarely used the controller or screen on their Steam Deck, and the form factor was too bulky to conveniently chuck into their bag, negating the advantage of owning a portable console. As to be expected from any self-respecting hacker, they did a couple quick tests with components unplugged then got to work with the rotary tool.

After excising the main board from its handheld bonds and trimming unnecessary bits from the aluminum frame around the mainboard, they designed a case that can be tossed in a bag without any special treatment. The case was printed in polycarbonate to better withstand the heat of the console running at full tilt, and the colorful details were added in PLA with a 3D pen.

We’ve discussed using a Steam Deck as a single-board computer before, but if you want to keep it in one piece, you could also get it setup in a slick keyboard case.

DIY Handheld Is An Emulation Powerhouse

January 19, 2025 by Inderpreet Singh 10 Comments

If you’re into handheld gaming, you’ve got a wide array of hardware options to choose from these days that are capable of running everything from console classics to full-fledged PC titles. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t enterprising gamers out there who are still building their own custom handhelds — like the Retro Lite CM5.

For this project, [StonedEdge], [GinKage], and [notime2d8] set out to create a powerful enough handheld that could emulate games spanning the PlayStation 2, GameCube, and 3DS eras. Using a Radxa Rk3588s compute module as a base, the build navigates the design and construction of things like the carrier board, custom controllers, and the enclosure.

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A PDA From An ESP32

January 18, 2025 by Jenny List 17 Comments

The ESP32 series of microcontrollers have been with us for quite a few years now and appeared in both Tensilica and RISC-V variants, both of which deliver an inexpensive and powerful device. It’s thus shown up in quite a few handheld computers, whether they be conference badges or standalone devices, and this is definitely a field in which these chips have more to give. We’re pleased then to see this e-ink PDA from [ashtf8], which we think raises the bar on this type of device.

At its heart is an ESP32-S3, on the back side of a QWERTY keyboard PCB, and for a display it has an e-ink screen. To get over the annoying e-ink refresh when typing text it uses a hybrid of e-ink and OLED, with a small OLED holding the current line which can be periodically sent to the e-ink. Perhaps the nicest thing about the hardware though is the clear resin printed clamshell case, and a hand-cast silicone membrane for the keyboard. That has always been a part considered difficult to produce, and here he is making one from scratch. Take a look at the video below the break.

Software-wise it has a range of apps with more promised, but even as it stands it looks useful enough to work with. If that’s not enough, then perhaps an ESP32 operating system would help.

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3D Printed Case Turns Pixel 6 Pro Into Palmtop

January 3, 2025 by Tom Nardi 33 Comments

Despite initial interest in the 1990s and early 2000s, palmtop computers never really took off. Realistically most consumers were probably satisfied enough with smartphones as they became more widely available, but those of us who would prefer a real keyboard on our mobile devices are still feeling the pain. Today there are still a few commercial palmtop-like machines out there, but they aren’t exactly mainstream.

Which is why this 3D printed case for the Pixel 6 Pro from [TypingCat] is so interesting. It takes a relatively popular and capable contemporary phone, pairs it with a physical keyboard, and manages to create something that looks quite practical. Thanks to Termux, you can even get a fairly usable Linux environment going on the thing.

There aren’t too many components at play here, but still, we appreciate the fact that [TypingCat] provided links for not only the specific Bluetooth keyboard used, but the fasteners required to hold the three printed parts together. A link is also provided to the Termux-Desktops project, which allows you to get a Linux X11 desktop environment running on Android. It’s not the pocket Linux computer of our dreams, but it’s pretty close.

While the Pixel 6 Pro is a solid enough choice to base this project around, we’re interested in seeing if the community will come up with variants of this case to hold other similarly sized phones. It’s interesting to note that [TypingCat] has decided to use the “No Derivatives” variant of the Creative Commons license for the bottom half of the case. But since the top half is a remix of an existing Pixel 6 Pro case from [JoshCraft3D], it carries a more permissive license and must be distributed separately. Long story short, folks can create and distribute custom versions of the phone-side of this case, but the bottom needs to remain the same.

If you’ve got filament to ~~burn~~ extrude and would rather have a more pure Linux experience, we saw a printable Raspberry Pi Zero palmtop a couple months back that looked quite promising.

Pico Pal Puts RP2350 Into Game Boy Color Shell

January 3, 2025 by Tom Nardi 14 Comments

While modern gaming systems deliver ever more realistic experiences, there’s still something to be said for the consoles and handhelds of the 80s and 90s. For many, the appeal is nostalgic. Others are attracted to the “lo-fi” graphical and sound design of these games, necessitated by the limited hardware of the time.

That said nobody would claim those old systems were perfect. Which is why a hybrid approach like [Peter Khouly] has been working on with the Pico Pal might be the ultimate solution. This replacement motherboard for the Game Boy Color (GBC) is powered by the RP2350, meaning the external hardware will have the same look and feel as it did back in 1998, but you’ll still be able to reap the benefits of modern emulation.

While the origins of the project go a bit farther, [Peter] has been working on this particular variation of the Pico Pal GBC since August, and has kept a fascinating log of his progress. Just getting the RP2350 to emulate Pokémon isn’t really that big of a deal, but getting all the ancillary hardware implemented and fitted inside the case of the GBC is a different story. Especially since [Peter] intends to pack plenty of features into the final product, such as rechargable batteries, Bluetooth audio, real-time clock support, and digital video out.

The most recent status update is from just last week, where [Peter] goes over some of the new features he’s been working on. A major one is the soft power solution, where the physical power switch doesn’t just pull the plug like it did back in the 1990s. Instead, the switch triggers the board to save the game and enter into a low-power mode so that it can come right back on to where you left off. This does impact battery life, but so far, it looks like the Pico Pal GBC will be able to run for at least five hours on a charge, and more than twice that if you don’t mind turning off the audio.

It sounds like there’s still several gremlins to track down in the design, but even in its current state, the Pico Pal GBC looks very interesting. We’re immediately reminded of the phenomenal work [Bucket Mouse] has put in on a similar refit for the original DMG-1 Game Boy.

close up of a TI-84 Plus CE running custom software

Going Digital: Teaching A TI-84 Handwriting Recognition

December 24, 2024 by Heidi Ulrich 4 Comments

You wouldn’t typically associate graphing calculators with artificial intelligence, but hacker [KermMartian] recently made it happen. The innovative project involved running a neural network directly on a TI-84 Plus CE to recognize handwritten digits. By using the MNIST dataset, a well-known collection of handwritten numbers, the calculator could identify digits in just 18 seconds. If you want to learn how, check out his full video on it here.

The project began with a proof of concept: running a convolutional neural network (CNN) on the calculator’s limited hardware, a TI-84 Plus CE with only 256 KB of memory and a 48 MHz processor. Despite these constraints, the neural network could train and make predictions. The key to success: optimizing the code, leveraging the calculator’s C programming tools, and offloading the heavy lifting to a computer for training. Once trained, the network could be transferred to the calculator for real-time inference. Not only did it run the digits from MNIST, but it also accepted input from a USB mouse, letting [KermMartian] draw digits directly on the screen.

While the calculator’s limited resources mean it can’t train the network in real-time, this project is a proof that, with enough ingenuity, even a small device can be used for something as complex as AI. It’s not just about power; it’s about resourcefulness. If you’re into unconventional projects, this is one for the books.

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Watch Any Video On Your Game Boy, Via Link Cable

December 23, 2024 by Elliot Williams 6 Comments

Game Boys have a link cable that lets two of them play together. You know, to battle with a friend’s Pokemon and stuff like that. But who says that it should be limited to transmitting only what Big N wants you to?

[Chromalock] wrote a custom GB program that takes in data over the link cable, and displays it on the screen as video, as fast as it can be sent. Add in a microcontroller, a level shifter, and software on the big computer side, and you can hook up your Game Boy Color as a normal video device and send it anything you want, from a webcam to any program that outputs video.

Well, almost. The biggest limitation is the data link cable, of course. On the older Game Boys, the link cable is apparently only good for 8 kHz, while the Color models can pull a not-quite-blistering 512 kHz. Still, that’s enough for 60 fps in a low-res black and white mode, or a slow, screen-tearing high-res color experience. You pick your poison.

There are gotchas that have to do with the way the GB displays palettes that get left as “to-do” on the software side. There is room for improvement in hardware too. (GB Link looks like SPI to us, and we’d bet you can push the speeds even higher with clever GB-side code.) In short, this is an awesome demo that just invites further hacking.

If you want to know more about the Game Boy to get started, and maybe even if you don’t, you absolutely must watch The Ultimate Game Boy Talk. Trust us on this one.

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