RetroPie in gamecube build

benjamin

Hello guys, today I share my RetroPie build inside a Gamecube case.

Goals
I planned on reusing te following original Gamecube parts:

Controllers ports
Power supply
On/off switch
Fan
LED power indicator

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This was a fun little project to work on during my spare time. I'm happy with the final results: all of the controller ports are working and the power supply distributes the power (12V) to the fan and pi. The latter through a voltage regulator (3A UBEC), of course. The pi (model B, 2011) is a little outdated and has some trouble with heavy emulation (N64). Furthermore, i tweaked the gamecon-gpio-rpi kernel module a bit; adjusting a few parameters and implementing deadzones for the gamecube controller analog sticks.

Links

Imgur

Morph-X

Good job!! Especially on rewiring the controller ports and making the controllers work. Really nice!

I watched your YT video. I'd recommend a Raspi 3 for this. Booting up is way faster and the overall performance of RetroPie is of course considerably better. But i can understand if you have this Raspi lying around, you're not gonna pop-in a Raspi 3 just like that. It also doesn't change the fact you did a really nice job! ;-)

backstander

@benjamin Nice work! Keep us updated on the progress because I'd like to know how you get the original Gamecube parts to work. I might be doing something like this in the future. I picked up 2 not working Gamecubes from a local pawnshop for a really good price. I was able to swap parts to get 1 working Gamecube but the non working one would be great for something like this.

benjamin

@Morph-X Thank you! Yes indeed, had a couple of old pi's laying around so didn't really feel the need to spend some bucks on a newer pi.

@backstander Thanks! I used some documentation i found online to understand the Gamecube controller board en connecting this board to GPIO:
http://www.int03.co.uk/crema/hardware/gamecube/gc-control.html
http://www.davesblog.com/blog/2013/12/27/hacking-the-gamecube-controller-on-the-raspberry-pi/
Good luck with your project, it's fairly easy and fun to do!

Saiyuki47

@benjamin Really well done. Could you give me more informations how you connected the Gamecube ports to the Raspberry pie.
I have been trying this for months.

goobatroopa

@benjamin that is a great looking build. I love the GameCube shape and size. It's perfect for your project. Allows for adage inside and ventilation. Can I ask did you get the reset button to work as an exit emulator?

jackal123uk

@benjamin great build there! I'm looking at doing something similar myself - as has been said before it's perfect due to the built-in fan and plenty of space.

Can I ask what version GameCube you used for the donor? I have an older version which has the separate power regulator board - I'm planning on taking 5v and 3.3v direct from this but haven't done any testing yet to be sure it'll work.