Cupcade: the Raspberry Pi Micro Arcade Cabinet Created by Phillip Burgess
Last updated on 2021-02-26 02:31:29 PM EST Guide Contents
Guide Contents 2 Overview 4 Current “Gen 3” Kit Contents: 4 Optional additions: 5 Prior “Gen 1” and “Gen 2” Kit Contents: 5 Optional additions: 6 Plan Ahead 7 Prep Work 9 Raspberry Pi Setup 11 SD Card Setup 11 First Boot 11 Enable WiFi (if needed) 12 Download and Install Cupcade Software 13 Additional Steps for GEN 3 KITS ONLY 16 Additional Steps for GEN 1 & 2 KITS ONLY 17 Last Steps for ALL Cupcade Versions 18 Gen 3 Kit 19 Assemble Components 21 Buttons 21 PiTFT Display 21 Joystick 21 Speaker 22 Arcade Bonnet 22 Dry Run 24 PiTFT Test 24 If the PiTFT doesn’t work… 24 Arcade Bonnet and Remaining Parts 24 If the PiTFT Doesn’t Work Now 26 If the PiTFT Does Work 26 If the Buttons/Joystick Don’t Work 27 If Sound Doesn’t Work 27 Cabinet Part 1 28 Why not just design a case that’s easier to asemble? 28 Buttons 28 Joystick 30 Speaker 30 Screen 31 Base 33 If using a Pi Zero… 36 Cabinet Part 2 38 Cabinet Part 3 41 Okay, the Tricky Part… 43 Cabinet Part 4 48 My Cupcade rocks back and forth when stood up. 49 Configure Input 50
© Adafruit Industries https://learn.adafruit.com/cupcade-raspberry-pi-micro-mini-arcade-game-cabinet Page 2 of 121 Gen 2 Kit 53 Interface Board 55 Gen 1 Kit 59 Beta Board Part 1 61 The circuit is 5 Volts but connects to the Raspberry Pi’s 3.3V GPIO pins. Won’t this fry the board? 68 Beta Board Part 2 70 Arts & Crafts Time! 73 Beta Board Part 3 76 Button Wires 76 Joystick Wires 79 Power Wires 80 Audio Wires 81 Soldering’s done! 82 Gen 1 & 2 Continued… 84 PiTFT Assembly & Test 85 Solder Time! 85 If there’s no response… 87 Now a Second Test… 87 Test ROM 88 Dry Run 90 If the Pi Does Not Boot 93 If the Pi Boots Successfully 93 Some of the buttons/joystick work but not all! 93 When You’re Done Testing 94 Cabinet Part 1 95 Why not just design a case that’s easier to asemble? 95 Cabinet Part 2 101 Joystick and Buttons 101 Screen and Audio 103 Cabinet Part 3 104 Okay, the Tricky Part 105 Cabinet Part 4 110 If the system does not boot… 115 My Cupcade rocks back and forth when stood up. 115 Installing ROMs 116 Some Free MAME (Arcade) ROMs 116 Moving ROMs Over the Network 117 Downloads 120 Custom Cabinet Art 120 Custom Cabinet 120 PCB Files 120
© Adafruit Industries https://learn.adafruit.com/cupcade-raspberry-pi-micro-mini-arcade-game-cabinet Page 3 of 121 Overview
A Maker Faire exhibit of mine once incorporated a Pac-Man theme “for the old-timers.” It was a surprise then to see young kids all recognized the characters too. How? Smartphones! Thanks to emulation — running old code byte-for-byte on modern hardware — these classic games are still played and relevant a generation later.
Much of the mystique of the originals lied in the cabinets and controls. Anyone can load a game on a smartphone or tablet…but the physicality of the arcade machine and its clicky buttons made them rare objects of desire back in the day. We wanted to capture a small taste of that, using the tiny Raspberry Pi computer. The result is a DIY kit we call Cupcade!
Cupcade isn’t the first, but it’s notable for using the Adafruit PiTFT display. The direct digital interface delivers a pixel-perfect rendition of classic games with none of the blurriness you’d get with a composite screen.