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[MRORANGE]

Got RetroPIe on the zero, gonna find a hub tomorrow and do some testing on it for PSX as that seems an area it might falter in. Will up it to it's max clock speed. Might doe reicast if I have time.

EDIT:

There is a company that sells cabinets for mini arcade machines for people who don't have the tools for custom cutting, for $99 they can give you a whole outer shell,. just get the pi, monitor and buttons and you are good to go:
https://gameroomsolutions.com/product-category/cnc-cabinets/

 

[Barkley's Justice]

Has anyone added an on/off switch to their Pi 2's?

Any tips or pointers?

 

[dubc35]

Has anyone added an on/off switch to their Pi 2's?

Any tips or pointers?

disclaimer: I don't own a Pi (but have been contemplating buying one).

Are you looking for DIY or off the shelf?

I'm not well versed in the DIY approach but for OTS, there are many variations of inline switches like this. This specific one would require an AC adapter (if you have an old phone one that would work).

 

[Barkley's Justice]

disclaimer: I don't own a Pi (but have been contemplating buying one).

Are you looking for DIY or off the shelf?

I'm not well versed in the DIY approach but for OTS, there are many variations of inline switches like this. This specific one would require an AC adapter (if you have an old phone one that would work).

Oh nice, thanks!

One question: Are you saying it needs an additional AC adapter to power? Or could it just piggyback off of the one powering the Pi?

 

[bestpersonevar]

---------

 

[JNT]

I've been playing around with Retropie and Lakka and I quickly concluded neither are ready for prime time. Openelec + Kodi + Retroarch is the sweetspot for me. The only gripe I have is that there is no nice way of setting it up without getting your hands dirty.

 

[Barkley's Justice]

I've been playing around with Retropie and Lakka and I quickly concluded neither are ready for prime time. Openelec + Kodi + Retroarch is the sweetspot for me. The only gripe I have is that there is no nice way of setting it up without getting your hands dirty.

Recalbox is really nice and is super simple to setup. Comes with Kodi too.

 

[dubc35]

Oh nice, thanks!

One question: Are you saying it needs an additional AC adapter to power? Or could it just piggyback off of the one powering the Pi?

Not sure on the piggyback question. My understanding is the micro usb side would insert into the Pi micro usb power then you would need to get power to the regular USB side with something like this (varies by country so perhaps different depending on where you live):

(at least this is what I have been thinking of, someone how has one can probably give better information). Why did I reply to this again, lol

 

[GOOCHY]

I've been playing around with Retropie and Lakka and I quickly concluded neither are ready for prime time. Openelec + Kodi + Retroarch is the sweetspot for me. The only gripe I have is that there is no nice way of setting it up without getting your hands dirty.

This is what I have setup on a Google Chromebox. It took some hacking around to get the emulation working properly so I'm reluctant to update anything on it. I've been in search of an easier solution for emulation on that hardware but have yet to identify anything.

 

[Barkley's Justice]

Not sure on the piggyback question. My understanding is the micro usb side would insert into the Pi micro usb power then you would need to get power to the regular USB side with something like this (varies by country so perhaps different depending on where you live):

(at least this is what I have been thinking of, someone how has one can probably give better information). Why did I reply to this again, lol

Thanks. Researching those USB switches, seems like there may be some voltage limiting going on...Hard to say...But there are a few Amazon reviewers that seem to believe it could be a potential problem.

I researched a bit more and came across this:

http://www.mausberrycircuits.com/collections/frontpage/products/illuminated-led-shutdown-switch

Might go with something like that. It sends a proper shutdown signal to the OS too, which is nice.

There's this guy too:

 

[JNT]

Recalbox is really nice and is super simple to setup. Comes with Kodi too.

Cool. How does switching between interfaces work (specifically between Kodi and Emulationstation)?

 

[Sourtreats]

I know that Microsoft have only just released support for W7 and W8 with the Xbox One wireless reciever, but what are the chances of it working with a Retro Pi?

 

[Bubba77]

Got RetroPIe on the zero, gonna find a hub tomorrow and do some testing on it for PSX as that seems an area it might falter in. Will up it to it's max clock speed. Might doe reicast if I have time.

EDIT:

There is a company that sells cabinets for mini arcade machines for people who don't have the tools for custom cutting, for $99 they can give you a whole outer shell,. just get the pi, monitor and buttons and you are good to go:
https://gameroomsolutions.com/product-category/cnc-cabinets/

I was so annoyed when I saw that kit because I had just purchased everything seperately and pain stakingly built my own cab that looks very close to that one. Took me 2 weeks. I even ordered my buttons from that site! Oh well it was a real fun project anyways

 

[Maybesew]

Anyone know if there is a mirror for this iso download? It's going to take 3 hours

edit: nevermind the torrent will do

 

[fester]

Thanks. Researching those USB switches, seems like there may be some voltage limiting going on...Hard to say...But there are a few Amazon reviewers that seem to believe it could be a potential problem.

I researched a bit more and came across this:

http://www.mausberrycircuits.com/collections/frontpage/products/illuminated-led-shutdown-switch

Might go with something like that. It sends a proper shutdown signal to the OS too, which is nice.

There's this guy too:

I purchased a slightly different switch from Mausberry Circuits and it's worked like a champ. Stinks that it's sold out right now, though.

http://mausberry-circuits.myshopify.com/collections/frontpage/products/direct-plug-shutdown-switch-with-rocker

 

[Anony]

i've been looking for a power switch for rpi, but 10-15$+, no thanks

how does one update the retropie build of debian?

 

[dubc35]

I purchased a slightly different switch from Mausberry Circuits and it's worked like a champ. Stinks that it's sold out right now, though.

http://mausberry-circuits.myshopify.com/collections/frontpage/products/direct-plug-shutdown-switch-with-rocker

Are you able to put the pi in a case with a switch like that? I guess you could drill holes in the case for the cords.

 

[Barkley's Justice]

Are you able to put the pi in a case with a switch like that? I guess you could drill holes in the case for the cords.

The case I bought from Canakit has a RaspPi logo cut-out on the top for ventilation. I plan on just feeding the wires through that.

 

[wetflame]

Got a Pi for Christmas! Ordered all the extra bits and bobs I need to actually use it, looking forward to getting my little emulation machine sorted soon!

 

[hardcastlemccormick]

i've been looking for a power switch for rpi, but 10-15$+, no thanks

how does one update the retropie build of debian?

I would assume the same way as other types of Debian, but maybe check their wiki.

You update other Debian distros by running Sudo apt-get upgrade on a command line.

 

[Diablohead]

Got a Pi for Christmas! Ordered all the extra bits and bobs I need to actually use it, looking forward to getting my little emulation machine sorted soon!

nice, i'm going to mess about with my zero tonight and see how it holds outm it will be a nice little retro machine for early 90's stuff.

*edit* Things I have learned in the last 3 hours:

- If using retropie it will default to 1080p output, you can change this by editing the settings.txt file on the SD card (once you burn the retropie.img onto it) and using hdmi_group and hdmi_mode values.
- USB needs to be in fat32 format, this was a mistake that made me waste an hour troubleshooting.
- Super metroid and Sonic 3k both run at full 60fps vsync'd on a stock pi zero and work well with an ebay chinese USB snes controller.

The only slowdown I have bumped into so far has been the eye light that looks at you in super metroid when you get the morph ball, and that was just a few frames dropped in total, F-zero runs smooth. I may look into deeper settings like rendering resolution which is set to 640x480 default for these console emulators, don't want to mess shit up though.

 

[Sectorseven]

I like the whole Retropie concept, but I don't want that to be the default startup. Is there a way I can boot up to the regular desktop and just run Retropie, sort of like running a program on Windows?

 

[Diablohead]

The more I mess about with the zero the more limits I bump into, but still for it's size and price I can't complain at all.

I want to find a way to case it and keep it powered by my tv and out of sight, my 4 way usb hub can run a usb snes controller, keyboard and usb stick at the same time without the need for external power so i'm rather happy about that. I would love to try a small overclock to see what happens but the settings you can change still reference the pi 1, saying that non overclocked is 700mhz while the zero runs at 1ghz, so I don't want to tamper with that yet in case I make things worse.

If in 2016 they can somehow make a zero 2 with dual-core power it would be perfect for every 16-bit game out there and below.

 

[DavidBoring]

I like the whole Retropie concept, but I don't want that to be the default startup. Is there a way I can boot up to the regular desktop and just run Retropie, sort of like running a program on Windows?

Easiest way would be to first copy the raspbian image on your SD card. When raspbian is running, download and run the retropie install script, after the installation, go to advanced options of the install script, there should be an option for the boot behavior

 

[Maybesew]

I like the whole Retropie concept, but I don't want that to be the default startup. Is there a way I can boot up to the regular desktop and just run Retropie, sort of like running a program on Windows?

You can get 8gb cards for $8. At that price, I'd just keep two cards around and boot up which ever you are in the mood for.

 

[Diablohead]

The pi hut is getting more zero's in for tomorrow, limited stock though and no time given yet.

 

[MRORANGE]

The pi hut is getting more zero's in for tomorrow, limited stock though and no time given yet.

As much as I love the zero I wouldn't recommend it for RetroPie, but if people just wanted to test it out in the first place it makes sense for people to get the £4 version before plunging on the Raspi 2 which is a lot more.

Problems I have with ther zero:

- Performance is struggling with PSX, it's marginally better than the RP1
- No analogue audio out this is the major problem people are facing if they want to make portables with it.
- Mini HDMI is a nuisance, have to look for a low profile connector
- OTG SUB is not great with some hubs
- It would have been a smart idea to add wofi/bluetooth to a board this size, but then again this board was supposed to be cheap in the first place.

Other that those few problems it's worth it for even triple it's price.


EDIT: Somone put a Zero into a GBA SP (no sound however.)

 

[Card Boy]

Fuck me 3.3 is out and so is an proper Zero image for RetroPie. PSP Support! properly runs like shit like the Dreamcast emulator.

3.3 (22.12.2015)

Mupen64plus controller configs (including hotkeys) and Reicast (Dreamcast) controller configs added to the autoconfiguration script in emulationstation. Mupen64plus is now the default n64 emulator due to compatibility.
AdvanceMAME 1.4 (replaces 1.2 – still based on MAME 0.106).
PlayStation Portable emulator ppsspp is included by default (libretro version is default, the standalone version is optional).
Removed cpc4rpi emulator, and added CapriceRPI which has many improvements over cpc4rpi.
Updated libretro binaries including lr-fba-next updated to v0.2.97.37, and an improved lr-caprice32 which is now moved out of experimental and is the default Amstrad CPC emulator.
Updates to Reicast emulator, which has been moved out of experimental.
New experimental modules: OpenTTD (open source simulation game based on Transport Tycoon Deluxe), Wolf4SDL (Port of Wolfenstein 3d), Zdoom (Enhanced Port of the official DOOM source)
PS3 controller improvements (added Gasia PS3 clone Support).
Updated OpenMSX emulator (to the dev version 0.12.0+).
Beta images based on Raspbian Jessie are included. They may have bugs that are not present in the Raspbian Wheezy release.
New themes added to the theme installer (Eudora from AmadhiX, Tronkyfran from Tronkyfran, and Retroplay Canela from InsecureSpike).
RetroArch joy-config tool removed (custom configs are now done through the RGUI or manually).
Various other bugfixes/improvements.

 

[Sandfox]

How are snes, gb, and gba on the zero? I might want to play around with this.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

Seems like gen 3 or 4 might be the best time to jump in on this if you want proper 32bit and below emulation.

I would commit to getting all the bits I need if it just ran what I would want at full speed but it seems like that time isn't here yet.

 

[Diablohead]

As much as I love the zero I wouldn't recommend it for RetroPie, but if people just wanted to test it out in the first place it makes sense for people to get the £4 version before plunging on the Raspi 2 which is a lot more.

Problems I have with ther zero:

- Performance is struggling with PSX, it's marginally better than the RP1
- No analogue audio out this is the major problem people are facing if they want to make portables with it.
- Mini HDMI is a nuisance, have to look for a low profile connector
- OTG SUB is not great with some hubs
- It would have been a smart idea to add wofi/bluetooth to a board this size, but then again this board was supposed to be cheap in the first place.

Other that those few problems it's worth it for even triple it's price.


EDIT: Somone put a Zero into a GBA SP (no sound however.)

It has a lot of little issues sure but it's still a cheap and fun hobby to mess about with, I knew it would never run ps1, N64 or even high end super FX chip snes games well but it can do lower ball stuff really well for it's size, I guess it's a ton nicer for me right now because I have a drawer filled with cables and had everything pretty much already including OTG adaptors and powered/unpowered hubs, I also run the Pi's power from a usb port on my bedroom tv.

I took apart a USB snes controller I bought from ebay months ago and you can easily fit a zero in there, it's just the ports and hdmi access I would have to figure out.

I also uploaded some quick and short videos of different games running on the zero, stock settings.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wt2saRRrjQo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1dylDZbPEE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHKhHMW9cNE

The pi 2 is a lot better as an emulation box for sure as it runs more then basic 16-bit stuff much better and doesn't have slowdown issues with games using the FX chip or add-ons like the 32X.

How are snes, gb, and gba on the zero? I might want to play around with this.

SNES is ok if you keep away from FX chip games, some titles that use heavy processing effects like transparent layers and rotating objects can sometimes cause frame drops, it really depends by game:

Super Metroid is fine apart from the morph ball area, the laser eye that looks at you causes frame drops until you run away from it.

Top Gear 2's night tracks cause framerate issues due to giving the stages a dark fade over everything, still playable but not nice and choppy sound.

The GBA has been fine so far but I only tested it with Fzero and metroid games.

Not tested gameboy but if it can run master system and megadrive at 100% I can't see there being a GB issue.

*edit* I did some overclocking tonight, arm core 1100Mhz and the gpu at 500 instead of 250, I tested out star fox and while the frame rate is better there is still huge slowdown, the drops in top gear 2 however are 80% gone now for night stages. Until I get my cooler and fan installed I won't be pushing the zero any more until I know that I can keep it cool.

 

[TerryLee81]

Haven't used my Pi 2 for a long time now, what's the way to go nowdays?

Still RetroPie? Or is there something better?

Edit: I see the OP is updated regularly, I guess I'll install RetroPie

 

[mStudios]

I don't have access to my router (its on the second floor)
Can't I just put the roms on the SD Card?

 

[Card Boy]

I don't have access to my router (its on the second floor)
Can't I just put the roms on the SD Card?

Yeah you can but not sure how you get it off it. Never done it before.

 

[wetflame]

I foolishly ordered myself a mini hdmi cable after reading so much about the zero not realising the Pi 2 was regular hdmi. Oh well, I have other hdmi cables. Will I need a USB keyboard to get retropie up and running or can I just use my controller once I've copied everything over to the sd card?

 

[Diablohead]

Yeah you can but not sure how you get it off it. Never done it before.

retro pie will auto pull Roms if stored right on the USB but it only seems to do this once, if you have a keyboard handy you can use the file browser bundled with retro pie in its options to move them across to different folders on the sd card.

 

[superNESjoe]

Does RetroPie allow for custom sorting? For example, could I make unique folders for each system so I could first sort by SNES and then sort by co-op/multiplayer games?

 

[Diablohead]

my zero can run at 1.1 Ghz with the gpu at 600 Mhz but after about 5 minutes the hdmi output freezes, sound and game still play but no screen refresh lol, too hot maybe.

Does RetroPie allow for custom sorting? For example, could I make unique folders for each system so I could first sort by SNES and then sort by co-op/multiplayer games?

Not too sure about folders but you can either list A - Z or by use / fave rating.

 

[Barkley's Justice]

For those opting for RetroPie over Recalbox: Why, exactly?

 

[SickBoy]

For those opting for RetroPie over Recalbox: Why, exactly?

Just checked out their page... looks a little less fussy on the install. Performance is essentially equivalent to Retropie?

I really need to dig out my old RPi and start tinkering. Stopped working with it due to issues populating my SD card with files (couldn't connect via FTP) and some slight annoyance with how it played with my USB Saturn controller.

 

[superNESjoe]

For those opting for RetroPie over Recalbox: Why, exactly?

I'm considering getting a Pie but know nothing about it. What's the difference?

 

[BeEatNU]

I feel like a dummy.

I run through the steps and it never displays anything on the screen and I have 1 red light on the pi.

I'm using the eighth image with my pi2. I thought it was the SD card at first but if input anothenrdistro with the OS on it it works. Just not Retropie. Not sure what the problem is.

Any ideas?

 

[Nairume]

Got my Pi2 setup with Retropie and stuff. It's largely running well enough for almost everything I'm wanting to through at it, but it could maybe run some things a little better (weirdly enough, it seems like GBA gives it more consistent problems than PS1). Is there any general overclock setting that won't end up requiring that I slap a heat sink on it but would make a difference for the few things it doesn't do perfectly out of the box?

 

[Diablohead]

I'm considering getting a Pie but know nothing about it. What's the difference?

it looks likes a variation of the interface for the emulators, I only went with retropie because it took all of 2 minutes to get working without typing a thing on the pi

 

[Squirrel Killer]

For those opting for RetroPie over Recalbox: Why, exactly?

Just ordered my parts, but I'm planning on going RetroPie simply due to the amount of information out there for it and I'm not really sure of the advantages of other distros.

 

[Cheetos is Pretty Awesome]

For those opting for RetroPie over Recalbox: Why, exactly?

I've never gotten a straight explanation as to what makes Recalbox better than Retropie. Seems like they do the same exact thing, which is wrap an instance of EmulationStation around a Linux distro?

 

[MRORANGE]

For those opting for RetroPie over Recalbox: Why, exactly?

I'm considering getting a Pie but know nothing about it. What's the difference?

Just ordered my parts, but I'm planning on going RetroPie simply due to the amount of information out there for it and I'm not really sure of the advantages of other distros.

I've never gotten a straight explanation as to what makes Recalbox better than Retropie. Seems like they do the same exact thing, which is wrap an instance of EmulationStation around a Linux distro?

I think the main reason why RetroPie gets chosen as the one to go to is the fact that it's the one that is in most deelopment and supported the most, don't get me wrong the other distro's are pretty much the same and are good alternatives, but a community has come along and supported RetroPie in a big way from plugins to GPIO boards, things like having documentation and forum support and other splinter groups and other forms (like this one) help a lot.

By all means try the other distro's as they all worked last time I tested them but for me RetroPie has nailed it in functionality and being able to see it develop at a incredible rate.

Hope that helps.

 

[Tempy]

I feel like a dummy.

I run through the steps and it never displays anything on the screen and I have 1 red light on the pi.

I'm using the eighth image with my pi2. I thought it was the SD card at first but if input anothenrdistro with the OS on it it works. Just not Retropie. Not sure what the problem is.

Any ideas?

Check /boot/config.txt to see if your hdmi settings are set up correctly, (Also; make sure you have the correct RetroPie image - they're different for RPi1/Zero and RPi2.)

 

[BeEatNU]

Check /boot/config.txt to see if your hdmi settings are set up correctly, (Also; make sure you have the correct RetroPie image - they're different for RPi1/Zero and RPi2.)

Yeah I have the correct image. I'll check the config.txt

 

[BeEatNU]

cool for working after commenting the safe variable for hdmi.
now I just need to configure it.