Today I finished the install of Xlink Kai on Raspberry Pi.
There were a few things that made the install not that easy.
First of my user name was not ready did’t use the account that much so the email address was not correct.
Apparently it was linkt to my first email address that i own around 1998 till 2003 forgot that I got that
After sorting that out with CrunchBite I could start on this project.
I installed it on my last available Raspberry a first gen. (Raspberry pi 1 B)
So I Downloaded the newest and greatest version.
From the Xlink website.
Or ssh in to your Pi and use curl to download direct to the Pi
Then extract it: tar -zxvf kaiEngine-7.4.33-rev767.headless.ARM.tar.gz
x kaiEngine-7.4.33/
x kaiEngine-7.4.33/runforever.sh
x kaiEngine-7.4.33/kaiengine_arm
x kaiEngine-7.4.33/README
Then a sudo ./kaiengine_arm to test it:
Open a browser and load the ip of your pi + port (http://192.168.1.xxx:34522/)
Then check > Metrics
Ok, I lied. I have a beta version (7.4.34)
Remember de Public port (44492) you will need it later.
If everything is working like it should you can make it auto boot edit sudo nano /etc/rc.local
and added sudo screen -DmS kaiengine /home/pi/launchkai.sh above the exit line
After this your almost ready, because there needs to be some port forwarding (for me I did and have upnp on) :
When you join a room and nobody got a connection, this is mostly because the port that is need is not open.
the UI is on port 34522 but we don’t need this outside our house.
I did enabled Pat because I have 1 public ip and more xbox’s
Settings of Xlink Kai
but the public port in my case is 44492 (Remember Metrics) so after changing this in my router:
I get everybody connected and see also ping status.
So after that, boot up Halo 2.
And after selecting System Link a got a lot of games to join:
No lets get my ass kick by some PRO halo players
Outcome: Dcnigma 1 other player 20 Omg I need to practice <
Xlink Kai works perfect and is nice add-on for my xbox’s need to test other consoles later.
Also i found a little bug:
if your password is contains a = symbol this will break auto login.
When you save your password in the config it will cut your password.
Meet the Oric Atmos 1 Today it was father’s day and I wanted to make something special for my dad.
Back in the 80’s my dad got the Oric II and he still got it (and operational).
So why not give him the Oric 1 mini the nes mini theme would go good with this in retropie.
It was also my first computer, so after some searching I found a Oric 1 model that I could use for this.
For awhile I have been trying to make a GAMEBOY and Raspberry Pi Mod.
My last post showing some real progress and installation of the software.
Today I will write a better guide for myself and others so they can learn from my mistakes.
If you follow this guide for setting up your SD cart this progress will take about 1,5 h to complete.
(guide is below show and tell )
Warning: I still have to remove a error that i getting but i din’t find a solution for this atm: ”At random times i get: alsa lib pcm.c 7843: (snd_pcm_recover) underrun occurred” not when playing a game only if i am in the front end and during boot….
Lets start with show and tell:
Hardware used:
Gameboy case, wires, tact switches, empty PCB, power bar, cheap speakers and a Dremel
Below are some pictures of my GAMEBOY Pi that is mostly finished.
Things todo build in the speaker and power bar remove some plastic form d-pad because its fits to well…
But thinking of making a custom cartridge to slide in to the slot of the Gameboy.
(not my Picture just for show my version will have a power-bar also. How? wait and see )
Pictures:
How it looks now:
Build in Wifi and dongle for keyboard for now, in the future I gone extend one port to the side.
Ethernet is still available but don’t use a High-end cables, my own made utp cable works perfect
The mod of the case….
conversion:
The Layout
Fitting the LayoutBezel of Gameboy on top of screen (will lose touchscreen function so will be a sticker)
Problem Video out and speaker jack are on the wrong side. Need to de-solder them.
PiTFT pcb is to big for the Gameboy case need to chip it down.
Removed the hole left side (seen from picture above) until the FFC connector.
Lost the tact solder position but then again i would use them anyway.
First idea for custom joystick control but scraped this in the end.
(Do little things at the time don’t do everything at once grrr……. )
The Screen fits the case
At first i wanted to solder all 26 pins to the pcb’s but then i ordered a FFC extender
This saved my so much time and cost 6 Euro
These pictures showing the concept of the build.
I started this project awhile back so if you want to do this. Do little things, one thing at the time.
Don’t start doing lots of things at once because in the end you will need to change or rework it again…
(Tip from Ben Heck and now from me )
The Arivale of the FFC extender and extra Cable
After i got the ffc-cable to extend my PiTFT 2.8 inch from ada fruit.
Here are some progress pictures:
You need controls.
I have rebuild the pcb for the controls because this way its much stronger then before. And the board looks more like the original Gameboy PCB haha.
Also i made some video’s that show the different stages of the build :
RetroPi and PiTFT from Ada fruit test!
(I have 4 Pi’s: two models B and one Model 2B+
RetroPi and PiTFT and DIY Joystick test!
Testing the tact switches…
RetroPi and PiTFT and DIY Joystick test 2!
More testing of the tact switches… Mario is fun hahaha.
For those how notice i have some strange glitching in my screen in the video’s above.
This is because at that time my raspberry pi setup was not perfect. Not that its now LOL.
But the screen glitching is gone…
GAMEBOY PI Semi complete Test!
This is my last video i made for now showing it closed (taped down) and using the original GAMEBOY buttons on my custom pcb using those 8 tact switches.
If I have time i will make a new video showing it closed with screws and without glitches in the screen.
Boot in Raspberry pi, let it boot in to startx and then quit it to command line
And launch Raspi-config: (sudo raspi-config)
Always start by expanding filesystem ( most builds do this but i recommend it anyway)
The choose 3 boot options and select console autologin.
Last things: 1 Overscan disable, 4 SSH Enable, 5 Device tree Enable, 6 SPI 7 I2C and 8 Serial disable, 9 Audio force 3.5mm headphone jack.
Side note for those how need Tochscreen: I disable 6, 7 and 8 to get more Gpio pins working
but this will disable touchscreen control. But this is not needed for this project anyway. And also you can make another SD card that can use the Touchscreen interface but you will lose the Gpio pins that use SPI, I2C and Serial.
And check if everything is still working if you want to add your own controls continue below
Adding Controls:
cd /~/ git clone https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit-Retrogame cd Adafruit-Retrogame
nano retrogame.c
Edit the file retrogame.c, looking for the table called ioStandard and the input.h table. Each line in brackets represents one pin on the GPIO header and a corresponding key code.
The full list of available keycodes can be found in /usr/include/linux/input.h
You’ll need to be careful in your GPIO pin selection…some are used by the PiTFT display, others have certain reserved functions. Any green GPIO pin is free to use…yellow pins may be okay with additional setup. If you’ve configured a tactile button on the PiTFT for shutdown, that pin is unavailable for game controls.
One wire from each button connects to a GPIO pin, while the other wire connects to an available ground pin (GND). The 2.8″ PiTFT boards have an extra header breakout for the first 26 pins…for the remaining pins, you’ll need to get clever with female jumper wires on the exposed part of the Raspberry Pi GPIO header.
That is why i disable I2C and Serial so i can use gpio 2, 3, 14 and 15. Made a mistake and was easier to use gpio 14 and 15 instead. otherwise i would only disable I2C…
After editing, compile and install the code with:
make retrogame sudo mv retrogame /usr/local/bin
Test fist before making something boot that is not working.
sudo /usr/local/bin/retrogame &
It works!
sudo nano /etc/rc.local
Reboot and you should now have “virtual” keys associated with GPIO buttons.
Or make it more fancy:
HOW TO HIDE BOOT TEXT:
sudo nano /boot/cmdline.txt
Add splach screen
Adding a splash screen can be done from in retropie so this is optional. but this way you know what is changed in retropie to show the splashscreen at start up, same method.
Custom Splash Screen for Raspberry Pi
This is a quick and dirty solution for an unanimated custom splash screen during boot.
First of all, you need to install fbi:
apt-get install fbi
Copy your custom splash image to /etc/ and name it “splash.png”
example code:
sudo mv splash.png /etc/init.d/
Next, create an init.d script called “asplashscreen” in “/etc/init.d/”.
sudo nano /etc/init.d/asplashscreen
I chose “asplashscreen” with an “a” at the beginning to be sure it starts first.
#! /bin/sh ### BEGIN INIT INFO # Provides: asplashscreen # Required-Start: # Required-Stop: # Should-Start: # Default-Start: S # Default-Stop: # Short-Description: Show custom splashscreen # Description: Show custom splashscreen ### END INIT INFO do_start () {
/usr/bin/fbi -T 1 -noverbose -a /home/pi/RetroPie/splashscreens/splash.png exit 0 }
If everything is correct you still boot in console but now is everything setup to start retropie
Start by typing:
emulationstation
After the startup you need to setup you fresh made controls by pressing one of the keys and then follow the onscreen text. Skipping by holding down one button.
After that your done and can start adding roms, you have 2 options for this by usb or by samba.
So you probably need to set that up 2 lucky for us you can do this from in emulationstation
choose retropie setup from the menu.
The let it boot directly in to emulationstation. Next Samba: Oleee
and if you did’t follow my splashscreen install you can choose it here:
For now i leave this project to rest, i am glad whit the progress that i made.
also after 6 months I can close the case hooray!!!
Recap of what to do:
-Fix asla error….
-Build power cartridge for power.
-Build in speaker
-Extend usb to connector port and replace it by usb.
sudo nano /etc/emulationstation/themes/carbon/carbon.xml
fontSize to 0.05
Controls
cd
git clone https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit-Retrogame
cd Adafruit-Retrogame
Edit the file retrogame.c, looking for the table called ioStandard (not the ioTFT table — that’s for other projects). Each line in brackets represents one pin on the GPIO header and a corresponding key code.
The full list of available keycodes can be found in /usr/include/linux/input.h
raspberry_pi_retrogame.png
After editing, compile and install the code with:
Copy Code
make retrogame
sudo mv retrogame /usr/local/bin
To make retrogame start automatically when the system boots:
Copy Code
sudo nano /etc/rc.local
Before the final “exit 0” line, insert this one line:
Copy Code
/usr/local/bin/retrogame &
Just one more file needs editing, so that EmulationStation recognizes retrogame as a keyboard:
Copy Code
sudo nano /etc/udev/rules.d/10-retrogame.rules
Copy and paste this line exactly into the new file:
Copy Code
Also i found a little bug:
Problem Video out and speaker jack are on the wrong side. Need to de-solder them.
PiTFT pcb is to big for the Gameboy case need to chip it down.
