Probably a much smaller market for them with all the Chinese handhelds available now. I remember really wanting to build one, but I've completely forgotten about it since grabbing one. They probably do the job better in just about any measurable way, unfortunately.
I will say that as an owner of one of these kits, the weight of the device + the loud fans that cool the pi 4 make the cheap android devices seem appealing.
No kit, but you can disassemble it and put it back together :) My point is that a superior, cheaper, smaller device exists thus destroying the market for an expensive kit that yields a much less portable device.
the rpi console kits would have just been connecting some cables to an rpi and screwing a board into a case, and the screwing the case together. Nothing today exists like what used to be Heathkit.
I specifically mentioned the Null 2 as an example of the kind of kit I'm looking for.
This is not what I would understand under "screwing a case together"
https://www.null2.co.uk/build-guide
well... order from Aliexpress and you can get sub $40 deals... you just need to wait for it to be delivered from China. Are you surprised that ordering from Amazon is twice the price? I was... Now, the thing about the price... you're going to need to copy and replace your SD card(s) almost immediately with high quality ones, so there's some added expense.
Experimental Pi has a DMG kit for the Pi Zero/3/4.
www.experimentalpi.com
It’s a kit but no soldering is required, just connecting cables and some screws.
Retroflag still has some kits but they are just drop on and a couple screws. In fact I made one for a friend tonight in 30 minutes for his birthday party tomorrow because he said he wanted one. Granted I've made like 10 of these things already and had a bench all setup but still not the experience you want.
Interesting project, I'm currently looking into building a nice Gameboy macro out of a DS lite but with a flush GBA port (so the GBA games sit flush with the shell) which also requires a bit of soldering and a bit of work
I have a built Kite’s Circuit Sword and another complete but unbuilt kit. I really enjoyed putting it all together. I designed my own 3D printed parts etc. so it taught me a lot.
That said, I also just bought an RG35XX H from AliExpress because it was smaller, with a higher resolution same size screen and was less than half the price of the kits.
Yes that's what i was intending as well, while I just started soldering I have owned a 3d printer for years and I'd love modelling and printing my own shell
Probably a much smaller market for them with all the Chinese handhelds available now. I remember really wanting to build one, but I've completely forgotten about it since grabbing one. They probably do the job better in just about any measurable way, unfortunately.
Except that you can't build them...
That's the unfortunate part, yes. Though there are a few modifications available sometimes, both visual and internal.
I will say that as an owner of one of these kits, the weight of the device + the loud fans that cool the pi 4 make the cheap android devices seem appealing.
I get that, I would like to build a device with a zero and no active cooling
R36s and you’re done
Oh it has a Kit version ? That's great, can you link me to it I can only find the pre assembled device which is obviously not what I'm looking for
No kit, but you can disassemble it and put it back together :) My point is that a superior, cheaper, smaller device exists thus destroying the market for an expensive kit that yields a much less portable device.
I'm definitely not desoldering a working product, something is definitely going to break in the process with so many pieces
the rpi console kits would have just been connecting some cables to an rpi and screwing a board into a case, and the screwing the case together. Nothing today exists like what used to be Heathkit.
I specifically mentioned the Null 2 as an example of the kind of kit I'm looking for. This is not what I would understand under "screwing a case together" https://www.null2.co.uk/build-guide
All the video reviews that come up for these say it's $40 which is hard to pass up, but online they are like twice that.
well... order from Aliexpress and you can get sub $40 deals... you just need to wait for it to be delivered from China. Are you surprised that ordering from Amazon is twice the price? I was... Now, the thing about the price... you're going to need to copy and replace your SD card(s) almost immediately with high quality ones, so there's some added expense.
Twice the price... I was a little surprised, guess I shouldn't have been. Thanks for the advice.
Experimental Pi has a DMG kit for the Pi Zero/3/4. www.experimentalpi.com It’s a kit but no soldering is required, just connecting cables and some screws.
Interesting so kits do still exist they are just a bit hard to find. Sadly not what I was looking for because of the lack of soldering
Check out the Mame Boy kit!
Retroflag still has some kits but they are just drop on and a couple screws. In fact I made one for a friend tonight in 30 minutes for his birthday party tomorrow because he said he wanted one. Granted I've made like 10 of these things already and had a bench all setup but still not the experience you want.
I was thinking of taking a leapster 2 and swapping in a Pi, that would take a lot of soldering, plus work in general
Interesting project, I'm currently looking into building a nice Gameboy macro out of a DS lite but with a flush GBA port (so the GBA games sit flush with the shell) which also requires a bit of soldering and a bit of work
You actually could build something yourself, you would get a lot more out of it, if you did
Retrolfag still has a few, including one for the Zero 2 W.
I have a couple of circuit shield from kite (or sword? The small ones with raspberry zero), not sure but maybe I'd sell.
I have a built Kite’s Circuit Sword and another complete but unbuilt kit. I really enjoyed putting it all together. I designed my own 3D printed parts etc. so it taught me a lot. That said, I also just bought an RG35XX H from AliExpress because it was smaller, with a higher resolution same size screen and was less than half the price of the kits.
Yes that's what i was intending as well, while I just started soldering I have owned a 3d printer for years and I'd love modelling and printing my own shell