Not a bad idea. I’ll search the interwebs for a build.
It’s project season and the hunting is good! The days are shorter and the nights longer, therefore, lots of time to solder and tinker. $300 later here are my materials.
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Nice little display, it would have to be for $40. After spending a day writing code to import text for the pitft screen I finally got it to work.
(upload://jWEWRpXl0rs1JfvcZeTQwB9HLRs.jpg)![1104172058a|690x387]
These are the components that make it happen. Power boost, audio pcb, speaker, battery. Right now the screen is not running off a battery because, I assume the game pad pcb needs to hook up to the screen and power boost, completing the circuit. But we’ll see. The only things hooked up to the pi are the audio and display. The audio is running off battery power.
Nice close up of the heat shrink tubes. They make the project look cleaner,
hiding my terrible soldering.
The whole kit, minus game pad pcb, case and shoulder buttons. So basically not the whole kit…
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Ugh, just ruined a pitft display. The build calls for cutting a tracer on pin #18 and I slipped, also used the wrong tool. I got going too quick and a little too ambitious now I wasted $35. 
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sometime this year since Switch came out was mulling over the idea of handhelds… i dont really have a place for a handheld in my life but i was kind thinking a hacked DS would be ideal for me. they are pretty cheap iirc, and and robust. i will maybe look i to it or 3ds down the road as switch gains epicness.
That sounds interesting. There are lots of options for modded handhelds. This project is pretty challenging and its becoming a money pit. But its my first build of this kind so I’m shooting at the hip. Next one I make (which won’t be for awhile because I need to save and I need a break) will go better. I’m already getting better at shell script writing. Its fun learning new stuff albeit frustrating.
I was going to like this to express support but then thought that liking your misfortune just seems wrong
Everyone has a place for a handheld in their life…in their hands 
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Peter liked it. That meanie 
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That’s downright awful!
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Haha, just imagine it as a broken heart icon 
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This looks very cool. Instead of using the overpriced Sony proprietary card there’s an adapter for a micro SD card. I will have to get one soon.
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Man, if only they had this thing like 3 years ago before I got the 64 gig card for $94!
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Just a heads up, my understanding is that you can’t run games off of it. I looked into it a while back. It will only support media files like photos and videos.
I suggest going with a 32GB official Sony card. I almost bought a 64GB card but I read reports they have a higher fail rate making the 32GB card safer and cheaper in the long run (sorry @Peter, here’s to yours being one of the good ones).
Update: I might be wrong. I looked into this a while back and at the time every site selling them said they didn’t support games. But this looks like a newer revision that does.
Update: thanks to @GigaDeathNullGolem I better remember what I discovered while researching this. You can play PS1 and PSP game’s on a hacked Vita, but not Vita games.
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I came across this doing a search
the whole thread is pretty good.
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Once again, bmo does the research I’m too lazy to do. It’s not the first time you educated me before I threw money away. Remember my hair brained scheme of using bluetooth headphones with my PS3? Coming through with the facts, yet again!
Right. I remember discussions like that. My take away is that you can play P1 and PSP Games, with some hacking. I opted for original Sony 32GB because I want space for my Vita games purchased from the PS store.
Uh. Usually those types of hacks can be more trouble than it’s worth.
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Agreed. Sometimes I consider trying my hand at hacks like this but I usually end up settling on the easiest solution.
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Mostly done, about 90%. I still need to adjust the buttons so X and Y don’t stick after 10 minutes of game play and ground the battery so it stops buzzing. Overall a very challenging project with lots of mistakes but pretty rewarding. Stuffing everything into the case was a challenge and I need some longer screws to keep it closed.
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Well damn, that is pretty cool. I know I saw screenshots of other builds, but the white case is fantastic.
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