So I, along with many other people, became very interested when a man who goes by the name wermy released a video showing a working raspberry pi zero running RetroPie inside an Altoids tin. In the past couple days, I was able to order all of the parts needed to build the MintyPi as all the parts were finally in stock at the same time. Please note that this is being made to help people who may be having trouble finding the parts they need to build a MintyPi, NOT AN ADVERTISEMENT. Also, the prices and shipment costs are for in the United States so there may be slight differences in prices depending on where you live.

- Altoids tin: Hopefully you are near basically any place that sells food or candy. An Altoids tin is usually no more than $4 (And you get to eat the mints inside Very Happy )

Adafruit Items (I decided I would attempt to buy a large portion from the same distributor just so I would get the packages around the same time)
- Raspberry Pi Zero W: Sometimes can be difficult to get as they seem to always be out of stock, you may be able to get your timing lucky though - $10
- 1200 mAh LiPo: Almost always in stock on Adafruit - $9.95
- 2m 26 AWG Silicone Wire (optional): Always in stock, only necessary if you do not have very much wire at home (I got 4 of them, one red, one white, one green, and one black) - $0.95 x 4
- MicroLiPo Micro USB Charger: Very tough to get your hands on (this is what was holding me back from completing my order) - $6.95
Shipping was $9.09 to Minnesota, United States. The total price from Adafruit was $39.79 PRICES MAY VARY

eBay
- 20mm 8Ohm 8Ω 0.5W Speaker: This is the speaker wermy recommended and is a surprisingly great distributor (2 speakers shipped in 3 days for me with free shipping) - $1.99
- Mini Sound Card: Not very sure if good pricing or not as I have never bough one before but it is what wermy uses in his build guide - $3.54
- 2 Position Sliding Switch: Comes in a pack of 50 so you will definitely have plenty lying around after building (only need one for the MintyPi) - $1.38
- 6x6x5mm Tactile Switches: Only requires 2 (or three if you want to include a safe shutdown switch), comes in a pack of 100, only ones I could find that were the correct dimensions - $1.88 + $1.85 Shipping
Total cost for items from eBay - $10.64. Overall cost - $50.43

Wermy and Helder
- MintyPi PCB and LCD Combo: Definitely the hardest to come across as I started looking just as he had finished selling his first batch. The seller (Helder) is very understnading and is willing to answer any questions you have relating to his products - $35 + $5 Shipping US, $13 International
- Battery Monitor (optional, unnecessary in second batch of combo boards): Yet again, distributed by Helder, willing to combine two products in one shipment to limit shipping fees, second batch boards will have the battery monitor pre-installed (will be updating this if any price change happens) - $10 + $3 Shipping Worldwide
- 3D Printed Parts Set:Definitely expensive for what they are, offered in different colors for all the types of Altoids, recommended to print on your own (STL files are here) - $30.00 + $1.95 Shipping
- DS Lite Buttons: Comes in two colors (black or white) - $6.00 + $0.39 Shipping
- Tin Hole Guide: Simple 3D printed outline that help youde where to drill holes in the Altoids tin (STL files are here) - $5.00 + $0.33 Shipping
Total costs from Wermy and Helder - $96.67 US, $104.67 International

Overall Project Pricing


Adafruit: $39.79
eBay: $10.64
Wermy and Helder: $96.67 US, $104.67 International
Total: $147.10 US, $155.10 International Approx.

Note: This does not include costs for tools such as a soldering iron as those can vary by place and quality. This is a DIY oriented project so do not expect it to be a walk in the park.
I've been following the mintyPi development closely as well. If I have access to a 3D printer at school I may consider building one. I already have some of the parts laying around, such as the screen, LiPo, and Pi, and I also have some gift cards to Adafruit that I could use. The 3D parts are pretty expensive, which is why I would only build it if I could print them myself.

You should post pictures of your mintyPi once you have it all assembled!
So it has been a few days since I last posted on here and I decided I would share how the MintyPi is coming along.

First of all, I have been able to solder all of the GPIO pin slots to their corresponding controller slots (This is my first time ever soldering so it is a little messy but actually turned out pretty good). After completing the soldering, I used a multimeter and discovered that the ground pin was not connecting even after multiple attempts to re-solder the pin. I checked around on Sudomod's forums and it appears Helder is very well aware of the problem and said the easiest solution is to directly solder a wire from the ground pin to the ground test pad as seen in this picture:



After about a couple minutes of getting the solder to set correctly, I was able to get the main gust of the project working. Note: The ribbon cable connector running from the LCD screen to the screen board is very picky on its position so it may require a little bit of fiddling around if a blank white screen is showing up.

  
Register to Join the Conversation
Have your own thoughts to add to this or any other topic? Want to ask a question, offer a suggestion, share your own programs and projects, upload a file to the file archives, get help with calculator and computer programming, or simply chat with like-minded coders and tech and calculator enthusiasts via the site-wide AJAX SAX widget? Registration for a free Cemetech account only takes a minute.

» Go to Registration page
Page 1 of 1
» All times are UTC - 5 Hours
 
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum

 

Advertisement