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Assembling your Picade - 2018 Edition

2024-05-02 | By Pimoroni

License: See Original Project Raspberry Pi

Courtesy of Pimoroni

Guide by Pimoroni

‎This tutorial will show you how to build your 2018 edition Picade. It ‎incorporates the text from the included assembly instructions, with ‎some important updates and additional information, and the videos for each ‎section of the Picade build video. Take note of the important information ‎in bold, as these are corrections to the text of the assembly instructions ‎included with your Picade.‎

Old tutorial awooga! This tutorial is not for our most recent Picade edition - ‎check out the Picade shop page for a link to the most up to date instructions.‎

Preparation

 

It'll take two to three hours to build your Picade. A large space, like a table or ‎floor, with a soft covering is an ideal build space. Some parts are fiddly, so it ‎helps to have an extra, friendly, pair of hands on standby. You’ll need a ‎Phillips screwdriver.

‎In the box, you'll find four smaller boxes that contain the CABINET, FIXINGS, ‎SCREEN, and ACCESSORIES.‎

Beginning to Build the Casing

 

Take the CABINET and FIXINGS boxes, and remove the nuts, bolts, and ‎plastic corner brackets from the FIXINGS box, and the MDF pieces from the ‎CABINET box.‎

Note that you’ll always be attaching the plastic brackets to the sides of the ‎panels with the markings and text on.‎

Attach five plastic corner brackets to the base (panel A), using five M3 bolts ‎and nuts, with the nuts on the inside of the panel (the side with the text on.)‎

Next, take panel B and attach it to the two brackets on the side of panel A ‎closest to the speaker grille, using two more M3 nuts and bolts.‎

Take panel C (the top) and attach right-angle plastic brackets to each side of ‎it, using two M3 bolts and nuts on each side. Then attach panel C to panel B ‎using another M3 bolt and nut (the side of the bracket with the hole in the ‎centre attaches to panel B.) Panel C attaches with the protruding part ‎towards the back.‎

Building the Screen

 

Open the SCREEN box, containing the screen and associated bits. The acrylic ‎that goes in front of the screen is the large, approximately square piece that ‎is in the CABINET box.‎

All of the acrylic pieces, including the screen acrylic, will have white protective ‎film on. Peel this off each of the pieces as you use them.‎

Take the screen acrylic and lay it down with the tabs on either side. Place the ‎screen surround artwork face down onto it the stripes on the artwork should ‎be at the bottom right when looking from the front.‎

The two narrow, clear acrylic pieces, marked TOP 1 and BASE 1, go at the top ‎and base of the screen and hold it in place. Place them with the flat edges ‎aligned flush with the top and base of the screen assembly, and the cutouts ‎towards the middle of the screen assembly.‎

Peel the protective film off the screen using the tab at the side and place the ‎screen in the gap between the two acrylic pieces, with the ribbon cable ‎towards the top edge.‎

Before adding the final parts of the screen assembly, attach the display driver ‎board to its acrylic bracket. Take the acrylic piece (marked TOP 2) and place ‎it with the protruding part pointing downwards.‎

The bolts used to attach the display driver board to its bracket are the four ‎black metal M2.5 flange bolts in a separate bag. These have low-profile ‎heads, with no slot on top, and prevent the acrylic bracket for the driver ‎board from bending out too far. Use four of the black plastic M2.5 nuts in ‎the bag with the Raspberry Pi fixings to attach the flange screws.

Push the four M2.5 flange bolts through from the back of the acrylic, and ‎then attach the driver board with the four M2.5 plastic nuts, making sure that ‎the HDMI and micro-USB ports are towards the base, and the ribbon cable ‎connector is towards the cutout at the top.‎

Place the acrylic piece marked BASE 2 at the base of the screen assembly ‎‎(note that this piece does not have a cutout as stated in the assembly ‎instructions; just make sure the "BASE 2" text is the right way up). Place the ‎TOP 2 bracket with the driver board towards the centre of the screen. Use ‎four M3 screws, pushed through from the front side of the assembly (with ‎the clear acrylic), to hold the whole screen assembly together, and secure it ‎with four M3 nuts. Be careful not to over-tighten these nuts and bolts or you’ll ‎risk cracking the acrylic.

Connect the ribbon cable from the screen to the connector on the driver ‎board. Gently pull out the black clip on either side of the connector, push the ‎ribbon cable right into the socket, then push the clips in securely on either ‎side.‎

Lay the keypad and cable aside for later.‎

Slot the whole screen assembly into the side of the casing that you’ve ‎assembled. The driver board should be closest to the top of the cabinet, and ‎the rainbow stripes on the front should be at the bottom right corner looking ‎from the front.‎

The Marquee

 

The marquee is the long thin piece that sits above the screen, with the ‎PICADE logo on.‎

Take the two acrylic marquee pieces, with the tabs closest to the bottom, ‎and sandwich the marquee artwork between them (again, remember to ‎remove the white protective film.) Slot one set of tabs on the marquee into ‎the slot on panel B. A little masking tape or a rubber band can help to hold ‎the marquee sandwich together (you’ll be able to peel it off easily later.)‎

Attaching side panel D and front panel E.

You might want to lay the cabinet on its side for this part.‎

Take panel D and slot the tabs on the display and marquee sandwiches into ‎the slots on it (this might take a bit of wiggling to make sure everything is ‎lined up). Use three M3 bolts and nuts to attach panel D to panels A and C.‎

Attach the front panel E to panel A using two M3 bolts and nuts.‎

Building the Console

 

The console consists of three pieces: a black MDF piece (bottom), the ‎console artwork (middle), and the acrylic (top). Make a sandwich of these ‎three pieces, again remembering to remove the white protective film.‎

Open the ACCESSORIES box. Attach the joystick first, to anchor the whole ‎console assembly together. Make sure that the connector faces inwards ‎towards the middle of the console. Remove the black plastic dust cover and, ‎with the metal shaft sticking through the single hole (not the cluster of six ‎holes) in the console, mount the joystick using two M3 screws and nuts. ‎Again, be careful not to over-tighten these nuts and bolts or you’ll risk ‎cracking the acrylic. Screw the ball top onto the joystick, remembering to put ‎the dust cover back on first, using a flat-head screwdriver to hold the shaft of ‎the joystick from below, if necessary.‎

Note that the bolts used to attach the joystick are only slightly larger than ‎the holes on the metal joystick plate, however the holes in the plastic and ‎MDF console pieces are spaced slightly further apart than the holes on the ‎metal joystick plate so that the nuts grip over the edge of the holes when ‎tightened. This is an intentional feature of the design, and your joystick will ‎still be firmly attached.‎

Push the buttons through from the outside of the panels. The buttons on the ‎front and sides of the cabinet should be black. The buttons on the console ‎are yellow, pink, and blue, from left to right, matching the coloured stripes on ‎the console artwork.‎

Unscrew the plastic ring from the illuminated power button, push through the ‎small hole in panel B, and attach by screwing the plastic ring back on.‎

Mounting the Speaker and Raspberry Pi

 

Mount the speaker in panel A with M3 screws, pushed through from below, ‎and secure with M3 nuts.‎

Push four M2.5 screws through the four remaining holes in panel A and place ‎the white plastic spacers on top of each, then place your Pi onto the screws, ‎with the USB ports facing panel B. Screw the four metal standoffs onto the ‎screw heads, securing your Pi (note that Matt only uses two standoffs in the ‎build video, but you can use all four if you prefer.)‎

A piece of Blu-Tack over the head of each screw can help to keep them in ‎place while you fit the spacers, Pi, and standoffs, and can simply be ‎removed afterwards.‎

Plug one end of the HDMI cable into the HDMI socket on the Pi.‎

Fit the Picade X HAT, pushing it onto the GPIO pins on the Pi, ensuring that ‎the pins are correctly lined up. Use four more M2.5 screws to secure the HAT ‎to the standoffs.‎

Wiring the Joystick

 

There are four sets of wires, for the joystick, console buttons, utility buttons, ‎and power button. The set of wires with a white plastic connector on one end ‎and a 5-pin Dupont (black plastic with male pins) connector on the other is for ‎the joystick. The two sets of twelve wires with Dupont connectors on one end ‎and spade connectors on the other are for the console and utility buttons. ‎The remaining set of wires with a red and black wire are for the LED on the ‎illuminated power button.‎

Begin by connecting the white plastic connector to the pins on the underside ‎of the joystick. Looking from below, the connector attaches with the clip-on ‎top. The wires from right to left (note that the wires on the wiring diagram ‎don't trace correctly between the joystick and Picade X HAT connector) are ‎up, down, right, left, and ground, as you are looking at the connector from ‎below with the wires going downwards, so take the other end of the wire, ‎with the pins on, and plug it into the JOYSTICK header on the Picade X HAT.‎

If your joystick only has one direction that works later when it comes to ‎mapping the controls, then the wires have been connected back-to-front. ‎Simply remove the pin connectors for the joystick on the Picade X HAT, flip ‎them 180 degrees, and plug them in again.‎

Wiring the Player Buttons

 

Next, take one of the sets of twelve wires, and separate the strands a little ‎into six pairs at the end with the spades. This will help when connecting them ‎up. Working from one side of the cable, connect each pair of spades to each ‎button from 1 to 6 (marked on the underside of the console.) Take the six ‎pairs of pins at the other end of the cable and connect them to the pairs of ‎terminals marked BUTTONS from 1 to 6 (the orientation of the pairs of pins ‎doesn’t matter.)

‎Take the other set of twelve wires, and strip off one pair of wires altogether ‎‎(you’ll only need five pairs.) Again, separate the strands a little into five pairs ‎at the end with the spades. Taking each pair in turn, connect them to the ‎ENT, ESC, 1UP, COIN, and power button respectively. On the power button, ‎you should connect the spade connectors to the pair of spades closest to the ‎edge of the button. Take the pairs of pins at the other end and connect them ‎to the pairs of terminals marked ENT, ESC, 1UP, COIN, and ON respectively ‎on the Picade X HAT.‎

Wiring the Power Button and Speaker

 

The remaining pair of wires, the red and black ones, are for the LED on the ‎power button. Connect the spade connector on the red wire to the spade on ‎the button marked + and the black to the spade marked -. Connect the pins ‎at the other end to the pair of terminals marked LED, making sure that the ‎red one is at the side marked + (these are labelled incorrectly on the wiring ‎diagram.)‎

Note that the spades on the illuminated power button can be a little fragile, ‎and the spade connectors on the wires a little tight, but you can loosen the ‎spade connectors on the wires slightly by prying them open with a flat-‎headed screwdriver, and then crimp them gently with pliers once attached, ‎as Matt does in the video above.‎

The speaker wires screw pushes the terminals marked SPKR + and -, red for ‎positive and black for negative. Use a pen or pencil tip, or a small screwdriver ‎to gently press in the clips on the speaker terminals as you're pushing the ‎wires firmly in.‎

The wires should grip tightly in the speaker terminals. Ensure that you don't ‎press the clips in too hard as this can break them, and pressing harder won't ‎make it any easier to get the wires in. You can use a pair of flat-nosed ‎pliers or tweezers to help to push the wires in if needed.‎

Attaching the Console

 

Take the remaining pair of plastic brackets and attach them to the underside ‎of the console, using the centre hole and a pair of M3 bolts and nuts (the ‎brackets should be facing outwards towards the sides of the console, where ‎they’ll attach to side panels B and D.)‎

Slot the console in and attach to the side panels with another pair of M3 bolts ‎and nuts. Reach in from the rear of the cabinet to hold the nuts in place while ‎you tighten the bolts from the outside.‎

This part is tricky, and it can help to lay the cabinet on its side, as Matt does ‎in the video, so that you can balance the nut on your finger more easily. ‎Also note the way that Matt pops the side button out to get easier access to ‎fit the nut inside.‎

Peel off the backing from the four rubber feet and stick them on the ‎underside of the casing, in the four corners.‎

Connecting the Display and Power

 

Connect the HDMI cable from the Pi to the display driver board. Plug one end ‎of the micro-USB cable into one of the USB ports on the Pi, and the other end ‎into the micro-USB connector on the display driver board.‎

Use the remaining M2.5 bolts and nuts to connect the keypad to the inside of ‎panel B. Connect the ribbon cable between the keypad and the display driver ‎board, gently pulling out the clip on either side of the connector, pushing the ‎ribbon cable in blue side upwards, then pushing the clip back in to secure the ‎cable.‎

Note that the ribbon cable for the keypad should go underneath the black ‎plastic clips on the connectors on both the keypad and display driver board. ‎If you try to fit, it on top of the black plastic clip then it'll still fit ‎but won't work!‎

Getting Up and Running

 

We recommend the Retropie operating system for your Picade. Download it ‎from https://retropie.org.uk/download/, and burn it to a micro-SD card.‎

Plug a USB keyboard into your Pi the first time you boot it, to allow you to ‎configure the Wi-Fi.‎

Pop your freshly-burned micro-SD into the slot on the underside of your Pi, ‎slot the back panel in (with the cutout for the keypad at the top left), and ‎secure the tab on the top with the black rubber band (you might have to flex ‎the top of the cabinet slightly to get it in.)‎

Plug your 5V, 2.5A power supply into the micro-USB connector on the Picade ‎X HAT (the HAT will supply power to your Pi.) Press the power button and ‎your Picade will now boot up!‎

Connect to Wi-Fi to run the Picade HAT installer. You'll find it in the Retropie ‎menu under "CONFIGURE WIFI".‎

To run the Picade HAT installer, which will set up the joystick and buttons, ‎the audio, and the power button, exit the Retropie GUI by pressing F4 on your ‎keyboard, and type the following in the terminal window: ‎‎“curl https://get.pimoroni.com/picadehat | bash”, press “Enter”, then follow ‎the instructions on screen.‎

If the screen on your Picade doesn't show anything while it's booting up, ‎then you'll need to do a little jiggery-pokery to get it working. Because of ‎the way that the Raspberry Pi handles power to the USB ports during boot, ‎and due to the fact that the screen is powered from the USB ports, the ‎display isn't detected during boot-up.‎

However, you can force the Pi to output to HDMI by editing ‎the /boot/config.txt file (you can do this by popping the SD card into an SD card ‎reader on a separate computer, or by connecting a separate micro-USB ‎power supply to the display driver board.) Either edit the /boot/config.txt file in ‎a text editor (Sublime Text is our favourite) or by typing sudo nano ‎‎/boot/config.txt in the terminal (press F4 in RetroPie to exit to the terminal, ‎then type emulationstation to get back in.) Add the line hdmi_force_hotplug=1 to the ‎bottom of that file, save, and then reboot your Picade to enable the change.‎

PEW! PEW! PEW! Your Picade is now set up and ready to go!‎

That's all folks!‎

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