Pip-Boy 3000 with a Raspberry PI

[ajvinke]

After a long hiatus i finally finished my second Pip-Boy 3000 with a Raspberry PI.
some of you might have seen the video of my first one. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h71LulqUw3o
It is still working but after cosplaying with it for a while i noticed some things that could benefit from improvements, that is the reason i made this one.

Things i changed on the print

1. I stretched the bottom enclosure a bit to make more room for my lower arm
2. I made the main body thicker for the Raspberry pi
3. i fused 2 parts on the left side, i found it easier to do it that way.
4. i made some vent holes below the yellow buttons

The thinks i did different this time:

• The print finish: I used XTC3D to make it more smooth

• Added a detachable Cable: I added a detachable cable for the power and added a USB extension in to it.
  you don't know how important an USB port is when you don't have one

• Changed the screen: i put in a 3,5" HDMI screen in it that runs of 5V, before i had a composite rear view screen in it for cars

• changed to a Raspberry Pi 3 instead of the Raspberry Pi 2

Besides a Raspberry i also use a Arduino Teensy, it is overkill in this application but it works and it was something i had lying around.
i use the Arduino as a keyboard and mouse for the switches and scroll wheel.
There are other ways to do it, but i found this easier and better to control with debugging.
i do my "programming" on windows and running the same software on Linux can give you headaches, so less things to bite you in the ass the better .
For power i use a powerbank that can deliver 12V of power in conjunction with a buck regulator that can at least deliver 3 amps of power.
i used car usb adapters before, but i had some that where running quite hot.

I didn't make a tutorial, but i have some photo's that show a bit of a build progress. i hope this can give some inspiration to some of you who also want to try this.

[dragonator]

That looks great. XTC3D does a wonderful job smoothing out the surface.

How did you modify the files. Did you modify them as parametric models or as STL files.

Did you manage to fit said powerbank into the Pip-boy itself or do you keep it somewhere else. I cannot see where you would have put any sizable powerbank. How long can you run it on one charge?

[ajvinke]

I foolishly enough edited the STL files. it is something i would not do anymore in the future
i did learn more about how STL files work, but it is really something i wouldn't recommend doing.

There isn't an internal Power bank, i used 4 pins of the Din connector for the power delivery (2 for - and 2 for +) to decrease the total resistance of the wires. the other 4 are used to get an USB port outside of the pip-boy
The power comes from an "emergency" Laptop power bank, it output 12v to 20v that goes through a buck converter that is set to a 5V output.

i haven't run a full test yet with the new one, on the old one i could run it for about 5 to 6 hours.
The problem that i am facing now is that the Raspberry is getting to hot, it is giving me warning signs when i wear it.
i didn't fully test it because i didn't have time before i had to go to Gamescom.
i did keep the pip-boy running the time i was there, but instead of the pip-boy program i just showed a still image on the screen.

so i will ad in an active fan for the raspberry and place some heat sinks. this was something i thought was needed but because of time and limited testing it didn't seemed crucial then.

[KestrelS2B]

I'm sorry if that sort of necroposting is excessive, but has anyone made a PDA from the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game series using a Raspberry Pi or a cheapo tablet/smartphone, in the vein of that prop? That's one of the projects I'm looking into for the future, but I'd like to know whether it's feasible first.