A quick update. I am almost done with routing of the board. Audio amplifier/volume control and battery charging/powepath circuits are left. Still thinking about the best way of laying out both of them.

Battery circuit needs some decisions regarding the battery form factor, position, connector position. I think I have settled to put a JST connector on the board as well as footprints for 18650 clips. I have done some paper based physical tests, they look good and I think the 18650 solution is the way to go.

Here are the 18650 clips that keep the battery away from the PCB allowing for parts under the battery. But if you look at the design above, it will be fun to file down the solder points of the battery contacts to allow the gamepad buttons to go flush against the board. I think I will have to considery relocating the battery. The problem is that I want it to feel good when you hold it, even without a case.

Regarding audio, I have not decided if I want to run the amplified signal or the source signal half across the PCB. The board is a 4layer board so I should be able to achieve some good signal integrity, but I am not 100% convinced which one is the right approach. I probably will just go with my gut feeling and see how that works out. I can always change it in the next revision of the board. (TM) :D

Something that I have not mentioned before, I am planning to have the board finished before DefCon 25 (Jul 27, 2017 – Jul 30, 2017) and if it actually works and displays something I might even be proud enough to wear it on my neck as my personal badge. (this is what the 3mm holes on the top corners of the board are) :D

So if you are at DefCon and you see a dude with a strange badge that looks like a handheld game console from the 90ties and a 1BitSquared or 1Bitsy T-Shirt make sure to say hi.

Last but not least. I have printed out the board artwork to get a feel for the size of the board. Here is what came out of that.

I have to say I am quite excited about where this project is going. I see lot's of software writing in my near future, as soon as this board is submitted to OSHPark that is. :D