Press Releases

Raspberry Pi Portable Gaming Console the latest creation of "The Ben Heck Show" on element14

Show invites modders and next-generation engineers to collaborate and inspire innovation with Raspberry Pi Model B Board on element14 Community

CHICAGO – June 7, 2013 –element14, the first collaborative engineering community and electronics store for design engineers and technology enthusiasts, and Benjamin J. Heckendorn, aka Ben Heck, get creative in the latest episodes of The Ben Heck Show as he builds a fully functioning portable gaming console using the acclaimed Raspberry Pi Model BBoard. Ben's latest project will be featured in a two-part series, which launched today Friday, June 7, exclusively on the element14 Community.

The project gives viewers a look at how accessible the Raspberry Pi mini-computer makes programming and developing for professional and aspiring engineers of all skill levels.

Ben uses recycled parts and a Raspberry Pi board to wire together an old USB joystick, battery, LCD screen and 5-volt power supply switch. Ben is transforming the Raspberry Pi into a new kind of handheld gaming system, which was first debuted at Maker Faire. The build is just one example of the single-board computer's many capabilities. The Raspberry Pi has been used to capture images from space, power robots, control home devices and teach children to program, a goal set by the original creators of the board.

Additionally, the gaming console will be given away in a contest hosted by element14. Fans of the show, developers and future engineers are invited to join the competition online at https://www.element14.com/tbhs for a chance to win the Raspberry Pi build featured on the show. A dedicated Raspberry Pi discussion page is available to access helpful information, design tools and tutorials to create and program with the mini-computer.

The first episode is now live exclusively on the element14 Community.

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Editor's note: A hi-resolution image of Ben with his build is available here. The first episode is available here.

About "The Ben Heck Show"

"The Ben Heck Show" is a weekly online television series aired in English that's dedicated to the science and art of system and hardware modding with a global audience of design engineers, students and electronic enthusiasts. Sponsored exclusively by element14, each episode spotlights Ben's mods of popular electronic devices while educating viewers on the underlying technology powering each project.