Making a Retro Dock for the Playdate Console

I made a retro-inspired dock to charge my Playdate out of a Raspberry Pi case. The case is a miniature version of the Super Famicom and I love how it makes the Playdate look like a little game cartridge when it’s charging.

Making one yourself is pretty straight-forward, you’ll just need the following components:

• Retroflag SUPERPi case
• A compact right-angle USB-C cable, like this one
• The 3D printed insert I designed

First, print the two halves that make up the 3D printed insert and attach them with super glue. Make sure to align the cutouts on each side and then clamp the two pieces in place while the glue dries.

Then take the Retroflag case apart and unscrew the main board. You’ll have to cut some wires and remove the front-facing USB ports. Make sure to leave the rear-facing USB-C port in place as we’ll reuse this to power the Playdate.

Then, using a Dremel, cut a rough 86 by 21 mm rectangular hole in the top of the case. It doesn’t have to be clean as it will get covered up by the 3D printed insert. You will also need to remove some of the internal support structure inside the case using pliers or flush cutters to make space for the insert and wires.

After it has dried, insert the 3D printed piece through the hole and hot glue the right-angle USB-C cable into place.

Lastly, splice the USB-C cable to the red and black wires coming off the rear-facing USB port on the case. The red (or pink) USB-C cable wire should be spliced to the red wire on the USBC-C port. The two black wires should also be spliced together.

That’s it! At some point I’d like to make it into a functional USB hub and add an internal LED.