Clever 10-Level PCB Stacking Brings the ESP32-Powered, Chassis-Free Espresso Console to Life
Built up layer-by-layer using 10 cleverly-shaped PCBs, the Espresso puts ESP32 gaming in your hand — or pocket.
Oxfordshire, UK-based Ampersand has opened orders for the Espresso, a do-it-yourself handheld gaming console inspired by the Nintendo Game Boy Pocket and powered by an Espressif ESP32 module — and split, interestingly, into 10 individual printed circuit boards.
"Espresso is a DIY gaming handheld that uses full-size Game Boy Pocket buttons, a 2.2” screen, an ESP32 module, and 10 layered circuit boards to enclose it all," the company writes of its design. "Its dimensions are 95x65x14mm [around 3.7x2.6x0.6"]. It can play NES, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Sega Master System, Game Gear, and ColecoVision games."
Supplied as a built-it-yourself kit, the Espresso is unusual in that it is built up by stacking a whopping ten printed circuit boards — the top and bottom of which go on to make the upper and lower surfaces of the machine itself, with no additional housing. Cut-outs in the remaining boards provide structural rigidity and room for each of the components — including rubber membranes for the buttons, a speaker, the 2.2" TFT display, a PAM8302 amplifier, a microSD breakout, and the ESP32 module itself.
The kit isn't fully complete, however: Aside from a 600mAh 502060 battery, the buyer needs to supply a 16GB microSD card or larger and a set of original or compatible Game Boy Pocket buttons — without which the console will be extremely challenging to use.
The Espresso is now available from Ampersand's Tindie store, priced at $42.