NTRON Raspberry Pi Arcade and Synth

If you enjoy retro gaming, making music, and/or 3D printing, the NTRON arcade synth by Artifextron may be just the build for you. The core of the NTRON is a console with a 7" OLED screen and speaker for RetroPie gaming and music generation, with a Raspberry Pi 3B+ that provides processing power. A hapiNES chiptune synth is also included, which enables you to make custom tunes with onboard knobs and buttons.

In addition to the console, the NTRON works with two external input devices: a (music) keyboard and a controller. The project outlines a custom 3D-printed, NES style controller; but, although it goes along nicely with the theme, one could also just use a real – or purchased knockoff – controller to save some time and perhaps even experience better performance.

The second, and more impressive, input is made from a donor keyboard, taking it apart to use in a project-appropriate, 3D-printed housing. The keys and buttons are even decorated in a nice dark grey/light grey/red that follows along with the general retro theme.

While an impressive display of what you can do with a Raspberry Pi and a rather significant bit of hacking, I thought the print/finishing project was especially cool. Lots of sanding, filler, and paint were used to make it look great, along with a clever technique at around the 2:10 mark to align different sections with bits of filament. Plus, the 3D-printed red inlays finish off the build nicely. You can find the NTRON here on Reddit, and more info is available on Maker World as well.