Introduction: PuNY-pi

About: Its me. If there is more worth knowing then know it... or not.

PuNY-pi
Portable uninterruptable Qi Wireless Rechargeable Raspberry Pi Zero W.
640x480 2.8" LCD touch screen, 2000mAh battery, Bluetooth, Internet radio streaming
and a large local usb mp3 music library.

Pros:
Wireless charging is great as this device travels.
Crisp 640x480 image on a tiny 2.8 screen touch screen.
Alternate usb power cord for faster charging.
Fun to build.

Cons:
This lcd screen does not support a dim function.
It does not allow dual HDMI output and uses all GPIO pins.
Expensive to own.

Note: There were no working PNY usb hubs harmed during this project.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Supplies

Tools:
Soldering iron, flux and solder.
VHB Tape.
x-acto-knife-o.
Small Drill bit.
Small zip ties.
A short Raspi Power Cable as shown in project.

Parts:
1. Raspberry Pi Zero W
2. LCD Touch Screen Version B. See Version B Picture.
3. Original PNY card reader box
4. VHB Tape
5. Qi Wireless Charger Receiver
6. Polymer Battery 2000mAh
7. Adafruit PowerBoost 1000 Charger (Required)
8. 40-pin GPIO header
9. Mountable on/off switch or similar
10. Panel Mount USB to Micro USB Extension Cable
11. 32GB SD Memory Card
12. 128GB 3.1 Flash Drive (size is optional)

Step 1: Setup the SD Card and OS

1. Download Raspberry Pi OS with desktop and then flash the image to the SD Card.

2. Use these instructions for headless setup and also make sure to enable VNC.

3. This video is great help.

Step 2: Make Room for the GPIO Pins and LCD Screen

1. Carefully open the PNY hub by running a plastic tool along the edge of the plastic top. Be careful not to lift up one edge faster than the other. Lift the whole thing as level as possible. I broke one plastic pin and that's ok for my purposes because it doesn't seal totally shut anymore so its easier to open and make changes. However if more than one pin breaks the PNY box may no longer be a good project box. Remove the USB and SDCard internals and save them for another project.

2. Cut out the small pieces of plastic separating the square USB holes and the LCD gpio pins will slip through.

3. Use VHB tape or some other super sticky double sided tape to hold the LCD in place.

Step 3: Measure the Parts and Place Them in the Box

1. Notice the small size of the Qi coil and 5v power chip.
It goes under the battery and slides up almost center to the box at an angle.
There is a black ferrite square of material that goes on top of the Qi coil that protects electronics while its in use. In this case it also helps to separate the battery from the coil. Wireless changing does produce heat. Luckily its not much for this circuit and when compared to li-ion battery the Lipo battery has a lower chance of over heating and creating a problem.

2. Line the chips and parts up the best possible. There isn't any real need for hot glue or tape however I did use some tape to temporarily help hold things in place. I did use some hot glue for part of the power cord.

3. The Power Switch and USB panel mount:
Use the x-acto knife handle with a very small drill bit to make the screw holes and attach the Power Switch and USB mount.
4. Cut a groove into the bottom of the mountable usb mount so that the USB power cable can slip-in underneath the USB data cable. I didn't get a picture of this but will upload after making another for this instructable.

Step 4: Detailed Placement and Wiring Diagram

1. The battery is connected to the charger
2. There is a power cable connected to the power switch.

3. and 3. Only the red/voltage cable is cut when the power is turned off. The ground cable continues to the hot glue area where its soldered to the grey Charger Power Cable... underneath all that hot glue. I chose to go this direction in order to take stress off the soldered power wires from the switch and use a specific power cable to connect to the Raspberry Pi W.

4. The USB Card is mounted just above the external power cable.

5. and 5. The external power cable runs through a hole in the case using a groove cut into the bottom of the USB cable mount. It connects to the micro usb port of the Adafruit charger.

6. The Qi Charging coil is under the silver battery and its five volt leads are connected to the USB and GND pads of the adafruit 500c charger.
7. There are two small holes drilled into the the top of the box so the amber and green charging led lights can be seen. Amber means charging and Green means charged. Yep... its true.

Step 5: Powercord, Soldering and a Mistake

1. The grey power cord came from an old PC. The cord only had two wires and a small stiff metal cable inside of it that made bending it into place very easy. A zip tie holds the wire in place.

2. The GPIO pins are sanded down until flat with the holes on the pi.
This makes welding the pins to the holes much easier and confident.
No bad welds to the LCD.... the pixies are happy.

3. Two stiff welds to the ground and positive.
Didn't want to do this but it seemed the best option.
May those two wires never cross.

and breaking the camera cable retaining clip was not part of the plan.

Step 6: Optional: Border the LCD Screen With Shrink Tubing.

1. Measure and cut VHB and shrink tubing to dress up the silver tin on the LCD.

2. The trick I use here is to put to all of the sticky side tape down first
and then only pull the top of the double side when ready to stick the bottom of the rubber to the tape.

3. I used shrink wrap because the bends from manufacturing in the rubber make it easier to cut and place the pieces.

Step 7: Swapping Out the Adafruit 500c for the 1000c

The Adafruit 1000c [PDF] is better in almost every way to the 500c. The best part of the 1000c is that it allows the battery to be charged while the device is in use. Using the 1000c should really have been a no-brainer.

Microcontroller Contest

Participated in the
Microcontroller Contest