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Project DSX – Dual-System Handheld

Oct 2025 – present · PCB designed, FPGA video capture in development

A custom handheld that combines real Nintendo DS Lite hardware (so it plays actual cartridges) with a Raspberry Pi computer mode, sharing one display, one input controller and one USB-C power system. A physical switch moves between the two.

Tools: KiCad · RP2040 · SystemVerilog · Tang Nano 9K · USB-C PD · Raspberry Pi

GitHub

More info

What it is

Two systems in one shell:

DS mode. The original DS Lite board runs natively. A Tang Nano 9K FPGA samples the top screen's 18-bit parallel RGB signal and repackages it for a modern display.
Computer mode. A Raspberry Pi boots Linux and drives the same display directly. Buttons and the DS's resistive touch panel are routed to it as USB HID.
Power. Li-ion cells with a USB-C PD charge controller; MOSFET switching isolates whichever system is inactive.

What I have built so far

A 4-layer RP2040 input controller PCB, designed in KiCad, that routes 12 inputs either to the Pi over USB HID or to the DS over open-drain lines depending on the active mode.
A SystemVerilog pipeline on the Tang Nano 9K that captures the DS's 18-bit parallel RGB video and outputs it to a display (in development).
The power architecture: USB-C PD input, battery, and safe switching between the two boards.

Open questions

Whether the mode switch stays physical or becomes a software choice (which would need custom DS firmware).
Using the original resistive touch panel as a trackpad in computer mode, or adding a second screen.
Adding analog thumbsticks, which the DS never had.

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