Arcadeforge Picade 2 Player Version for Raspberry Pi 3B+ / 4

The PiCade 2 Player Version is an exclusive product of the German brand Arcade Forge. This board connects to the GPIO port of our Raspberry Pi and provides us with controllers for 2 players without any LAG at all and without having to use the USB ports. 

The PiCade 2-player version is compatible with both the Raspberry Pi 3B+ and Raspberry Pi 4. Thanks to this board we will be able to connect all our arcade buttons and joysticks through the GPIO port of the Raspberry Pi, thus achieving 0 LAG. The 2-player PiCade allows us to connect up to 32 buttons in total including a credit button and a start button for each player. In addition, the board has 5 ground connections so we have no problem when connecting our Arcade controllers.

This fabulous accessory is compatible with Recalbox, Retropie, Regamebox, Retrogame among other Linux distributions for Rasbperry Pi. In addition, it is compatible with the MK Arcade Joystick Driver. This driver will allow you to add more connections to your Raspberry Pi. In the following link we can see what this project is all about: LINK. A little further down we also have the installation instructions of your arcade controllers depending on the software distribution you want to use.

As for the sound, the PiCade board has an audio amplifier integrated in the PCB itself with a Mini Jack audio connector. This connector has a 2.1mm x 5.5mm inner positive pin for the 5V jack. To connect the board to our speakers we will find screw terminals for left / right speaker and positive / negative connections. The sound volume can be controlled either through software or by connecting extra buttons to the terminals of the board. To choose between these 2 modes the board has 2 DIP switches for this purpose. 

It is important to note that the PiCade 2 Player Version board needs a 5V, 2A power supply for proper operation. This is necessary for the audio amplifier as it requires extra voltage. This power supply can be purchased by clicking HERE or in this same listing along with the Picade board.

Installation instructions

For Retropie follow this tutorial:

https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=83317

For Recalbox follow this tutorial:

https://recalbox.gitbook.io/documentation/

For MK Arcade Joystick Driver follow this tutorial:

https://github.com/recalbox/mk_arcade_joystick_rpi

Pinmapping for Extra buttons

• Screw Terminal, Pin, GPIO, Comment Extra 01, Pin3, GPIO2, When Dip On connects to Volume Up
• Extra 02, Pin5, GPIO3, When Dip On connects to Volume Down. Can be used to for wake up and shutdown as well
• Extra 03, 27, GPIO0
• Extra 04, 28, GPIO1

Features

• Compatible with Raspberry Pi 3B+ / 4
• Works with Regamebox, Recalbox, Retropie and other distributions
• 32 Inputs
• Extra 5 Screw Terminals for GND
• Lagless controls via wire to wire GPIO connection
• PCB Integrated audio amplifier
• Audio Jack
• Extra 2.1mm x 5.5mm inner plus pole for 5V jack
• Speaker terminals left and right, negative and positive
• Dip Switch for selecting volume control via software or extra buttons with terminals
• 40 pin gpio
• Compatible with MK Arcade Joystick Driver, see recalbox github.com
• Compatible with Adafruit Retrogame Driver
• Programmed wake up and shutdown possible
• 5V PSU needed!