Blog

We are actively testing the current iteration of RooK – codename Mk3.1. Have a look at our Github repository for more technical details. What started as a minor enhancement escalated to a full-blown overhaul within a few weeks. Once the Mk3 mainboards were shipped from the factory we planned a small retro gaming tournament. While […]

We just ordered 40 new cartridge PCBs—this time as panels. Here’s how the initial estimate looked: On top of that, we even snagged a nice Thanksgiving discount! 🙂 I initially put in for 5 panels and configured each one with a 2×4 layout. That’s 8 PCBs per panel, making it 40 in total. During the […]

When Konstantin was in Portugal this summer he channeld his inner Sir David Attenborough and gave us some insights into his thought process and how he came up with the most important concepts behind RooK.

News from the factory: Today I learned that not every capacitor capacity actually fits into every package size.  Yeah, yeah, I should’ve known. Physics and all that. It just totally slipped my mind. Anyway, on the board in question, there are some handy test pads, so I can just solder a capacitor on manually after […]

It is astonishing what you can learn if you take on a project like this. Things you never thought of 🙂

It all started when Enno wanted to learn how to source fully assembled PCBs. He already used the software kicad.org to design them but had never ordered one. He wanted to learn this because it would give him a much larger inventory of chips for his own projects. The only problem: he lacked a concrete […]

We love gaming with our kids. Because:Time spent together playing is not screen time, it’s quality time! Just like in the old days when multiplayer meant huddling around a single TV, rather than shouting at each other through headsets. Retro games are so well suited for this because they are easy to play but hard […]

Almost all components are self-designed – right down to the carrier board, the cartridge reader, and the case. Pop in a Raspberry Pi Compute Module, and you’re good to go. With a Pi 5 CM, RooK can even play up to PlayStation 2 games. But let’s be real, the really old games are what truly […]

There were a LOT of ideas for names 🙂 PHART – Palasthotel Advanced Retro Terminal RAVEN – Retrogames augmenting virtualized emulation node HAWK – Hyper Advanced Working Konsole RooK – “Retro infinity Konsole” mit nem infinity symbol statt o’s (ist eine Vogelart) The cute yellow box Retrotel H.Y.B.R.I.S – Hotel’s Yellow Box for Retro Interaction […]