Picade X HAT USB-C

by Pimoroni

Turn your Raspberry Pi into a retro games console! Picade X HAT includes joystick and button inputs, a 3W I2S DAC/amplifier, and soft power switch. Nice!

Picade X HAT is now Raspberry Pi 4 compatible, with USB-C power!

This HAT has all the same great features as the original Picade HAT but now has no-fuss female Dupont connectors to hook up your joystick and buttons.

Simply pop Picade X HAT onto your Pi, plug a USB-C power supply into the connector on the HAT (it back-powers your Pi through the GPIO, so no need for a separate power supply), wire up your controls, and install our driver! It's ideal for your own DIY arcade cabinet builds, or for interfaces that need big, colourful buttons and sound.

We'd recommend also picking up one of our new Picade wiring looms to go with Picade X HAT. It has all the cables you'll need to connect up buttons and a joystick (with 5-pin connector) to Picade X HAT.

Features

  • I2S audio DAC with 3W amplifier (mono) and push-fit terminals
  • Safe power on/off system with tactile power button and LED
  • USB-C connector for power (back-powers your Pi)
  • 4-way digital joystick inputs
  • 6x player button inputs
  • 4x utility button inputs
  • 1x soft power switch input
  • 1x power LED output
  • Plasma button connector
  • Breakout pins for power, I2C, and 2 additional buttons
  • Picade X HAT pinout
  • Compatible with Raspberry Pi computers with 40 pin header
  • Python library

The I2S DAC blends both channels of digital audio from the Raspberry Pi into a single mono output. This is then passed through a 3W amplifier to power a connected speaker.

The board also features a soft power switch that allows you turn your Pi on and off safely without risk of SD card corruption. Tap the connected button to start up, and press and hold it for 3 seconds to fully shutdown and disconnect power.

Software

We've put together a simple one-line installer that'll get everything set up on your Picade X HAT, the controls, safe shutdown, and audio. Open a terminal and type curl https://get.pimoroni.com/picadehat | bash to run the installer. You'll need to reboot once the installation is complete, if it doesn't prompt you to do so.

Notes

With USB-C power connected through Picade X HAT you'll need either to tap the connected power button or the button marked "switch" on the HAT to power on your Pi.

41 customer reviews

5 months ago
i bought these to replace one where the usb connector broke off. I could not find another connector to fit. These new ones are stronger.
by Kent about Picade X HAT USB-C via REVIEWS.io
5 months ago
I already have 2 of them, one for the Picade 10" and one for a Picade Console. On the Picade 10" I switch the Pi 4 to a PI5 with NVME and it still work just grat. On the Picade console the USB connector has detached from the board. After creating a support ticket with a picture Pimoroni immediatly decided to send me a new hat for free. I really appreciate them, for their products, for their forums, for their support... for everything. They are just cool. :) I recommand of course this product.
by François-Xavier about Picade X HAT USB-C via REVIEWS.io
9 months ago
It works well, but that PCB-mounted USB-C power socket is definitely a weak point. It's why I just bought a replacement...
by Richard about Picade X HAT USB-C via REVIEWS.io
a year ago
This was prompty mailed off to me, to replace a defective unit from my original order. This one works well and all is to spec. Thanks Pimoroni!
by Charles about Picade X HAT USB-C via REVIEWS.io
a year ago
Got my Picade X HAT as part of the full cabinet. Very easy to set up when following the instructions, but as with these type of things connecting everything up does require a bit of dexterity. The USB-C power connector came off mine on first use, but the replacement was here in a couple of days and has worked perfectly since. Dealing with issues is the mark of a great company and Pimoroni just got this sorted with no issues at all.
by Richard about Picade X HAT USB-C via REVIEWS.io
a year ago
Managed to get my picade up and running, instructions were clear, nice way to spend a rainy Sunday afternoon
by Anonymous about Picade X HAT USB-C via REVIEWS.io
2 years ago
The one-liner installer works well on a clean install of Retropie. The amp is just enough to drive a T1-2121SD
by Pablo about Picade X HAT USB-C via REVIEWS.io
2 years ago
Come molti altri prima di me, ho speso ore a tentare di far funzionare l'audio... senza peraltro riuscirci... la versione precedente era decisamente meglio, anche perchè per controllare il volume metteva a disposizione due pulsanti fisici mentre nella versione X-HAT il tutto dovrebbe avvenire via software... Pessimo acquisto.
by Marcello about Picade X HAT USB-C via REVIEWS.io

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