WSAL16563 – GamePi43/en

Documentation notice: This technical documentation was independently rewritten from an archived supplier source. Check technical details and commands against the product version and manufacturer documentation before use.

Summary

The GamePi43 is a portable retro video game console based on the Raspberry Pi. It combines a controller with an integrated battery charging circuit, a built-in speaker and headphone jack, and an LCD display with adjustable brightness.

Related products at JW Tech

Technical overview

Supported boards: Raspberry Pi A+, B+, 2B, 3B, 3B+ and 4B; Pi Zero/Zero W requires an external HDMI adapter.
Power is supplied by 18650 lithium batteries (not included); batteries must be inserted with correct polarity.
Two setup paths are available: using a pre-configured image or manually installing drivers under RetroPie or Recalbox.
For manual installation under RetroPie, add the lines max_usb_current=1, hdmi_force_hotplug=1, hdmi_group=2, hdmi_mode=87 and hdmi_cvt 800 480 60 6 0 0 0 to config.txt.
Under Recalbox, set the parameters hdmi_force_hotplug=1, hdmi_group=2, hdmi_mode=1, hdmi_mode=87, hdmi_cvt 800 600 60 6 0 0 0, hdmi_drive=2, display_rotate=0 and avoid_warnings=1 in config.txt.
To exit a game, press HK+Select or Select+Start simultaneously.
The filesystem must be expanded before adding new games because ROMs consume significant storage.
Battery life is approximately 2–3 hours of continuous play, varying by game.

Commands and examples – verify before use:

cd RetroPie-Setup/
sudo ./retropie_setup.sh
sudo nano /etc/modprobe.d/mk_arcade_joystick_rpi.conf
options mk_arcade_joystick_rpi map=1
tar xzvf /boot/GamePi43-210127.tar.gz
cd GamePi43/
sudo ./GamePi43
mount -o remount,rw /
mount -o remount,rw /boot
nano /recalbox/share/system/recalbox.conf
controllers.gpio.enabled=1

Notes and version constraints

Batteries must be inserted with correct polarity; reversed polarity can damage the charging circuit.
Use only identical battery types; mixing types or brands may cause charging issues.
If batteries are low, the Raspberry Pi will fail to boot; connect a 5V/3A power adapter to the power port for charging.
Plugging/unplugging the power adapter while charging causes the Raspberry Pi to reboot.
Manual driver installation requires the Raspberry Pi to be connected to a network; otherwise the installation will fail.
Before adding new games, the filesystem must be expanded via RASPI-CONFIG -> Advanced Options -> Expand Filesystem.
The source contains references to external links (Google Drive, coolrom.com, GitHub) whose availability is not guaranteed.
Some steps are version-specific (RetroPie 4.4/4.6/4.8, Recalbox 6.0/7.1); the matching version must correspond to the board in use.

Source and revision record

GamePi43 - Waveshare Wiki
Source revision: 101789
Captured: 2026-08-31T03:42:22+00:00
SHA-256: 5ac79a381bf5776eb8b25f7296df156bb736b986244db0982c8383db50f80dce