Good kit, but not for beginners.
For Null 2 Kit
The kit is as described. It does not include a case, a battery, an SD card, or a Pi Zero; those need to be sourced seperately. The linked website includes the relevant files, and suggestions on where to get the case made.
The construction process is very well-documented; there is a comprehensive build guide on the website.
Using it is less obviously documented. The Null 2 uses RetroPie, so their docs apply to this. The Null 2 user guide details the custom key combinations set up in the provided image, and points to the retropie documentation
Shipping took a long time, but that was during more or less the height of the covid lockdowns, so that was more or less par for the course at the time. The shipping company had gotten the package wet somewhere along the line, but that has not affected its function, and no parts were missing regardless.
Ampersand has a discord server, where troubleshooting can be fairly quickly obtained. Still be prepared to be a bit patient; it has its active and inactive times, but you will almost certainly be able to get support with building the Null, should you need it.
My advice, based on my experience building a Null 2, and from conversations I've seen in the Discord:
- I recommend getting a Zero 2 W instead of a Zero W. The Zero 2 is capable of emulating up to PSX and some N64 games. The Zero 1 is a little less powerful, but uses less power, so it lasts longer. You want the W version so that you can load roms onto it easily. It becomes significantly harder to do this without wireless capability, unless you have a Linux install available that can read SD cards.
- Go slowly, and make sure to read the instructions carefully. I didn't insulate the back of the Pi before I soldered it down, and that is necessary. I had to slide a piece of paper in between the Pi and the board to get mine to boot. This was my own fault; I got ahead of the instructions.
- If you go for the acrylic case, you really need solvent cement to put it together. I did some small tests with scrap acrylic, and that produces the strongest and best-looking bond by far. In addition, if you use masking tape to hold the parts together, make certain the tape does not come into contact with the joint you're bonding, or with the cement. It will cause the acrylic to become textured and less clear if the cement gets into the tape.
- THIS IS NOT A BEGINNER KIT. The kind of soldering that this kit requires really needs you to know what you're doing in order to succeed at it. You really only get one shot at it, especially with the Pi. It's not worth even trying to take it off once you've put it down; the odds of wrecking the board are too great.
