Setup (continued):

The LCD screen comes partially assembled, but you do have to attach the speaker and its PCB, then wire up the interconnecting leads. The finished display is shown in the below right image, just about ready to be attached to the base of the PC enclosure.



With the vibrant green USB cable, HDMI cable, and audio cable all pulled through the front of the display assembly, it was time to start installing the other components and completing the connections. The Raspberry Pi gets mounted right in the middle of the enclosure, and all three green cables are connected as shown. The battery then goes to the right of the Pi, and the button controller breadboard goes to the left. The box with the translucent plastic lid in the far corner is a convenient storage area where you can keep your extra wires, switches, etc.



I have to say, I was very surprised. The entire build from the time the kit was opened until we reached this stage took just about 90 minutes. My son was very enthused to work on this, and I think we were both a bit bummed when this stage was over since it went so quickly. He did ask if this was the kid of thing I did all day, and I told him that as an engineer that I do spend time designing things and building things, but left out the part about meetings and all the reading. He can learn about the less exciting parts of an engineers day in the distant future if he decides to take that path!

When you are done building the Piper, a very cool feature is that the computer's enclosure is a bit like a treasure chest. The lid is on a hinge that closes, with room to hold every thing included inside, and it is held shut by a brass clasp.