ARpiCADE

I first started experimenting with ARpiCADE in November 2022.

These notes relate to version 3.X (for RPi 3).

The standard 3.X distribution does NOT have ssh enabled. You need to add a blank file called ssh to the BOOT partition to enable this.

Here are some random notes, for future use:

Removing lists of console games: https://arpicade.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=1037. Basically that says to look at the Attract-Mode config files in /home/pi/.attract/. By doing this, you can just have the one menu named “All Games”.

SSH Access

Connect the RPi to your network via an Ethernet connection.

You should then be able to reach the ARpiCADE by making an SSH connection (Port 22) to “raspberrypi.local”. Login credentials are “pi” and “raspberry”.

After you enter the login credentials, you won’t get a prompt at first. Type “ctrl-c” once, to get a prompt.

If you didn’t get a connection at all (ie you don’t get to the login screen), it might be that you need to add a blank file in the “boot” partition called “ssh” (you can do this by plugging the SD card into another computer).

Once you have SSH access, the “ifconfig” command will show you the IP address of the RPi on both the Ethernet and WiFi connections.

To set the WiFi details, enter “sudo raspi-config”. Then select options 2 (Network Options) and then N2 (Wi-Fi). Once you reboot, ifconfig should show that you have a connection on the WLAN interface.

If you want to add a second WiFi access point, manually edit by “sudo nano /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf” and add another “network” entry.

You should now be able to unplug the Ethernet cable and re-boot the RPi. When the RPi boots up again, it should be connected via WiFI and you should be able to SSH into the RPI at “raspberrypi.local”.

Once logged in, you can check which access point you are connected to by using the “iwgetid” command. The “iwconfig” command will show additional information, such as signal level etc.

Once this is all working, from a Windows machine you can use “winscp” or “filezilla” to easily access the file system on the RPi, including to copy ROMs on to the SD card.