This Raspberry Pi 400 Fallout-Inspired Terminal Includes Functional Holotapes

The Fallout series is popular for a lot of reasons, including intriguing storylines and satisfying RPG mechanics. But one of the most important keys to its enduring success is the feel — the retro futuristic setting, the melancholic atmosphere, and the evocative art style. The in-game terminals are perfect examples, because they are simultaneously reminiscent of real vintage terminals and also stylized fictional devices. To pay homage to the Fallout games, Omnifarious50 used a Raspberry Pi 400 to build their own terminal, complete with functional holotapes.

The Raspberry Pi 400 is a unique product that puts a Raspberry Pi 4 Model B single-board computer inside of an enclosure topped by a keyboard. It hearkens back to the early days of home computing when that form factor was the norm, with notable examples like the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, and BBC Micro. But like those, the Raspberry Pi 400 lacks a monitor. Omnifarious50 wanted a more “all-in-one” kind of device and decided to have some fun with it by dressing it up as a Fallout terminal.

The first order of business was the selection of a monitor. Omnifarious50 choses a small 10.5” LCD model with an unusual 3:2 aspect ratio that is close to the 4:3 aspect ratio of the in-game terminals. That monitor has a resolution of 1920×1280 and runs on 12V DC power. The Raspberry Pi 400 takes 5V DC power and Omnifarious50 didn’t want to use multiple wall warts, so they purchased a 12V 5A power supply. It provides power directly to the monitor and power to the Raspberry Pi via a buck converter.

Those parts fit into a 3D-printed enclosure that Omnifarious50 designed in Autodesk Fusion 360. Omnifarious50 lined the interior with NeoPixel RGB LEDs controlled by an ESP8266 development board. Those LEDs give the terminal some nifty accent lighting.

Omnifarious50’s coup de grâce to finish off the project was the inclusion of functional holotapes. They actually designed those previously for a Pip-Boy project and reused them here. Each 3D-printed holotape shell holds the circuit board from an inexpensive 16GB USB-A flash drive. Those only need four wires to communicate with a computer: two for power and two for data. Omnifarious50 simply added headers to the holotapes and the terminals to make those electrical connections when the user pushes a holotape into the slot on the terminal.

This terminal not only looks great, but is also a practical and usable computer.