Amazing Raspberry Pi Zero ZX Spectrum Emulator Is Retro-Stuffed Into A Cassette Tape
![hero redditor makes zx spectrum emulator in cassette tape complete glam](https://images.hothardware.com/contentimages/newsitem/54556/content/hero-redditor-makes-zx-spectrum-emulator-in-cassette-tape-complete-glam.jpg)
JamHamster is a self-described nerd, tinkerer, and lunatic; and we are inclined to believe it after seeing them hammer away on a Raspberry Pi Zero on Twitter. Electronic atrocities aside, they have some pretty cool projects on deck including a wildly awesome ZX Spectrum emulator built with a Raspberry Pi Zero W, which fits inside a cassette tape.
JamHamster showed off the project on the /r/raspberry_pi subreddit, where it amassed a healthy 2.5k upvotes. To get the project to the state you see in the image above, Jam had to figure out how to cram a Raspberry Pi Zero into a cassette tape, which was not easy. What they ended up doing is dremelling away parts of the board, which you can see below.
![redditor makes zx spectrum emulator in cassette tape exposed](https://images.hothardware.com/contentimages/newsitem/54556/content/redditor-makes-zx-spectrum-emulator-in-cassette-tape-exposed.jpg)
With that tedious part was out of the way, it was time to make some additional modifications. At the first test, Jam found the Pi Zero was stuck at around a 26-second boot time, so they decided to perform some trickery to bring that down. This would include making a rather beefy heatsink which is the shiny part of the open cassette tape. After some more finagling, the boot time came down to a decent 17 seconds with audio, and it was time for a final assembly.
![redditor makes zx spectrum emulator in cassette tape heatsink](https://images.hothardware.com/contentimages/newsitem/54556/content/redditor-makes-zx-spectrum-emulator-in-cassette-tape-heatsink.jpg)
After some finishing work and cleanup, the project looks quite impressive. On the post, Jam has the Raspberry Pi plugged into a mini-display meant to look like a CRT. In theory, Jam should be able to take part in some retro gaming or perform the same types of tasks it would on an original ZX Spectrum.
![redditor makes zx spectrum emulator in cassette tape complete](https://images.hothardware.com/contentimages/newsitem/54556/content/redditor-makes-zx-spectrum-emulator-in-cassette-tape-complete.jpg)
Retro projects like this are something we love to see here at HotHardware. Hopefully, we will get to see a full guide from JamHamster so others can replicate the project, but even if it is a one-off, it is still cool. Let us know what you think of this cool project in the comments below.