Ryan McDonough
Founder, Sometime Artist
CFO and co-founder @Accompany, acquired by @Cisco. Turnaround CFO @Ning, sold to Glam Media. Former seed VC. McKinsey trained. @Wharton School and @Haas School of Business.
After disassembly, tossing the carcinogenic looking internals, and soaking the plastic parts in warm soapy water, things were starting to look good! Gone are the flickering cathode rays; in their place sits a Raspberry Pi-powered 7″ touchscreen running RetroPie and TwisterOS. A 10,000 mAh battery hides behind the grille for true portability, topped up through a discreet USB charging port on the side.
Twin rotary encoders handle volume and “channel” surfing (they still click like the original dial—because nostalgia). A flush-mounted power button, external HDMI out, and a high-speed USB-A jack turn this 1980s portable into a pocket media hub that plays nice with modern gear. Want to sit back and channel surf? Check! Just use the remote to click to My80sTv. Want to play Pitfall? Check! Just plug in the Hyperkin Trooper 2 and start jumping away!
The result? A candy-red time machine that boots faster than you can say “glasnost,” streams your favorite shows, and still feels right at home on a shag-carpeted TV tray.
TL;DR: Rescued a Soviet Elektronika 409A portable TV, swapped in a Raspberry Pi touchscreen, battery pack, rotary encoders, and modern I/O. Retro soul, present-day brains. #RetroTech #RaspberryPi #UpcycledElectronics #Act2Art
