SmartVintage #1 – Up2Stream Mini + Pico 2 + Waveshare IPS | Early Prototype Demo
Hey Arylic community! 
Wanted to share some early prototyping from a project I’ve been working on — codename SmartVintage.
The goal is to build a streamer into a classic vintage amplituner in a way that feels native to the original hardware. One specific idea I’m really excited about: the amplituner has an analog frequency indicator (old school voltmeter-style needle) — I want to replace it with a small display that mimics the original look, but when the input is switched to the streamer, it hands over to show actual streaming metadata — track info, bitrate, whatever makes sense.
Current prototype stack:
- Up2Stream Mini (will upgrade to Up2Stream Pro once concept is validated)
- Raspberry Pi Pico 2
- 1.9" IPS Waveshare display
Where I’m at right now:
- Basic display driver on the Pico 2
- UART comms with Up2Stream — up and running
- Simple test data rendering on the display
It’s super early and rough around the edges, but the pieces are talking to each other which is the important bit. 
Planning to document the whole build here as it progresses. Would love to hear if anyone’s done something similar with Up2Stream boards — especially around pulling metadata over UART and any gotchas I should watch out for!