This surely could be recreated with off-the-shelf components, no question. It would be a bit of a challenge to stuff another breakout board into the available space, but certainly doable.
But there's a reason for doing the custom board. As my projects get smaller in size, I need to get away from breakout boards. This project was a good fit to come up with sub circuits for different tasks that I can just copy and paste onto a new design, say for a little gaming handheld, or a micro RC car with a much thinner/smaller form factor.
What might be overkill for the current project might be the enabler for the next project. And it let's me iteratively learn new skills.
That said, I might do another version of this with off the shelf parts only for easier reproducibility.
Replace any custom PCB with off the shelf breakout boards. Redesign the enclosure so the breakout boards can be mounted. Instead of a custom motherboard PCB, solder wires between the pins of each breakout board, sprinkling through hole resistors and capacitors around where needed.
Since I didn't go down that route, I don't jave any recommendations for breakout boards that could do the job. I'm also not sure if the assembly is any easier than the assembly of my design.
But there's a reason for doing the custom board. As my projects get smaller in size, I need to get away from breakout boards. This project was a good fit to come up with sub circuits for different tasks that I can just copy and paste onto a new design, say for a little gaming handheld, or a micro RC car with a much thinner/smaller form factor.
What might be overkill for the current project might be the enabler for the next project. And it let's me iteratively learn new skills.
That said, I might do another version of this with off the shelf parts only for easier reproducibility.