Recycling old CRTs is a true Hackaday tradition, and [Rob’s] mini arcade is sure to grab your attention.
First of all, you’ll probably appreciate [Rob] circumventing the supply shortage by getting all his components from recycled material. That’s probably the only way to get anything these days. He salvaged a small CRT from an old-school video intercom system and snagged the buttons, speakers, and switches from other unused devices laying around. Not all is lost, however, as [Rob] was able to purchase an Arduino Nano and a few resistors online. So maybe things are turning around in that category, who knows?
You’ll probably also appreciate how remarkably simple this hack is. No need for a Raspberry Pi as your standard 8-bit microcontroller will do the trick. And, fortunately, [Rob] found a nice library to help him generate the composite video signal, doing most of the work for him. All that was left to do was to build the arcade cabinet. Recreating the classic design was a pretty easy step, but you might opt for something a little nicer than cardboard though. But, hey, if it does the trick, then why not?
Cool project, [Rob]! We’re definitely happy to add this project to our retro collection here at Hackaday.
Wait, he found resistors online !
But where and how did he do this ?
Joking aside, good construction, simple and effective.
Well done.
Yeah, definitely a really cool project.
Good old cardboard. My favorite material.
Good job and well done
I’m planning to use cardboard next Spring as mulch in my garden.
I hope it will hinder weed emergence.
the reflecting sides of the box could be covered with black fabric… or black mat paint
This, except it’s “matte” paint ;)
In German, an English “mat” (the mattress) is a “Matte”, too! :)
“nice library to help him handle the video signal from the CRT” – Ehh, /from/ the CRT? How does that work?
Ah, thanks for the comment. I meant video signal “to” the CRT.
Those “intercom CRT”s are common in China. Almost every apartment from about 10-20 years ago had them. Basically it’s a copy of the CRT used in a Sony Watchman. They exist in the west but are harder to find. https://www.ebay.com/itm/403298591755 A CRT from a small b/w tv (and a mirror) would do the job for less cost.
Very common in EU also, mostly in older buildings, but the system is still being installed (not sure why, TFT versions are cheaper…).
AliExpress has them for prices ranging between $30 en $50 or so.
https://nl.aliexpress.com/item/1005003404486886.html