Disco Dance Floor Roundup

December 24, 2005 by 9 Comments

disco dance floor

Probably the most popular project this summer was the MIT Disco Dance Floor. The build team eventually released the controller schematics and software. Several other projects spun off as a result of this.

We’ll start with the Disco Bar (since it has the most pictures). David has been actively building the bar and is nearing the finish line. He built a bar instead of a floor because as a white guy from  Wisconsin, he’s a far better drinker than dancer. I tend to feel one leads to the other.

David’s project is driven by software that Washington University students developed while building their Vertigo Dance Floor. The software includes a cool utility for building animations.

Also: Monkey see, monkey build and Tom’s Blog (in German)

[Update: We forgot to include the DECT phone system controllable Disco Dance Floor by Blinkenlights at 2005’s best hacker camping extravaganza, What the Hack. Another pic by an attendee of wth is here.]

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Arcade Game Chair

December 23, 2005 by 18 Comments

arcade chair

[Chuck Cage] and friends have been building a variety of arcade racing platforms. The third version, pictured above, has a real racing seat and can support a 32″ television. They’ve got advice for navigating the local “you-pull-it” when buying seats. There are material and paint selection tips on the site as well along with pictures of their three different versions.

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IPod Breakout Dock

December 22, 2005 by 14 Comments

breakout dock

Since the time it was first featured on MAKE, Steve Chapman has continued to develop his iPod breakout dock. The dock provides all of the possible connections that could be made through the 30-pin connector. Of interest is the iPod’s serial interface. I had seen a break down of the control codes before, but Steve has taken the time to develop a serial application that he can use to test the different commands. Now that he knows a little more about the interface he’s started programming a microcontroller to use it.

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Hack-A-Day Extra

December 21, 2005 by 9 Comments

xbox front

I posted the first part of my Xbox 360 iPod dock build on Engadget yesterday. Unfortunately commenting was still off when it went up due to maintenance so I haven’t gotten any feedback yet. Just three Digg stories that aren’t going anywhere.

The response to my job posting has been pretty incredible. I was only expecting to to get one qualified person but this decision is going to end up being really tough.

Team Hack-A-Day has completed another million points bringing the total up to 7M. We’ve also managed to shake loose our previous overtake threats. Spotted on the forum: [omniboggle]’s vertical rackmount case, [PocketLnt]’s THaD flash intro.

More links after the jump.

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Gameboy Linked Hardware Sequencer

December 21, 2005 by 16 Comments

sequencer

Thanks to Create Digital Music for pointing me to the awesome work of Gijs Geikes. This is his latest sequencer creation. It is designed to get its clock signal from Little Sound Dj running on a Gameboy. The sequencer controls plugin modules that are attached to a parallel port. Here’s a great sample of the output. He’s got schematics on his site, which are easy to comprehend when compared to his bizarro board etching. One of the plugins is an earlier project: The Tape Sequencer. Have a listen to that too.

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NES Controller For Pocket PC

December 20, 2005 by 9 Comments

nes pocket pc

As an emulator enthusiast Oscar was frustrated by the button placement on his Pocket PC. He decided to adapt an NES controller to the PDA. The iPAQ had four buttons plus a D-pad like the controller so he just needed to find a way to translate between the two. The answer came from a Belkin IR keyboard. In addition to the regular QWERTY keys it had the hardware buttons too. He stripped out the necessary board from the keyboard and connected the NES buttons. He left the battery and an IR extension outside of the case because the signal was too weak from a distance. I wonder if it would be possible to use something like [leadingzero]’s NES remote and just translate the button presses since the signal would be stronger. I know it would work with LIRC in Linux, but I’m not sure if there is something similar for Pocket PC.

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Want To Write How-tos For Engadget?

December 20, 2005 by 7 Comments

Engadget

I’m hiring a new ‘How-to’ editor for Engadget. We’re looking for someone who can contribute at least 2 how-tos a month. Original how-tos can cover hardware, software, and anything in between. We’ve covered software how-tos like streaming with VLC and setting up Synergy. We definitely want someone who isn’t afraid of a soldering iron and can do things like building WiFi antennas and embedding sensors in clothing.

To apply for the position you need to:

  1. Post a ‘fresh’ how-to article in the style of Engadget with pictures/screenshots somewhere  on the internet (like a free blog from Blogger).

  2. Write a sample post for a ‘found’ hack (like the Hack-A-Day daily feature).

  3. Send both links, a little info about yourself, and 5 additional how-to ideas through the tip form before 1PM EST Dec. 27th. Use the subject ‘Engadget writer’.

For inspiration: here are how-tos we’ve done in the past. For additional inspiration: this is a paid position.

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