Arcade Cabinet That Plays Every Game In The Universe

September 16, 2008 by Caleb Kraft 9 Comments

Ok, maybe we’re exaggerating a little bit. It may not play every game in the universe, but the CMACC gets pretty close. CMACC stands for “Complete – Multi Arcade Console Computer System” and is comprised of a giant pile of gaming goodness. [Mayhem] packed a PC, Xbox, Xbox360, Dreamcast, Wii, PSP, and a DS into the cabinet. He seems to have overlooked the Virtual Boy though.

He’s using GamEx as a front end for a multitude of emulators, including MESS which emulates tons of old desktops like Commodores and Apples. The cabinet, while not as elegant as the Retro Space, wins major geek points for the cup holder.

[via Engadget]

Parts: Tactile Switches For Your Next Project

September 15, 2008 by Ian 11 Comments

Electronics parts can be a pain to choose. It’s often hard to tell from manufacturers’ datasheets if a part will fit your design. We auditioned six different tactile switches to find a cheap button to use in upcoming projects. A tactile switch, also called a momentary button or push-to-make switch, is commonly used for input and microcontroller resets. This type of button creates a temporary electrical connection when pressed.

Footprints for most of these buttons are available in the Cadsoft Eagle library switch-tac, or in the Sparkfun parts library under TAC_SWITCH. Buttons in the image above are discussed from left to right. Continue reading “Parts: Tactile Switches For Your Next Project” →

LED Random Blinking Mood Lighting

September 15, 2008 by Caleb Kraft 7 Comments

What is it about pseudo random flashing LEDs that make us go gaga? We don’t know, but there’s definitely something there. [seligtobiason] has this obsession too. After seeing several more complicated projects, he created this elegant, simple, and cheap piece of art. The entire thing is pretty much just some flashing LEDs, some resistors, and a power supply. It really isn’t anything groundbreaking, but the effort and cost involved are tiny compared to some other similar projects. sure, it doesn’t synchronize over time based on input like the firefly project. But for a quick cheap project, the results are quite nice.

We would put one in our home, right next to the node blinky.

Pong Clock

September 14, 2008 by Eliot 5 Comments

[funnypolynomial] saw this Pong clock years ago and had been planning on building his own version. With a move looming he decided it was finally time to finish up his Pong clock since completed projects take far less room than incomplete ones. The core of the system is a ThinkPad. He separated the hinge and bolted the keyboard to the back of the screen. The display ribbon was long enough, but he had to extend the wires for the backlight. The power button was also extended and the battery removed. The software is a Windows screen saver that uses the two mouse buttons for navigation similar to how you set a two button watch. Every minute the the left player misses the ball and the right player’s score increases. You can see a video of the clock below. In the past, he also turned a digital multimeter into a clock. Continue reading “Pong Clock” →

Xbox 360 Wireless Visual Interface

September 13, 2008 by Eliot 8 Comments

[jon barber] pointed out another great project on the benheck forums that hasn’t gotten much attention. [techknott] built a wireless video interface for his Xbox 360. Think of it as a sort of video game thin client. It has the form-factor of a portable but doesn’t include the 360’s components. Instead it has a 1.2GHz A/V receiver and the guts of a wireless controller. The specific transmitter was chosen because it wouldn’t interfere with the 2.4GHz controller. The power supply is two 2600mAh batteries running at 7.5V with a built in charging circuit. The draw from the screen is ~500mA. The entire unit is 1 inch thick.

Playstation 3 Boomerang Controller

September 12, 2008 by Eliot 11 Comments

Reader [HotDog-Cart] is an active member of the benheck forums and recently completed this Playstation 3 boomerang controller. The boomerang was originally shown with the Playstation 3 prototype and was severely panned by the press. [Josh] started with a cheap 3rd party controller that was approximately boomerang shaped. He enlarged the controller body ~20% using bondo. The internals were replaced with gear from an official Sony controller. It was finished with a coat of black paint. It’s definitely a nice build and the new internals mean it probably feels as good as any factory controller.

Hack A Day 2: Electric Boogaloo

September 11, 2008 by Eliot 20 Comments

Well, that was fun… no, not really, but we’re back from the dead like Steve Jobs. We’ve been getting DDoS’d since essentially the first day we originally came back. After killing a 1G connection, we decided to find a different solution. Since the world didn’t end this week, we brought the site back using WordPress.com as the new host. We now return to our regular blog shenanigans. Here’s to another four years of beta!