This portable Atari is the result of [Mario’s] toils. The core system is an Atari Flashback 2, an embedded system released in 2005 with several built-in games. The stock titles weren’t enough so [Mario] added a cartridge slot in order to play whichever games he wishes. The case was originally the packaging for an iPod touch so you know it’s sturdy. We also like the free-formed audio amplifier as seen in the work log. Does anyone know if the Flashback 2 has a pause feature?
[Geordy] added a serial port to his Zipit. It uses a 3.5mm jack as the connector. He managed to include an RS232 level converter inside the case. Both components were hard to fit into the cramped quarters but he did it and he kept the hacker-friendly device looking nice too.
[Raizer04] just completed his PlayStation 2 portable build. He feels that the PS2 hardware has much more to offer than the PSP and that’s why he chose to cram the PS2 slim hardware into a portable case. He started with an electronic toy to serve as a case donor and used bondo to form openings for the controller, speakers, lights, and screen. A beautiful paint job and some metal work resulted in the pleasant finish seen above. On the back you’ll find a lighted case fan, hard drive, and USB port. There’s no optical drive as games are loaded from a thumb drive. Take a look at the demo video after the break, but do yourself a favor and turn your sound all the way down first.
If this doesn’t quench your thirst for portable console projects you might also take a look at this N64 build.
[Graham] designed this PIC based Tetris game on a single board. The hardware is quite nice but we enjoyed his explanation of the graphics algorithm that he used. Having coded Tetris from the ground up ourselves we understand how difficult it is to explain how the program works. Tracking pieces already on the board as well as moving pieces, making sure that rotation won’t cause a collision with another piece or go out-of-bounds, and looking for completed lines all add up to one bid headache.
[Graham’s] method for handling rotation involves choosing a point around which to rotate, measuring how this affects each pixel in the piece, and then checking those pixels for overlaps. It may take a couple of readings, but he’s done a brilliant job of making it understandable. There’s a demo after the break and the link at the top takes you to his treatise on Tetris. Continue reading “Tetris Code Theory Explained”
[Stephanie] beefed up the hardware on her Dingoo A320. She enjoyed the features that the A320 handheld gaming system offered, but wanted the 64mb of RAM available in its bigger brother, the A330. A comparison of the two led her to believe a swap might be possible and after sourcing a pair of replacement chips for $12.50 she took the plunge. Once the solder had cooled it was just a matter of flashing some different firmware to take advantage of the upgrade.
[Thanks Juan via Dingoonity]
We’ve been on the prowl for a low-cost Android MID that, you know, works well. We were originally excited by the Eken M001 but early reports about poor battery life, coupled with the fact that it only runs Android 1.6 soured our interest. [Carnivore] didn’t let those things turn him away, instead he modified the M001 to meet his needs. He added a USB hub and flash drive inside as well as a few additional connectors for external devices. He’s also inserted a front-facing camera and improved battery life from a 1600 mAh capacity up to 5200 mAh. This means he can now depend on 7-12 hours of use depending on the power saving features he chooses. This does come at a cost, he had to add room inside the case so he annexed a project box for the back cover. As you can see above, he did a beautiful job of making it look right, but it’s lost that thin-sexiness it once had. See [Carnivore’s] feature walk through after the break.
