Coin-op Pays Out When You Win

The days of plugging coins into a stand up arcade game are sadly dwindling. [Dirk] figured out a way to prolong the nostalgia by incorporating currency back into the experience in a useful way. He rebuilt the video game Raiden to pay out a prize when you win the game. Now it takes a coin for each play but if you make it to the end you can recoup the expense.

[Dirk] took an original cabinet game, did some dangerous work to replace the old CRT monitor, and retrofit a MAME machine to handle the gaming. He’s using Windows and had some problems because of it but, as you can see after the break, things worked out in the end. The hopper hardware that spits out coins went through several steps from the initial design to the finished product, but it has always been based around a PIC controller connected to the MAME box via parallel port. This is a fun addition to any MAME cabinet.

Continue reading “Coin-op Pays Out When You Win”

Mind Controlled TV

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mVxY2IJXBg]

Finally, a good use for those EEG headsets. [Andrew] has set up a system that will turn his TV on and off if he focuses hard enough. He’s got the software set to trigger an IR LED when the “strength” gets high enough.  When the action starts, around 4:30 in the video, you can see that when he raises his arm the meter on the screen begins to raise and the TV turns on. Though not immediately useful, we can’t help but get a little excited seeing him literally turn his TV on with a thought.

Strobe Array For Dance Parties

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/10722768%5D

Check out this slick strobe array for dance parties. Controlled by a DMX512 interface, only a small modification was necessary to get the strobes working. If you’ve played with a small commercial strobe light, you’ll know there’s a potentiometer to control the strobe speed. He simply soldered a relay after the pot. This allows him to tune them to be charged and ready for when the relay is closed.

[via HackedGadgets]

Add USB Playback To Some European LG Televisions

Here’s a pretty simple hack to enable playback from a USB drive on LG televisions. It only works on European hardware, the LH, LF, and some LU models. The hack consists of downgrading the firmware to version 3.15, then navigating through some service menus.

It’s not quite as hardcore as the Samsung firmware hacking, but the added functionality is really great.

[Thanks Jeton]

Update: Samsung TV Firmware Hacking

[Erdem] sent us an update on his work with the SamyGO project. You may remember this Samsung TV firmware hacking initiative from our post back in October. Since then many more TV models have been added to the compatible list. They have also worked out a way to defeat the AES encryption and RSA signature checking on the CI+ devices. Want to lend a hand? Take a look at the compatibility table on the main page and see if you have one of the TV models they need testers for. Otherwise, read the wiki, hit the downloads page, and unlock the hidden abilities of your boob tube.

Didgeridoo, Now Does Real Time Video

Some of you may remember when we introduced you to [Kyle’s] Electronically Modified Didgeridoo. Those same members will have their hearts warmed knowing he’s still playing and advancing on his Didgeridoo, now including real time video processing. There isn’t too many details aside from it being controlled by an ATMega168 and an unknown analog switching chip, and in its infancy it just looks like a bunch of dancing white lines but we expect this to turn into one amazing display.

Oh, and those determined on making their own Electronically Modified Didgeridoo should keep an eye out for the April ’10 issue of Popular Science where the instrument will be featured.

Bill Paxton Pinball

No, your eyes do not deceive you, you are looking at a [Bill Paxton] pinball machine. [Ben Heck], commonly known for his portable gaming system modifications has finally finished his pinball machine build. We’ve had our eye on it ever since [Jeri Ellsworth] challenged him to see who got theirs done first. As you can see, he’s done a fantastic job on the machine itself. He has also documented it fantastically, there’s a build log, a gallery, demonstration videos etc.

[thanks Matt]