nintendo ds hacks
The people at Division 6 have begun selling Midify, a board that add a MIDI port to an DS and many other Nintendo handhelds. The board has 12 outputs, plus two for power and two for the MIDI port. Configuration and mapping are also very simple. This is the same board that was used to add MIDI control to a microwave.
[via Matrixsynth]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQCZnwNr0ms&hl=en]
Homebrew developer [yaarglafr] recently released this video of his Protein DScratch in action. You can download a demo version here. The program simulates DJ scratching on the DS with an intuitive interface much like the ones on the touchscreen turntables we discussed the other day. It works well with any of the major DS slot devices; just run a DLDI patch on it and you’re good to go.
Running homebrew applications on the Nintendo DS is easier than ever these days, but if you didn’t get into the scene on the ground floor, knowing where to start can appear much more daunting than it actually is. The great thing is: you don’t need to crack open your DS and void the warranty. There are numerous peripheral options that handle this easily with no hardware mods required. DS Fanboy has served up a useful guide to the most popular peripherals and homebrew software. They explain the pros and cons of each peripheral along with the installation and uses of a few popular homebrew apps.
Already well versed in the homebrew arts? Then try some hacks we’ve featured previously, like building a serial interface or installing DSLinux and loading it with with software like this on-screen qwerty keyboard.
[therain] has added a MIDI port to his Nintendo DS. It’s just a two wire connection so it’s pretty easy if you’ve got an extra cart laying around. As a demo, he wrote a program that uses the touchpad to act as two Control Change devices. One is the X value and the other the Y so it behaves similar to the Korg Kaoss pad. He’s working on a sequencer as well.
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The e-Reader is an add-on product for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance. It has a simple optical card swipe for loading programs off of specially encoded cards. The location of the link port adapter keeps the device from being used with the Nintendo DS. Reader [Caitsith2] has posted instructions for modifying the reader for use with the DS. If you don’t plan on using it with your GBA you can pull the entire board. Once you’ve got the e-Reader switched you can do fun stuff like printing out your own homebrew e-Reader cards.
natrium42, the original PassMe designer, has released a guide for building a serial interface on the Nintendo DS. It does require you to flash a new firmware on the Passme, but other than that it is just a matter of soldering wires to the RX and TX. He’s tested it with a keyboard, a bluetooth module, and a USB adapter. If you want to hook it to a computer you’ll need the level converter he suggests. There is a lot of potential here.
In other news: StoneCypher has offered a bounty for an open source TCP/IP implementation on the DS; it’s already broken $1100.
[thanks pete]
Development of DSLinux continues to progress. The work of developer Pepsiman has really helped move things along. They’ve got a working Sash shell and framebuffer support. Just yesterday a touchscreen keyboard was added to ease use. It’s still in early development; The shift, alt, and ctrl keys don’t work and the repeat rate is a little quick. I’m sure they’ll get the bugs ironed out soon enough. I look forward to seeing some unique homebrew user interfaces that take full advantage of the dual screens.
