[Avelino Herrera Morales] wrote in to tell us about his Game Boy Advance MIDI project. It’s pretty neat since it only takes two resistors and a link cable to use. The link cable has a slotted connector so you can use a chunk of protoboard to connect to the pins. He has software the does all of the MIDI packet generation. As an example, he uses the GBA to control a Chameleon synthesizer.
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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.
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.
Variometers are used by para/hang gliders to measure their vertical climb/sink rate. This data helps pilots find and catch thermals. The software runs on a flash ROM cartridge and captures flight data. The data from up to 50 stored flights can be recalled later. The altimeter is a simple pressure transducer that plugs into the link port on the Gameboy Advance.
[thanks Sean2e]
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.
oh yeah. this is what the world needs next in mass production. now before you start yelling at me over belt buckles and nintendo’s obsession with them, let me point out this is not the NES belt buckle you all saw awhile back (though both are insanely cool and nostalgic) nor is this the game boy floppy disk drive we showed you. this is the work of an artist and hacker. one that isn’t afraid to make a statement with a working game boy strapped on as a belt buckle. the link provided shows you the play by play of how it’s made and how it’s applied and chromed out. within hours you’ll be sporting your bling bling belt buckle in all it’s nintendo glory. plus, take it to parties and insist that chicks play some link’s awakening and if they don’t get you past the first dungeon, there will be consequences. thanks [FRANKLI]
