projects
Pinball Party Timelapse
As it was my birthday Friday, I invited the Electronics Kids over for a night of pinball. I thought it would be cool to do a timelapse of the entire night, to see if there were any patterns in what machines people played and what areas people hung out in.
In the end, I discovered that it really depends on the people you have over. Last time the MAME cabinet was the main attraction, but this time it got almost no use. Hurricane remains the most popular machine (odd, it isn’t even in my top 3 favorites).
Cordless Phone Hack – Interfacing with a PC
For a long time I’ve wanted to be able to interface a cordless phone with my computer. I often do voice calls using Skype and G-Mail, and of course sometimes I’d like to be able to leave my desk. Wireless headsets are of course available, I’ve even purchased a Bluetooth headset, but the range of Bluetooth, and the quality, leave a lot to be desired. However, cordless phones not only have decent sound quality, they also have great range. I had an old GE phone in a box that I hadn’t used in about 2 and a half years, so I took it out and set to work.
GPS Hacking – Magellan 1424
Modern day GPS devices are essentially miniature computers. Many have a compact version of Windows, called Windows CE, installed, and the GPS software runs over top of it. However, GPS manufacturers often lock out this extra functionality. There are different packages and ways to unlock your GPS, however because there are so many different brands, it isn’t always one-size-fits-all.
I Googled for information on unlocking the Magellan RoadMate 1424 (the GPS I have) but the only information I found was a couple of people who couldn’t do it. Not deterred, I set off and entered the unknown. Read on for my story (spoiler: it ends in success).
Video Blog – Mame Cabinet (last one I swear!)
I know, there have been 4 video blogs in a row… I tried to space them out.
This video has been waited for long enough. You’ve read the intro, followed the build log. Now: see it in action!
Video Blog – Gorgar
Alright, there are a lot of videos recently. I apologize. In this one, I am showing off how Gorgar is now 100% functional!
Video Blog – The Arcade
Since getting the new camera, I’ve been getting around to filming a lot of things I’ve wanted to do in HD. I apologize for the jiggle: I learnt the hard way that image stabilization should always be enabled.
Video blog – Cana-Kit VU Meter
Just got a new HD camcorder (JVC Everio GZ-HM300), and decided to make use of the timelapse feature and play around with some 1080 video (check the video below in HD!)
The kit in the video below is the second of two kits I got for Christmas (see bottom).
Gorgar: We Finally Fixed Him!
If you remember, some of my earliest posts are about Gorgar. My dad picked up this pinball machine for next to nothing, rescuing it from the scrap yard. During this winter break, we moved the machine over to my dad’s house, in order to have more room to work on it. Today, we made a breakthrough: we fixed the biggest issue, and now it is 99% functional (all we need is a solenoid coil to fix the center drop targets.)
Read on for a timeline detailing the work done on this machine since we received it.
Video blog – Cana-kit Clapper
Last night, I built one of the two kits I received for Christmas!
Christmas – New Tools!
I hope everyone reading this enjoyed their Christmas events, time off, and the company of friends and family.
This year, I actually made a list, much to the delight of my parents, so that they didn’t need to scramble and search for something they think I’d like (despite my assertions that gifts were not necessary.) In the end, my list was entirely composed of tools for electronics, and how happy was I to find on Christmas morning a plethora of utilitarian gifts!
