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Hardware projects thread

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devil†zukin

Hardware projects thread

Post by devil†zukin »

(edit: split from the rhythm games thread.. maybe i'll make a nicer op eventually)

i've been doing a few hardware projects lately so I thought i'd make this as an analog to the programming thread

i post all of this stuff to twitter as i do it usually because im actually a massive attention seeker & i like having a record of this stuff so feel free to follow me and we can be best twitter buddies 8-)

anyway list of things i've been wanting to do for a while:
  • experiment with analogue inputs for games
    some sort of holdy device for my phone to clip onto a controller
    finish my SNES mod (50hz/60hz and lockout chip control)
    build/restore uncommon rhythm game controllers
    build a isomorphic midi keyboard
    mod the pathetic antennae in my router
    build a pic programmer
    actually make something that's polished and not just a mess of wires and tape
    actually learn electronics
    get a laser printer and a dremel and make my own pcbs
    build my own computer from logic circuits (eventually)
devil†zukin

Re: Hardware projects thread

Post by devil†zukin »

idk if this is the right thread for this i usually put project stuff in the programming thread in the gazebo but this isnt a programming thing

i'll just split or move it if i want to post a lot about it


i starting messing with this ddr pad thing gosh its so heavy and massive it takes up most of my floor space

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i hooked it up to my computer but it just disconnects every time i press a step or button.. i guess the sensors work at least though?

there are a few points of failure since im going through a playstation control box and then a playstation -> usb adapter so I'm going to bypass those and just check what readings the sensors give me directly (and then just make my own direct usb control box if those seem to work)

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the output from the pad is literally just a female VGA cable so i just ordered a male -> male vga cable off of ebay and when it gets here i should be able to just cut it and have easy access to the pins that the sensors are connected to without disassembling this whole thing

if that's all it is then i should be playing ddr in no time since I already have a board set up for it, otherwise i guess i'll have more work to do but that's okay cuz i like this dorky stuff.. if worst comes to worst the heavy metal frame was probably worth the money i paid for it anyway
devil†zukin

Re: Hardware projects thread

Post by devil†zukin »

another thing i done recently that i was super proud of but that nobody else will probably care about was unbrick my router

i have a WRT320N i managed to brick by uploading some invalid settings or something & it's a pain to reset since they wired up the reset button wrong or something

anyway, to access the pin reset is usually wired up to I had to open her up, and the pins were really super tiny so I decided just to solder a connection to the serial console & use that instead:

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this amount of soldering was enough to terrify me.. i'm really bad

anyway after spending a while trying to set up a serial TTY adapter using an arduino i found out it's as simple as just shorting the reset pin to ground and then it just becomes one basically... who knew?

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it was literally as simple as that.. after that I just pointed putty at the arduino and had serial console access to my router so now it's basically unbrickable woo

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(that's actually the arduino serial console but i quickly switched to putty since that thing's a pain)

linksys actually tweeted me while i was doing this but i dont think they really knew what i was doing, lol:

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devil†zukin

Re: Hardware projects thread

Post by devil†zukin »

tiny screen! dunno what I'm going to do with it but it was like $15 from ebay

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Aposke
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Re: Hardware projects thread

Post by Aposke »

That last picture looks like it's a GPS device or something... is it really just a tiny screen?
I'm looking forward to what you'll be doing with that PIU / DDR metal pad, as well. It seems kinda weird that it's supposed to have 8 plates though when the most any dancing game uses is 5. Is it some sort of multi-pad that works with all dancing games?
devil†zukin

Re: Hardware projects thread

Post by devil†zukin »

yup it's just a tiny screen

thinking of getting rid of the casing & using it for a portable mod or something

and I think the mat only has 6 steps, the rest are just wood with sheet metal wrapped around, the other 2 are just X/O for the playstation ddr games (confirm/back)

that's a cool idea for a mod though > putting sensors under those last 2 steps
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Re: Hardware projects thread

Post by Doctor Shemp »

All keyboards are chromatic. That is a novel key layout though. I assume it's to make the harmonic relationships between notes visually obvious and to make playing in any key equally as simple as any other, which the standard keyboard layout certainly doesn't.

That's definitely a lot more advanced than my last hardware project though which was to find out why a 64 I got secondhand had a stuck-down reset button. Judging by the residue I had to clean off all of the insides, someone has spilled soft drink everywhere. It's a testament to the build quality and near-total lack of moving parts in the 64 that the rest of it still worked perfectly.
devil†zukin

Re: Hardware projects thread

Post by devil†zukin »

my bad, I meant to write isomorphic

wrote that late at night

& eww
freelop
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Re: Hardware projects thread

Post by freelop »

Rénà wrote:tiny screen! dunno what I'm going to do with it but it was like $15 from ebay

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You could use it for a gaming set up like I did

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I originally planned to combine it with my raspberry pi and make a functional pip-boy type device
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Re: Hardware projects thread

Post by Sorel »

Seems like this is quite a bit complicated stuff you like to do.

Anyway, there is Image for me, so I just go away I guess.
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freelop
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Re: Hardware projects thread

Post by freelop »

My current pc set up is underneith a high bed which is dark in the evening as the light source is behind me

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I built a small system to light up the underside

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Comically oversized ON/OFF toggle switch
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Re: Hardware projects thread

Post by Sorel »

freelop wrote:My current pc set up is underneith a high bed which is dark in the evening as the light source is behind me

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I built a small system to light up the underside

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Comically oversized ON/OFF toggle switch
Mine looks completely boring compared to that one
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devil†zukin

Re: Hardware projects thread

Post by devil†zukin »

neat to both of those things!!
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Re: Hardware projects thread

Post by Falky »

Somebody outdo freelop with a massive electric chair-style knife switch.
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devil†zukin

Re: Hardware projects thread

Post by devil†zukin »

here's my new desk while it's still tidy btw (i know it's not really related but MY THREAD MY RULES)

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it's nice to have a big desk for once and enough space for my ridiculous graphics tablet (although i was hoping for enough space for my other monitor... maybe i can mount it on the wall or something?)

still gotta work out the cable management too
devil†zukin

Re: Hardware projects thread

Post by devil†zukin »

i got my vga cable but the wires arent colour coded right eofcypago39g803yp5gh890

im not in the mood to work on it today anyway oh well
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Re: Hardware projects thread

Post by darkychao »

freelop wrote:My current pc set up is underneith a high bed which is dark in the evening as the light source is behind me

Image

I built a small system to light up the underside

Image

Image

Image

Comically oversized ON/OFF toggle switch
Oh, man, you have your desk underneath your bed too?
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Re: Hardware projects thread

Post by freelop »

darkychao wrote:
freelop wrote:My current pc set up is underneith a high bed which is dark in the evening as the light source is behind me

Image

I built a small system to light up the underside

Image

Image

Image

Comically oversized ON/OFF toggle switch
Oh, man, you have your desk underneath your bed too?
It's in the spare room, my main bed is a double for all the hot tail I get in there
I've never had anyone over
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devil†zukin

Re: Hardware projects thread

Post by devil†zukin »

eeee i forgot I made this thread

this was destined for the programming thread but it fits more here

after months of procrastination (i haven't been well) i'm thinking of finally fixing this ridiculous massive metal ddr pad thats taking up space in my room (here it is hiding with some other misc rubbish)

then i went on ebay and found these ridiculously cheap arduino mini clones: http://imgur.com/wv5ZgDv (1.63 each - ludicrous)

i was originally going to use just the microcontroller out of an arduino (which are also super cheap) but this is a full prototyping board for the same price & it's the same length & only slightly wider (3x2cm)

they'll take a while to come but for now i have to work out what all these random wires are coming out of this off brand metal pad (the person who sold it to me didn't really know much about it) and maybe do some maintenance to the steps themselves since they're heavily used
devil†zukin

Re: Hardware projects thread

Post by devil†zukin »

RenaBeach wrote:tiny screen! dunno what I'm going to do with it but it was like $15 from ebay

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also god i still need to do something with this but i dunno what

none of the obvious things have really been able to hold my attention for very long
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Re: Hardware projects thread

Post by Clamestarebla »

Find a used old console and make a portable version of it with that screen.
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rena
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Re: Hardware projects thread

Post by rena »

after years i'm finally building my own ddr pad to replace the crappy one i referenced above

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video of the first sensor test: https://rena.talkhaus.com/assets/images ... 151958.mp4

and a writeup (currently incomplete, we're waiting on parts): https://rena.talkhaus.com/blog/2021-07-18-ddr-pad.html

it's pretty promising tbh and i actually have the space and capability to build decent stuff now

(also a teaser of the arcade "stick" i'm working on while i wait for parts for other stuff https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/ ... nknown.png)
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Re: Hardware projects thread

Post by rena »

btw it works great, just needs some finishing now but we've been playing with it pretty hard

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