Hasta La Gadget!

The latest creation from modder extraordinaire Benjamin J. Heckendorn? This mashup of an Xbox 360, Maker Faire-provided Arduino board and a Sony CD changer lets gamers play their entire collection without ever needing to leave the couch again. The latest episode of The Ben Heck Show takes viewers through the build process in a bit under 19 minutes, but leaves the device still needing a bit of polish in the end. Sponsor element14 is offering motivated viewers a chance to with this and finish it off properly as they see fit, removing the hassle of L.A. Noire disc swaps once and for all without buying a PS3. The video, and press release with details on how to win the as-yet unfinished project for yourself, can be found after the break.

Continue reading Ben Heck’s Xbox 360 automatic disc changer mod targets lazy gamers (video)

Ben Heck’s Xbox 360 automatic disc changer mod targets lazy gamers (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jul 2011 08:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Triggertrap is an open source, Arduino-based box that will take pretty much any input and use it to trigger your camera. Lasers, a clap of the hands, even your old TV remote — all of them will work to trip your camera’s shutter.

The project differs from other Kickstarter projects in a few ways. First is that there will be two very different versions. Photographer and geek Haje Jan Kamps has already built an Arduino-based laser trigger for a camera (break the beam, take the shot) and he will be selling a more complex kit with various inputs for DIY-loving photography hackers.

The second product will be a smaller, more polished box designed to be sold — eventually — in camera stores. This will contain a laser trigger and other inputs, along with variable time-lapse controls. It will still be hacker friendly thanks to a USB port through which it can be programmed.

The idea is that if you can connect it to an Arduino board, you can use it to fire you camera. This means that you will only be limited by your ideas.

To get in on the Kickstarter action, you’ll need to pledge $75 to get an assembled, Arduino-based model (Haje says prices will rise in the future). If that’s a little rich for you DIY types, you can download the open-source plans and build your own.

Triggertrap: The Universal Camera Trigger [Kickstarter]

See Also:

• DIY IR SLR Trigger Is Simple, Easy, Cheap
• Camera+ Sneaks Volume-Activated Shutter Past Apple's Censors …
• Cheap DIY Camera Systems Perform Amazing Photographic Feats …
• Downgrade Your Camera With The Gigtube Remote Viewfinder

There are three things that will guarantee your DIY project some attention: slap it on a Roomba, base it on Arduino, or make it tweet. Do all three and, well, you’ve got a nerdgasm-inducing bit of Make fodder. The creation you see above is a web-controlled tweeting Roomba whipped up by Instructables member matchlighter using a 500 series vacuum bot and the Sparkfun WiFly shield for Arduino. The autonomous cleaner can be triggered from anywhere there’s an internet connection and updates Twitter to keep you abreast of its status (Ahh! Dock sweet dock). While Mr. matchlighter was kind enough provide directions for building your own, a lot of the actual coding is left up to you. (We’re lazy, let us just copy and paste dammit!) If you think you’ve got the programming chops, hit up the source link for instructions and check out the original’s Twitter feed at the more coverage link.

Update: The complete code is in step eight of the Instructable.

Web-controlled tweeting Roomba is a perfect storm of DIY magic originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Jun 2011 13:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading Modder turns candy canisters into gaming console, retro Pong paddles (video)

Modder turns candy canisters into gaming console, retro Pong paddles (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 May 2011 17:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jealous of your Nexus S-owning friends and their fancy NFC chips after yesterday’s Google Wallet announcement? Well tech tinkerer Joe Desbonnet has whipped up what he dubs “poor man’s NFC” using an Arduino, some magnet wire, and any compass-equipped Android smartphone (which is almost all of them). By placing a coil of wire on the phone and connecting it to the DIYer’s favorite microcontroller, Desbonnet was able to send data, albeit very slowly, to his HTC Desire running a special app to decode the signals. Granted, you’re probably not going to see American Eagle mod their point of sale systems to talk to your phone’s magnetometer, but it’s still a neat trick. In fact, we’d break out our Arduino right now to give it a try, but our secret lair is strangely devoid of enameled copper wire. Check out the source link for instructions, and don’t miss the video after the break.

Continue reading Arduino, magnet wire, and Android combine to create poor man’s NFC (video)

Arduino, magnet wire, and Android combine to create poor man’s NFC (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 May 2011 18:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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