Reddit was taken by storm over the weekend when Maker Daniel Hankewycz revealed this retro gaming project. The Maker has adapted a vintage Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) cartridge to contain all of the necessary components to be a functioning NES console.
Daniel got the original idea to build a console within a cartridge from Kotomi, but decided to put his own spin on the project. Using a vintage console and an ATmega168 MCU, Daniel has developed a fully-functional console that is a true blast from the past.
The video above will explain the inner workings of Daniel’s ingenious project. In this version of the build, he explains that he selected an Arduino so that he could still use the classic NES controllers. You can find his full Instructables tutorial at this link.
What is next for Daniel? He has ideas for a portable NES unit as well as a build based around an Atari 2600. No matter what he has planned next, we will be ready to share his next technostalgic creation. Now go save that princess!
A Maker by the name Vicor8o5 was frequently finding himself struggling with important decisions. Instead of toiling over making the right choice, he chose to turn to technology to help him out. He devised this clever tool to aid him in the daily decision making process.
To fix his issue, Victor8o5 set out to make the Decision Box, which makes as its name suggests, makes decisions for you by either showing a green or a red light. Outlined in a recent Instructables post, the Maker started with a small wooden cube and hollowed out a space for the technological components in the center. He wired his circuit, including a red/green light and an ATtiny85.
The code uploaded to the ATtiny85 uses a random function to produce either a red or green light. After running a test of 80 random decisions, Victor8o5 ended up with 44 reds and 36 greens. Even though that sounds like an elementary school math problem, it’s a solid distribution for this handy device!
To develop the working brushless direct current (DLDC) motor, the Maker 3D printed each of its parts, excluding the magnets, solenoid wrapping wire and hall effect sensors, and used an Arduino Uno (ATmega328) to control the motor itself.
According to Pitrak’s Instructables page, the design features four distinct parts: the bottom enclosure, the top enclosure, the rotor, and the solenoids. All of the parts can be printed at once on most 3D printers; however, during the print, it must be paused in order to add in certain components.
“The magnets and hall effect sensors were inserted into assembly by designing a correctly sized internal void in the appropriate place, printing to just below the top of the void, pausing the print and inserting the device, and then continuing the print,” Pitrack explained.
The final product was printed in clear PLA plastic at 20% infill with a 0.20 mm layer height. “It was found through trial and error that pieces meant to join together without sliding such as the top and bottom enclosures should be printed at 0.25 mm added on all sides, while pieces meant to slide freely such as the rotor should be printed at 0.4 mm space on all sides,” the Maker notes.
Once printing is complete, each of the components can be removed from the MakerBot and pieced together after removing excess plastic from the raft. The pieces should fit together smoothly without much effort.
The Maker says future improvements to the motor can be broken down into four main categories: mechanical optimization, efficiency improvements, control improvements and applications, which he explains in more detail here.
A Maker by the name of Famous Mods was growing tired of the ceiling in his living room undergoing constant water damage. So what did he do? In true DIY fashion, he built an Arduino-powered LED Drop Ceiling to cover up the problem all while making his living room dance party ready at the press of a button.
In a recent Instructables post, the Maker thoroughly detailed the process he underwent to create this Bluetooth-compatible, computer-controlled contraption.
“The perks of being controlled by the computer are that the whole system is music controlled and it’s easy to change and create your own patterns with little software know-how,” Famous Mods notes.
“The union of the Arduino’s allow for the device to receive incoming pixel data and light the LED’s accordingly,” the Maker explains.
Following the installation of LED Matrix software and some code tinkering, the Pixel Drop Ceiling was born and is truly capable of some stunning feats. The only things missing now? A NeoPixel dress made under a DIY disco ball.
Whether you’re looking to cover up your own leaky ceiling or are interested in turning your living room into a swanky dance club, you can read all about it on the Maker’s official blog here.
A 15-year-old Maker going by the name of Gizzmotronics has built an astonishing four-wheeled contraption controlled by an Atmel-basedArduino board. The young Maker detailed the build process of this road-worthy device in a recent Instructables post.
Though the creation utilizes the frame of a gas-powered go-kart, our Maker installed an electronic motor for this project. Upon removing its existing gas engine, Gizzmotronics selected a Hobbywing Xerun 150A brushless electronic speed controller and Savox BSM5065 450Kv motor to control his new whip, which can achieve a top speed of around 30 MPH. 3 LiPo batteries that regularly supply 19-20V power the device. Zipping around at a moderate 15 MPH will yield about 30 minutes of driving before needing to be recharged, Hackaday‘s Rich Bremer reveals.
Aside from throttle control, the Arduino is responsible for other operational aspects of the makeshift vehicle such as controlling the LED lights that serve as headlights, tail lights, turn signals, brake lights and even backup light. There is also an LCD display mounted to the center of the steering wheel, which too is powered by the Arduino and displays the throttle value, status of the lights and the voltage of the battery. There is a potentiometer mounted to the steering wheel for controlling the go-kart’s speed; the value of the potentiometer is read by the Arduino board, which in turn sends the appropriate PWM signal to the ESC. The headlights have 3 brightnesses, each controlled via PWM signal provided by the microcontroller.
To assure against any false starts, the Maker has installed a personal security measure. “The throttle is only functional while the right joystick (2-axis) is held down, as a safety measure,” he noted.
Couch potatoes, you’ll love this. Maker Jayvis Vineet Gonsalves has created a device ideal for any lazy Sunday spent on the sofa. His Android-powered TV remote allows for voice recognition software to control your TV with little to no effort.
This Maker’s Aergia (named after the Greek goddess of sloth) concept was devised for a situation where “the TV remote which is located just beyond your arm’s length seems to be many miles away and you do not have the energy, nor the will power to reach for it.” Hoping to utilize the power of his Android phone, which is never out of arm’s reach, Jayvis embarked on this project.
After preparing the plastic project enclosure and securing the power supply circuit, Jayvis turned to the brains of the device. To solve his lethargy issue, he paired a Bluetooth transceiver with an Arduino Uno (ATmega328).
“The Bluetooth Module enables the Arduino to connect and communicate wirelessly with the Android phone,’ the Maker noted. He also suggests that you purchase a Bluetooth Module, which is soldered to a breakout board, as purchasing only the Bluetooth Module without the breakout board means that “you will have to do the tricky soldering part which could damage the module if it is not done with the right tools”
Next, he attached an IR LED Stem to communicate with the TV and assembled all of the components into a final build. To control this device, Jayvis developed an Android app companion that functions as a universal Bluetooth remote. He notes, “In addition to all the basic buttons an IR Remote has, the app also features a voice recognition system and 12 user programmable buttons.” Perfect for any couch potato!
In a recent Instructables post, a Maker by the name of Beaconsfield utilized an Arduino Micro (ATmega32u4) to craft a motion-activated speed suit.
“The suit flashes when the wearer starts to walk and lights up completely when the wearer runs. Perfect for those late-night runs!” The Maker also humorously notes that the suit could be worn to dance parties as it will sense motion when the wearer dances.
Along with the megaAVR based Arduino and a zip-up suit, Beaconsfield utilized the following materials:
Memsic 2125 accelerometer
EL wire
12V inverter for EL wire –
Transistor
470 Ohm resistor (no smaller than 100 Ohms)
8 pin socket (for accelerometer – ideally use a 6 pin)
40 pin socket (for Arduino)
4-AA battery packs (2x)
AA batteries (8x)
Power switch
General purpose printed circuit board
Miscellaneous wires/soldering supplies
Clear thread
Colored thread to match the suit
With the soldering of her components done, the Maker turned her attention to the Arduino code.
“Once the code has determined the activity, it controls the EL wire accordingly. If the wearer is standing still, the EL wire stays off; if the wearer is walking, it flashes; and if the wearer is running it stays on,” she detailed in her post.
After testing her components and the coding, attention turned to the suit itself. The first step in assembling the suit was soldering EL wire. The Maker “used the method with copper tape, since it seemed more secure and less likely to break the thin wires.”
Next, the EL wire was sewn to the suit and followed by an effort to hide the suit’s wiring. The Arduino-powered circuit board was attached near the hip because the Maker “wanted it to rest near the hip where there would be a lot of motion.”
Upon completing the sewing and hiding the wiring, the suit should be ready to wear and light up your nightly runs or next dance party!
Interested in learning more? You can find all 19 steps to the project and the Maker’s thought process via her original Instructables post.
A computer science student at UW-Milwaukee going by the handle of “bergerab” has created a mountable visual aid using Atmel’s ATtiny85 microcontroller (MCU).
Along with the ATtiny85 MCU, the Maker completed his build with the help of these materials:
HC SR-04
SPST Slide Switch
Two CR2032 batteries (with holder)
NPN transistor
1N4007 Diode
Perfboard (5 cm x 7 cm)
DC Vibration Motor (salvaged from an Xbox controller)
A mounting surface (i.e. a hat)
In a recent Instructables post, bergerab described Helping Eyes as “a visual aid, which can be mounted to any apparel to prevent injury to the visually impaired. It uses an ultrasonic range sensor to ‘sense’ objects and sends vibrations to warn its wearer of the incoming object.”
The functionality of the device is designed around the notion that “as an object comes closer, the vibration’s intensity increases.”
Prior to soldering Helping Eyes’ components to the perfboard, the Maker ensured that the batteries could be easily replaced and that the DC vibration motor had plenty of place to spin. He also made an effort to “mount the HC SR-04 straightly with nothing obstructing its view,” in order to get the best signal for the device.
Once the device was assembled, the Maker chose to mount his creation to a hat. “Since this device is so small, it can be mounted to many surfaces (such as clothing, hats, belt buckles, etc..). I chose to mount mine to a hat to prevent against accidents involving low ceilings in homes,” he noted.
Given the variety of mounting surfaces, the Maker says one could either sew an Arduino Lilypad (ATmega168V or ATmega328V) into the fabric, attach via velcro or adhere use hot glue.
A Maker by the name of ‘Funelab’ has created an LED chandelier by utilizing an Atmel-based (ATmega328) Arduino Uno, as well as an Arduino Mini, copper wire and 50 small jars.
Funelab notes in a recent Instructables guide that he chose to embark on this project because he “wanted to give his room some special design, with smooth lighting.” Therefore when he had the option to use RGB LEDs and an Arduino board, he decided upon making a chandelier.
After some initial deliberation, the Maker decided upon an acrylic frame base with a 6.5” diameter, as it would easily fit within his room.
Maker beware: Funelab does caution users to be delicate when sawing through the acrylic frame, as he broke his first attempt due to cutting too quickly.
The creator then spent two days wiring the project and found that rechargeable batteries best fit the chandelier’s needs.
“The battery cell is ideal to power lights for outdoor activities where electricity is not available.” He also details that if the battery runs out, one should charge the batteries, “about 2 hours to be able to continue using.”
In the end, this Arduino-powered chandelier can create a mellow and relaxing mood at any sort of outdoor gathering.
Programmed by Alexey Pajitnov, Tetris was released on June 6, 1984 while the engineer was working for the Dorodnicyn Computing Centre of the Academy of Science of the USSR in Moscow.
According to Wikipedia, the wildly popular Tetris derived its name from the Greek numerical prefix tetra (all of the game’s pieces contain four segments) and tennis, Pajitnov’s favorite sport.
The game (or one of its many variants) is available for nearly every video game console and computer operating system, as well as on devices such as graphing calculators, mobile phones, portable media players and PDAs.
Recently, tinkerer Mark Kerger created a Tetris t-shirt in honor of the game’s recent 30th birthday. So, what is packed into the humble shirt? 128 LEDs, a fistful of batteries and an Atmel-based Arduino Uno.
In related news, the folks at jolliFactory designed an Arduino-based, bi-color LED Matrix Tetris game earlier this month.
The game – which initially surfaced on Instructables – is built around two of jolliFactory’s bi-color LED Matrix Driver Module, a platform that allows Makers to easily daisy-chain multiple components.
“Just for fun, we thought we could build a simple Tetris game by daisy-chaining two of the bi-color LED Matrix Driver modules together driven by an Arduino Nano (Atmel ATmega328 MCU).
simply by adapting similar projects found at Instructables… We expanded our search to other online sites and managed to find some information which we adapted to build a simple Arduino based bi-color LED matrix Tetris game,” a jolliFactory rep explained.“As this project is simply built for the FUN factor with no intention of using it for long, we did not pay too much attention to build a proper enclosure. However, the enclosure should enable the player to hand-held the gadget to play quite comfortably. What we have for the enclosure is a cardboard box backing with a blue tinted acrylic protective front with the game control push button switches mounted.”
