Trade Pokémon over the Internet

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Game Boy-to-Game Boy trading is so 1998.

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If you had a Game Boy and you grew up in the ‘90s, there’s a very good chance you’ve played either Pokémon Red or Blue at some point. And, you weren’t alone. Shortly after its release in Japan back in 1996, the games made their debut in North America. By 1998, the total combined sales of Red and Blue versions in the United States alone had been 9.85 million. So, whether you’re still an avid player or simply have that occasional urge to drum up some nostalgia, one Maker has developed a clever mechanism that will bring the pop culture classic into the web-enabled era.

Back in the day, players could only trade their characters like Gastly, Abra, Geodude, Arbok, Machop and Sandshrew one of two ways: either Game Boy-to-Game Boy via a link cable, or later on, cartridge-to-Pokémon Stadium via a Transfer Pak. Now, Pepijn de Vos (yes, the same guy who built an Arduino-based project that lets you catch ‘em all by yourself) has introduced a new way for users to exchange their Pokémon right over the Internet, allowing Haunter, Machoke, Graveler and Kadabra to evolve.

Based on the Maker’s previous storage system, this device brings a Game Boy (including Pocket, Color and Advance) online via a Teensy shield. The gaming console is connected to a pair of Teensy boards (ATmega32U4) that link up to two computer networks, both running TCPoke software that allows for users to trade Pokemon over a WebRTC connection.

Ready to catch and trade ‘em all? You can find project details and necessary codes on the project’s Wiki here. Meanwhile, be sure to watch it in action below.

Counting prime numbers with the ATtiny13A

Dave M. has created a prime number machine – TinyPrime – powered by Atmel’s ATtiny13A microcontroller (MCU).

“The ATtiny13A is a neat chip: AVR with 1K of flash, 64 bytes of RAM and 64 bytes of EEPROM,” Dave wrote in a recent blog post.

“I programmed it using a Teensy-2.0-based waldo running Ward Cunningham’s TXTZYME. Every time you push the button, the AVR retrieves the currently-displayed number (which is stored in EEPROM), and then increments it, clicks the counter and tests for primality.”

If the number isn’t prime, says Dave, the machine increments and clicks again.

“When a prime number is reached, it stops and waits for another button press,” he added.

Interested in learning more? You can check out TinyPrime’s official project page here.

Making music with the open source Kyub

The Kyub is a Maker friendly, open source MIDI keyboard kit that can be easily assembled by just about anyone.

“Capacitive sensing gives the Kyub extremely sensitive action, [while] an internal accelerometer allows the volume of each note to be precisely controlled for versatile musical expression,” a Kyub rep explained in a recent Kickstarter post.

“You can attach multiple Kyubs to a computer synthesizer or digital audio workstation for solo play, jamming with friends, or composition.”

Key Kyub features include:

• One Teensy 2.0 AVR-based board (ATmega32u4 MCU) with native USB MIDI support.
• 11 fully programmable feather touch keypads on five surfaces of a 3-inch wooden cube.
• Three-axis 3G accelerometer controls note volume, after touch or pitch bending.
• Three open source programs for immediate experimentation and playing.
• Compatible with most software synthesizers, including Propellerhead Reason.
• Provides access to hundreds of high quality synthesized instruments.
• Easy to assemble laser cut wood housing accepts a variety of finishes.

So, how does the Kyub work?

Well, the internal circuitry monitors each of the keypads to immediately detect even the lightest finger touch reflected in a capacitive disturbance. 

Meanwhile, acceleration of the Kyub housing associated with a finger touch is converted to a note loudness, which, together with a pitch determined by the keypad, is transmitted over a USB cable in standard MIDI format. It should also be noted that the Kyub offers low latency (on the order of 3 ms), providing a highly responsive musical experience.

On the software side, Kyub can be easily modified in various ways, including changing the notes assigned to each pad, altering the MIDI channel, changing chords assigned to the chord pads, moving notes to make them easy to play, swapping an instrument from guitar to klaxon and playing almost any chord progression.

“We give you super-documented source code using the popular Arduino programming environment (simple C personalized for the Teensy) that will let you set the scale, tweak the note velocity curves, even map different instruments to different pads (say, drums and fife) to get exactly the musical experience you’re looking for,” added the Kyub rep.

“[Plus], our hyper commented source code should give you the tools you need to completely change the Kyub DNA. Make a loop recorder, a drum machine, an arpeggiator, assign pads to play musical phrases, tap into the accelerometer for after touch, pitch bending, or scale changes, squeeze the final bit of latency out.”

Interested in learning more? You can check out Kyub’s official Kickstarter page here.