Project: Ultimate Arcade!

[Rankenphile]

New delivery!

I jsut received in the mail four 6' extension cords for the Xbox controllers, AND THIS!

This is a big box of electronic components. I went to Jameco and ordered their grab bag of LEDs and their grab bag of other components (resistors, switches, capacitors, etc etc etc), as well as a couple ICs and mics. I'll have more to show soon, but I wanted to get this up to show off.

/excited!

[crazybillybob]

Rank,
If find more out about the silkscreening thingy post a link..I've got some electronics projects where labels would be nice and silkscreening is the way to go!


Crazybillybob

[Rankenphile]

I sure will.

I spent yesterday doing the electronics thing, and got the sound-activated circuit working on a bread board - it actually hooks right up to the speaker wires, and is volume-dependent, and works perfectly. I soldered the first of two on a small circuit board in basic form, without the LED leads or the power leads connected - I have to create the boards that the LEDs mount in and create a way to connect it to the Molex clips for the 12V PSU. All in all, it worked out great, I've gotta head down to the local Radio Shack and get a few more pieces before I can finish it, and I will be posting pics as soon as I get it all done.

I also picked up a mouse and tore open an old Xbox controller with a malfunctioning button to convert into a Rumble Mouse. I might be able to finish this today, in working form, before I get all artsy-fartsy with it :p . I've got a cool idea for it, and will post a complete work log as I get it done.

So, in other words, progress has been made, but I don't have pics yet. I'll have more to show off soon, however! Thanks for everyone's help on the sound-controlled circuit - I ended up finding a circuit diagram from the IC manufacturer that worked perfectly, and it works with either a 3V PS (think 2 AA batteries) or a 12V PSU, and is a really simple circuit to build. The soldering is the hardest part. It would make for a really cool way to add active LEDs to any computer mod.

Anyway, I'll have more tonight, with any luck.

[Rankenphile]

I am kicking myself right now, because I got all kinds of neat stuff to show off...

...and I left my camera in the barn. I'd go grab it, but it's darn cold outside, and it's nearly bed time.

THe arcade controller showed up in the mail today, and it's looking great! It was the past piece that I needed before I can start designing the front panel.

I got the actual circuit board assembled for the first sound-sensitive LED array. I also cut the array housing backboard out and drilled the holes for the first part, and got some nice pictures of it all.

But, you're gunna have to take my word on all of it, because, again, I'm an idiot that left the camera in the barn. A lazy idiot that doesn't want to go grab it.

Oh well. Heh. I'll have pics up SOON, I'm way overdue for them.

[Rankenphile]

Okay, as promised, here are the pictures, WAY overdue.

I didn't get a chance to do much tonight, as I had freelance work to get done, but Saturday my friend and I split these huge grab bags of electronic components, as I mentioned. Below you can see us sorting the 1900 LEDs.

...and some switches...

...and more stuff. It took about 2 hours to get everything sorted and split.

We followed the circuit diagram, very similar to the one CrazyBillyBob found on the Q&A forum thread earlier and were able to get the circuit running easily on a breadboard. The stereo speaker wire hooks into ground and pin 5 on the IC (LM3915N). You can see the example below - the only thing you can't tell from the picture is that pin 8 has to connect directly to the ground (the resistor is covering the wire in the photo).

I spent some time soldering the circuit to a board, below.

These helping hand things are awesome. They make soldering and any fine painting and stuff much easier. If you do any fine detail work, I highly recommend them.

I've got the circuit completed, sans power leads and LED leads, below.

Not the prettiest layout, but it should be functional. I need to finish the first LED array layout before I can test it.

I got started setting up the LED array mounting bracket last night, and drew it out and cut it out of 1/8" Cintra PVC board.

I drilled the holes at 17/64" and slipped the LEDs and mounting clips through for a test fit. Not bad at all.

They will be hooked into the sound system and light up higher, according to volume. There are five green on the bottom, then three yellow and two red.

The last thing I did was tear off the stencil I did on the front of the Xbox mounting stand and took a look at the damage. I had used Contact Paper, adn it peeled away badly and let the paint seep in. It looked terrible.

On the bright side, however, the ClearNeon paint I used for the blacklight sensitivity worked out okay, but it too came out unrecognizeable.

This is okay, however, as I was planning on cutting the holes in the front all the way down to the bottom. It turns out that I will have to to get the cords through after all. Oh well, it should still look great once it is all together.

The best part came in the mail yesterday, as I mentioned. Check it out!

It's here! It's awesome! And according to the manufacturer, it's frickin bulletproof!!! I can't wait to test THAT! :p

The only problem I see with it is that the buttons are all black. Hmmmmm... do I want to void the lifetime warranty to crack her open and paint the buttons?

Then again, modders aren't really known for caring too much about their warranties. :p

That's all I got for ya at the moment, I'll have more soon. Things are starting to come along, now that I have the controller, I can start measuring and designing for it.

/excited!

[wingman358]

Well, think of it this way: if you do open up the controller (which you will), and you end up f**king it up, you get to test if it's actually bullet proof!

[Rankenphile]

Lol!

Well, I actually did some research, and found that the buttons used are standard buttons. They are replaceable, and relatively cheap, and available off of eBay. In fact, there are a number of colors and styles available, including back-lit buttons. I'm debating on which approach I want to use, as my budget is getting tighter and tighter with the approaching holidays coming and the bills for a recent surgery starting to come in the mail.

I'll keep ya posted.

[wingman358]

I can't wait to see those sound-reactive LED things in action.

[Rankenphile]

Its been a little while since my last update, for a couple reasons. I've been quite busy with things, and have been working on what was supposed to be a quick mini-mod (coming soon), and just haven't had a chance to get to the next couple steps this thing needs. THings may continue to be slow, as I've got a ton of things to get done on the house, and I just found out I may be getting laid off from my job in a week or two, so money is going to get REAL tight as the holidays come closer and I look for new work.

I'll keep ya posted.

[crazybillybob]

Rank,
Take your time....Family is always number one, Take care of them, we'll wait. I also wish you the very best of luck with the job search! (I'm sure you'll land on your feetsys!) Getting sacked always sucks, but this close to the holidays is just rude!


Best wishes,
Crazybillybob