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The Ben Heck Show's Felix hacks a guitar
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-252904{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-252904, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-252904{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-252904").style.display="none";}catch(e){} While Ben is away, Felix and Karen will play... the guitar! Karen uses lasers for the electronic housing while Felix prototypes the microcontroller, audio codec and LCD display to embed in an acoustic guitar. It takes a bit of modding, cutting and even an accident with the screen! Watch the episode above to hear how well the guitar plays, and then head over to the element14 community to talk to The Ben Heck Show team and find the build files for this project.
Ben Heck's giant Game Boy
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-752795{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-752795, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-752795{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-752795").style.display="none";}catch(e){} Karen, Ben and Felix are back, this time with a supersize Game Boy. To do this, they needed a vinyl cutter for the decals, a CNC router for the huge case and a 3D printer to ensure the switches were in place. The best part is that the smarts behind it use an FPGA DE0-Nano to adapt the output from the Game Boy to a VGA monitor, ensuring a crisp layout. (It's even green!) What do you think of it? Tell the Ben Heck Show team yourself and find the code used to make the Giant Game Boy on the element14 community.
Ben Heck's Raspberry Pi Bitscope mod
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-929136{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-929136, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-929136{width:100%;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-929136").style.display="none";}catch(e){} If you need to troubleshoot or design electronic hardware, an oscilloscope is a useful bit of kit. This week Ben and Felix put together a Raspberry Pi-based Bitscope Micro Oscilloscope with a 7-inch touchscreen. Using Autodesk Fusion 360 to design a case for 3D printing in combination with a laser cut back and stand, Ben guides us through case design considerations to ensure everything is a good fit (especially with the insanity of the metric system). There's also a sneak insight into a future project! Remember you can watch behind the scenes footage, get the build files for this project and interact with the cast on the element14 community, home of The Ben Heck Show.
Ben Heck's Steam controller-inspired concept
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-468517{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-468517, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-468517{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-468517").style.display="none";}catch(e){} The Ben Heck Show team were asked to check out Valve's Steam Controller, so we took this as an opportunity to see how the controller works and bring PC gaming to the console masses. The team uses it as inspiration to create a gaming controller for the living room. Karen, Felix and Ben work together using a Teensy, hall effect sensors, clay and metal cutting (with some sewing) to let you kick back and enjoy a game of Quake on the sofa. Do it yourself on the element14 community where we post behind the scenes content, project files and you can talk with the Show's team!
Ben Heck's Star Wars Christmas special
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-322754{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-322754, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-322754{width:570px;display:block;}try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-322754").style.display="none";}catch(e){}No Star Wars spoilers! From the Boonta scrapyard, Ben, Felix and Karen get hacking with electronics, grinders, bearings, laser cutting and a CNC router to build their own R2D2 cooler, who wouldn't want a robot that gives you a drink when you use the force? Join the Ben Heck Show team at the element14 community for construction files, behind the scenes footage and join other makers, creators and engineers.
Raspberry Pi offers custom-made, mass-produced boards
It's one thing to buy a Raspberry Pi for your own tinkering, but it's another when you need to buy a lot of them for your company -- you aren't going to tweak thousands of boards by hand. Thankfully, you don't have to. Raspberry Pi is teaming up with Element14 on a customization service that lets organizations order 3,000 or more specially-made boards at once. You can use the service to add or remove connections, rejigger the layout and otherwise get the exact mini computer you want. This is helpful if you're going to sell a Raspberry Pi-powered device (particularly important for appliances and other connected gadgets), but it should also be handy for education and other fields where an off-the-shelf board might not cut the mustard. It'll take up to three weeks before Element14 starts designing your custom board, let alone shipping it, but that could be a small price to pay if you're determined to get the right mix of circuitry.
Engadget giveaway: win a Raspberry Pi 2 and DIY kit courtesy of Element14!
Where to begin? Would you like to make your own PiRate radio station or Pi Microwave? Does a techno upgrade to your Fisher Price Chatter Telephone sound like fun? You can do all this and more with a credit-card-sized Raspberry Pi 2 Model B at the heart of your project. Element14 has been supporting the professional and hobbyist electronics community for years by hosting online groups and supplying some of the requisite gear. It's shipped a few million of the Raspberry Pi since its 2012 release and to celebrate the second iteration, the company gave us a hefty starter kit -- Ben Heck can't have all the fun. This time around, the Pi is six times faster, has double the memory capacity and if you've already been hacking away with an earlier version, don't fret, its backwards compatible, too. There's a host of partner products from sensors to NFC to WiFi modules available from Element14 and this week's giveaway includes 15 of those alongside the new Raspberry Pi 2 Model B for one lucky Engadget reader. You know the drill, just head down to the Rafflecopter widget for up to three chances at winning. Winner: congratulations to Scot S. of Fuquay Varina, NC.
14 ingenious hacks for problems you didn't know you had
People can be crazy, yo. But where there's a will, there's a way that can lead to all sorts of fantastic oddities in the gadget world. Today's community of hackers, makers and DIY fanatics oftentimes work together to find solutions to problems we didn't know we had. They develop innovative products (without all that Kickstarter/Indiegogo hoopla) and often provide open-source instructions for anyone with more can-do attitude than cash. In honor of these ambitious gadget hackers, we've highlighted a few of the more interesting projects from over the years, ranging from the practical to the party starter. [Image: Ruiz Brothers via Adafruit]
Ben Heck builds an Apple 1 from scratch, and you can too
If you don't have the near-US$1 million to spare to buy a genuine Apple 1 computer, why not build your own working replica? Master model Ben Heckendorn (AKA Ben Heck) does just that in a new three-part episode of element14's The Ben Heck Show. In this first episode, Ben talks about the origins of the Apple 1, solders up a breadboard with sockets for RAM, ROM and the Apple 1's 6502 CPU, loads up an EEPROM with code for BASIC and the Woz Monitor, then takes the electronics for a run with the help of an oscilloscope. Heck says that he'll try to come up with a case (with that 1970's design sensibility) in a future episode, and it looks like he's going to outfit the Apple 1 with an LCD display and keyboard. It's a bit on the technical side, but if you like the smell of solder and happen to have an oscilloscope sitting at your side, go for it.
Daily Roundup: Blackberry's identity crisis, Oculus Rift meets Game of Thrones and more!
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Element14 unveils Raspberry Pi Projects hub and 8GB Model B bundle
While it's comparatively easy to get started with Raspberry Pi programming, it can be tough to find suitably challenging projects afterward -- what's good for rookies may bore seasoned pros. To solve this, Element14 has launched a Raspberry Pi Projects hub that organizes community projects by skill level. First-timers get tutorials for basic tasks, such as loading Minecraft: Pi Edition, while veterans learn how to build home monitoring systems and other advanced devices. Those who want a faster start on their projects can also spend $40 on a new Raspberry Pi Model B bundle that includes both the tiny PC and an 8GB SD card preloaded with six operating systems. There's no guarantee that you'll become an expert through Element14's hub, but you'll at least be saved from getting in over your head.
Raspberry Pi gets its own media center kit: £46 for easy XBMC and controller (hands-on)
Behold, a ready-made answer for those who own a Linux-powered fruit machine but who are still looking for new ways to use it. It's a simple media center starter kit, fresh out and shipping today, which makes it easy to hook your Raspberry Pi up to an HDMI display and use it to play video or music from the internet or your home network through the wonders of XBMC. Known simply as "XBMC Solution," it consists of the Raspbmc software on a bootable SD card (this is an all-in-one install that combines XBMC with a lightweight Linux distro), a rechargeable RF controller with a small keyboard and touchpad to aid navigation (it's generic, unbranded, and even has a "Win" key, but it works fine), plus Ethernet and HDMI cables in case you don't have any going spare. Read on for more.%Gallery-191240%
Ben Heck combines PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii U into one console to rule them all (video)
Most TV stands don't have the space for the litany of home entertainment equipment we have these days, much less three different gaming consoles. Well, Ben Heck has decided to do something about it in a special three-part series: by cobbling together a PlayStation 3, an Xbox 360 and a Wii U and housing them in an all-in-one custom enclosure that would set any gamer's heart aflutter. The first step to this "Ultimate Combo Gaming System" is to tear everything apart, which is what Heck does in part one of the series, available to view downstairs. Let's just hope he'll repeat the process once he finally gets his hands on that mythical PS4...
Raspberry Pi Model B gets RAM boost to 512MB, keeps $35 price tag
So you got your Raspberry Pi all set up, you overclocked it and you even made it run Atari 2600 games. But then, it seems, many of you wrote to the UK-based outfit to complain about the fixed 256MB of RAM. Indeed, the budget mini PC maker says that requests for a memory upgrade have been among "the most common suggestions" it's received since it launched the device. However, rather than introduce a pricier version, the company has decided to offer 512MB as standard with all future Model Bs (including all current and outstanding orders), while sticking to the original $35 price tag. Good news? Sure, even if your current unit just got relegated to secondary secondary PC status.
Ben Heck builds Arduino-based automatic sunglasses, beats David Caruso to the punch (video)
CSI: Miami might be out of production, but that doesn't mean we'll be deprived of casual eyewear flipping. Not if Ben Heck has a say in the matter, at least. His latest DIY project automatically swings a pair of clip-on sunglasses into view whenever it's too sunny outside: a photocell attached to an AT Tiny microcontroller checks the light levels and, through an Arduino-based AVR MKII language, tells a rotor to spin the glasses into place. No one will be labeled a fashionista with the requisite battery pack strapped to their heads, but the construction doesn't require CNC milling and won't destroy a favorite frame. We're only disappointed that the sunglasses won't play The Who on command... yet.
Raspberry Pi boards begin shipping today (video)
The moment has finally arrived: Eben Upton's Linux-powered dream of a super-cheap PC that could revolutionize the way we teach computer science begins shipping from today. RS Components and Allied Electronics have begun to mail the dinky devices out to the lucky pre-order customers who managed to get through before the overwhelming interest forced the servers offline. If you missed out originally, Model B is now available in the UK for £31.86 (inclusive of VAT and P&P) or $35 in the States -- if you'd like to see the momentous occasion when Mr. Upton personally delivered the first batch of devices, head on past the break
Ben Heck constructs military-grade, self-contained PlayStation 3 suitcase (video)
If you caught the latest episode of The Ben Heck Show, then you no doubt saw this era's modding mastermind piece together a PS3 console suitable for use in the wilds of Afghanistan. The military-grade portable gaming system was designed and built for a couple working with the military overseas, and it's Pelican's iM2600 Store Case there on the outside keeping things safe and secure from flying shrapnel. As Ben always does, he managed to carefully place an entire PS3 console deep within the confines of the enclosure, and he even threw in an integrated LCD into the lid to prevent any additional external hookups. Generator equals gametime, as they say. Head on past the break for the latest episode, which shows the play-by-play on how it was constructed. Update: Turns out the folks that Ben built this case for are now taking matters into their own hands. Currently based in Afghanistan, Erica and Kris have founded Rugged Outdoor Gaming Units, Etc (R.O.G.U.E.) in order to build and sell similar hardcore gaming enclosures, or PeliStations. They're aiming for an early spring release, and we'll definitely be keeping an eye on them.
Ben Heck getting his own show beginning September 13
Notorious modder Ben Heckendorn (aka "Ben Heck") is taking on a new challenge -- turn a show about modding into entertainment. The press release detailing his new show says it'll be starting on September 13 and we're told it'll be hosted on both element14 (its sponsor) as well as internet TV channel Revision3. The show's premiere episode will see Heck mod a game controller "for an avid gamer with a serious disability," with subsequent shows to be released every other week. And though we're not sure if he'd be interested, if Heck could figure out a solution to our colorblind issues with certain games, he'll hold a spot in our hearts forever. Head below the fold to see the show's first trailer.
