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Ben Heck's mystery product revealed to be Audio FX Pro 5+1 headset
After teasing us for a couple of months, modder extraordinaire (and Engadget contributor) Ben Heckendorn has finally taken the wraps off his mystery commercial product, now revealed to be a gaming headset. Dubbed the Audio FX Pro 5+1, the USB (non-wireless) headset opts for an old school look but packs its share of newfangled features, including internal motors for some force feedback action, along with some virtual 5.1 surround sound. As a bonus, Ben Heck's also responsible for the product's packaging, which includes some copy you're not likely to find anywhere else ("hear the cries of dying noobs with perfect digital clarity"), not to mention some faithfully reproduced bullet holes that Ben himself created in a fit of rage inspiration. As promised, the headset also comes in at under $100 ($80, specifically), and is available for pre-order from eDimensional now, although there's no word yet on when it'll ship.[Via Joystiq]
Ben Heck lends his hand to emulation-friendly Gameport handheld
It looks like those not able to get their own one-of-a-kind Ben Heck creation could soon be able to get their hands on the next best thing, as Ben (whose work on Engadget can be found here) has now lent some of his considerable talents to the forthcoming Gameport handheld, which promises to let you get your old school emulation fix with no questions asked. While the Gameport isn't entirely Ben's doing, he did design the casing for the device, not to mention pick the name for it. The non-Ben Heck aspects of the device seem to be decent enough as well, with it boasting a 480 x 234 LCD display (the exact size isn't clear), an SD slot to handle all storage needs, and even a port to connect two systems together for multiplayer games. According to Ben, only Atari 2600 and Colecovision games are supported for the time being, although emulation of other systems will apparently be possible through software upgrades (it'll also function as a basic PMP). Unfortunately, it's still in prototype form, so it looks like we'll have to wait a while to get an idea of pricing or availability.[Via Ben Heck]
Ben Heckendorn's 7-year anniversary VCSp portAtari
Seven years after the inimitable Ben Heckendorn's original VCSp, we're presented with the latest iteration in his portable console's lineage. The new VCSp is apparently Ben's most finely crafted portable Atari system to date, even featuring the skillful placement of cartridge-as-screen-shade and the fine white plastic frame roughly the size of a chunky Game Boy Advance. The best part: if you ask nicely (can hack up some cash) Ben might even consider making one for you. Just tell 'im Engadget sent ya.
Ben Heck's latest: Atari VCSp Revision 7
What does Ben Heckendorn do when he's not modding up consoles for Engadget? Why, mod up consoles on his own dang time, of course. His latest is another Atari 2600 portable, this time aping the DS lite almost too well -- Nintendo just looks bad now. Sure, the processor requirements of the 2600 aren't substantial, but that cartridge sure is. Unfortunately, after inital tests, it seems touch screen input is a no go. Read on for some more pics, including a straight up DS comparison shot.
Ben Heckendorn updates the Atari 800 laptop mod
Will the myriad of modded consoles from Ben Heckendorn never cease? (We sure hope not.) The man who brought us the NES Micro, N64p, PPS2, Phoenix 2600, (not to mention an ongoing series of how-tos for Engadget) has finally updated his November 2005 hack of the Atari 800. That laptop, which combined a screen and the guts of the 1980s gaming system, has now been brought into the modern age (read: 2006) with a new case, a cleaner keyboard (with round keys!), and a breakout cartridge case. We particularly admire the Atari logo on the top, and Ben's usual attention to detail and a clean, efficient, design. Still, we can't wait for the day that Ben's talents get noticed by Apple, Dell, or another big-name laptop maker, so that more of the masses can be showered with his talent -- but then again, perhaps it's better that we keep him to ourselves. Check out a few more snaps on the next page, and then head over to benheck.com for his always thorough and entertaining build diary...[Thanks, technick29]
Ben Heckendorn's one-handed Xbox 360 controller
Just when we think our man Ben Heckendorn has floored us for the last time with his insane(ly amazing) console hacking projects, he pulls another stunning hat trick on us. Built by request for a serviceman injured in Iraq, Ben's single handed Xbox 360 controller places the four right-thumb buttons and right bumper at the middle and ring fingers, the right trigger at the pinky, and the left at the index -- but the most inspired bit is the left stick placed beneath on an extension, to be used as a fulcrum while the whole thing rests on a leg or other surface. And despite it all, it still has rumble. Just brilliant. Something tells us these one-handed controller hacks could be big sellers if mass produced. Ben, you laying down the patents yet?
The wait is over! A portable Atari Jaguar
We'll admit it. While the Atari Lynx was an incredibly svelte and sexy gaming machine, it was just too small for us. Even if we managed to find it at the bottom of our oversized backpack, our expansive grip completely obscured our round of Electrocop. Nope, we've been 64-bit gaming at home with our Jaguar ever since then, dreaming of a day when Atari would make their triumphant return to the hardware space and deliver us a real portable Jaguar ... a Jaguar Lite if you will. Though that day hasn't come, we're more than happy to settle for Ben Heck's homemade handheld. Finally, we can load this thing up in back of our pickup and play Aliens vs. Predator on the road ... or, even better, some Kasumi Ninja.[Via Engadget]
Ben Heckendorn's fully portable Atari Jaguar
Benjamin Heckerdorn -- that oh-so-crafy modding guru we love to love -- is at it again with his console-morphing antics, and this time the victim is the ill-fated "64-bit" Atari Jaguar. The mission? To create a portable, all-in-one, battery-powered version of Atari's flailing attempt to make it in the ever-competitive console market. Putting his blue-ribbon mod skills to the test, Ben rearranged the console innards into a 1-inch thick game board, connecting circuitry at will via his trusty soldering iron. He noticed a few oddities while dissecting the machine (aside from the controller's keypad overlay circa 1985), including a 32-bit main bus and a striking similarity between the cartridge input and your average PCI slot. Nevertheless, he was able to cram the entire system, a svelte LCD panel, and a set of stereo speakers into a homegrown enclosure that pays its dutiful respects to the Jaguar motif. Keep reading to peep another angle, and those itching for a bit of post-modern gaming nirvana should hit the read link for the full skinny...
Benheck turns beef jerky into a PSP mod
Engadget columnist, and console hacking guru, Ben Heckendorn has returned to the PSP thumb nub hack that he started two weeks back. Not to be outdone by others, Ben built his hack with IC sockets, an analog thumb stick, some hot glue (lots of hot glue) and ... some shredded beef jerky chew?Yup, the not always so pragmatic Heckendorn went with the jerky's plastic tin because it was both cheap (good for us) and readily available to the novice hacker (that's good for us too). Ben's made a detailed guide, with plenty of pictures for the instruction-impaired. Watch as everyday household ingredients (like solder and beef jerky cans) coalesce into an easily detachable analog thumb stick, ready to go wherever you and your PSP do.
Xbox 360 crammed into laptop form
Master of all things portable and playable, Ben Heckendorn has managed to create an Xbox 360 laptop within the space of three months. The unit weighs approximately 14 pounds, is 2.8 inches thick and, more importantly, can play Dead Rising. Through an intricate process that undoubtedly involved soldering, bending and the use of arcane magic, Ben combined the 17" HD monitor, Wi-Fi adapter, a keyboard and a water-cooling system with the innards of an Xbox 360 to produce what is likely one of the least productive (and possibly best) laptop devices we've seen yet -- this stance will likely change should robotic lap dancers suddenly become the norm.Ben's official site seems to be taking a hammering, but the page dedicated to his latest creation still appears to be functional. If you encounter problems when viewing the images (none of which depict the system placed on an actual lap), wait a few moments and refresh. If you're wondering how exactly he put it all together, you'd best start reading the article right from the beginning.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
Ben Heckendorn's Xbox 360 laptop: best mod ever?
Every so often a mod comes along that's so intricate, so amazing, so over the top, that words simply don't do it justice (but we'll try anyway). Ben Heckendorn's Xbox 360 laptop is one such mod. Having garnered no small amount of fame from previous portable projects like the nPod, PPS2, and N64p, Ben was commissioned by a generous benefactor to somehow make a 360 "good to go" a la the Crunchwrap Supreme -- and since this is the great Mr. Heckendorn we're talking about, slapping a hinged LCD onto an out-of-the-box console simply wouldn't do. Instead, Ben spent three months designing and building the so-called Xbox 360p, machining a custom aluminum laptop enclosure by hand into which he stuffed a keyboard, 1,280 x 720 Westinghouse LCD, and get this -- even a custom-built water cooling system to replace the 360's stock, bulky heat sinks. The end result is a polished, professional looking (albeit heavy -- this machine weighs in at about 14 pounds) laptop complete with WiFi, USB ports, obligatory glowing green ring, and converged power supply so that the monitor and gaming system only require a single cable snaking out the back. Well done, Ben, well done; but as you yourself note, there's no such thing as resting on one's laurels, so we can't wait to see what you have in store for the PS3 and, most especially, the swing-your-arms-like-a-maniac Nintendo Wii. Hit the jump to check out the 360p's guts, and then head over the Ben's site for a ton of photos and one of the more thorough build walkthroughs that we've come across...[Thanks, Jeffler and kade]
Benheck one-ups himself with portable nPod 2
Just as Nintendo has dropped the unwieldy designs of their past in favor of svelte, smaller designs, so too has hacker-extraordinaire Ben Heckendorn (that's Benheck to you kids). He's gone and updated the dated retro-Nintendo look of his original nPod with something decidely more Apple modern-Nintendo like. Behold: the nPod 2!The Geppetto to this Pinocchio writes, "[The nPod 2] uses a different kind of NES on a chip motherboard and is actually even smaller than my original nPod. It has an easy-to-use sliding battery pack (4 AA's that last a long time) and clean, simple styling. And lo and behold it has a headphone jack! Customization would also be possible, such as all the gray parts could be a different color, for instance."Just how small is it? "Think of 2 NES carts stacked atop each other, and that's pretty much it." Not bad, and bonus points for using Nintendo's metric of x amount of something stacked atop each other. Better still, you won't have to settle for ogling it through the dense and unloving prism of your computer screen. You'll be able to throw $250-300 (he guesstimates) down and buy one for yourself (or a loved one). Whaddya say? For the price of a Wii, are you buying?See also:Top 10 custom-built consolesNES Micro by Ben Heckendornbenheck does it again - the portable N64[Via TechEblog]
Ben Heckendorn's new, improved nPod
Never one to rest on his laurels,the great Ben Heckendorn has taken his already-stylin' nPod portable 8-bit Nintendo console and reworked it around a smaller "NES on a chip" to come up with a unit that's even more polished and compact than the original. Like the nPod 1.0, this new version is only slightly bigger than those bulky plastic cartridges it plays, yet still manages to include a headphone jack and convenient sliding battery pack powered by four regular AAs. As usual, the talented Mr. Heckendorn is happy to part with the prototype (for the right price), but this time around he's also seeking feedback to gauge the market for a potential limited production run of these devices. If the NES emulator on your smartphone just isn't doing it for you anymore, then head over to Ben's site and let him know how much you'd be willing to throw down for one of these -- he may even equip them with such niceties as a system link and TV out if that's what his adoring public demands. Keep reading if you want to catch a tantalizing glimpse of the nPod 2.0 from behind...[Via Make]
Portable N64 site lives again, mocks us
The site for this incredible portable N64 dubbed -- mysteriously -- the L64, has been presumably recuperating after a thorough digging and Engadgeting(?) last week. Worst part about it all: the L64's creator, Marshall, turned us onto his creation ten days before that! We missed the boat and we deal with the consequences; namely, not being able to show you this thing until now. Now that his site is all better, we think you'll be plenty pleased with Marshall's labor of love. His site has plenty of pix of the assembly with some added commentary. Think he might have made himself a BenHeck-killer there. So sure, Marshall just happens to work as an industrial designer with a dozen years fabbing ... what's that? Marshall says, "In fact I'm not any bigwig of the game industry, I'm just a 16 year old with too much time..." Yeah, and now we're totally dejected. Seriously Marshall, tell us you were kidding. You're a pro, right?
L64 redefines portable N64 style
So, no disrespect intended towards the great Ben Heckendorn, but this reworked Nintendo 64 painstakingly assembled by a modder named "Marshall" is one of the best looking DIY portable consoles we've ever seen. Known as the L64 (which stands, rather geekily, for L337-N64), this device takes Heckendorn's N64p and styles it in a completely faithful Nintendo-inspired package, with support for external controllers and all of the N64's titles including those that require an expansion pack. Seriously, this thing looks so good, we're thinking that instead of paying professionals thousands of bucks to develop crappy hardware like the N-Gage, Nokia and friends might be better off crowdsourcing their product design to guys like Marshall, Ben, and their legions of fellow fanboys who seem to have a real flair for this kind of work.[Via digg]
Top 10 custom-built consoles
TechEBlog has assembled a list of the "Top 10 Strangest Custom Gaming Systems." It should come as no surprise that more than one of their selections was created by console hacker-extraordinaire Ben Heckendorn. In addition to variants of popular consoles like the NES and Genesis, the list includes portable versions of famous flops like Atari's Jaguar, and Sega's Genesis add-on, the SegaCD. We're hoping these aren't ranked in order 'cause that portable Colecovision totally houses that NESPlusSega monolith![Via VH1's new game blog, Game Break]
Ben Heckendorn's latest, the nPod
This guy is just out of control. After taking a brief break to work on his own independent film, Ben Heckendorn is back to his old hardware hacking ways, this time cramming a portable NES system into form factor barely larger than the cartridges it plays. Titled the "nPod," his new creation has a 3.5-inch screen, runs on four AA batteries, and is based on one of those "NES on a chip" joysticks. It's obviously about as small as a unit can be and still manage those beastly plastic game carts, but we're sure Ben will find another way to display his leet hacking skills before too long.[Thanks, ThinkRandom]
NES Micro by Ben Heckendorn
Hardware hacker extraordinaire Ben Heckendorm has shoved a working NES it into a tiny little container measuring just 5.25" x 2.625" x 1.63". You thought your PSP got you looks on the subway? Whip out this bad boy, pop in an NES cartridge (blow on the cartridge first, for dramatic flair), and them other brothers can't deny that you'll be the envy of the morning commute. Hot. [Thanks, Princess Zelda]
benheck does it again - the portable N64
This guy, Ben Heckendorn, is a perfect example of how we are all put on this planet to find our talent; and to practice that talent to the best of our ability. If only we were all so lucky! Ben is at it again, this time popping the top off of an N64. He clearly struggled to retain control over the wonky Nintendo engineering, but, in the end, there was success. Now if he could just turn a PS2 slim version into a portable... [via digg]
