Got a question regarding accelerometers

chickens1127 · Post by **chickens1127** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 6:09 pm

Hey,

I am actully designing a whole new system, not "modding" one, but here's my question:

I was scrolling through YouTube, and I found this guy named Ashens, who reviews peices of electronic crap. One video was about this thing that looked like a Wii remote with a dark, 1 inch LCD screen. The only intresting thing that it used motion control. And when he shook it, it rattled. He said it was a metal ball in a small box with contacts. How would this actulluly work and how would this be reproudced?

Thanks,

Chickens1127

Rekarp · Post by **Rekarp** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 6:20 pm

Basically its a tube with a metal ball on the inside. On either end of the tube there are contacts. Rotate it one way and the ball touches one side. Its not really an accelerometer. More like a tilt switch.

chickens1127 · Post by **chickens1127** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 6:28 pm

Uh....

What I am saying is how do the contacts work.

Rekarp · Post by **Rekarp** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 6:31 pm

The ball is metal and the contacts are metal. The tube is metal except at the end where the contacts are. One wire on the tube and one per contact. The ball rolls in the metal tube where it connects the contact to the tube.

Rekarp · Post by **Rekarp** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 6:36 pm

heres a link to a different kind of tilt switch but works on the same concept

http://www.instructables.com/id/Tilt-Activated-Switch/

chickens1127 · Post by **chickens1127** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 7:20 pm

Uh...

But does the ball have a battery inside that touches the ouside of the ball.

Kurt_ · Post by **Kurt_** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 8:35 pm

And you're building your own system...?

You can just buy accelerometers, you know that, right?

chickens1127 · Post by **chickens1127** » Wed Jan 14, 2009 6:08 am

Yeah,

I'm only gonna spend decent money on the microcontroller and the LCD screen, after that I need to make most by DIY

Thanks for the help!

palmertech · Post by **palmertech** » Wed Jan 14, 2009 11:17 am

So are you planning on coding all the games for it yourself?

chickens1127 · Post by **chickens1127** » Wed Jan 14, 2009 4:25 pm

Well, I'm really a game dev by heart, for the last two and a half years, which since I'm not that old I started really young. Anyways, that's why I'm creating the system, to make the games. That's why I'm a little naive on the subject of the down to earth electronics.

palmertech · Post by **palmertech** » Wed Jan 14, 2009 6:12 pm

But nobody will be able to play them except you..

Have you thought about just using an existing device? If you lack down-to-earth hardware experiance, you will certainly not be building your own console. He had/have a project here called the blackbox, after years of work by smart people, still nothing.