In our latest episode we build a Solder Reflow Oven for use with surface-mount PCB’s.
We based it off the Arduino shield from Rocket Scream. For more information, and plenty of detail to build one yourself, check out their site!
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Midwest Gaming Classic 2012
It’s almost that time of year again – time for the Midwest Gaming Classic!
Aside from classic gaming they also have lots and lots of Pinball! Enjoy homebrew games from Team Heck and Spooky Pinball such as:
1) Lost – hopefully with the final playfield installed!
2) Godzilla – now with sound!
3) Bill Paxton Pinball – with an improved shooter lane and a Start button that actually adds players the right way.
Hope to see you there!
Run your pinball DMD with a Parallax Propeller
No better way to spend a Sunday afternoon! John Popaduik gave me one of his spare LED Vishay displays so I thought it would be fun to hook it up to a microcontroller (MCU)
Because it has 8 simultaneous cores and does not require interrupts, the Parallax Propeller seemed like a good bet. The code still had to be written in machine language to be fast enough.
You can download the resulting code here. Wire your DMD to your MCU by cross-referencing your machine’s pinout to the commented code (you need 6 signal wires + ground) or by looking at the Vishay docs.
A single COG is launched in SPIN and will continuously spit out data to your display. The variable array “displayX” holds your screen memory and requires 2 bits per pixel.
This gives you 4 shades of color: 0ff (00), dim (01), medium (10) and bright (11). Check the code comments for more information.
Hopefully this may be of use to anyone modding or doing homebrew pinball – have fun!
After half a decade, a new site layout!
After 5 years of having the same theme, I’ve finally updated my site. I’m still putting in functionality, but here are some key new features:
- Services section. The end goal is to have CNC and laser work be available to clients over the internet. So if you’ve got a project idea, we can help! I’m working on a very detailed tutorial to help you make the best files possible.
- Store. Common items such as Controller Monitors and accessibility mods can be found here. Also possibly kits in the future.
- Very comprehensive “Downloads” section. Free access to almost all of my classic designs and projects, right up to things as recent as “Lost” pinball.
- Live Shop Cam via Ustream. If we’re broadcasting, you’ll see it on the homepage.
And as usual, the forums are available as well. Have fun and I hope to add even more features soon!
My original “Portable Work Bench” can be yours!
Now you can own a piece of Ben Heck History! Own the original portable work bench as seen on older episodes of the Ben Heck Show.
You can check out the eBay auction here – no reserve, actual cost shipping.
Ben Heck Podcast Episode 76
Yes, believe it or not, we’ve done a year-end podcast! We’ve got a lot of topics, including:
- How Liam Neeson might organically slip the line “You Sunk My Battleship!” into Universal’s $250 million “Battleship” movie.
- Our favorite games of 2011, and biggest disappointments.
- Tom Cruise, Scientology and the expense of going to the movies.
- Zombie trend in gaming, and why a zombie apocalypse wouldn’t be as cool as nerds would hope.
- Our latest adventures in pinball.
- Tablets and phones versus portable gaming systems.
- Speculation about the next Xbox and what if it’s ARM based.
- Why “Project 10 Dollar” is just the tip of the digital download only future.
- The problems with Rocky 4. Yes, it has problems.
- Netflix and the future of media.
Enjoy and have a happy new year!
Download Ben Heck Dot Com Podcast # 76!
Something you never have to ask me for again!
Has anyone seen the BATMAN controllers? For both PS3 and 360?
Yes that’s right – it’s a PS360 controller you don’t have to ask me to build! Have fun…