element14 Presents

By popular request Ben is tearing down the retro games console: the Sega Saturn! Back in the day, Sega attempted to compete against Sony's Playstation by releasing the Sega Saturn, even though it already had a CD based console add-on for the Genesis / Mega Drive in the form of the Sega CD they really had to step up their game. In this episode we check out the internals of the Sega Saturn and what chips and processors were used onboard, including the overly popular Motorola 68000! What hardware have you tore down or made portable? Do you design your own retro computers? Let the team know on the element14 Community!

The team are making flipping progress with the miniature pinball machine, Felix is designing the printed circuit board for the electronics control of the game using a Teensy and an Arduino. The layout of the board will be mounted towards the back of the board and will handle the light and switch drivers. These microcontrollers won't do a great deal without some code! Ben works on the SPI communications to the targets, LCD screen, pop bumpers and uses Autodesk Fusion 360 for the pinball launcher mechanisms, so that we have more of an active and working game! Though it'll work once Ben fully reads the SPI manual! Are you building your own pinball machine? Or do you have suggestions for the build? Let the team know on the element14 Community!

The team are on the road with the IoT on Wheels design challenge to make their bicycle smarter. Using ST Microelectronics Nucleo hardware with Bluetooth Low Energy means the project can pair with other devices, such as an Android smartphone. The team decided to use the sensors in the Nucleo to detect accidents and potholes in the road and be able to record and report them. Due to the project being a prototype it is large and bulky. This is due to the demonstration versions of the hardware, and the 3D printed parts designed in Autodesk Fusion 360 to protect it. Watch now to find out how Felix overcomes problems with the mBed codebase and how the android app works! What do you think of the project? Or have you entered the design challenge? Let us know on the element14 Community!

After many comments, requests, questions, badgering, hounding and hinderance thanks to hardware problems, the Nintendo 64 Portable is finally finished! Ben took the N64 portable to the Midwest Gaming Classic for help with the hardware, thanks to the Community of followers and people familiar with the hardware, the problematic RAM add-on was soldered flat and in place! Thanks to the introduction of new hardware, the case has to be completely redesigned (which is a small price to pay). Ben makes swift use of his CNC Router to create a suitable heatsink for the N64, which is pretty cool! What do you think of the finished product? Let the team know on the element14 Community!

Ben and Felix are taking part in element14's IoT on Wheels Design Challenge with help from a local electrical engineer, Bob Baddeley, to use ST Microelectronic's Nucleo microcontroller board and bluetooth module. The team decided to work on an IoT project for use with a bicycle, perhaps to notify your local council about pot holes found in the street! This project will involve Ben doing some trusty 3D modelling and printing to create the mount, and also Felix programming with mbed to get the microcontroller operating how we want it to. You can enter the IoT on Wheels design challenge, or give the team feedback on the element14 Community!

The team have had their troubles with the Logic Gate Board Game, so is it time to put it out to pasture? The team meet with Hari from element14 to help determine what the costs are realistically like if the product went to mass market for the components used. Karen and Ben discuss the lessons learned from going from Hackmanji to a dedicated Logic game, and discover that they were fighting battles and experiencing losses along the way. Do you think the team's made the wrong decision? Is there something obvious they've missed? Let us know on the element14 Community!

Karen has an idea for a project, with Felix's help to create a portable Raspberry Pi photo' booth, useful for weddings and other events. This isn't only a hardware project, it also needs the linux software to help ensure we're saving the files where we want them and even upload them to an online service! Felix takes this as an opportunity to give everyone a crash course in how to use linux on the Raspberry Pi and keep it up to date. After the design's put together, Karen talks us through her python logic to have the camera take pictures! How's your Python programming? What Pi Cam projects have you made? Or how would you have changed this one? Let us know on the element14 Community!

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Now that the team's making progress with the electronics for the handle design, Ben's working with Autodesk Fusion 360 to create the 3D model for the 3D printer to house the trigger and the protoboard. The rest of the super glue gun case also needs to be modelled and Fusion 360 helps by being able to import some parts to be able to get the sizing right, for example with the bearings for the hot end feed system/nozzle. It's not only the physical design that needs some tweaks, the team are having difficulty with math calculations on the ATTiny hardware, and Felix is repairing the electronics for the hotend and motor control. How's your C programming? What would you design differently? Join the team on the element14 Community!

The team are knuckling down to get the pieces to stick together for the Super Glue Gun build. Felix is bringing together a custom designed motor control circuit that will be used for extruding the glue. Meanwhile, Ben cuts up the perfboard to prototype the size of the printed circuit board that will eventually fit inside the handle. Thankfully, this task is made easier with the help of 3D printing and using an existing circuit to control the 110v AC power to what's needed. It's not all electronics though as Hari from element14 steps in to give guidance on how the project will ultimately come to kickstarter, and introduces some ideas that the team hadn't entirely thought out about bringing the product to market! How do you think the build's going? Would you do anything different? Let us know on the element14 Community!

In what may be a strange change of pace for The Ben Heck Show, instead of voiding warranties, Felix is following them as he puts together the components necessary to build an Arch Linux based media centre personal computer for your living room, or underneath your television! There are a number of considerations to bear in mind when you're putting together a computer system, cooling, wiring, airflow and ensuring that the software is setup properly! What operating system do you run on your media centre? Or what difficulties have you encountered building computer systems? Let the team know on the element14 Community.