element14 Presents

Let's build a device that uses the original Game Boy's hardware to play some fine chiptunes! Ever wondered what you can do with a mainboard when the display is broken? Do you also let the Tetris game run, just to listen to the music? Now there's another project that you can try! Join Dave as he connects a new display to the Game Boy with the help of an Arduino Nano via the Game Boy link port and puts everything in a nice package! Happy Birthday to the GAME BOY, 30 years and still going!

Modern smart phones have become so ubiquitous these days that old analog phones are getting left in the dust. However, you may still have a few of these old phones hanging around your house collecting cobwebs or you may have seen some lingering on the shelves at your local thrift shop. Now’s your chance to put them to good use. In this video, Derek takes you back to a time when stretching a phone cord across the room was the norm by creating a 4-line telephone intercom system with basic ringing capability. The circuit surrounds a DTMF decoder IC which handles keypress detection, a simple AC inverter to handle the ringing and a current source which allows analog communication between multiple phones.

Clem scored a broken Steering Wheel for the PlayStation 1 (yes the first one) at a flea market. Thankfully it is broken so he decided to turn it into an RC transmitter for his old Remote controlled Car! Learn how to use the Arduino MKR Wifi 1010 to make your own Transmitter and Receiver from scratch! It even supports FPV head tracking! What features would you like to add into the system?

The PlayStation Classic is the latest in a line of retro-inspired "plug-and-play" consoles capitalizing on the nostalgia train led by the Nintendo NES and SNES Classics, but there's something about it that's just a little amiss. Matt attempts to fix the alleged shortcomings of the PlayStation Classic by converting it into a portable, handheld system so he can enjoy his nostalgia on the go! The task may be easier said than done, though, as he has to battle against southern California's Santa Ana Winds (and their requisite high-static environment), an ailing 3D printer, and the eccentricities of Sony's budget circuit board to assemble a proof-of-concept prototype that will either work flawlessly or just explode in his hands!

Apple watch, schmapple watch! Who wants a smartwatch that’s bloated with software that you don’t really need? Do you long for simple tech times when pagers were part of the daily gadget loadout? Do you have a need for the retro flair of calculator watches? Join DJ as he builds his own watch capable of sending and receiving text messages that has a design flair from the ’80s.

Have you ever wondered how digital synthesizers work? In today's video, Andy shows how to build one with just a handful of parts. He'll use a standard MIDI interface and line-level output for maximum compatibility, and an FPGA for maximum fun!

Tired of touchscreens? Touch tone phones a bit too modern for your tastes? Join DJ today as he builds a DIY cell phone that incorporates the mechanism of a rotary phone from 1957. Using a minimum of components and a maximum of grit, follow along as he builds a device from an alternate timeline.

Tired of touchscreens? Touch tone phones a bit too modern for your tastes? Join DJ today as he builds a DIY cell phone that incorporates the mechanism of a rotary phone from 1957. Using a minimum of components and a maximum of grit, follow along as he builds a device from an alternate timeline.

The Xybernaut Mobile Assistant was one of the earliest attempts at wearable computers--way back in the 1990s! It was an interesting feat of engineering for the time, but technological limitations, a high price tag, and contemporary interface design conventions stood in the way of mainstream success. Matt ran across one of the later models--the MAIV--that was dead-on-arrival, but wanted to add it to his retro computer collection. So with very little documentation available (The Xybernaut corporation went bust in the early 2000s after several commercial flops and some financial chicanery), he tore it down to see what powered it and set about to rebuild it with modern components. Was the Xybernaut a viable platform in hindsight? Is Minesweeper playable on a 2" head-mounted display? Why didn't arm-mounted keyboards catch on? These and more questions will be answered in this week's element14 Presents!

The Xybernaut Mobile Assistant was one of the earliest attempts at wearable computers--way back in the 1990s! It was an interesting feat of engineering for the time, but technological limitations, a high price tag, and contemporary interface design conventions stood in the way of mainstream success. Matt ran across one of the later models--the MAIV--that was dead-on-arrival, but wanted to add it to his retro computer collection. So with very little documentation available (The Xybernaut corporation went bust in the early 2000s after several commercial flops and some financial chicanery), he tore it down to see what powered it and set about to rebuild it with modern components. Was the Xybernaut a viable platform in hindsight? Is Minesweeper playable on a 2" head-mounted display? Why didn't arm-mounted keyboards catch on? These and more questions will be answered in this week's element14 Presents!