So any anti cabin fever projects?

[wp34]

All this locking in has me browsing old consoles.  Seems like the prices have spiked even more.  You can get a decent PCE multicart for $35.  But that single controller port and composite output has me unexcited.  Looks beautiful via component on my Xbox on my CRT, though.

Realizing BAED came out in 2004 really had me pondering life today, though.

 

I've been doing the same and would agree that prices are going up.  Seems like people with income stuck at home are spending a lot of time buying/bidding on video games.

[opt2not]

Now’s the time to sell high!

[Howard_Casto]

If nothing else, if I have trouble finding work I have stuff to sell off for a buffer.

[yotsuya]

I have a bunch of old consoles I should just sell as a lot. They don’t necessarily have all the cables and stuff but I bet you hoarders have those lying around.

[shponglefan]

So here's my result of spending a week learning Blender. After modeling a couple of arcade cabinets, though it would be fun to make a mini-diorama game room:

[pbj]

Ditch the jukebox, acquire pinball. Get a Bluetooth speaker for your sound system. It's current year.

[Locke141]

Long time since I posted but been reading around. This virus has really put me on lockdown, mostly do to my chemo and cancer treatment generally. That said the chemo, being stuck at home, and not allowed to do much physical exercise has been rough.

The good news is other the the dam chemo fatigue and the to much time stuck at home, I'm doing well. I feel good, sleepy but well, my odd's of survival are very high, and I have a loving wife, family, and teacher community that have all been very supportive.

For now my goal is to finish a little arcade project I have been working on but haven't posted as a project yet. Other goals are modding my other home consoles like my wii's, PS2'S, and OG XBOXE's as gifts for friends and family. At some point friends and family just started giving me their old consoles for free. For now I plan just cloning drives, doing the mods, and gifting to family.

[pbj]

Yesterday, I cut the skin and fat off a pork shoulder.  The skin was turned into pork rinds.  The fat was melted down into lard.  The lard was mixed with flour and made into tortillas.  The pork shoulder was eaten on those tortillas.  That took hours. 

I also disassembled and cleaned a DVD player remote.  Now the play button works properly when I watch 90s porn DVDs in the background.

Today I finally broke down and spent $50 on a replacement hose and gun for my pressure washer.  I'll join the parade of neighbors pressure washing my sidewalks.

[pbj]

The pressure pump cut off switch assembly exploded in my pressure washer as I was doing the second pass on my sidewalks.  Rather than rig it and risk another trip to the ER, I spent countless hours trying to source a replacement online.  Found some stuff in Europe that would probably work, but I felt like it was going to be an endless cycle of replacing plastic parts just to watch another one explode.  So I returned it to the earth.


Yesterday I tried to make naan.  Didn't have any bread yeast so I used distiller's yeast.  It wasn't bubbling enough for my tastes, so I added sugar.  Didn't want to use olive oil, so I used Papa John's garlic butter sauce I had in a drawer.  I ended up with basically garlic bread unglazed donuts that are incredible but aren't naan. I couldn't reproduce these if I tried.

 

[BadMouth]

I was only off work a day and a half before getting called back in.  Been enjoying saving money and not having to be social on weekends though.

I set a dumbell workout area up in the basement.  Worked out 4 days in a row.  Moved like an 80yo the following 3.  Avoided for a week.  Bought a dumbell rack, so have start again on Monday to justify the purchase.  Lighter (10 & 15lb) dumbells coming on Tuesday because apparently I've never been so weak.  Yay walmart free shipping!

Main audio receiver took a dump so I swapped in the one from the workshop.  Workshop has been without tunes for months.  Finally hooked up one of the TI chip amps I have laying around for projects.  It's plenty loud enough for the workshop so good for now=good enough.  Today I built a housing out of oak because there was a piece of scrap already thin enough for the front and back.

Also hung my old dartboard in the workshop.  Been enjoying throwing again.

[BadMouth]

Forgot something I'm chuffed about....

Bought a wireless charger for $10,  but it would stop charging because my phone case is too thick.  Tore it down, but it was too much of a PITA to transplant the guts.

Reassembled it, then threw it on the belt sander until a few mm was removed from the top.  It works fine now. 

[ZZleeZZ]

I started and completed a bartop!

Built it for my nephews who are big fans of my previous work. They requested I make them one. I told them to not be daft as that would cost way too much money and time. I hope they like it!

One of them is a Spidey fan...


The other is into the Batman.


If anyone is interested I am writing up the whole build on a blog... https://morefunmakingit.blogspot.com/
The blog is not complete yet but I am almost done, when it's finished on there I will transfer it over to the Project Announcements section.

[shponglefan]

That looks like nice work! Is that a heatsink in the cutout?

[pbj]

Feels silly to start a new thread about this, so hopefully the rest of you sort by unread and click through all the new threads like I do.

My computer speakers suddenly quit working today.  Altec Lansing ACS295 that I purchased from the Dell outlet in Austin in August 1998 for $75.  I think they retailed around $150ish but style in computer speakers had changed to those little cubes on a stand making these look obsolete.  These speakers have seen some serious ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---.  (I did laugh when I saw this style has come back around 22 years later per Amazon)

Obvious culprits such as bad cables and blown fuses were quickly eliminated, so I cracked open the subwoofer which houses the electronics for this set.  Everything powers on and the speakers pop when power is applied but no sound.  Next step was to reflow solder on the amplifier and input jacks.  No change.  Then I decided what the hell and started pressing on components while it was powered up to see what happens.

So, if I put my fingertip across the non-inverting input on one of the op amps and a positive terminal on a nearby capacitor, I get sound on one speaker.  If I put my fingertip across the inverting input and that same capacitor, I get sound from the other speaker.  If I jumper the paired pins to each other, and then to a 100k resistor, and then that capacitor, I can get sound on one or the other speaker without having to sacrifice my finger tip. 

While this rig gets sound on one channel, I cannot get any response with the volume/treble/bass controls. 

Doing similar experiments on the other op amps does absolutely nothing.
 

So, I guess I'm looking at 4 options here.  1 is replace that op amp and see if that one component was magically the problem.  2 is replace the subwoofer unit and hope the "new" one works... about $50 on Ebay.  Option 3 is strip out the controls from these speakers and wire them up to a new amp (about $45).  And option 4 is toss the set and start anew.


I'm hoping one of you has more experience with audio repair....

 

[Drnick]

As mentioned about 7 weeks ago, the wife wanted the bedroom redecorating and basing around Haunted Mansion theme,  Well I finally completed it I even went round and painted some of the creature eyes with Glow in the Dark paint. Looks pretty good for about 10 minutes after the lights get turned off

[BadMouth]

That looks like nice work! Is that a heatsink in the cutout?

Yep.  Heatsink doesn't get very warm, but I'm not using the subwoofer side so twice the heatsink for the main amp chip.

[RandyT]

Option 3 is strip out the controls from these speakers and wire them up to a new amp (about $45). And option 4 is toss the set and start anew.

Probably not what you want to do, but unless you have schematics, to trace and properly test everything, throwing expensive parts at it might make you cry in the long run.

My daughters had a nice little bookshelf system a couple of decades ago and the sound went out.  It was never cranked or anything else which would tax the amplifier.  Nonetheless, I took a shot in the dark and ordered the expensive amplifier chip and replaced it (no small task in itself.)  It lasted about two months before dying again.  The moral of the story is that when a part dies, there's usually a reason which is unrelated to the dead part.  Finding that reason to make sure it doesn't happen again is a more difficult task.

Keep the speakers and cob up a new amp for them.  A nice little amp can be had for less than the cost of replacement parts and your time.

[nitrogen_widget]

Was going to build a steel roof over my deck.
priced everything out and realized I could just buy a metal hard top gazebo kit from big lots for hella-cheaper with their spring sale and get curtains and skeeter netting to boot.
put that together.
those kits come in two boxes and they are not light.
I've lagged it to the deck so it don't blow away and then lagged those deck boards to the supports underneath because they were only held on by nails and i've seen them pop up in a good storm on a friends gazebo.

I had an old 4 person patio set made of solid metal with lots of decorative bends for the backs of the chairs and the table under the glass.
made for lots of wire brushing and having to paint from many sides to cover.
then because the seats had no wood I got some plywood, painted that and ordered cushions from target.
fits under gazebo with the glider perfectly.

built a 10ft gate for the side of my house.

hacked my shrubs down until sunlight was able to reach the inside from the top and declared "they'll come back". I don't know why but every old guy I've known got excited about hacking their shrubs down to nothing every few springs and saying "they'll come back". and they do.

My hop plants leaped out of the ground the last few days.
they were barely peaking out on friday but after a few days of sun one is over a foot tall and the other's are close behind.
I need to restring the trellis for them.

[pbj]

Got up on the roof today.  Had 4 trees growing up there so they needed to come down.  Some of the leaves had composted into dirt and turns out there was a giant ant bed, so now I'm covered in ant bites.  Didn't die, though. 

Vacuum cleaner blew the belt, so I went on an expedition to find one.  Decided to clean out the vacuum cleaner while I was at it.  I cannot unsee the amount of dog and wife hair I cleaned out of that thing.  I also cannot unsee the amount of dirt and hair I pulled out of my carpets after I hit them with a cleaned unit.

[bobbyb13]

Got up on the roof today.  Had 4 trees growing up there so they needed to come down.  Some of the leaves had composted into dirt and turns out there was a giant ant bed, so now I'm covered in ant bites.  Didn't die, though. 

Vacuum cleaner blew the belt, so I went on an expedition to find one.  Decided to clean out the vacuum cleaner while I was at it.  I cannot unsee the amount of dog and wife hair I cleaned out of that thing.  I also cannot unsee the amount of dirt and hair I pulled out of my carpets after I hit them with a cleaned unit.

All so terrifying at times, ain't it?
As one with rather short hair my whole life I never knew those horrors until I fell in love and moved in with a hair farmer.
Now I'm shocked with how often the drains need to be snaked- and how nasty the spoils of that adventure are. 

[BadMouth]

Vacuum cleaner blew the belt, so I went on an expedition to find one.  Decided to clean out the vacuum cleaner while I was at it.  I cannot unsee the amount of dog and wife hair I cleaned out of that thing.  I also cannot unsee the amount of dirt and hair I pulled out of my carpets after I hit them with a cleaned unit.

I have a Shark Rocket with "duo-clean".  It is the best thing ever for hardwood floors.  It wasn't picking up as well, so I looked into replacing the filters.  Turns out it had another filter that I was unaware of.  Says "clean filter monthly"  right on the cover.  Right on top the vacuum. Never noticed it.  I've owned it 3 years.  The thing was a brick of dust.

[shponglefan]

Still plugging away at my Frogger clone. It's been quite the learning experience thus far:



Also started toying around with some other game ideas. I'd really love to make a cyberpunk-themed game focused on hacking mechanics.

[Howard_Casto]

Looks good.  How about adding snakes?  Snakes eat frogs and having something that chases you rather than a passive obstacle might add something new to the game.  Then again scale-wise it'd might look odd. 

[shponglefan]

Looks good.  How about adding snakes?  Snakes eat frogs and having something that chases you rather than a passive obstacle might add something new to the game.  Then again scale-wise it'd might look odd.

Thank you, Howard!

Snakes are currently in progress.  I'm just trying to figure out how to optimally implement them, plus working on the graphics and animation.

This is what they currently look like, but it may change as I play around with the art:

[Howard_Casto]

No those look good.   It's a good size I'd say.  If it were me I'd have the snakes kind of "steer" towards you but still travel across the screen like all the other obstacles.  As in if you are in row three and it's in row two and there's an open space above it it'll move up to row three and continue it's path across the screen but not chase you like a pac-man ghost or anything.  Of course you'd have to worry about how it interacts with traffic then so it might prove too cumbersome to code. 

[PL1]

How about scorpions for the higher levels?

Maybe use different colors to indicate different levels of venom/lethality/strike speed?
- Picture one that kills with a single sting and another that slows your frog with the first sting and kills it with the second.


Scott

[shponglefan]

No those look good.   It's a good size I'd say.  If it were me I'd have the snakes kind of "steer" towards you but still travel across the screen like all the other obstacles.  As in if you are in row three and it's in row two and there's an open space above it it'll move up to row three and continue it's path across the screen but not chase you like a pac-man ghost or anything.  Of course you'd have to worry about how it interacts with traffic then so it might prove too cumbersome to code.

I love the idea of having threats chase the player. It definitely would add some more dynamics to the levels.

As you say, though, the traffic does pose a challenge with moving things vertically. Right now all core logic and collision detection is based on having things move horizontally (excluding the player of course).

I'll play around with some things and see what I can come up with.

How about scorpions for the higher levels?

Maybe use different colors to indicate different levels of venom/lethality/strike speed?
- Picture one that kills with a single sting and another that slows your frog with the first sting and kills it with the second.

Coincidentally, I have ideas for a desert-theme world, so scorpions would fit right in! 

[pbj]

Cracked open one of those garage boxes full of dumpster dive monitors.  Now my home office has a huge 24" 16:10 monitor in it, replacing the 20" 4:3.  This one supports HDMI so I can retire that cheap HDMI -> VGA adapter that's been hanging off the laptop.

Bought a soundbar from Best Buy for $60 shipped overnight.  The PC speakers previously hooked up to my 4 player pedestal have been moved to the home office.  Not as powerful as the ancient dead ones but they thump enough.

Wal-Mart thinks I'm Latino and pays me to take surveys occasionally.  Used that to get an optical cable for the sound bar.

And so it goes.

[pbj]

Sound bar is now mounted to the wall below my turtle box pedestal tv.

Streets of Rage thumps like never before.

This was a good upgrade.

[bobbyb13]

Sound bar is now mounted to the wall below my turtle box pedestal tv.

Streets of Rage thumps like never before.

This was a good upgrade.

You have given me an idea for an idle soundbar orphaned by our move a year and a half ago

[pbj]

Streets of Rage Remake sounds incredible, some nice stereo separation effects going on when I’m just 2 feet away from the sound bar.

I also found out CoinOps already included streets of rage remake, oddly in the Megadrive games list.   Spent a lot of time hunting that game down unnecessarily.  Oh well, my version is slightly newer.  If any of you are still rocking an original Xbox, check it out.

[Locke141]

Streets of Rage Remake sounds incredible, some nice stereo separation effects going on when I’m just 2 feet away from the sound bar.

I also found out CoinOps already included streets of rage remake, oddly in the Megadrive games list.   Spent a lot of time hunting that game down unnecessarily.  Oh well, my version is slightly newer.  If any of you are still rocking an original Xbox, check it out.

Nice, will do. My son loves Streets of Rage 4.

[Howard_Casto]

Got the ceilings 98% finished over at grandma's.   The tiles were falling down and I'm lazy so I just bought a $30 tub of ceiling daises.  A few spots need some spackle and/or paint but that's one major thing finished.  Now I've got to work on plumbing and the carpets.  I've also started repainting the shutters. The house was originally trimmed in green but everything got painted black when the black roof was put on.  Got the no primer stuff from lowes... seems to work well. 

[pbj]

Today, I attempted to make pork rind wrapped stuffed jalapeños.  The end result was weird but tasted okay.  Need to revisit my method the next time I get my hands on pork skin.

Been also dusting off my old Nintendo handhelds.  Man, what a journey of pirate carts. 

 

[Howard_Casto]

Need to revisit my method the next time I get my hands on pork skin.

Just going to let everyone make their own joke. 

[pbj]

Needed the mental distraction so been doing all kinds of dumb stuff on the old Gameboys.  My DS Lite has now been flashed to skip the health warning screen and can now boot NDS games off Slot 2 (the GBA slot).  Played around with the Gameyob emulator.  Can't get it working on my Supercard, but it runs great on the R4.  Supercard has Goomba on it but the image is roughly the size of a postage stamp.

Totally pointless exercise, but a nice distraction.

 

[Howard_Casto]

My portables are all screwed up.  Really need to get on that myself.  I've been aiming to install a cap kit and a rechargeable battery for my gamegear as well, but then I remembered there's nothing on it that I actually want to play.  I'm going to get my arcade cabinet back in a playable state this summer as well, mark my words. 

[pbj]

Have you considered a Pi?

[pbj]

In what has become an obsession, I managed to get Lameboy running on my Supercard.  Had to grab the scsd.DLDI from here and patch the .nds file.

https://www.chishm.com/DLDI/

So that means I can scale up the image to fill the screen, and the emulation is supposed to be "better" than Goomba.

Gameyob won't work no matter what I do.  I either get "error opening directory" or a blank screen.  So, I tried patching it with the scsd_moon.dldi file, and that gets me into the app and displays my directory contents.  If I try to open a directory or run a ROM in the root, it freezes.  Tantalizingly close.  Supposedly the best emulator out there.   

On the other hand, at least I've brought the emulation from circa 2006 to 2012. 

Mostly posting this to document what I did so I can find it again in 10 years.

 

[Howard_Casto]

I finally got the new wifi thermostat working on the house.  I couldn't figure out why it wasn't working.....got under the house... the wires going to the thermostat were split and re-patched in two places...... The color coding didn't match up in either place.   

I'm covered in cobwebs, my knees are shot and I smell like dirt and butt, but I can turn on my AC from around the world now. 


Strangely the old thermostat.... according to how it was hooked up, shouldn't have worked, but somehow it did.  When I fixed the wires and before I hooked up the new thermostat it wouldn't turn on the heat... so I don't know what the hell that was about, but it works.  They were both honeywell too and not that far apart in terms of when I bought them.