Tag Archives: mod

Modder Upgrades Vintage Macintosh with iPad Mini Brains

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Do you have an old Macintosh lying around gathering dust? While you might want to turn it into an aquarium, you could also update it to run a much more modern operating system. Modder Travis DeRose of Curiosityness shows us how he cracked open a Macintosh Plus and converted it into a permanent home for an iPad Mini.

The computer is completely functional, though it uses the iPad Mini’s touchscreen instead of a mouse and keyboard. I think if I built one of these, I’d want to mod an original ADB keyboard and mouse to connect to the iPad Mini via Bluetooth. The system also has a button on the back which can turn on and off the Lightning charging cable, which is important since all of the buttons on the iPad Mini end up hidden behind the black acrylic frame that’s necessary to make the iPad Mini fit into the monitor cutout from the Macintosh. One downside of the home button being concealed is that you have to use gestures in its place.

Check out the full build video below, then head over to Instructables for the step-by-step instructions and parts list.

It takes a bit of work to strip the guts out of the old Macintosh, though you can also find some empty Mac cases up on eBay if you want to get a headstart on the build. You could also buy a right-angle Lightning cable and USB switch (affiliate links) on Amazon if you want to save time on that part of the project.

[via Instructables]

Someone squeezed a Nintendo Wii into a Game Boy Color-like case

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The Wii has a ton of great games that Nintendo hasn’t ported to the Switch, and it probably won’t do so in most cases. But there are ways you might be able to play Super Mario Galaxy on the go real soon instead of waiting for the rumored Switch versi...

MOD Duo X review: A do-it-all music box with potential

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There’s this growing trend of musical devices that try to do it all. The Organelle. The ZOIA. The Polyend Digit / Beebo. The Mod Duo. They’re basically computers that can be effects processors, synthesizers, loopers or samplers. They all have particu...

This SNES Is Now a Nintendo Switch Dock

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The Nintendo Switch and its docking station are pretty good looking the way they come from the factory. But that hasn’t stopped people from wanting to customize their game systems to their own liking. If you’re into the look of classic Nintendo game systems, then you might want to build a Switch dock like this one, which a modder built into the case of an old Super Nintendo console.

Nintendo fan and casemodder Imokruok previously turned an 8-bit NES console into a Switch dock, so it was only natural that their next build would be based on Nintendo’s 16-bit SNES. The design is quite clever, turning the cartridge port into a charging dock for the Switch handheld, and adding holders on its sides for docking its two JoyCons. Altogether, it cost about $157 for all of the parts used, which included a defunct SNES purchased on eBay. It took Imokruok about 40 hours to complete the build.

If you’re interested in learning the nitty gritty of the build, check out the full photo gallery and notes, which Imokruok documented over on imgur. Now that they’ve done an NES and an SNES, I can only assume that N64, GameCube, and Wii docks are next on their list. Though if they continue on that course, they’ll need to eventually turn a Nintendo Switch dock into a Nintendo Switch dock.

[via Reddit via Go Nintendo]

Hacked NES Power Glove controls a modular synth with finger wriggles

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Never mind controlling a modular synth by twiddling knobs. If one modder has his way, one of Nintendo’s legendary controllers is the way of the future. Look Mum No Computer (aka Sam Battle) has hacked an NES Power Glove into a gesture controller for...

A clever 3D printed component is helping Decathlon turn scuba-masks into ventilators

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An ingenious hack is allowing doctors to repurpose snorkeling masks into makeshift ventilators. Approached by doctors in Italy, Isinnova teamed up with Decathlon to design a 3D printed component that could easily fit onto existing snorkeling masks. Turning them into efficient respirators that could be used to aid patients of the Covid-19 outbreak in the country.

Called the Charlotte Valve, this component has been made available on Isinnova’s website and is free for use. They’ve filed for a patent too, to ensure that the valve isn’t commercially produced and sold for a profit. The patent remains free for all, to ensure that hospitals, clinics, and medical staff can always access life-saving technology for no cost. Decathlon has been cooperating extensively with physicians in Lombardy to supply hospitals with their scuba masks, retrofitted with the Charlotte Valve mod.

If you’re a designer with a 3D printer to spare, we recommend clicking on the link below to access the 3D file. You can either directly print these components, or edit them to allow them to universally fit on different snorkeling masks across a variety of brands.

Designers, you can download the 3D file here.

Designer: Isinnova S.R.L.

Rubber Duckie Action Figure: Bathtub Superhero

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Until now, the only duck heroes I was aware of were Howard the Duck and Duck Dodgers. Maybe Duckman if you want to stretch things. But what if there was a real superhero duck? That’s what we’ve got here. The duck we need.

After getting his hands on seven cheap rubber duckie toys, model maker Tomohiro Yasui painstakingly melded them together into a single new action figure. The surgery that was required to put together the duck-faced hero looks a bit horrifying, but the finished figure looks like the Six Million-Dollar Duck. We have the technology. We can make him better than he was. Better. Stronger. Faster.

I’m hoping that Marvel picks up on this idea and decides to make a movie based on this guy. Too bad the Duckman name is already taken.

[via Laughing Squid]

MOD’s latest effects pedal makes advanced sounds more accessible

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MOD Devices might just make powerful effects pedals available to a much wider range of musicians. It's running a crowdfunding campaign for the Dwarf, a pedal that promises the kind of flexibility you'd expect from a much more expensive device. It's...

Modder Made Working GameCube Joy-Cons for His Nintendo Switch

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The Nintendo Switch is a fantastic little gaming system, with a great library of exclusive games, and the ability to switch between a portable and home console in one. The standard Joy-Con gaming controllers that come with it are pretty good already – if a little small for those of us with bigger hands. Now after seeing a number of fake renders of the idea, some has gone and built a set of Joy-Cons based on the classic GameCube controller.

Shank Mods really wanted to play Super Smash Bros. Ultimate with a proper GameCube controller, so he set about the complicated and time-consuming task of chopping up a real GameCube Wavebird wireless controller to convert it into a Joy-Con. He sliced the controller in twain, then ripped out the guts and replaced them with the electronics from the Switch Joy-Cons. That way he was able to preserve the style and feel of the GameCube joystick, while preserving the full functionality of the Switch’s controllers.

But as you can see in the build video below, I’m vastly oversimplifying the work that was required. The project took months, and he had to basically redesign the entire interior of the Wavebird, and custom 3D print various parts to make everything fit and hold in place securely.

The end result is really impressive – the controller splits in half and mounts to rails on the side of the Switch, as well as a central rail for joining the controller halves back together. I’d love to see Nintendo offer a series of retro style controllers like this for the Switch, but for now, we have to leave it to talented modders like Shank to get the job done.

[via SlashGear]

Modder makes the GameCube Joy-Cons you’ve always wanted for your Switch

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If you're a veteran Nintendo gamer, you've likely dreamed of using a GameCube controller with the Switch -- if just to recreate that 2001 vibe of playing Super Smash Bros. Melee in the family den. For mod creator Shank, that's now a practical realit...