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I was surprised to find that I REALLY enjoyed this game when I picked it up shortly after its release. Surfing the web one day I ran across a video of someone who modded a collectors edition pip-boy clock. Basically they took their ipod touch and placed it where the clock guts were and it fits remarkably well! Since I havent done any computer related projects recently, I felt this would be a fun project. I picked up a collectors edition fallout pack from ebay and started taking my PPC6600 phone apart to use as the brains. The goal is to make mine a bit more functional than just throwing the pda into the clock. I hope to reroute the buttons and power so that I dont have to take it apart to charge it or lose functionality to some parts of the phone (no i dont have service with it anymore).
The first thing I did was dismantle the phone. It was actually alot easier that I thought it would be:
The next thing was taking apart the REALLY simple Pip-boy 3000. (for what it is, it is really cheap and would be a dissapointment if I actually wanted the clock)
After that I did a test fit on the screen. As with others posted on the net, I am going to have to modify the clock a bit for the screen to fit properly and I think I am going to have to cut a a piece of black plexi to hide some holes.
_________________ http://www.bf2s.com/player/43396712/
Right now I am stuck with a couple of questions. Do they make a momentary 5 position selector switch? I am sure I could turn a standard selector switch into a one shot, but I would rather not have that hasel. I am having issues searching for it as I dont really know what it would be called.
Also, my battery knowlege is not that great. This thing has a three AA battery setup that I would like to exploit for the pda if possible. Only thing is I dont quite understand how to do it. There are four pins on the battery. I am assuming one is ground, one is power, and the other two are for monitoring/charging. I have yet to find the pinout though. Any insights?
_________________ http://www.bf2s.com/player/43396712/
Joined: Jul 19, 2005 Posts: 1956 Location: Far, Far, Far, Far, Far, Far, Far, Far, Far, Far, Far, Far South Austin Down Under
Posted: Sat Jul 03 @ 5:10 pm Post subject: Re: Project: Pip-Boy 3000
I so considered this when I eyed the collectors edition in a game store here in NZ, but just in the end couldnt be bothered. If anyone can do this project justice though it is you Red. Really looking forward to the end result. Proceed! Please! _________________ I just love Steam sometimes, dont you???
Posted: Sat Jul 03 @ 5:57 pm Post subject: Re: Project: Pip-Boy 3000
For the rotary switch, you won't find a momentary that has 5 positions.
You could use a rotary encoder that outputs as pulse as the knob turns, but then you need a circuit to detect the number of pulses and set the right number.
You also need to measure the angle between each position as that matters.
An arduino could do a lot of the button/logic handling on the cheap. The mini one from SparkFun is only $17.
As far as the battery, you have a lithium ion battery. They have a Power, Gnd, and temperature/good signal. Your fourth pin could be anything. Some devices will work with just the voltage, some require the temperature signal. ONe way to hack it is to disassemble the battery and keep the circuitry inside, but remove the cells.
A lithium battery is 3.7volts, three AA's are 4.5volts. Your PDA probably regulates that to 3.3volts, so you could pre-regulate the 4.5volts to 3.3volts. SparkFun has a small pre-made board that can do that. _________________ www.ZapWizard.com
Posted: Tue Jul 06 @ 12:11 am Post subject: Re: Project: Pip-Boy 3000
So for the rotary, use the arduino to monitor for a voltage and then send an output pluse?
Thanks for the battery tip. Upon further investigation, it looks like source voltage is 4.2V. Taking the battery apart let me stack the two cells that were in there and they mounted to the door perfectly, so i think i will stay with them. That way I can connect up the usb and just use that to charge it. I think there is room for a "b" type usb connector on the bottom of the pip-boy.
So if nothing else, I have at least what everyone else has built so far:
:S need a bezel for that screen!
Still have a long way to go, but its progress. I think the next big step is to get the usb connector made and possibly relocating the SD reader to just behind the battery door (so that i can work on the thing without having to worry about the battery. Do you know how many times i have been through the setup now!).
Posted: Tue Jul 06 @ 12:39 am Post subject: Re: Project: Pip-Boy 3000
Depending on what type of rotary sensor you use: Switch, resistor, rotary encoder etc...
An Arduino should be able to do any of those with a bit of programming.
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