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Private Notes
Ben works with Team Heck's newest member, Rusty. Plus, Ben enlists the help of a local musician, Tyler, to create an accessibility guitar. The team works to fill the request of a South African musician who's lost the use of his right arm. Ben devises a foot-controlled contraption that will strum the guitar so the musician can get back to rocking.
Ben and Rusty continue to create the foot-controlled guitar strumming device they started in the previous episode.
Ben talks with tech superstars about their contributions to the maker movement, recent projects, and what they think is cool in the world of technology. He tracks down Eben Upton, Jeri Ellsworth, Joe Prusa, and Bre Pettis at Maker Faire in NYC, and sits down for Skype chats with Chris Gammell and Jeremy Blum. This time Ben asks the questions!
Ben rethinks one of his favorite tools - the hot glue gun. After years of putting up with uneven extrusion and leaking glue, Ben takes matters into his own hands and starts to build the ultimate glue gun from scratch. In this episode, he outlines the features he desires, goes over the gun's electronic guts, and starts experimenting with ideas for the extruder.
Ben continues his work to create the ultimate in hot-glueing technology. He takes the concepts he developed in the previous episode to build a drip-free, easy to control hot glue gun. He creates a trigger with Hall effect sensors, builds the extruder mechanism, then reduces the size of the electronics to fit on the gun before showing the project in action.
Ben fulfills a young viewer's birthday wish and builds an anti-pickpocket wallet. Ben starts off with using discreet logic to create a small anti-theft device that fits into a wallet. If a capitative switch that identifies the owner isn't triggered, an alarm is set off. After unexpected results, Ben moves onto a solution using a microcontroller and makes wallet thieves regret their lives of crime!
(00:23) Ben has a special guest at the shop - a big fan with a big idea.
(01:13) Ben goes over his plan to use discreet logic to bring Julian's idea to life and outlines the circuit that will make it work.
Ben gets into the holiday spirit and plays the part of an elf in Santa's workshop. He builds the ultimate toy that he thinks would be a great gift to find under the tree - a robotic tank! He uses a couple of kits plus some of his own designs to bring the toy to life.
Ben takes his use of 3D printers to the next level and tries 3D scanning. He attempts to scan a variety of objects with the Cubify Sense 3D scanner to discover how to get the most out of the device and to create the best prints possible. Ben shows you how to build a rotational device for the scanner and shares what he learns about 3D scanning along the way.
Join Ben as he takes a look inside the Xbox One. As he takes it apart he shares his console hacking insights and starts planning how he's going to make his next great portable Xbox.
Ben continues his work creating game controllers for people with disabilities and builds a one-handed Xbox One controller. He takes you through the steps of moving around the controls and putting everything back together again.
Ben tries out the Beagle Bone Black and shows you what he learns along the way. He shows how to get it set up, three ways to connect to it, and tries out a cool LCD cape. By the time he's done experimenting, he's got an idea for how he'll use the Beagle Bone Black in a future project.
Ben's fed-up with the difficulty of soldering surface-mount components by hand and builds a new reflow oven to keep in his shop. He transforms an inexpensive toaster over into a vital tool for electronics engineers and tinkerers. In this updated oven, he uses two thermal couples to ensure even heat distribution and effective reflow.
Ben takes on a viewer challenge to create a TV proximity sensor to keep kids from sitting too close to the screen and ruining their eyes. He builds a device that uses an infrared sensor to set off flashing LEDs and a piezo buzzer if kids move too closely to where it's mounted on the TV.
Ben is excited to start gaming with the PlayStation 4, but not before he cracks it open and takes a look inside. Join Ben as he voids the warranty on yet another console and shares his master-hacker insights along the way. After he explores the motherboard, he puts the PlayStation 4 back together in time to game with his friends.
Ben shows you how to solder surface mount components with his home-brew solder reflow oven. He goes through the steps of placing parts with solder paste and shares his know-how along the way. After the board comes out of the oven, he demonstrates how to fix solder bridges and other imperfections. He adds some through-hole components and goes over the pros and cons of both methods of soldering.
Ben has been challenged by many viewers to make the OUYA into a Heck-style portable gaming device. For the first part of the project, Ben mods an LCD and the OUYA to be as thin as possible. After removing any unneeded components, he works to wire up the HDMI and get the screen and OUYA working as one. He'll sketch-up an idea for how the project will come together in the next episode before calling it a day.
Ben continues his work to create the OUYA portable his viewers challenged him to build. In this part of the process, he opens the controller to see how he can mod it for his device. After deciding on a plan, he builds the controls for his device from the hacked OUYA controller. Now that the electronics are ready, he can get to work designing a cool case.
Ben finishes the OUYA portable! He shows the case he created and gets to work stuffing it with the LCD and OUYA he hacked in the previous episodes. Ben shares the highlights from soldering and wiring all the parts inside the case, installs batteries, and seals the gaming device up. Finally, he kicks back and enjoys a game on his new system!
Ben continues his fight to overpower winter and takes on a viewer challenge to build bicycle handlebar warmers. Abby bikes to work in the winter and her hands get very cold, even with mittens, so she asks Ben to create a DIY solution for cyclists like herself. Ben gathers some readily available supplies to hack for the build - motorcycle handlebar warmers, a portable USB charger, and a project box. He builds custom cork handlebar grips, goes over how a step-up regulator works.
Ben cracks open the PlayStation4 controller and hacks it for single-handed use. Over the years he's modded many controllers and with the release of new consoles, he's back at it. The PS4 controller presents some new challenges and Ben must devises ways to conquer them. With 3-D printed parts, fine soldering, and a good deal of creativity, Ben creates his newest accessibly controller.
Ben gets to work creating what he imagines a television would be in a steampunk world. This mechanical display will rotate a panel of LEDs at a very fast rate to create an illusion of solid images. After giving an overview of his ideas for the project, Ben gets to work designing PCBs, which he'll stuff using both surface mount and through-hole soldering. He makes sure the LED PCBs function correctly before beginning his designs for this mechanical wonder.
Ben continues building a persistence of vision display. In the previous episode, he designed and stuffed PCBs with LEDS and constant current LED drivers. After he tested his LED panel, he began his designs for the rotating rig that will hold it. Now he can begin laser-cutting and routing out the pieces that will make the mechanical rig work. He etches a copper disc that works carbon brushes, assembles the gear mech, installs and opto-interrupter, and does some tests. He has an unexpected problem.
Ben finishes building a persistence of vision display. He has the LED panels and his home-brew PCBs functioning according to plan. Now Ben and his assistant, Felix, can get to work assembling a solid frame and finding a power source. Ben hooks up the opto-interrupter, writes some code, and takes the display for a spin.
Ben takes on a viewer's idea to make foot pedals to supplement the keyboard and mouse in PC gaming. He gets started by programming a Teensy to work as a human interface device. After showing the theory behind the code and a doing a test, Ben moves on to making the pedals. After making parts with both the CNC and 3-D printer, the building begins. Felix helps out with mounting the Teensy on a PCB and adding some wires. After Ben adds the final touches, he's ready to go home and game!
Ben tears apart a broken laser printer to see what parts he can salvage from it. He finds a variety of useful items from springs to opto-interrupters and muses about how the parts can be incorporated into future projects. A heap of ABS plastic is left in the wake of the teardown and gets Ben brainstorming ideas of how it could be turned into 3-D printer filament instead of going into the recycling bin. Ben ends up with a bunch of new parts!
Ben makes a plan to create a secure dog door by hacking readily available parts. He decides to hack a key fob and a dog shock collar to work in the project. He tears the key fob and collar apart to find a way to interface them. Ben demonstrates how the 555 timer makes the project work. The circuit boards are stripped down and combined to fit into a small enclosure that will go on a collar.
Ben Heck completes the automatic dog-door opener he started in episode 130 with surprising results.
Ben tears down a Mac Classic. What will he find?
Ben can't believe another Steve Jobs biopic is being planned in Hollywood! He decides that the best way to pay homage to Steve Jobs is by tearing apart a Mac Classic and seeing what he can find. Will he find signatures inside the case? Will it have a hard drive? Join Ben as he removes the layers to find out.
Ben hacks an old See 'n Say toy with quotes from Dave Jones of the EEVBlog.
Ben works on his Dave Jones of the EEVBlog impression and gets the idea to gather a bunch of Dave's sound bites and make a custom sound board by hacking a child's toy. Ben opens up the toy and gets to work on replacing the silly animal sounds with phrases like "pure engineering evil," "amps blow up your circuit," and more!
Ben shows you how to etch your own PCB boards.
Ben is always looking for new tools and processes to help with all the projects he builds. He's got a CNC mill, laser cutter, and a 3-D printer, but hasn't found a way to whip up a PCB at his shop. He's hand wired many circuits, but this can be tedious. He's designed PCBs in Eagle and sent them off for production at a board house, but this doesn't help when he wants a PCB the same day. In this episode, Ben experiments with three methods of PCB etching and shares the results.
Ben and Alyson decide to make text radios for this year's Maker Faire.
Ben and Alyson are getting ready to head to Maker Faire, but have a problem. In previous years they've had trouble with cell phone reception when they need to communicate with each other. They have a bunch of footage to shoot at the faire and don't want to waste time looking for each other. Ben gets the idea to build text radios! Be builds two radios they can use to send text messages on a dedicated frequency. He makes custom PCBs for the keyboard, LCD, and radio modules which he stuffs into custom cases. Now they're ready for Maker Faire!
Ben goes on a scavenger hunt at Maker Faire to see if he can find parts to create a solar powered phone charger. The challenge is that he must scour the booths to collects everything he'll need to assemble the project at the faire. The only tool he brought along is a portable soldering iron. Watch Ben explore the faire and hack together a hat that will charge his phone.
Ben visits Madison Area Technical College to solve three problems with their high end oscilloscopes.
Ben Heck restores a 34 year old drill press that needs a lot of TLC.
Ben is inspired to refurbish an old drill press he received as a hand-me-down. The thirty four year old press is in rough shape and is in need of some cleaning, greasing, and has to be completely rewired. With Felix's help, Ben gets the drill press in working order and makes it look shiny and new.
Ben sets out to create the ultimate in wearables for engineers!
Wearables are all the rage and Ben decides to get in on the action. He sets out to create the ultimate in wearables for engineers - solder gauntlets! Ben plans to build a gauntlet for each hand. One will have a retractable soldering iron and the other will have a motorized solder dispenser. In today's episode, Ben gets the soldering iron gauntlet working.
Ben brings his solder right to his fingertips as he finishes his wearable solder gauntlet!
Ben gets back to work on creating a wearable soldering iron and solder dispenser so he never has to put anything down while soldering. In the last episode he built a retractable soldering iron that mounts on his right hand. Today he builds a motorized solder dispenser that mounts on his left forearm and brings the solder right to his fingertips! He uses the finished gauntlets to make some fixes on his pinball machine.
Ben takes apart a ZX Spectrum and mods it!
Ben has modded many old computers into gaming portables and today he takes a crack at something new - the ZX Spectrum. He gets started by taking the computer apart and for a closer look inside. He makes sure it works by simulating loading a game from tape before he gets down to making modifications. He adds a new EEPROM with two different operating systems and makes some an upgrades to the video RAM.
Ben makes real-world versions of Minecraft blocks, switches, torches and redstone needed to build logic gates.
Ben is inspired by Minecraft and how it's possible to create logic gates within the game. He decides to make real-world versions of the blocks, switches, torches and redstone needed to build the gates. He aims to create a fun, hands-on way to learn about logic gates. In today's episode he goes over the plan for the project and builds the red stone blocks.
Ben Heck continues his quest to build real-world versions of Minecraft blocks.
Ben continues to build real-world versions of Minecraft blocks, switches, torches, and more. Each block will have a role in creating logic gates just like in the Minecraft game. Ben shows you how he builds each kind of block and does some tests along the way. Once all the pieces are working, he tries building some live action logic gates.
Ben Heck continues his epic journey to build a ZX Spectrum handheld device!
Ben continues the epic journey of modding a ZX Spectrum into a handheld device. He works to shrink the size of the circuitry as much as possible so the power of the Speccy can be in the palm of his hands. He makes progress and runs into some challenges with modding the circuitry before he goes through the process of designing a case. With some sketches, Ben shows that it's not just about how everything will fit, but also how everything connects within the case.
Ben creates a motorized web camera using the Raspberry Pi and its camera module so viewers can tune into the shop and take a look behind the scenes. Felix uses his Linux skills to get the Pi streaming to the web and Ben builds the mechanical features of the project. Ben carefully designs the project from the camera out to ensure everything will function once it's all assembled.
Ben creates a project for Little Free Library, an organization that promotes literacy and the love of reading through free book exchanges.
They're looking for a way to log usage data from the small library units that are often placed in people's yards. Ben devises a way to save data to an SD card which can be imported into a spreadsheet. He also uses his woodworking skills to design and build a Ben Heck styled mini-library.
Welcome to the final episode of the ZX Spectrum saga!
Ben completes the remaining mods for his completely hand-wired portable. Once all the electronic components are tested and working, Ben builds the unit into a specially designed case fresh off the 3D printer. Ben enjoys the fruits of his labor and enjoys some classic gaming on his new system - arguably the most complex project he's ever tackled on the the show.
Ben decides to go back to a simpler time before smartphones by building a DIY basic cell phone. He uses the Adafruit FONA as the foundation of the project along with a keyboard, battery, OLED, and microcontroller. Ben programs the MCU to be the brains of his phone project. Ben get all the pieces working and shows how it will all come together in a custom case in the next episode.
Ben and Felix continue building the simple cell phone. Ben dials in the code to parse the data sent by the FONA to the OLED display and Felix solders the necessary components on the homespun, double-sided PCB. Once the PCB is complete, Ben can begin designing a case for the little phone. Using parts he 3D prints and laser cuts, Ben assembles the unit and is ready to re-live a simpler time with his new phone.
Ben travels to the United Kingdom to attend EMF Camp, an outdoor camping festival for geeks, crafters, and technology enthusiasts. He sets up camp and breaks out the camping chair he souped-up for the occasion. In a series of flashbacks Ben shows how he created the mods back at the shop - including a beverage holder with active cooling and fans that detect campfire smoke to blow it away from the camper. During the Tech Time Out, Ben gives a tour of EMF Camp. See Ben where he’s never been seen before - in the great outdoors!
Ben responds to viewer’s questions about 3-D printing by delivering a full tutorial! He covers the kinds of printers available as well as the basic parts and costs of building your own printer. Ben also demonstrates how to find existing designs to print and gives examples of software for designing objects from scratch. After printing some objects, he shares tips and tricks on how to create the best prints possible.
Felix built a point and shoot camera using spare parts laying around the shop and suggests that Ben shrink it down and put it into a cool enclosure. Ben shares tips and tricks as he works to remove anything unnecessary from the Pi, making it as small as possible. Felix shows how he programmed the Pi to work as a camera in the Tech Time Out. Ben hand wires all the components together until he’s created a super slim Pi point and shoot camera. After he designs and 3D prints a case, it’s time for some selfies!
For years Ben has wanted to take another crack at creating the ultimate in can-crushing technology. In an early episode of the show, his can-crushing experiments didn’t provide the results he’d hoped for and have haunted him ever since. Ben reached out to viewers to share their ideas on the element14 community and with those ideas he’s come up with a new plan.
Ben continues building his crowdsourced can crusher, creating it piece by piece to make sure everything works before routing parts on the CNC.
Ben decides it’s time to create a brawling robot game he’s wanted to build for a while. He builds mechanical robots and uses servos to make them punch as well as move side to side. The servos are hooked up to the Intel Galileo board that is serving up a webpage with controls that can be accessed on a phone. Fight!
Ben uses charging circuits in many of his projects so it’s about time he created his own! Ben uses EAGLE to design the PCB for his circuit and shows each step of the process. Ben uses his “laser paint” technique for homemade PCBs then solders on the parts and tests the circuit. Now he has a ready-made 3.7V charging circuit for upcoming projects!
Ben and Felix work together to create a hacker-friendly Halloween mask. They use basic materials from the hardware store to create the framework of the mask and add servos that will move the creature’s mandibles. Ben wires up a couple of LED matrixes to use as the creature’s eyes. The electronics are mounted on the mask before Ben get’s crafty to skin, paint, and detail the mask. Trick or treat!
Ben decides to take on another retro 8-bit computer project and builds an Apple 1 from scratch. He wires the CPU, ROM, and RAM to a PCB and adds some logic gates for memory addressing. With this basic 6502 computer complete, he uses an oscilloscope to take a look at what the CPU is doing. The digital data shows that the 6502 is functional and Ben can move on to the next step.
Ben continues to create an Apple 1 Replica. In the previous episode, he built the core of the Apple 1 - a 6502 computer with a CPU, ROM, RAM, and a few address decoders. Today Ben works to get some input/output going with an updated interface using a Propeller micro-controller. He can test the new interface by hooking up a display and keyboard.
Ben completes the Apple 1 Replica. In the previous episodes, he built the 6502 computer and got it to function with an LCD and a homemade keyboard. Today Ben builds a 1970s style case to house the computer. When the sleek, wooden case is finished, Ben demonstrates the complete replica.
In this episode Alyson comes out from behind the camera to learn how to solder. Ben shows her the basics and has her do some tests before soldering up a real circuit. Ben helps Alyson as she creates an audio circuit for the Raspberry Pi Compute Module.
Ben and crew are moved into the new workshop, but it could use some improvements. Ben gets to work building a cart to hold all his CNC materials. His second shop hack is to mod an old PC power supply into a bench supply he can use to test projects. Before the move he tossed the old, noisy power supply he had used in the past. Finally, Ben sups up his CNC machine by adding a chip collector to keep the shop free of dust and debris. He rigs up a single ShopVac to both the chip collector and vacuum table. With these shop hacks, building projects will be even easier!
Ben finally tries out an idea he’s had in mind for years - a seeing-eye hat! Ben uses a Parallax Propeller, ultrasonic sensors, and rumble motors to create a hat that helps the wearer to sense their surroundings. His challenge is to create a prototype that lets Ben wander around his shop blindfolded and still have an idea of where he is. Can he do it?
Santa Ben gives his fans what they’ve been asking for - an Xbox One portable project! Since he’s not the the first person to attempt his, Ben wants to make his portable different and decides to go with a tablet form factor. In the first part of the project he creates a magnetic cover that will protect the tablet’s screen and gets started on the first layer that will hold the LCD. In a special edition Tech Time Out Ben unboxes a cartridge from the Atari landfill and tries to get it to work.
Santa Ben continues his work to create a portable Xbox One by Christmas. He’s building the device layer by layer. Ben hacks up many HDMI plugs and works on wiring the Xbox One and LCD. After installing most of the Xbox One components he’s ready to see if the Xbox will boot.
In the final part of the Xbox One Portable series, Ben completes the gaming tablet. He needs to figure out how to make the Blu-Ray drive work at an angle, build the remaining portion of the case, and do a lot more wiring. At the end of the episode he’s ready to boot up the tablet and see if it works.
Ben gets a lot of questions about whether discreet logic, a microcontroller, or a Raspberry Pi is best to use as the brains of a project. In this episode he goes over the strengths and weaknesses of all three as well as their best uses. He takes a stroll down memory lane and uses past projects he’s built on the show as examples.
Ben attempts to create a more efficient chimney that will circulate the heat from the rising smoke to the rest of the room. He gets crafty with plaster of Paris to create the structure of the fireplace and the chimney then installs it in a small model house. He does a control test before adding his chimney mod. Will it work?
Ben finds an LCD that is the perfect size for a pinball display, but it only runs composite video and that just won’t do. Ben uses his oscilloscope to figure out how the LCD works so he can reverse engineer it using an FPGA.
Ben sets out to create a second revision of the Raspberry Pi MAME portable gaming device. This time he has a better display, a newer Pi, and an improved charging circuit. In this episode he gets the Pi set up as a MAME device by installing the CupCade OS on an SD card, configuring the GPIO as game control buttons, and connecting it to the Adafruit TFT screen. Once everything is working, Felix makes a custom PCB based on how Ben designs the unit.
