Ben Heck’s controller mods tutorial

For a while now Ben and Felix have been making and selling single handed accessibility controllers. In this episode Ben will tear down the XBox One gamepad and show you how to do mods of your own, from the pin-outs to the connections for the directio...

Joyride to joystick: Atari controller custom-built from car seat adjuster

Joyride to joystick: Atari controller custom-built from car seat adjuster (video)

So you've survived the robot revolution and you're waiting for either a full-blown apocalypse, or Mr. Anderson. But how are you going to kill time when our new masters are eating controller PCBs for breakfast? With a steampunk joystick, of course. Jason Torchinsky from Jalopnik has done just that, making an Atari 2600 controller by repurposing a power seat control switch panel from a 1980s Oldsmobile. It's no Avenger Controller Elite, but it certainly does the job, and due to a standardized wiring layout it's functional on other hardware of the same era. And for all you MAME heroes, Jason says it would be no more complicated to hook it up to a PC or Mac using a USB keyboard encoder. Follow the source link for a neat walkthrough of the project and jump over the break to see a video of the seat switch in action, shot in the mancave of yesteryear.

Update: We've removed the video at the owner's request, but you can check it out at the source link below.

Joyride to joystick: Atari controller custom-built from car seat adjuster originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Jun 2012 07:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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N-Control’s Avenger goes Elite, keeps classic good looks

N-Control's Avenger goes Elite, keeps classic good looks

Competitive gamers are always looking for a way to sharpen their edge, but few solutions provide leverage like the N-Control Avenger, a controller attachment known for rigging gamepads with actual levers. This quirky clamshell impressed us last year with its customizable trigger pulleys and finger flickable appendages -- allowing us to command the controller's face buttons without taking our thumbs off of its analog sticks. Today the outfit silently unveiled the Avenger Elite, a familiar looking successor that promises to offer more of the same, albeit better.

Company founder David Kotkin explained that the new unit features higher quality materials, a more sensitive hair-trigger system and a new "spring against spring" button depression to give its button levers some extra oomph. The new unit's arms are also stronger, says Kotkin, and shouldn't have to be adjusted between sessions. The Elite sells for the same steep $50 as the original unit, although N-Control is offering a discount on Ghost Recon: Future Soldier when bundled with the plastic peripheral, $75 nets you both. Kotkin was kind enough to send us a few shots of the unit ahead of its May 5th launch date, check them out in the gallery below, or click past the break for the official press release.

Continue reading N-Control's Avenger goes Elite, keeps classic good looks

N-Control's Avenger goes Elite, keeps classic good looks originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Apr 2012 05:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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