
Raspberry Pi Zero Hidden in an Xbox Controller - edent
https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2015/11/raspberry-pi-zero-hidden-in-an-xbox-controller/
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danesparza
His parting comments on a portable mesh network are not fiction. Here is some
interesting software that already exists:
[http://www.netlore.co.uk/airmesh/?page=about](http://www.netlore.co.uk/airmesh/?page=about)

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IshKebab
Not battery powered though. A battery powered mesh network is still not really
doable.

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sdrothrock
Depends on the kind of mesh you're talking about. Linear Technologies has a
mesh network with motes that can be battery-powered for years.

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garrettgrimsley
Since the site is beginning to struggle:

[https://web.archive.org/web/20151201211146/https://shkspr.mo...](https://web.archive.org/web/20151201211146/https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2015/11/raspberry-
pi-zero-hidden-in-an-xbox-controller/)

Mirror. Cache.

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logicallee
I'll just leave this here - [http://yachtpals.com/files/news/boat-wiring-
connect.jpg](http://yachtpals.com/files/news/boat-wiring-connect.jpg) (western
union splice, no soldering required.)

I don't normally complain but his splice is painful - it will come undone if
anyone is so much as in the same house as it.

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haberman
Very cool. Another fun project would be loading up the Pi with speed run
controller input so you could pretend to be superhuman at video games.

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grendelt
That cable hack job. :twitch:

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edent
Hey, it worked! But, yeah, I need to learn how to solder

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hamitron
[http://makezine.com/2012/02/28/how-to-splice-wire-to-nasa-
st...](http://makezine.com/2012/02/28/how-to-splice-wire-to-nasa-standards/)

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miahi
I saw a lot of this splicing type in old military radio transceivers
("portable" for a given value of portable - usually some kind of backpack
weighting ~30Kg - and the batteries were in another backpack).

That splicing works for solid-core conductors, but it doesn't have the same
strength on stranded wire, as it is more flexible. It could work on tinned
thin stranded wire (as it makes a kindof-solid wire) but if you tin it then
you can just solder it and that's it. The referenced standard[1] also contains
the splicing for stranded wire, and some requirements about when and how to
use each.

[1]
[http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/codeq/doctree/87394.pdf](http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/codeq/doctree/87394.pdf)

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electricblue
I don't really see a use for this but I agree with your ending point about
computers being snuck into all sorts of things for little or no cost is very
exciting.

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vlunkr
The use is for a super portable game console. As you can see from all his
links lots of people are interested in this type of thing.

[http://blog.petrockblock.com/retropie/](http://blog.petrockblock.com/retropie/).
That's a project that sets up a whole bunch of emulators and stuff to get you
started if anyone is interested.

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electricblue
I've used retropie but if I still gotta use HDMI TV I'd rather the console be
hidden behind the TV. Just my personal preference though.

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bduerst
It would be cool if they loaded Android onto the pi zero, and then used
chromecast with their apps/games.

Not sure about the USB XBox controller support on Android though.

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edent
I briefly plugged it in to an Android to check the cable worked. lsusb
detected it, but I didn't have a chance to test any games directly on the
phone.

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bduerst
I wonder what the latency is on the new chromecasts. I've heard it's about
10ms (just for display) but it would be worth testing with a stop watch app.

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ryangittins
Wow, what a great post! This is just incredible. It makes you realize how much
the world has changed and how much more change we're going to see in the near
future. Props to you, Terence.

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hayksaakian
i know nothing of electronics really, but doesn't the google chromecast get
power over hdmi? maybe there's some way to do that with this hack?

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agumonkey
AFAIK chromecast and other HDMI dongles have secondary USB port to get power.

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rzzzt
According to this Q&A, about 55-150 mA is available on a 5V line:
[http://www.hdmi.org/learningcenter/kb.aspx?c=13#42](http://www.hdmi.org/learningcenter/kb.aspx?c=13#42)

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mikepavone
That's on source devices, which in this case would be the Pi Zero. AFAIK, sink
devices like a TV do not supply power.

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rzzzt
I somehow managed to miss the sentence entirely where this is explained (it is
used for reading EDID from a connected display). Thanks for the correction!

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orliesaurus
wow Terence has done it again!

