Last month i’ve been repairing Nintendo Switches.
Very small, and you need specialized tools.
Okay to do a few, but too small for my big hands.
I fixed multiple controllers, cardreaders and a gamecard.



I’ve given people on the street control over my Xmas/Fireworks lights last month. (This month it is going to be converted to an interactive game)
I saw some LED strip dividers on Aliexpress, next year it’s going to have a star on top.


Like this….

Another LED related project I started today is a Whack-A-Mole game with multiple levels.
For this I need to convert a simple arcade button to a programmable multicolor version.
From single white LED to multi color, programmable.
Using CD74HC4067
Only partly drawn ..
This will be for a multi level Whack-a-Mole.
Another game in the making is a Red Light – Green Light game.
Like in Squid Game.
This will use a lidar and a python script which detect movement using a camera.
Two player mobile pong using secure mqtt I made a few months ago.
Today I tested my group playing mode while at family to celebrate xmas.
I was filming during testing to get responses. I can’t post this because of everyone being in the shot.
What worked:
To do:
Nice to have:
I saw a game like this on the WHY2025, I wanted my own version.
Using Twang32, some other hardware and a tweaked sketch, I got this.
Up = move up
Down = move down
whack the stick to kill red leds (Metal part is a door spring)
(Tilting joystick also works as up/down)
Things changed:
I saw a movie clip of two guys playing TAK.
It looked interesting, so I DIY-ed something.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tak_(game)
Laser engraved a cork plate.
Cut some wooden blocks into squares, and stained half of it.
Should I engrave something on the blocks?
Worked on bash autocompletion for QP
source below script to get
qp <tab><tab> shortcode
Not happy with both versions yet …
#/usr/bin/env bash
# Version 0.1
qpcompl()
{
COMPREPLY=($(compgen -W "$(qp | cut -f2 -d \' )" "${COMP_WORDS[1]}"))
}
complete -F qpcompl qp
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# V 0.2
_qp_complete() {
local cur prev opts
COMPREPLY=()
cur="${COMP_WORDS[COMP_CWORD]}"
prev="${COMP_WORDS[COMP_CWORD-2]}"
opts="add del"
case "${prev}" in
add)
COMPREPLY=( $(compgen -d -- ${cur} ))
return 0
;;
del)
COMPREPLY=( $(compgen -f -- ${cur}) )
return 0
;;
*)
COMPREPLY=( $(compgen -W "$(echo add; echo del ;echo "" ; qp)" -- ${cur}) )
return 0
;;
esac
}
complete -F _qp_complete -o nospace qp
Game controllers : left into right setup


My Bus Manipulator

And a Jigsaw in progress (with our own made clock in the background)


C64 Pico Amplifier
My C64 had a problem with previous attached speaker.
It drew too much current to drive. And random characters where printed.
Choosing another speaker and a minimal amplifier solved the issue.
(Thanks to Bigred finding the problem at Bornhack 2024)
My minimal amplifier for:


Using below mini speaker:

Today I made a Linux version of Tyrone’s QuickPath tool.
My friend Tyrone came up with a great idea.
A directory switching tool, to move around in often used directories.
You can use a keyword to move around. These keywords are configured in a config file.
Even starting Total Commander with preset directories.
Work/Private/Programming environments.
His version uses PowerShell, but he wanted a multiplatform version, so we have chosen to use Python on both environments.
My version uses Python and Bash.
(Bash is used for a change directory workaround on Linux and bash completion.)
Source will be in Tyrone’s git when finished.
Options:
Tomorrow some laser cutting, so let’s design some things to cut.
While I’m not really a gamer, I played a very old game I loved playing on my Amiga.
Its Ports of Call.
Are there others like this game?
Ports of Call is a 1986 business simulation game developed by German duo Rolf-Dieter Klein and Martin Ulrich, and published by Aegis Interactive Entertainment.
The game simulates the management of a global freight transport company, where the player charters freight, and, using the accumulated profit, can buy more and better ships. Minigames include manually piloting your ship into a specified berth in the harbour and picking up survivors from a life-raft.
I loved the manoeuvring part, especially the large ships with both front and back rudders.
Here are some screenshots from Amiga Forever emulator


Post about other old games: