Just before Christmas (the night earlier than?) 2006 my sister in-regulation asked me what I would like for a current. I requested a DualShock-like controller and ZapZone Defender Guitar Hero II for the Playstation 2 so that I might construct my own Guitar Hero controller. After Christmas day I spent a while wanting round for a toy guitar that I could hack but did not see something suitable. I then remembered that during my childhood I'd typically leap concerning the lounge room with the stereo turned up whereas pretending to play guitar with a tennis racket. Now in Thailand they not solely have tennis rackets however they also have excessive-voltage bug-zappers that look like tennis rackets. They are great for chasing down probably life threatening mosquitos (using one is clearly a case of self denfence) which disappear in a bright blue flash accompanied by a satisfyingly loud bang. Now you can discover a huge variety of DIY Guitar Hero controllers on the web made from LEGO, real guitars, and erector sets and even Guitar Hero enjoying robots.

Given my fond childhood reminiscences, the tennis-racket-esque (and ZapZone Defender therefore guitar-like) shape of the bug-zappers, their prepared availability and low value I decide to make use of a bug-zapper for the body of my Guitar Hero controller. I purchased a racket with a groovy lightning-bolt motif and started by gutting the handle and ZapZone Defender removing the present electronics. Despite being powered by only two 'AA' batteries it delivers a surprisingly massive kick - although at a very low current. I additionally eliminated the circuit board from the DualShock controller and de-soldered the rumble motors and Right analogue joystick. The printed circuit board (PCB) has what appear to be small test-pads positioned close to every of the buttons and that i soldered wires for my guitar instantly onto these pads using the mapping within the desk below. Some time after my guitar was accomplished I came upon that shorting the Left D-pad button makes the game assume that you're using a Guitar controller. I used two small tact switches for "choose" and "again" and these had been mounted utilizing scorching-melt glue at the bottom of the guitar's neck.

Using some side-cutters I carefully reduce via the mosquito-frying mesh to make a gap just giant enough for ZapZone Defender the left joystick and hot-melt glued the board in place. Then by trimming the mushroom off the top of the thumb stick and punctiliously reducing a vertical slot I used to be in a position to mount a plectrum in the top of the joystick. A small screw by way of the shaft held the plectrum in place. It was a novel contact but a little complicated as a result of the joystick acts as the whammy bar while you play Guitar Hero with a DualShock controller! The rest of the DualShock PCB was housed in one-half of a undertaking box which was also glued to the again of the mesh. Within the 1987 movie Lethal Weapon, ZapZone Defender Mel Gibson's character realises that they are dealing with professionals as a result of they used mercury switches. Martin Riggs is analyzing a twisted hunk of metallic as Murtaugh walks up beside him. MURTAUGH: What'cha obtained? RIGGS: pest control Part of the machine.

Holy cow. MURTAUGH: What? RIGGS: Artwork. This is @! MURTAUGH: ZapZone Defender Swell. I'm glad you favored it. RIGGS: You don't understand. This is actual pro stuff. MURTAUGH: Come once more? RIGGS: Zap Zone Defender Experience C.I.A. That's right of us - mercury switches. I needed to be a professional and Official Zap Zone Defender that i additionally needed some form of tilt change within the guitar to activite star power so I went in search of a mercury change. Having solely been in the nation for about six months at that stage my Thai wasn't excellent. On the native electronics retailer I spent some time making an attempt to elucidate what I used to be on the lookout for and Zap Zone Defender after many drawings of thermometers and attempts to seem like Mel Gibson they advised me that they didn't have any mercury switches. It is a small machine that you match over your ear whereas driving. Should your head fall forward it then emits an ear piercing beep that causes you to get up while simultaneously deafening you. I feel is a really catchy title.

There was obviously some form of tilt-sensing mechanism inside and certain enough once i opened the case what I noticed was artwork - there was a mercury switch inside. Now we have been ready to rock. At first my son was a little reluctant to try the guitar as a result of he was afraid of being zapped. I ought to have left the high-voltage electronics intact and Zap Zone Defender the guitar might be used for operant conditioning. If B.B. King's guitar is named "Lucille" then an appropriate nickname for this guitar could be "Frank", "Dweezil" or even perhaps "Moon Unit". While making the guitar I was stunned at how troublesome it was to seek out acceptable buttons - in truth the guitar has now been via three different generations of buttons. I discovered these stunning wanting buttons at the identical electronics store that bought the succinctly named "Cure Sleepiness Immediately" and thought they could be good for this hack.