Tony Tzankoff's Insanely Insane Project Thread

[tzankoff]

Greetings fellow modders!

For the sake of keeping all my project related ducks in a row, I will be using one thread as a work log for all my projects as opposed to one thread for each. Don't ask. I just like keeping things organized...which might be considered the biggest lie in the world when you look at the state of my apartment right now.
;)

Anywho, I will start by telling you that I have two projects in mind right now.

1) the "Remote Controlled Mouse" mod
2) the "Slot Machine" case mode

I will provide drawings and details for these projects as I get started with them.

[hungrych]

Well good luck, these sound very cool!

Welcome! :D

[skrach]

ive been saving up to do the slot machine mod for a while now.. if you need info on some parts to use let me know cause i might be of help to you

[calerogers]

i like your idea of being organized, wlecome.

[tzankoff]

Okay, first up is the "Remote Controlled Mouse" project.

The idea is a pretty simple one...although the process might be complicated. I am taking an optical mouse that is no longer functional and turning it into a toy that I hope will drive my cats up the freakin' wall.
:D

PARTS LIST
...discarded mouse (gutted, but some parts kept)
...2 red LEDs
...pipe cleaner
...sponge foam
...small remote controlled car

ASSEMBLY
open mouse...remove parts...keep part of the cord (A) for use as a tail...drill three holes (C,D)...mount LED eyes (C)...run two pieces of pipe cleaner for whiskers through "nose" (D)...cut big enough hole (E) for RC car in bottom half of the mouse...surround top half of RC car with sponge foam (F) to prevent some wiggling...route RC car antenne through foam and mouse wheel cavity (B)...assemble mouse...decorate with miscellaneous parts.

Minus the remote control car, I have all the parts that I need and am ready to start building...but the car that I use might change things. Okay, so its not an uber-leet mod, but its a simple project for somebody who has never really modded before and just got a nice dremel for his bithday.
:D

NOTES
...I will NOT be using those little RC cars from Radio Shack. (too physically small, will underperform with extra weight)
...I also do not yet plan to power the lights.
...I am not sure how, but I plan to add something to the RC car that prevents it from falling out of the case should it get knocked over. (i.e.: to remove the car from the mouse casing, you would have to open the mouse.

To see a rough idea of what I am trying to accomplish, see the attached image.

[tzankoff]

hungrych
Thanks. I hope they turn out as cool as they sound.

skrach
For the slot machine mod, I will be building stuff myself as opposed to using parts you would normally find in a real slot machine. I get the feeling I could not afford it anyway...but I do have some workable ideas that do not cost an arm, a leg, and your first born. We'll just have to wait and see.

calerogers
Thanks for the warm wlecome.
:rolleyes:

[Darthness]

cool idea with the RC car... i'd be interested to see how that works.

[Yoshi]

Welcome to the forums, cant wait to see the pics of your mods as they progress.
Good start.

[Megatron1977]

Those are some neat ideas, keep it up, and be sure to let us know of your progress. Welcome to the forums.

[fat_joe17]

lol it's really fun to drive cats up the wall. Btw a cheap lazer pointer in a dark room with a slipery floor works really well too. But I hope to see your mouse when it's done

[tzankoff]

It sounds a little nuts, but if anybody is interested in a live ModCam, here you go:
ModCam (http://www.tzankoff.com/homecam.jpg)
:D

/geek
/obvious?

[tzankoff]

Now for today's part of the mod...

I did have some trouble trying to find an RC car that would perform better under the weight of the mouse casing than the ZipZak cars that are sold at RadioShack. However, I came across a "Fastlane SuperSlick Mini-RC" at "Toys 'R Us" for $15 that I think will work just fine. It will fit inside the mouse case just fine. I am still somewhat worried about its performance with the extra weight, but I fell better with the this car than I do with the RadioShack cars; so I'll just go with it and see what happens. More to come...

[tzankoff]

Here is the victi...uh, I mean...the mouse.
:D

[tzankoff]

Not bad for the first cut.
:rolleyes:

[tzankoff]

A few things have happened that prevent me from modding the mouse the way I had originally planned, but I found some ways to work around it.

First, I did not take into account that part of the bottom of the mouse that I wanted to cut out included the screw bracket (A) that holds both halves of the mouse together. To compensate for that, I would simply cut the front edge of the hole closer to the front of the mouse (B), but that presents me with the problem of not having enough room to spare. To make up for *that* problem, I grabbed some scrap wood from another project of mine and built a spacer (C) that would raise the mouse above the chasis just enough off the ground to the wheels spin and maneuver freely without the wheels rubbing agains the sides of the mouse.

*pause*

Now that I am looking at what I just typed, I am not really sure if any of what I just said made any sense, but things are going okay. I am sure that I will get the project done today as planned. In the meantime, keep watching and I will post some pics of the project when finished.
:D

[tzankoff]

Some of the last details include...
...mounting of the scroll wheel (A),
...running the car antenna through a hole under the scroll wheel (B),
...waiting for the glue holding the reenforced frame to dry (C),
...and adding the tail (D).

Minus the miscellaneous details (such as the eyes and whiskers), the build is done.
:D

Now, let's see if it works...
:eek:

[tzankoff]

After spending much time goof...uh, I mean...testing my modded mouse, it has been determined and upheld that this creation has been a success! I just need to glue on some LED eyes and pipe cleaner whiskers, which I will do tomorrow.

[Southerntracker]

Welcome to Yoshi's, Tony! The mouse mod looks great. Nice to see a fellow Leovillager hanging around!

[AMD64-bit]

noice mouse

[tzankoff]

Southerntracker
Thanks. I need something to do now that I am no longer capping the cool little computer cable channel that used to be TechTv. *sigh*
:(

AMD64-bit
Thwank you.
:rolleyes:

[tzankoff]

Here is an update on the mouse. With the amount I have played with this thing in the past two days, I should have burned out a motor or two by now; but things have gone very well.

My cats have these funny "WTF?" looks on thier faces as they cautiously chase and sniff the mouse as it rolls around on the floor. I took the mouse to my mom's place where she has a dog and three cats. The dog constantly ran away (LOL!), and the cats were not available to see the mouse at the time, but I try again later.

I still need to add the eyes and the whiskers, but I will take care of that very soon. In the meantime, I have started scribbling down some ideas for the "Slot Machine" case mod. It's still a rough idea that I might not even begin building for a month or two, but at least I am making progress.

I have already built one part...the handle. It's nothing more that a stiffer-than-usual sponge foam ball with a hole dremmeled into it mounted on to the end of a 1/2" dowel rod. It's not much, but I have got to start somewhere.
:D

[tzankoff]

For those who might have choked when taking a sip of your beverage of choice while reading the title for my next mod, I apologize.
:rolleyes:

Now, let's get down to business...

After my mom's dog, Annie, chewed her way through the cord of her retractable dog leash a few days ago, I was asked to fix it. Not being exactly sure how these things worked and being busy enough with work as it was, I brushed the problem aside and asked if she would just consider getting another one. She did...and then, she told me how much these things cost.

I instantly commandeered the broken leash and got to work.

The two screws that I saw holding the casing together made it look like it could be easily disassembled.

WRONG!

There are other screw like devices on the inside that prevent the casing from being easily taken apart. I guess this must be a classic example of the manufacturer's way of getting you to buy a new product instead of trying to fix the old one whenever it breaks. I was able to pry apart the casing using a small flathead screwdriver and twisting it every so often as I worked my way across the seam.

The line itself is wrapped around a reel that retracts via an aluminum coil inside the center of the reel which is accessed by prying off the coil compartment cover with a flathead screwdriver. You might want to have a paper towel or two handy since the cover piece and the coil are covered with a little bit of oil and/or grease.

The line was 15 feet in length, which is not too little or too much for a medium-sized dog like Annie; but while I was examining the reel for a little while, I realized...there was room on the reel for more cord.

TIME TO MOD!
:D

I picked up a couple of rolls of Survior Sportsman's Cord (50ft/$1.50 at Wal-Mart) and noticed that the working load limit for the cord is 30 pounds. Cool beans for me! Not only can I get a longer cord on the leash, but the cord can now accomodate a heavier dog. I believe that the packaging for the leash said that the maximum load was 15 pounds.

I removed the retracting coil from its placeholder (so that it would not spin wildly if I let go) and began to load the new cord on to the reel. I wanted to get as much of it as possible on there becasue I knew that the reel had a capacity that was much greater than 15 feet.

I wound up as much of the new cord as the reel would allow (26 feet!!!), reconnected the retraction coil, and pulled the leash all the way out to see how it would perform.

It turns out I do have a limitation.

The tension placed on the coil when the leash is extended can only go so far. So, I had to cut back on the cord length to the point where I could get maximum length without ruining the integrity of the coil.

Speaking of which, I noticed that the end of the coil did look somewhat worn down from use. I cut an inch off from the end and it looked brand new. I reattached the coil and spun it around a couple of times BEFORE starting to feed the end of the new leash line through the hole in the casing. This was to make sure that the leash would always be pulled back all the way when not in use.

After some trial and error with this procedure, I managed to get a final length of 20 feet. After all the modifications were done, I reassembled the leash casing. While admiring my work, I noticed the follow pieces of fine print on the back of the casing:


"Use according to instructions in the Safety Precautions and Directions insert."
"For use by responsible adults only."

Needless to say, I took my dremel's sanding tool and wiped those words away. However, I did leave behind the parts that said "Arm or Leg Burning/Cutting Hazard" and "Finger Amputation/Cutting Hazard"

In the end, I wound up with a leash that has a new and longer bright orange cord (as opposed to the stock black one) for greater visibility and a little bit more horsepower (of sorts) in the retraction coil.

Not bad for a one hour mod.

[Spokavriel]

Interesting Mod When I saw the title I thought you would be adding lights to a chain leash. . .

Glad you were able to make some improvments. :)

See you arround the internet.

[Pakistan9]

For those who might have choked when taking a sip of your beverage of choice while reading the title for my next mod, I apologize.


I was sipping a nice Mountain Dew... and I forgot if Yoshi ever showed keyboard cleaning products on TSS... :D

BTW, nice avatar you have over here Spokavriel. You should use that over at Leoville, too. :)

[Spokavriel]

Na I made it to use here on Yoshi's I prefer my Chocobo and Transformer merged Masks elsewhere.

If Leoville allowed signature images maybe I would change it but as things are I prefer the one I currently have and put more work into.

[Hidekatsu]

Nice Mods!

[skoota_logic]

yeh nice mod dude