Peripherals

DMD

http://www.pindmd.com/default.php

The Pinscape Controller

Simply put, "an input/output controller for virtual pinball machines". This is a device that you can build yourself to serve as the connection between your cabinet PC and the various physical devices in the cab: buttons, sensors, feedback devices. It can serve as the bridge between the PC and the devices, translating electrical signals to and from the PC's software language.

With the Controller, you can:

• Connect flipper buttons and other real pinball buttons to the PC and use them to control the game
• Connect a real pinball plunger to the software, so that you can launch the ball the traditional way, with precise control for tricky skill shots
• Sense the motion of the cabinet with an accelerometer, so that you can interact with the game with natural nudging
• Connect feedback devices to the PC so that the pinball software can create effects in sync with the game action

Physically, the core of this system is the Freescale FRDM-KL25Z. The KL25Z is a tiny, self-contained computer that comes on a board the size of a credit card. It costs about $15 on-line, and comes fully assembled and ready to use. You don't need to know anything about electronics to set it up; you just plug in a USB cable.

One great thing thing about this project is that it's extremely scalable, according to your level of interest and your tolerance for DIY work. At the simplest level, the KL25Z can handle the nudge sensing all by itself, with no additional parts of wiring. If you want to do a little easy additional work, you can hook up buttons (like flipper buttons and a Start button) with some simple wiring between the KL25Z and your buttons. With a bit more work, you can connect a plunger sensor that lets you use a real pinball plunger to launch the ball. If you're really ambitious, you can use the Pinscape software to control dozens of feedback devices, such as flashing lights and solenoids. That requires building some external circuitry, but it's all explained step-by-step in this guide. We've tried to make all of the projects accessible even if you don't know anything about electronics.

This is an Open Source project, meaning that all of the software is free to use, all of the source code is published, and you're free to change and customize it in any way. All of the electronics designs are likewise fully published, free to use, and can be modified and customized. I'm always happy to integrate any customizations that are generally useful back into the official version so that everyone can benefit from them, but you're also free to make private changes for your own use if you prefer.