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• No Tools Version for makers!

  jack.daly897 • 11/19/2023 at 23:56 • 0 comments

  Hey Makers! I made a post a few months back and got some amazing feedback.

  
  I've developed these mini palm-sized arcade cabinets that not only provide a fun gaming experience but also offer an opportunity for building and learning electronics - like old radioshack kits!
  
  One of the biggest comments was about a no tools version, as (understandably) many of you already have a soldering iron.
  
  Ive spent the last few weeks working hard to bring that to life and am happy to say its finally here!
  https://playmicrocade.com/roadtrip/

  
  
  For those that missed it, the original post was:
  
  The idea is to create a meaningful bonding experience between parents and children. Picture this: parents sharing their passion, memories, and childhood with their kids by building these arcade cabinets together. It's a chance to pass down the love for retro gaming while simultaneously imparting valuable skills of the future like electronics and coding!

  I would love to hear your thoughts on this concept and whether you believe it would be a beneficial and enjoyable learning experience for families. Whats missing and what important parts need to be covered to be a good electronics kit. Your insights and expertise in the world of STEM education are highly valued, and I'm eager to hear what you think.

  Thank you in advance for your time and contributions. I'm truly excited to engage in a friendly and enlightening discussion with all of you!

• Website Live

  jack.daly897 • 03/15/2023 at 21:41 • 0 comments

  Its finally happening! The microcade kits are readily available over on the website here:

  https://playmicrocade.com/

  I would love to hear feedback on the site itself to see if it fully gets across the kit, what it is and what you can get from it! Any advice, please let me know!
  

• #1 - Make Guide

  jack.daly897 • 01/27/2023 at 14:15 • 0 comments

  Hey Folks, 

  Spent the last few days filming, editing and uploading the make video to youtube, it can be found in this playlist here:

  I tried to make the structure of the make guide really simple, but, like anything, Id love to hear your feedback!

  1. Unboxing your kit - Info about the kit, where all the components are and what you get in the kit (to make sure its all there)

  1. Soldering basics ← QR code on the PCB soldering board links to this. Goes over the basics. Allows you to practice for up to 30 pins and teaches you to identify poor solder joints and how to solve them. Only move on when you create a perfect joint 3 times! Then you're ready!
  2. Buzzer - Solder the first 2 pin component in
  3. Switch
  4. RGB LED
  5. Screen
  6. Plug in - Plug in the battery and ribbon cable for control panel to motherboard (aka get controls working!)
  7. Testing! - As the chassis and electronic system are separate, we can test the entire console works. Here we do just that and play a game.
  8. Snap - The PCB comes in a "sprue" where the user has to snap off each part. 

  9. File - Here we use the nail file in the kit to file down the joints that we snapped as it leaves a poor edge. This is the side panel:
  10. Assemble: Whats quite cool is that the console can actually be assembled without soldering it together. Might do an alternative guide to show this (maybe so younger kids can do this part while parents do the first soldering). For now though, your soldering! 

  1. Play games & housekeeping: Covering the basics of using the kit such as:
     1. How to use menu system and select games - what my fav game is
     2. Where RESET button is and what it does
     3. How to charge

  Hopefully, this has led to a pretty intuitive make guide. I plan to make an area on playmicrocade.com which links to the videos and has a written version underneath - as I know some people prefer a written guide etc.

  Let me know what you think!

  Cheers,

  Jack

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