The Ultimate Calculator

KermMartian · Post by **KermMartian** » Fri 09 Feb, 2007 5:05 am

Completed! And yes, it has case lighting.

[Digg It!] The Ultimate Calculator is an extreme-modded TI-83+ graphing calculator, a device with an MSRP of around $90. Almost everyone who has recently taken a high school or college math or science course should have at least a passing familiarity with it. It's a project I had dreamed of attempting for a very long time, but never quite had the resources and equipment to complete. At long last, it has been created, and all within the short span of a bit over a month. Firstly, to avoid a TL;DR situation, the headline features:

Modified LCD with RGB LED backlight controlled by a GAL16V PLD slaved to two CPU I/O lines allowing full-spectrum color control that also illuminate the case windows
Sanded, painted, and varnished case with sports car-style racing stripes
Removed LCD bevel and slanted LCD for more unique, non-branded look and easier LCD viewing
Internal powered PS/2 port with working drivers for use with external keyboards and mice
Case cutouts and case windows for added "wow" factor

Check out the links below for more detailed pictures and additional construction pictures and information.

Informational Links

The Photo Album

The Construction Blog

The Construction Discussion

The Main Pictures (Click to enlarge)

The Original

The Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFdB5fLoQcA

[Digg It!]

Post by **tr1p1ea** » Fri 09 Feb, 2007 9:20 am

Hahaha thats really awesome!, you disabled comments for the youtube vid tho

.

I dont have a digg account unfortunately, i dont really spend much time there.

King Harold · Post by **King Harold** » Fri 09 Feb, 2007 10:14 am

That light video is a bit.. black.. except for the colours from the light. But I didn't really see much on that vid other than the light itself.
It's certainly cool though

Timendus · Post by **Timendus** » Fri 09 Feb, 2007 10:55 am

I can't honestly say that you did a great job on painting, and I don't really like the idea that you keep releasing videos showing off with Ben's routines without really adding anything programmatically new to them. I expected to see a video of something you've made, but I got to see a video of something Ben made. Where's the focus on the hardware and looks, where's the backlight, where's the inside shots?

However, the PS/2 mod is cool, and you certainly put a lot of effort into the make over. I like the matching mouse and the backlight

Edit: Ah, found the dark video on your website. Why didn't you make one video, showing off all it's features?

Post by **benryves** » Fri 09 Feb, 2007 11:20 am

That's groovy.

KermMartian · Post by **KermMartian** » Fri 09 Feb, 2007 1:24 pm

Timendus wrote:I can't honestly say that you did a great job on painting, and I don't really like the idea that you keep releasing videos showing off with Ben's routines without really adding anything programmatically new to them.

My gosh, you always gotta hate on me.

Seriously though, the paint job is a bit better than my camera showed, although not perfect. Next time I am going to try spray paint.

Timendus wrote:Where's the focus on the hardware and looks, where's the backlight, where's the inside shots?

http://www.cemetech.net/projects/ee/ucalc

Thanks Ben.

tr1p1ea wrote:you disabled comments for the youtube vid tho

They look enabled to me....

DigiTan · Post by **DigiTan** » Sun 11 Feb, 2007 11:44 pm

That is one pimped-out calc.

anykey · Post by **anykey** » Mon 12 Feb, 2007 11:17 pm

is it just me, or does it seem like the backlight doesn't do very much?
it looked like it just illuminated the very bottom of the screen and nothing else.

DigiTan · Post by **DigiTan** » Tue 13 Feb, 2007 2:45 am

I just received a shipment from superbrightleds.com for a PC case lighting project. A set of these would provide illumination to spare. Low cost, cheap shipping, no minimum qty...