Man of Honour
- Joined
- 11 Apr 2003
- Posts
- 9,389
- Location
- London
I have come into possession of a modern fruit machine which doesn't work properly as some of the boards have been scavenged from it. I am thinking of gutting it in such a way that it still appears on the outside to be an ordinary fruit machine, but is practically empty inside and so has lots of room for various computer components and equipment.
The idea is to essentially turn the fruit machine into a powerful PC with killer looks and features. For example, I want to configure it so that all the game's buttons act as hotkeys/shortcuts. I would replace the features board in the middle of the top half with a large screen. I'd install a remote control and receiver of course, and would incorporate a sound system into it. A small HP laserjet would sit in the bottom of it, and dispense print-outs through a slot. The lock for the engineer's key would be used to power the PC on and off. Optical drives would receive their media through stealthed slots, and there would similarly be slots to receive SD/CF cards etc.
I'm having trouble deciding on what should be done about the keyboard...should the machine be sat at primarily, made with the feel of an all-in-one PC station/desk, or be designed to be used remotely?
I'd appreciate any sort of feedback, particularly additional features/ideas for me to incorporate into the project schedule. The other thing I'd appreciate opinions on, is if this mod was really top notch, how much do you think I'd get, what with the novelty factor of it, if I flogged it on the auction site? I'd embark on this for the experience more than anything else, and the satisfaction of having achieved it, but the looks of a fruit machine simply wouldn't fit in anywhere with the look of my house, and as I'd have spent all the time planning & working on it, plus the cost of materials and components, it would be nice to think I'd be able to get a nice cash reward at the end from some pompous playboy-type Ebay addict with more money than modding ability.
The idea is to essentially turn the fruit machine into a powerful PC with killer looks and features. For example, I want to configure it so that all the game's buttons act as hotkeys/shortcuts. I would replace the features board in the middle of the top half with a large screen. I'd install a remote control and receiver of course, and would incorporate a sound system into it. A small HP laserjet would sit in the bottom of it, and dispense print-outs through a slot. The lock for the engineer's key would be used to power the PC on and off. Optical drives would receive their media through stealthed slots, and there would similarly be slots to receive SD/CF cards etc.
I'm having trouble deciding on what should be done about the keyboard...should the machine be sat at primarily, made with the feel of an all-in-one PC station/desk, or be designed to be used remotely?
I'd appreciate any sort of feedback, particularly additional features/ideas for me to incorporate into the project schedule. The other thing I'd appreciate opinions on, is if this mod was really top notch, how much do you think I'd get, what with the novelty factor of it, if I flogged it on the auction site? I'd embark on this for the experience more than anything else, and the satisfaction of having achieved it, but the looks of a fruit machine simply wouldn't fit in anywhere with the look of my house, and as I'd have spent all the time planning & working on it, plus the cost of materials and components, it would be nice to think I'd be able to get a nice cash reward at the end from some pompous playboy-type Ebay addict with more money than modding ability.
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