When you’re building something that hasn’t been done before, sometimes the parts you need just don’t exist.
[Bacteria] over on the Made by Bacteria forum is building a huge all-in-one video game machine, combining hardware from 16 different consoles released through the years. This build requires a way to switch the video output between consoles, so [Bacteria] made a gigantic 18 pole 16 throw switch.
The build began with [Bacteria] sourcing a few 8-pole switches. Of course this switch was too small to toggle between the 16 output lines for each system, so these switches were doubled up and activated by a single button. This system worked, but the results weren’t ideal.
[Bacteria] gave in to the temptation of building his own switch by using spring-loaded metal nuts as the contacts for each part of the switch, allowing him to switch between consoles with a simple sliding contact.
So far, it looks like [Bacteria]‘s Project Unity is shaping up nicely. We’ve seen a bit of the controller portion of [Bac]‘s build, and already it’s shaping up to be a wonder of retro gaming.
You can check out [Bacteria]‘s breakdown of his switch after the break and his Instructable here.
Filed under: hardware 
