How-To: Retrofit a Magic 8-Ball with an OLED display

Fun & Games Technology
How-To:  Retrofit a Magic 8-Ball with an OLED display
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Awesome new entry in the Gadget Freak Design Contest from Mariano Alvira:

The steps outlined here will show you how to modify a standard Magic 8 Ball to replace the normal message icosahedron with a OLED screen, and how to add wireless microcontroller, and accelerometer. The screen is submersed in the normal Magic 8 Ball goo so that all the original aesthetics are preserved. The messages can be reprogrammed wirelessly without having to open the 8 Ball. The accelerometer detects when the 8 Ball is in use (e.g. tipped from resting to looking through the Magic Hole) and signals the microcontroller to turn on screen and fade in the messages.

The contest is definitely heating up, but there’s still plenty of room for competition. The deadline is coming up on July 13, so get cracking!

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I am descended from 5,000 generations of tool-using primates. Also, I went to college and stuff. I am a long-time contributor to MAKE magazine and makezine.com. My work has also appeared in ReadyMade, c't – Magazin für Computertechnik, and The Wall Street Journal.

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