Downing's Basement

Cross Plane Comission Complete (and no more to follow any time soon)

Posted: 07/06/2014 in Uncategorized

So after nearly a year of production, the Cross Plane Commission I took on back at the end of October 2013 is now complete and will be shipping to my customer this week! As many of you have known, the Cross Plane was a Kickstarter project that I was working on pretty much the last part of 2012 and all of 2013, with the help of Jon Jandran (Hailrazer) and RDC. It was a project that taught me a great deal about modern electronics and video gaming hardware.

This version of the CP improved on all the key issues that were apparent with the Kickstarter prototype and were made as best it could be without some form of industrial redesign or major funding.

The video below pretty much showcases all the pics I took of the project. It also explains and demonstrates how the control paks work and the overall goal that was accomplished. I’m very proud of how this one came out, even if it didn’t go quite according to plan. I also want to thank my buyer for being as patient as he was while I worked out the kinks to get this right!

Thanks again everyone and if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Oh, and I have build log here that I kinda forgot about but it gives a bit more detail as to what went into this.
BacMan Forums Build Log

Busy Month!

Posted: 06/04/2014 in General News

Hey guys, sorry it’s been a month since I’ve posted anything over here, but it’s been super crazy!

The Ouya portable has officially become my second biggest success, and my largest video on You Tube. Second of course to The Cross Plane, which though the video on my YT only shows about 6K views, the Kickstarter page is over 60K and on Jon’s YT, is almost 10K.

But anyway, that’s not what it’s about, it’s just fun to measure it up to other accomplishments!

Speaking of accomplishments, on Sunday June 1st, I had and interview done on me via Skype by a moderator known as [KillSwitch] over on the OUYA Forums. They are one of the coolest forums I’ve been a part of, much because of their open and constructive attitudes. Not to mention, they go right to the top with the OUYA Brass which helped push this project into the lime light.

Over the next few days I’ll be making a few small updates to the site and adding some of the press coverage to the “Projects That Made Waves” page and can read what others around the net had to say about it.

The Interview can been seen below. Note that my Internet connection crapped out in spots and it becomes unwatchable for a minute around the 31 min mark, should anyone actually get that far into the video. hehe. It was a lot of fun to do though as I’ve never had an interview done before, so it was a cool experience.

Also, here is a partial copy of the email that started this whole thing. Word got to OUYA corporate about my project and they put it in their weekly newsletter! I thought that was really cool!

Partial copy of the Weekly Newsletter sent out a couple weeks ago.

But alas, this ends on a somber note. On June 2nd, my wife and I lost our beloved Boston Terrier Te-Te. She had to have been in her early teens, we rescued her from a puppy mill about 6 years ago and was one of the hardest goodbyes I ever had to do. It was the right thing to do though, but it’s never easy.

OUYA Portable Complete!

Posted: 04/26/2014 in Uncategorized
Tags: 3D Printing, CNC, Mods, OUYA, Portables

Hey guys! Today I’d like to present to you my completed OUYA Portable!

This is my first portable in almost two years that I completed. I know I’ve done a lot of other stuff of course, but as far as technical “portables” go, this is my first since “The GeneBoy“. It’s amazing to see the difference two years makes in technique and quality, but it’s just a stepping stone into the next project, whatever that may be.

So with that said, having this off the table will allow me to get back on to finishing off the Cross Plane commission I need to finish.

If you want to check out the build log and how this was made, you see more here at the “BacMan” forums.

But thanks for checking it out! I’m happy with how this came out!

Portable OUYA Side Project Under Way

Posted: 04/01/2014 in Current Project

So what do I do with a bunch of extra parts and an OUYA? Well, seems how it’s been almost two years since I made an honest “portable” gaming console, I figured it was time to break that streak. With that, I’d like to introduce my half completed OUYA portable!

Yes, this looks just like the Cross Plane, much due to the fact it’s using many of the parts from the original Cross Plane prototype as well as a spare casing I had. There are a few modifications of course, more so on the back half of the casing which is being printed as we speak, but using this allowed me to use up a lot of the extra parts I had laying around, like PCBs, speakers and a ton of wires!

Clicking the picture above will take you to my build log for this where you can see it’s humble beginnings to what it’s turned into now. I’ll have more updates with this and the Cross Plane Commission in the coming weeks, so hopefully it won’t be a month in between posts!

CrossPlane Commission Update

Posted: 02/26/2014 in Uncategorized

Well that was cool! Most quick progress updates I make have a short video with them. Most don’t attract much more than a few hundred views on You Tube after a couple months, which is about what is to be expected. However, this one seems to have gotten a few people interested as it’s up over 200 in less than a day.

Not amazing numbers I know, but still pretty cool to see that people still like the idea.

Anyway, check out the progress video below. It’s nice and short and shows off how much of a beauty this commission really is!

Quiet On The Modding Front

Posted: 02/04/2014 in Uncategorized

The addition of a new full time job, combined with the sub-zero and snow filled winter have put a lot of my modding and ability to do projects of any kind to a screeching halt. I’ve had a lot of new You Tube activity though, many new subscribers and a lot of requests for case commissions.

Unfortunately I’m sorry to say that I simply don’t have the time for new projects and I’m behind in the ones I’m working on as it is. This is pretty much a “Catch Up” period where I need to get things at home back on track from the rather bumpy ride it’s been for the past year and half. I can’t say I’d do anything different but it came with a cost and now it’s time to pay it forward.

So if you don’t hear much from me for the next couple of months, rest assured that I am working on a couple projects but at a snails paces. I’ll be keeping at it though, no worries there, just need to get back on my feet in the real world.