I just got a new scooter.  A beautiful Avocado green Stella with white wall tires.  It’s basically a modernized Vespa PX150.  In fact, they’re made in an old PX150 factory.  The only big difference between the Stella and it’s Vespa brother is a slightly improved engine and breaking system.

So why buy a scooter that was state of the art in the 70’s?  Here’s where the “science” comes in.  While electronics and computers are very familiar to me, I know next to nothing about engines.  However, I have always been interested and have performed several minor acts of vehicle surgery in the past.  The Stella, like the Vespa, was designed with the intent of being 100% user serviceable.  Theoretically, all you need is a little mechanical aptitude and a copy of the Haynes manual to keep one running.  It also helps to have a brother that’s a certified 2-stroke mechanic.

So while my new Stella should give me a few years of trouble-free service, I’m actually looking forward to my first mechanical problem to solve.  I definitely can’t say the same about my car.

A few years ago I purchased a Linux based gaming system. The GP2X was designed to be as powerful as the DS and PSP, but completely open source. There was a lot of buzz about all the emulators that would soon be ported to the system. I had always dreamed of having a portable SNES/NES, so I joined the pre-order list and was one of the first people to get my hands on one.

Unfortunately, the GP2X got off to a rocky start. The initial firmware was buggy and the company was slow to release an SDK, which kept all but the most basic software from being ported to the system. The only thing I ever found useful was the built in DIVX support, which I used to watch movies any time I traveled. After about a year without any decent software my GP2X was boxed up and forgotten.

Fast forward nearly two years.

While I was searching for some long-lost Magic: The Gathering cards in the attic I rediscovered my GP2X. I was curious to see if any progress had been made on the console I initially had so much hope for. After a quick check of the GP32X Site I was amazed at all the software that was available. Just about every gaming system you could think of has been ported over to the GP2X, with many emulators working with near 100% compatibility. My dream of a portable SNES/NES is finally a reality, but I was also able to install Doom, Duke Nukem 3D, emulators for the Sega Genesis and Neo Geo, and even LucasArts adventure games. Everything I installed worked perfectly.

The best part is how easy it was to install it all. I managed to get more than half a dozen emulators up and running in only a few hours. That’s probably less time than I would spend setting up the same software on my PC. The GP2X has definitely come a long way.

The first phase of my cocktail cabinet project is complete. I’ve got everything wired up and working with my 48 in 1 arcade board. The next step is to build a MAME computer so I can play horizontal arcade games. So far it’s been a lot of fun to play and the cocktail format is great for sitting down to some 2-player Pac-man or Galaga.

Welcome to The Basement Scientist, where I hope to chronicle my various electronics projects and other DIY endeavors. My interests are varied, so I may be working on a module for my synthesizer one day and exploring the guts of an arcade machine the next. The one unifying factor is the desire to take something apart and find out how it works.