i made this android based pinball machine emulator from a discarded store display android video player.

Step 1:

technically it was a video player stuck in a refrigerator door to demonstrate the features of the new fridges coming soon to a store near you. when the real fridge arrived, the empty shell of a non working demo was recycled. i removed the 21" video player from the door.

you can use other android devices for this project as well. "ouya " console. possibly fire tv. (i have not tried this).

mine does not have a touch screen. it does have 3 usb ports for keyboard and mouse.

there is no wifi on this model but there is a wired network port.

i added my login info for the "play store" and found that it runs lots of apps. i was going to make a mame arcade game from the unit but lots of older games are not widescreen like this unit is. i decided it ran my favorite pinball app (Zen Pinball) really well and it was fun to play an a 21" screen with the arrow keys and enter to launch (standard layout already supported with a pc keyboard).

next i needed to design a case for it. i drew up the shape on www.tinkercad.com

and used it to figure out how much wood id need. i also got aluminum for the edges, hinges and screws.

Step 2: The Case

once i had the dimensions i wanted, i bought the wood and cut it i decided it should be black with aluminum corners. i installed 1 by 2 boards as rails inside to hold the monitor.

the head is held on with l brackets on the sides, only 1 screw on each lower bracket so that it hinges and will fold down to cover the monitor when carried with a handle on the back side.

i cut aluminum angle irons at 45 degree angles to make the corner rails.

i used 2x 4" speakers for sound, i made the speaker grille from plywood and wrapped the speaker assembly with black cotton cloth, using thumb tacks on the back side to hold it tight.

Step 3: Backboard

i couldnt think of any backboard ideas, we decided to make an infinity mirror, i learned to make it from this video https://youtu.be/b2bvWArORSc

the only difference is that i used mirrored tint to get a deeper reflection. i also used a remote controlled stick on led strip, i can make them chase and blink in different ways.

mirror

Step 4: Keyboard

for the controls i am using an arduino Leonardo board

this board can be used as a usb keyboard and mouse.

i have mapped the keys to the arrows LEFT, RIGHT, UP, DOWN,

also ENTER, and ESCAPE.

on android this gives me arrow keys, select, and back commands

the left and right arrows double as the flippers

up and down are needed for selecting apps and settings

enter is the launch plunger, and escape brings you back to the main menu and tables selector

keyboard code for arduino leonardo board

the wiring is laid out in the arduino code

one side of all switches goes to ground the other side goes to a board containing 100k ohm resistors, the resistors are all tied to 5v from the arduino.

the switch side of the resistors goes to each input on the arduino, this makes the arduino see the inputs as HIGH (5v) until a switch is pressed. that switch will be seen as LOW (0V).

the audio comes from a small amp i bought online with a headphone input.