FnordJr

What?

FNORD is basically a Raspberry Pi connected to an authentic Wells-Gardner arcade monitor and a bunch of arcade controls. It can play pretty much every arcade game ever, courtesy of [MAME].

It is currently available in the lounge!!!, curated by ZoeWorall and KaviDey (see also his work on Monolith)!
Previous victims-- er, I mean, maintainers include BenBracker, MorganConbere, BenJencks, and AndrewFarmer.

Related Stupidity

• 2007/2008: FnordCompletionRun
• Fall 2019: masquerading it as "Art Machine" and submitting it to Fandell's art class as art as it displayed some Boids-inspired animatons
• Fall 2021: fully armed and operational!
• Spring 2022: some inebriated cretin climbed on top of FNORD and the vending machine in search of the highest ground. Fortunately no injuries, but PLEASE NEVER DO THIS!
• Spring 2023: adding MJ's Moonwalker!

Restoration & Maintenance

[All Documentation Available Here!!]

Oh gosh ah, nevermind actually. They're making all us alumni delete all our Google drive files. RIP. Well I tell you what, I'm downloading the files to a hard drive, so shoot an email to bbracker@hmc.edu if you need these (assuming they don't kill our emails too, ahhh!)

Future Work?:

• The monitor is capable of sharper focus but will spontaneously make a zap sound and shut down for a few seconds if you sharpen the focus. One thing to try is replacing the three capacitors that Ben did not replace. See the monitor repair document.

Fall 2021 updates:

• Raspberry Pi has been setup with Retropie OS, Emulation Station GUI, Petrock Control Block software.
• Purchased HDMI-to-VGA converter and joysticks thanks to dorm long-term funds!
• Opened for use in the lounge!!!!!
• Created a custom installation of Advance Mame to accommodate analog joystick input!

Fall Break 2019 update:

• After cleaning, recapping, resoldering, and figuring out how frequencies work, THE MONITOR RIDES AGAIN!
• Here is some [custom documentation] on how to maintain & troubleshoot FNORD's monitor.
• We have also collected an Raspberry Pi with a shield for joysticks and buttons as well as a CS graveyard PC.

Thanksgiving Break 2019 update: After 2 days of fearsome learning and debugging, the Raspberry Pi shows rudimentary functionality! I.E. it has successfully emulated Asteroids (via Advance MAME) and received joystick input (via the Petrock [Control Block]) to control the game.

Specs

Approximate specs (as of 2009):

• Pentium 4, Intel graphics, and an unknown quantity of RAM (probably not enough)
• [I-Pac keyboard encoder], hooked up to two joysticks and 15 buttons
• Wells-Gardner K3100 19-inch arcade monitor
• Generic soundcard
• Generic NIC
• Generic 2.1 speakers
• DVD drive (why? I don't know)

Current Specs (as of 2022-present):

• Wells-Gardner K3100 19-inch arcade monitor [here is a manual]
• Raspberry Pi (2b)
• Petrock Control Block + joysticks / buttons
• Custom control panel, fruit of the machine shop!
• Generic 2.1 speakers
• Generic USB keyboard
• Optional analog joystick plus analog-to-USB converter
  (Joystick was customized in Makerspace to have an autofire feature!)

Trivia

FNORD is actually not the first the arcade machine to have graced the halls of East. Scrapbook photos show evidence of an Atari Gravitar and Centipede!