Meet Ben Heck's Multi-Disc Xbox 360 Mod

Earnest Cavalli

New member
Jun 19, 2008
5,352
0
0
Meet Ben Heck's Multi-Disc Xbox 360 Mod


In the latest episode of Ben Heckendorn's eponymous web show, the Internet's favorite console hacker repurposes a multi-disc changer designed for music CDs into an automatic game changing carousel for the Xbox 360.

The neat bit about Heck's show is not the implicit promotion of sloth however. The nearly 19-minute clip actually features Heck walking through the steps he took to cobble the device together, from dismantling Microsoft's console to installing the foreign hardware.

Most impressive to me is how Heckendorn explains the inner workings of the machines he's dismantling. Prior to watching the clip I had no idea how a multi-disc changer functions, but now I realize that the technology is both relatively simple, and a rather elegant piece of engineering.

While I'm sure this mod voids warranties left and right, the end result is a testament both to Heck's inventive engineering prowess, and the indelible hacker spirit the man is known for. Speaking as a person who avoids soldering irons for fear of burning down half of Portland, I wouldn't even know where to begin a project like this, but in Heck's capable hands, the entire thing seems almost pedestrian in its simplicity.

We here at the Escapist do not endorse the idea that people should attempt surgical dissection of their gaming consoles. Ben Heckendorn is some kind of wizard, and attempting to replicate his work may result in personal injury, broken consoles and a deeply rooted sense of inadequacy.

You have been warned.

Permalink
 

Giest4life

The Saucepan Man
Feb 13, 2010
1,554
0
0
He did a lot of hard work to become that lazy. I'm sure someone will pay big money to lay their hands on this awesome piece of engineering.
 

Charmi the ninja

New member
May 28, 2011
72
0
0
Holy Avo!!
He just connected a Sony and Microsoft! STAND THE FCK BACK!!

Impressive work, but it would be easier to just get off your potato and change the disc.
 

TornadoFive

New member
Mar 9, 2011
340
0
0
I gotta say, the first thing that came to mind when I watched this was,

"See Geohot? THIS is how you hack a console!"
 

rembrandtqeinstein

New member
Sep 4, 2009
2,173
0
0
If only MS let you use any damn HD instead of their tiny 300% marked up crapulance and also let you fully load a game to the HD instead of requiring a disk none of this would be necessary.
 

vrbtny

Elite Member
Sep 16, 2009
1,959
0
41
TornadoFive said:
I gotta say, the first thing that came to mind when I watched this was,

"See Geohot? THIS is how you hack a console!"
Nope. This is "Hardware modding," which is legal(Well this particular case is) what Geohot was doing was "Software modding." There is a big difference, and I'm sure somewhere on the interwebz you could find a 500 page thread about 3 nerds arguing the difference....
 

samsonguy920

New member
Mar 24, 2009
2,921
0
0
Who knew something that is so much work, can look so much fun. And informative. I never had the chance to see how a carousel CD changer worked until now.
I have to say though, the one disappointment was him not incorporating a wireless remote.
BlackSuit said:
Now do a gun that shoots cds!! :p

This guy is awesome.
He basically did. If and when that changer fails, Ben is going to have some discs buried in his wall. (Hopefully just his wall)
There's been a couple times when I hit eject on a tray player and the disc came out still spinning. I figure if it was spinning a wee bit faster, it would have left the tray and hit something/someone.
So his comment on scary is an understatement.
vrbtny said:
TornadoFive said:
I gotta say, the first thing that came to mind when I watched this was,

"See Geohot? THIS is how you hack a console!"
Nope. This is "Hardware modding," which is legal(Well this particular case is) what Geohot was doing was "Software modding." There is a big difference, and I'm sure somewhere on the interwebz you could find a 500 page thread about 3 nerds arguing the difference....
And it would come out sounding either as a Glenn Beck, Jon Stewart, and Keith Olbermann debate, or the Three Stooges. It would be entertaining for a while at least.
And yes, warranties were voided(Although I think the Sony player's expired a wee bit back), but Ben has no worries about either Sony or Microsoft come aknockin on his door.
(Not to mention kudos for his sponsor. I was sold when "affordable CAD program" was mentioned. CAD programs are EXPENSIVE!)
Charmi the ninja said:
Holy Avo!!
He just connected a Sony and Microsoft! STAND THE FCK BACK!!
I'm not worried, he didn't have anything Nintendo in that mix, so he avoided the unholy trinity spell.
Impressive work, but it would be easier to just get off your potato and change the disc.
True, but not as fun as getting off your potato and making something more out of what you have. Never ignore your creative voice.
 

Catchy Slogan

New member
Jun 17, 2009
1,931
0
0
That is the single most awesome thing I have ever seen.

Also, after reading some of the comments, I'll just leave this here:

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.299681-This-is-why-hackers-dont-have-a-case?page=1

The difference between Hardware and Software.
 

twaddle

New member
Nov 17, 2009
1,327
0
0
note to self: Go find broken xbox and and ps3 and wii to create an unholy union.
Second note to self: learn how to mod hardware of a console first...
 

DethKid

New member
Feb 16, 2011
105
0
0
the problem is...how does he know which game he has selected in the carousel?

unless he has memorized where each game is in relation to all the others.

Awesome Mod. I can imagine it would be annoying to actually use though.

maybe if he hooked it up to a jukebox or something where you can see the disc when it comes up....
 

Revolutionary

Pub Club Am Broken
May 30, 2009
1,833
0
41
Wow, I so want one of those, Imagine how much time you could save when your in one of those phases where your just switching between a few good games.
 

Asehujiko

New member
Feb 25, 2008
2,119
0
0
TornadoFive said:
I gotta say, the first thing that came to mind when I watched this was,

"See Geohot? THIS is how you hack a console!"
Good thing then that Geohot exclusively hacks phones, except for that one time he reblogged a release from fail0verflow and got sued because shareholders were out for blood but had absolutely no idea who did what and he was 1 an american and 2 not rich enough for lawyers.
 

Scrythe

Premium Gasoline
Jun 23, 2009
2,367
0
0
Can we just stop at this moment and declare Ben Heck a god?

Earnest Cavalli said:
Ben Heckendorn is some kind of wizard...
A wizard is fine too...

BlackSuit said:
Now do a gun that shoots cds!! :p

This guy is awesome.
Oh, like in Revolution X [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolution_X#Gameplay]? I could get behind that.