Five Fabulous Retro Device Hacks

Here at Hack Things we feel a certain nostalgia for old-school vintage goods — many of which seem to be getting replaced by iOS apps on a daily basis. It’s refreshing to see projects that bring new life to vintage goods. Here are five fabulous retro devices hacks that we admire.

1) USB Typewriter

For around $49, the USB Typewriter DIY Soldering Kit uses an Arduino to rewire vintage typewriters to turn them into fully digital keyboard input devices.

2) Gameboy MIDI Rewire

A hacker named “hoehoe” has repurposed a Nintendo Game Boy as the output device for a MIDI controller known as MAX/MSP.

3) Vintage Wifi Radio (Instructables)

Instructables has a project guide for turning a vintage radio into an internet-connected Wifi radio using an off-the-shelf wifi radio and some wiring.

4) Raspberry Pi Nixie Clock

Project explains how to create a beautiful clock out of Nixie Tubes and a Raspberry Pi.

5) Analog VU meter and Clock (Arduino Powered)

This project explains how to repurpose old analog VU meters into digitally-controlled ones.