Playing on the Go

You’re probably weirded out that a mobile gaming blog would be covering such an obscure topic. Well, at one point I believed that I could activate Traffic Preemption circuits simply by using the IR on my PSP. Sad but true. That thinking, however, wasn’t far from a real possibility. IR can be a medium of communication to trigger Traffic Preemption. It just seems absurd that a PSP could have such capabilities.

The Facts

• Traffic Preemption systems are activated by a 10-14hz flashing light
• Once the Preemption system is activated, it stops traffic in other directions safely and turns the user’s lights green
• Newer lights use a Encryption System so homebrewers can’t active Preemption
• This is illegal in most states and i do not condone its usage. I only know information

What is a hz?
1hz=60flashes per minute. Therefore, 1hz=1 flash per second. Theoretically, if you were to possess a strobe light, able to flash 10 times a second and bright enough to be detected, then the light should turn green.

Why 10-14hz?
The faster the flash, the higher the priority, the faster the light turns green. Police and EMS use different frequencies because they have different priorities.

Wouldn’t the encryption kinda kill the fun?
Yes it would. But, out of the hundreds of thousands of Traffic Signals in this country, only a very small hand-full use the encryption. Since the encryption is expensive, it’s doubtful that you’ll run into more than 1 in your preemption fantasies.

How can I get me one of those?
2 choices, either you
Buy One OR
Make One

Drawbacks of buying
Costs $300 dollars for a very simple rig.

In fact, behind the housing, This is all it is

Drawbacks of Building
Can you read schematics? I’m sort of in the dark about those things. The I-hacked page on how to build one is the closest thing you can get to building a pretty good one but it’s very difficult to follow. If you understand the bizarre nomenclature of electronics then be my guest, but i’d prefer something much more simple.

Vital Components
In the end, all you need is,
1) A power source
2) A controller device that can open and close a circuit 10-14 times in one second
3) An LED Array. The more LEDs the better!

Please Help ME!!
If you know of a controller device, something commonly found, please be so kind as to leave a comment I would greatly appreciate it!

I’d like to start a regular feature here that will spotlight other podcasts focused on gaming that you can listen to as you mull over whether or not you’d be a regular listener of one here. There are actually quite a few of them out there, many of which take a in depth look at the news in a way not usual to the quick and annoyingly witty way of us bloggers. As this site is titled “Playing on the Go”, why not listen about gaming while you are on the go?

The first that I’d like to draw your attention to is called Press Start from alt.NPR. It’s a show that only a handful of National Public Radio affiliates have bothered to pick up across the nation, but it’s one of the key shows of the alt.NPR initiative that gives listeners access to alternative NPR programming via podcasts. The page for the show describes it as the following..

Press Start is a podcast about the world of video games–and the culture that surrounds them. Hosts Robert Holt, Ralph Cooper, and Kyle Orland discuss the art and craft of video games: what’s new and what games they’ve been playing.

Having listened to an episode last night, I was mighty impressed. The show does not in any way do a quick run down of popular stories from the week. Instead, they take one issue and discuss it throughly amongst themselves. For instance, the most recent episode takes a look at the issue of whether or not retail sales in the industry is dead or not. Which on the surface may not seem like much of an interesting subject, but the hosts take it make it very intriguing. Do yourself a favor and take a listen to the show. It’s likely to change the way you think about gaming news.

podcast, NPR