The original XBOX is a great platform for hacking. In fact, there is a large underground community of Xbox hackers on the Internet. Using the Xecuter3 mod chip and some heavy rewiring I showcase an Xbox that is modified for a 12volt system for car use. No 120volt inversion is used, the original power supply is replaced with a direct 12v DC-DC converter. A new 80GB laptop hard drive provides lots of space for mp3s and game play with much less power consumption. The modified Xbox runs Xbox Media Center, an open-source media player for music, videos and pictures that displays on the car's roof mounted LCD display.

In this first chapter we learn the very basics of a CPU's core logic. We include basic Function Unit logic such as logical operators and math functions. To keep our first chapter simple, branching is not yet implemented so our programs are strictly linear and cannot include loop constructs. Also, the program code is included directly in the CPU source file.

My CNC Mill is finally completed after about 9 months of obsessive effort. I have already milled a few parts for a second CNC machine, a plastic doggy bone and a few PCBs have been drilled and routed. The plastic doggy bone was only 1 x 1/3 inches but the detail was fantastic!

The accuracy exceeds the measurability of my digital caliper (1/2mil resolution) so I am quite impressed with the results! So far, I am limiting my materials to plastic, machinable wax and Butterboard(tm) but will cut some aluminum shortly.

I have included some details on the construction with a few pictures.