This button-presser is handy when you need to press the same button lots of times, and really fast. The mechanism is either a bumpy wheel which presses a spring-loaded presser, or a piston/crankshaft setup with multiplier gear. One full turn of the crank equals 10 (or however many) button-presses.
Useful when you need to change the channel real fast, but don't have the remote.-- galukalock, Jul 29 2003 Oh yeah! Now I can beat those 10 year old kids at Konami's Track and Field!-- DeathNinja, Jul 29 2003 I find that if I have the remote, I can hold down the button and wave my hand in front of the remote really fast. Same effect.
You _do_ know about the key repeat function in those new-fangled computers, don't you? :)-- Cedar Park, Jul 29 2003 Heh. Yes, I do. This is for other devices, I'm afraid. Especially the ones whose repeat is slow or nonexistant.
Whipper-snapper. (No offense intended.)-- galukalock, Jul 29 2003 [Cedar] has a good idea. rather than using a mechanical device, use an induction-based switch that can be clamped around the cord of, say, a playstation controller. Hold down the button that you want to press and tell the switch to open and close at a rate of about 10-20Hz. Should be fast enough to beat even the most sugar-accelerated 10-year-old.-- Macwarrior, Nov 20 2003 They used to make "turbo" controllers for Nintendo and Sega. You just flipped a switch to activate the turbo, then when you held down the button, it was like you were pushing it a million times a minute, give or take...-- luecke, Nov 20 2003 An electromechanical oscillator that moves back and forth rapidly in a reciprocating fashion... sounds a lot like a doorbell circuit, among other things.-- TerranFury, Feb 26 2004 random, halfbakery