element14 and Ben Heck Salute Troops Overseas With a Military-Grade Portable Sony PlayStation3 Mod in the Latest Episode of 'The Ben Heck Show'

CHICAGO, Dec. 20, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- element14, a collaborative social community and electronics store for design engineers and electronics enthusiasts, and modding guru Benjamin J. Heckendorn, a.k.a. Ben Heck, salute the troops with a military-grade portable gaming system designed for a married couple working with the military overseas in the "The Ben Heck Show" episode airing today.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20101220/CG19893)

Ben reports to duty in true fashion after receiving a personal request from civilian unmanned aerial vehicle pilots in Afghanistan, Erica and Kris Kokkeby, by building an ultimate portable gaming system with a Sony PlayStation®3 (PS3™) housed inside an iM2600 Pelican™ Storm Case built to withstand extreme gaming situations.  The Kokkebys look to gaming to pass the time and boost morale in-between maneuvers.  However, due to the nature of their jobs, traveling and varying environmental conditions can make for gaming situations that take a toll on typical system components.

"It was both fun and rewarding to work on the portable gaming mod featured in the latest episode," said Ben Heck. "The Kokkebys, as well as our military servicemen and women, sacrifice so much for our country.  The least I could do was build a portable video game console that allows them to enjoy gaming with their avid-gamer friends serving in the military, no matter where they are in the world."

Ben wraps up the episode by unveiling the winner of the highly-anticipated signature Microsoft® Xbox 360 that he built during the first six episodes of the show. Andrew from Illinois was among the many fans who registered online at element14 for the chance to win the "big build," and plans to play the Xbox 360 with his family and friends this holiday season.

"We were delighted to help Ben bring this project to fruition for a very deserving couple," said Alisha Mowbray, senior vice president of marketing, element14. "This latest project not only highlights the range of Ben's modding handiwork, but how modding can play a significant role in improving and enhancing how we use technology and electronic devices in our daily lives."

About "The Ben Heck Show"

"The Ben Heck Show" is a bi-weekly online television series dedicated to the science, art and mindset of system and hardware modders with a global audience of design engineers, students and electronic enthusiasts (e.g., tech geeks). Each episode spotlights Ben's mods of popular electronic devices while educating viewers on the underlying technology powering each of Ben's featured projects, and offering his unique insight regarding hardware modification techniques, tools and design tips.  Sponsored exclusively by element14 and produced by leading Internet TV network Revision3, the show continues to gain support from loyal fans with nearly 600,000 views since its debut in September.

About element14

element14 is the first collaborative community, research portal and store  for design engineers and enthusiasts.  The website provides product data, design tools, technology information and top brand components to seamlessly facilitate the design process; users can consult industry experts and collaborate with peers around the globe. element14 is sponsored by Premier Farnell plc (LSE: pfl), a leader in multi-channel distribution and specialty services for electronic design engineers, trading throughout the Americas (Newark), Europe (Farnell) and Asia Pacific (element14). The company has group sales of 795.3m pounds Sterling and over 4,100 employees globally.

SOURCE element14