Benjamin J. Heckendorn (born October 19, 1975) is an American video game console modder and computer engineer.

He has two podcasts, one which he runs with the help of a friend, Jason Jones,[1] and the other on Warpath.TV with George Force, Mike Zucker, and Anthony Carboni.

[2] Most of Heckendorn's mods are done by taking apart old video game consoles such as the Atari 2600 and Nintendo Entertainment System.

The newly configured circuit board is enclosed within a custom case (done by a CNC machine) and any peripherals are assembled by Heckendorn.

[3] Heckendorn had an interest in electronic and video games as a child, as a young man in film-making and in later life while working as a graphic artist.

He made a GeoCities site covering his project to make a portable Atari 2600, which led to an appearance in 2004 on The Screen Savers, a book deal, requests for custom electronics creations, and YouTube videos in 2010.

[citation needed] One of his most notable Xbox 360 projects a mod to make the form factor more like that of a portable laptop computer.

Heckendorn built most of the Bill Paxton pinball machine from scratch, CNC-ing the cabinet himself and using a piece of channel for the lockdown bar.

Overall, the theme focused on films and television series in which Bill Paxton appeared, including True Lies, U-571, Titanic, Apollo 13, Aliens, and Big Love.

[9] A typical episode has Ben creating a new product or hacking existing devices, such as an Xbox, for different uses, sometimes based on viewers' suggestions.

[10][11][12] As the host of element14's The Ben Heck Show, Heckendorn has made celebrity appearances as an attendee or judge at numerous industry events and competitions, including Maker Faire Detroit and Engadget Expand.