NES Zapper Wireless Phone
Nick Bild transformed Nintendo’s iconic Zapper, the orange plastic gun from Duck Hunt, into a functional telephone that makes and receives calls using a laser beam. What was once a nostalgic 8-bit gaming relic that can still easily be picked up today from places like eBay, is now a wildly inventive communication device. And not just a gimmicky prop—this thing actually makes and takes calls, using a freakin’ laser beam to do it.



Driven by curiosity about the Nintendo Zapper’s light gun mechanics, which detect specific light patterns on a CRT screen when triggered, Nick Bild transformed the nostalgic controller into a functional telephone in a wild blend of retro charm and mad-scientist innovation. When you fire at those pesky ducks, the game flashes a pattern of pixels for a split second, and the Zapper’s sensor picks it up to determine if your aim was true. It’s a clever system, but it’s tied to outdated CRT technology, rendering the Zapper useless on modern TVs. Bild saw potential beyond gaming. By bypassing the Zapper’s anti-cheat mechanism—originally designed to prevent players from pointing at a light bulb to score easy hits—he turned the gun’s light sensor into something entirely new: an analog receiver for audio signals.

LEGO Super Mario Nintendo Entertainment System 71374 Gameplay Building Set, Model Kits for Adults to...
  • Build an interactive, 1980s-style TV set displaying the classic Super Mario Bros. game & activate it with LEGO Mario figure (not included)
  • Authentic details of the NES console are recreated in LEGO style, including a controller and an opening slot for the buildable Game Pak
  • The TV has a handle-operated scrolling screen, Mario figure reacts to the on-screen enemies, obstacles and power-ups when placed on the top

NES Zapper Wireless Phone
Here’s where things get delightfully weird. Bild’s setup hinges on a laser-based communication system. The phone’s base station, a separate device, modulates audio (like your voice) onto a laser beam. This beam shoots across the room to the Zapper, where its light sensor, now freed from its CRT-only constraints, picks up the laser’s fluctuations.

NES Zapper Wireless Phone
Those fluctuations are decoded back into audio, allowing the Zapper to “hear” the incoming call. To transmit your voice, Bild added a microphone to the Zapper, which sends audio back to the base station via a wireless RF link. It’s a hybrid of old-school gaming tech and sci-fi ingenuity, like something out of a Back to the Future prop shop.
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