What do you experts think.....

[Big-Al']

Good Afternoon Guys and Gals,

Im new to the forum so please bare with me,i hope this thread is in the right place :think: I wish you all a very Merry Christmas :santa:

Ive been messing around with modding and such for years now,but only recently have i had the actual stuff i need for a different type of mod.
Ive been toying with the idea of a telepresent R/C vehicle for years now and was always going to use a normal radio controlled transmitter, until recenty. Its now going to be real-time computer controlled :twisted: and that being said i though it would be a good chance to see what sort of funky,possibly futuristic looking,portable computer i could create out of it :twisted:

6 months ago i put my back out and havent been able to work so i have quite abit of time on my hands to play with this. Ive got ideas, and most of the neccessaries to pull this off so hopefully things should start happening in the new year,money permitting.

Below is a list of basics that it may contain:-

Packard Bell IGO 6204 (I'll split this and mount it accoringly,this is presuming i dont find an ITX board going cheap)
Medical Instrument Case (see pic below,had specialist theatre instruments in)
Home made Custom joystick
Break-Out panels inside (so nothing is poking out,no holes in the case,all the norm plus lots of usb's)
Mobile phone,WIFI etc for connectivity

Man i could go on all day but this is becoming a long tread and i dont want to annoy people ;) - Needless to say any thoughs and ideas would be greatly accepted from you pro's.

Pics -
http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/981/pict0001qg1.th.jpg (http://img137.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pict0001qg1.jpg)

http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/4959/pict0002uj5.th.jpg (http://img137.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pict0002uj5.jpg)

http://img162.imageshack.us/img162/7876/pict0003bl7.th.jpg (http://img162.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pict0003bl7.jpg)

http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/4355/pict0005ew8.th.jpg (http://img252.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pict0005ew8.jpg)

None of the laptop will be visable apart from the keyboard and touch pad,but even that is a maybe,could use a nice small backlit one and a small wireless mouse,and obviously the foam case interior will go to - god i love this modding stuff :twisted: (again - sorry for the long thread!)

Regards

Allen

[SgtM]

Welcome aboard to your new addiction! I think the plans sound good. Do you have any sketches on what you want the end product to look like?

BTW, I'll keep an eye on the thread, and if it doesn't get much attention, I'll move it to the ideas section.

[Big-Al']

I appreciate that,thank you,although ive got loads of ideas,new eyes on old work are always good. what software would you recommend for the sketches bud and i'll get some images up.

Does anyone know of any carry/ammo/weapon cases in games that i could model the outer of the case on? or even the inside??

thank you SgtM

[SgtM]

I would recommend google sketchup. It's 3d, and completely free. That's what most of us use. However, there are a few that hang out here that have 3d Studio Max, but it's not free. As far as ammo cans go, there are a few mods on here if you search around, or if you just need some pics, let me know. I have a .50 cal can at home.

[Xpirate]

You can score a mini-itx board with a processor from Newegg.com for about $60. I thought about making a linux machine with a mini-itx instead of using the old junk parts I already have.

[Big-Al']

SgtM - thats funny,i was looking at that just the other day but forgot to download it,will do right now and see if i can put something together. all and any pics would be very much appreciated and im happy for you to have my email address if anyone has any they would like to send.the ammo can sounds good,but do you know if theres anything in any games that could be used for funky ideas,im going to make the laptop 'pop up' using servos,so i can access the dvd,floppy and pcmcia slots,what do you think?

XPIRATE - thank you for the heads up on that,i will check it out.do you know what the capability is of these mobo's and embedded processors,only i will want to run half life and the likes,and flightsim 2004 on it occasionally,do you know if they will run win2k?sorry for all the questions,only itx is quite new to me,im used to the big stuff :-).

Cheers Guys

[Xpirate]

Most ITX boards use a VIA C3 or C7 processor. I have a friend wth a C3 processor and his HP printer will not work with it. The drivers complain about not having an Intel chip. The maximum supported RAM is usually around 1GB. Intel makes a mini-ITX with a Celeron 220 and there are some out there that use lower end AMD chips as well.

My friend is running XP on his C3 with 128 MB of RAM. It is really slow, but it can be done. You probably won't have any trouble running those games on one of those ITX boards with win2k as long as you get enough ram. I'm assuming that you are using an older version of half life. I'm not sure what the system requirements are for it.

If you do get one, I'd recommend getting one with an Intel or AMD processor. Those CX chips have too many compatibility issues with Windows.

[SgtM]

I'll get you some pics and measurements tomorrow or Tuesday. I'm back in for another fun filled night at work. What part of the world are you in Al?

Not sure exactly what you're looking for as far as inspiration from games. Are you just trying to get ideas? Are you looking for something specific? Have a look at danthegeek's Battlefield 2 LAN PC. There's a lot of ammo can mods, and this is one of the best IMO.
http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4142

[Big-Al']

Sorry to hear about the 'W' word buddy lol, im in the UK bud,how about yourself?
the whole ammo can thing is just for ideas on how i can decorate the outside of the case,i just want it to look different rather then just a black case,like maybe some biological hazard or nuclear warning signs with yellow and black lines,ya know. me and you must think alike because i spent last night going through danthegeek's log and it is excllent,very different to what i want to achieve but exellent for ideas!!

[SgtM]

LOL.. I'm in Ohio, USA. Yeah, working the weekend sucks, but it's only every other weekend. Dan's log is fantastic, but I have a better idea of what you're going now, and I like it. Nothing from any games really pops out to me though. I should be able to take some pictures tonight, and I'll post them up. Give me some time, and I'll see if I can't come up with a couple of suggestions for you.

[Big-Al']

just a small update,here is a basic sketch of what im looking to acheive on the inside.maybe some will rotate,not sure yet,there is spce behind the lcd so i can angle it for better visibility.i'll try and tat the sketch up but because im not sure on the outside,it'll only be internel updates for now.

http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/7969/casesketchtc6.jpg
By allenmorriss (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/allenmorriss) at 2007-12-18

[SgtM]

That looks pretty good. I found the ammo can yesterday, but it's kinda hard to get to. I might have to wait until after Christmas before I can get to it.