Crusader helmet

[hjongste]

Maybe not an entirely new idea, but I had for a long time a plan in my head to build a PC in a cool medieval helmet. Once I managed to find a place where I could find reasonably priced helmets I was off! Here is the helmet.

http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/7081/img3235j.jpg

Although it looks fairly large, it can't hold much because of the round shape.

Micro-ATX wouldn't fit and I had to go to ITX form factor. I choose an affordable Gigabyte board with an Atom 330 processor pre-installed. It is only 17x17 cm's. Plus 2 Gigs of DDR2 should make it useful for most tasks.

[hjongste]

Here is the the bottom board on which the helmet will rest. The wooden plank with the wooden blocks which will be covered with dark blue coloured velvet. Underneath I put some feet from an old case. Not briljant but you can't see them anyway. Main purpose is that if you move the case you don't scratch the surface underneath.

http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/2190/img3227o.jpg

http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/3331/img3228z.jpg

Next thing that has to go in is the PSU. An ATX PSU would take up too much space so I took a micro-ATX PSU. Later on I discovered there are also ridiculously small ITX powersupplies but I am not sure about the wattage. Here you can see the size between a regular ATX and the micro-ATX. The PSU is fitted in a make-shift brace to keep it in place.

http://img76.imageshack.us/img76/3572/img3232j.jpg

The motherboard has to stand upright, upsidedown so all the connections for monitor, keyboard etc are at the back and bottom.

http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/5636/bordd.jpg

The eye slits will hold the power LED and the HDD LED. However with the HDD LED it would seems that the knight is winking all the time . Not sure if I'll keep it that way. For the LED's to be easily adjustable I constructed “spectacles” to hold them. Maybe not very elegant but it does the job. Once the nosebridge is glued tight I can easily bend the LED's in the right place.

http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/9074/img3230.jpg

I still need to fit the USB ports. The steel of the helmet is very hard I noticed.

I was concerned about the heat build up. Although the Mobo consumes only 17 watts!, the HDD and the PSU are getting fairly warm too. Everything is in a tiny enclosed space. Fitting a fan was not straightforward. The best place is right at the top which is also fairly flat. Drilling holes in a reasonable pattern is not easy. I should have made a mold first. Heat build up is now under control. The fan blows the hot air that rises to the top of the helmet out and sucks in coller air from the bottom. However it has added a few decibels to the whole thing.
Here is the (almost) end result.

http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/471/img3245n.jpg

[slaveofconvention]

I'd suggest wiring a resistor into the 12v wire on the fan - that machine will generate so little heat, the fan just barely spinning will be more than enough to keep it well under control - it's a simple enough soldering job - something you're obviously capable of based on the LED work - and it'll go utterly silent - well THAT fan will be.... other than that, wow - so original and it looks great.

As for the "winking" problem - why not double up the LEDs so there is a power and a HD activity in each eye? Then you'd have a matching pair, and the eyes would seem to glow even brighter for HD activity....

[hjongste]

Connecting 2 leds in parallel will double the current that the Mobo needs to supply. I know the current is still small, but I was hesitant with the new mobo to immediately hook up double leds. Great idea though and indeed easy to implement. So now I need to construct double spectacles.

[msmrx57]

:up: Very nice! +rep What slave said would be a good solution for the eyes.

[Mach]

This is a new one for me. I love it +rep

The Picopsu's can supply 100 watts of power (more than enough) and reduce the heat inside of your case. They do require an external ACDC brick tho.

[slaveofconvention]

Connecting 2 leds in parallel will double the current that the Mobo needs to supply. I know the current is still small, but I was hesitant with the new mobo to immediately hook up double leds. Great idea though and indeed easy to implement. So now I need to construct double spectacles.

Try series first? I know it'd dim the light a lot, but it may well take away the really bright glare which, trust me, can get annoying after a while, and when they both came on - well you get the picture....

[farlo]

this thing is awesome.

I think it would be nice to add a film between the eyeholes and the LEDs, something along the lines of a translucent film with maybe a frosted look, just to tame the LED brightness.

[hjongste]

Slave, the idea of doubling up the leds is great and I have made the adjustment. I tried wiring them in series first. The glow was greatly reduced and in fact when connected to the HDD activity pins it didn't work at all??? Strange, as I would assume the voltage on the HDD activity and the power indicator pins are the same. So I will work with farlo's suggestion to dim the bright glare. I tried some simple scotch cellotape which in single and double thickness does the trick. Here is a picture of the new "spectacles" with the 4 leds. I used a lot of glue to insulate the soldered joints and to fix their position. Maybe not the most elegant way, but maybe on a next version a nice pcb with the leds soldered onto it.

http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/6783/img3464v.jpg

Btw here is the top of the helmet which has the fanholes drilled.

http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/8564/img3465.jpg

Thanks for your help guys and the great ideas.

[OvRiDe]

I love it!! This is one of the coolest found object mods I have seen in a while.

[hjongste]

The frosted eyeslit covering does the trick. Both eyes light up as power comes on. With HDD activity there is additional light that makes it look as if the knight is examining you even more intensely! Meanwhile it continues to gaze at you while you are at your PC. Still need to fix USB slots on the side and slave's suggestion to tune down the top fan. I might do it by letting it run on 7 V i.s.o. 12V. Don't know if that'll mess up the rpm measuring that speedfan does for me. Fan goes into a three pin connection onto the Mobo.

http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/8318/img3477.jpg

[OvRiDe]

No need to change the voltage on the fan if you are using Speedfan. Speed fan has the ability to change the RPM of the fan based on temperature. So when the computer is idle and the temps are lower you can have it slow the fans down to be quiet. If the temps get higher it will speed up the fans and give you that cooling boost when you need it.

The frosted eye slits really came out great! Looking fantastic!

[farlo]

yeah, the eyes look excellent now.

i wanna make one of these now.

[DonT-FeaR]

very cool :P

[p0Pe]

epic:D

[slaveofconvention]

I might do it by letting it run on 7 V i.s.o. 12V. Don't know if that'll mess up the rpm measuring that speedfan does for me. Fan goes into a three pin connection onto the Mobo.


As long as you put the resistor in the 12v live line, the red cable on most fans, it shouldn't affect the speedfan readings as they're from the unaffected yellow speed monitoring cable - leave the black and yellow cables stock and just put an appropriate resistor inline on the red.

My PSU has a fan connector on it, with only the yellow wire connected purely for monitoring of the PSU fan speed - the fan is powered direct from the PSU - you can mess around with all kinds of options - just leave the yellow cable stock and your readings should remain accurate (well as accurate as the fan sensor)

[hjongste]

I guess my 12 repuation ponts don't get me in the Gallery do they? With great humility I ask what would I need to submit to get into your gallery? I am awed at the creativity and skills of all those mods shown there, so maybe mine just doesn't qualify...

[slaveofconvention]

From the FAQ I just read, gallery opens up once you reach 20 rep - which really isn't that hard to get to - I can't add to your rep right now (apparently I already did and have to spread more rep elsewhere before I can rep you again) which is a shame because this mod, simple as it may be by some standards, is one of my favourites of the year. A lot of people don't use the rep system fully so it might take a little while but there's no doubt you'll get there. You don't just get rep when you post a mod - anyone can rep you at any time so hang around the other forums, join in the discussions, offer advice or ideas and you'll move up pretty quickly. I just got a surprise and a half when I went up by 50-odd points in what seemed to be a few days - most of those points came from outside my worklog(s) so it isn't all about your mods - it's about you..

More than 10 posts also helps you out - again, something you'll get to easily by using the other forums here. It's a system designed to prevent someone from just turning up, saying "Look at me look at me" then not joining in with the community - and it works :)

Please stick with it and don't give up - you'll tear past 20 in no time...

[Bopher]

I'm liking the look of this one. Frosting the plexi really makes them stand out now. I was a little concerned about heat when you started but it sounds like you have that all figured out.

[farlo]

ehh i forgot to rep you the other day for this awesome idea, so ive added what i can.

[hjongste]

Check out my youtube vid of the mod:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSVYNyxEMfs

RSVYNyxEMfs

[msmrx57]

Nice vid. Really like the eyes.

[Drum Thumper]

I love it. Ovride asked me if I had seen this, and I told him I had not. Makes me wonder how it would look with red eyes--a Monty Pythonesque Terminator, perhaps? Would it demand a shrubbery?

Very cool work, have a bit o rep! And another green bar to boot! Ni!

[slaveofconvention]

Oh man, there's an idea - that would look totally evil with red eyes!!!

[hjongste]

Cool, I have 40 reputation points now and 2 green bars! I had considered red eyes, but thought it would remind me too much of battlestar galactica. What was the name of the evil dudes with the red roaming light in their helmets (Zylons or something). Also the blue leds are brighter and I thought might be better visible in daylight. Anyway, the red leds are easily installed. I first need a dremel to do the USB ports properly.

[slaveofconvention]

Told ya it wouldn't take long to get the rep points up!! And it's Cylons - but you were pretty close.... You could even put the Red and blue leds in at the same time and use a DPDT switch to choose which ones to light up - really simple bit of wiring and based on what we've seen already - definitely something you could do....

As for the usb ports - what about a drill and needle file - might take a little longer, but you'll probably end up with a cleaner finish and you won't have to buy the dremel immediately..

[Raceface]

I like the Skeleton behind the TFT ;)

Nice Work hjongste

[hjongste]

Well spotted Raceface. Indeed there is an Antec skeleton visible in the background. I thought of using it as a testbench, but no way. The design is not thought out well enough for that. The PSU is at the bottom but twisted sideways, so the cables are difficult to reach. Cables have to be wound through holes and can barely reach the mobo. But it looks great but not to change configs repeatedly. I have my HSPC testbench for that http://www.highspeedpc.com/

[megamodman]

wow this is an awsome idea! very creative