Sheet Music Computer for my Piano [Archive]

artoodeeto

01-13-2011, 01:17 PM

http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/DSC_0005.jpg

that's an old photo of the piano in question...I thought the "coming soon" on the TV above it was rather appropriate :D

You may have seen my thread in the Idea Zone subforum; if you haven't, here's the plan. I have an ENORMOUS sheet music collection. I've printed about 40,000 pages of music on my faithful little Samsung ML2851ND laser printer, double-sided of course, and then bound them into books (the one on the piano in the photo above is one of my 3 Tchaikovsky books).

I have every piece written for solo piano or keyboard by around 60 different composers ranging from the late 1600's to the late 1900's. And I've got piano pieces by another 50 or 60 composers where I'm still missing much of what they wrote, but I've got at least 1/3 to 1/2 of their output for my instrument. Overall it's about 15GB of pdf files...!!

Ok...so it's a LOT. My current set of books weighs in at 300+ pounds - now only 1 shelf on one of bookcases in the photo above is empty. I don't really want to print any more music because of space and weight when it comes time to move again. And I have enough additional music to fill up probably another half a bookcase.

Enter the computer idea. About 80% of my music, maybe 90%, is free public domain pdf files from imslp.org, my own trips to libraries, etc. The rest is in real published books, and I can either scan it or find much of it online in old editions that are public domain now. I will build a relatively low-end, no frills machine whose purpose in life is to display said pdfs, full-screen, showing 2 side by side pages at a time. I can also use it, via Soundforge, to record myself playing.

The equipage? Glad you asked :D Overall I've only spent about $50 on it! Woo hoo!!

First, nicer but older pre-TV and pre-bookcases shot of the piano:
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/livingroom4.jpg

Pentium 4 system with 1GB PC-2100 RAM, onboard sound and video, and a 275W PSU. According to nevermind, who sold me the MB, RAM and PSU, I'll need to dismantle the PSU because its casing hits a heatsink and tends to short it. the blower on the CPU is pretty large, about 3" tall or so, and I'm thinking of getting a different HS/Fan. I *do* have an idea to do something with the one that's there...more on that if I can make the idea work. I realized I forgot to photograph the hard drive - it's an IDE 80GB Samsung I picked up in a trade with Sxrguy.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-13DSC_0010.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-13DSC_0006.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-13DSC_0007.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-13DSC_0009.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-13DSC_0008.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-13DSC_0011.jpg

I'll be using an extra Logitech wireless keyboard and mouse:
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-13DSC_0015.jpg

Now for what'll make it unique. The major question that may have sprung to mind if you play an instrument is, how in the world will I turn pages?? It's all well and good to practice reaching for the page down key on the keyboard, but there's a high chance of missing it, and what does one do when there's a repeat to a prior page and one needs to use pageup?

Solution! I bought two USB footpedals from an ebay seller in Hong Kong. I'll map one to pagedown and one to pageup. Then I can just tap the footpedal when I need to turn a page. I typically use my right foot on the damper pedal, but there's only a couple pieces I play where I use my left foot on the piano pedals too so most of the time it'll be fine.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-13DSC_0013.jpg

Lastly, I have an extra 21.5" Sceptre screen. It was my fiancee's screen, but she didn't like how it displayed reds....admittedly they are more of a neon orange...but hey, for BW music pages it'll work just fine. Physical dimensions of the displayed pages will be almost exactly 11" tall - smaller than standard published music books but the same size as my homemade ones. In the photo below, I left the base of the screen off. I've been keeping it in its box, and the base needs to be removed to fit it in there. The base is a MAJOR PITA to remove once it's clipped on.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-13DSC_0014.jpg

Next up...I need to come up with a case design. I'm thinking of something shaped like this gorgeous wooden case from nMedia:
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-11WoodenHTPCCasebynMedia.jpg

I lack the woodworking skills and equipment to do something like that, and I don't have $$ or space for that particular case. But I'm thinking I can maybe modify the design to fit my space, and make it out of plywood at least to start...we'll see. any advice in that area is appreciated!!

Ignition

01-13-2011, 06:26 PM

cool;) Love to see where this is going;)

artoodeeto

01-13-2011, 07:05 PM

yeah - it's gonna be pretty low budget as I'm out of a job ATM...but I want to make it as cool as possible. And I have extra bits left over from old projects that I'd like to use. For instance, I have a piece of acrylic that's about 1 square foot that'd make a good window, and some leftover thin foam rubber that'd be good to glue on the underside of the case to prevent it scratching anything.

I've come up with a few design possibilities -

1. Remove the screen from its plastic housing, and do a poor man's imac sort of thing - screen and computer as one unit. Screen would need to be tilted back at about the same angle as a normal music stand. I'd make a frame around the screen that would look like the music stand, but be bigger to accomodate the screen.

2. more or less same as above, but don't integrate the screen into the case.

3. Similar case as the nMedia one, but smaller - the nMedia can fit a full size ATX board, while mine is a mAtX form factor. I probably wouldn't do the metal panel on the front either - no budget for that sort of thing. Depending on how it turns out, and on how big it is, it would either go next to the monitor on piano, or on the floor, or behind the monitor.

One other thought - if anyone on this forum DOES have the woodworking skills to make a case similar to that nMedia one, let me know how much you'd charge to make the parts for me assuming I came up with the design/measurements. It may not be realistic since I'm trying to do this on the cheap, but it's at least worth asking :)

TheMainMan

01-13-2011, 07:32 PM

If you decide to go the second route the VESA mounting holes in the back of the monitor would be a way of integrating the case and monitor together quite cleanly. I know they make mini-pc cases that mount that way but it should be pretty easy to make your own.
An example would be this one from VIA (http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/09/vias-vm7700-bolt-on-vesa-pc-the-modern-prometheus/). Just my two cents.

artoodeeto

01-13-2011, 08:00 PM

Ya, I'd thought of doing something like that. (TBH, I wish I had the cash for one of those VIA's - I'd much rather do something like that). Mainly the reason I began ruling it out is that if I integrate, then I want to be able to still put normal piano books up, which means needing a front framing that can double as a music stand. If it's just the monitor there with the PC bolted on the back, that may not work out as well. I'm keeping it in mind though :)

artoodeeto

01-15-2011, 04:39 PM

I've spent the morning fiddling with different arrangements in sketchup - I spent next to no time modeling as that wasn't important.

It took a few hours of moving things around, but I think I got it to the most compact arrangement possible. It's only about 8.5" deep, even including the screen. The case by itself at the base is only 6.5" deep, and at the top it's about 3.5" deep. Height is 9 5/8" and width is 13.75". The screen is also angled back like a music stand, although it'll be standing a little straighter than the music stand currently on my piano (I didn't want to make the base that much deeper).

The HD will look a little funny hanging from the top but hey, it doesn't fit well anywhere else.

Oddly enough, I tried a normal ATX PSU in the model instead of the weird one from the old HP system, and the normal ATX PSU was even harder to accomodate without making the case bigger.
I also plan on hinging the wall the monitor is mounted on so I can open up the case easily to get at the computer, and also easily get at the screws that will hold the standless monitor on the case.

The power cord will stick out the right side as will the monitor power cord; I'm hoping to fully contain the VGA cable in the case. I'll have holes drilled in the right side or back of the case so I can run USB cables into it.

Lastly, on the left there's a 120mm fan, and on the right 2 80mm fans. These fall into the "using up old otherwise useless stuff" category :)

Incidentally, while the screen's about 3" thick in the middle it's only about 1.5" or so thick at the edges; I just didn't feel like making a more accurate model of it when it served no purpose.

http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-15PianoComputermockupsansscreen.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-15PianoComputermockuprearviewwithscreen.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-15PianoComputermockupscreenopened.jpg

nevermind1534

01-15-2011, 04:46 PM

You can try running the power supply fully assembled first. If it's one of the bad older revision ones, the computer will likely power off within a few minutes. If it's the newer revision with plastic insulating the heatsink with current in it from the casing, it will be fine. It will run cooler, though, with some of the casing pulled off and fans blowing onto it.

artoodeeto

01-15-2011, 04:53 PM

Yeah I've already pulled off the top of the PSU case (it'll be staying off), and won't be using the fan it came with. It does appear that it was one of the newer ones, as there are several plastic sheets in there (including one stuck on the inside of the removeable top).
I'm wondering too how much of the PSU problem was lack of airflow - it's a terrible design, and the one I've got is super dusty. Cleaning is now added to today's agenda :)

x88x

01-15-2011, 07:29 PM

I lack the woodworking skills and equipment to do something like that

Bah! That's defeatist talk! :D

Though, I will admit, doing woodwork properly in an apartment is difficult. If you decide not to try it yourself and can't find anyone else closer, I'd be willing to fab that for a reasonable fee. I might even be able to source the wood for free...just break down some of the drawerless dressers in my shed and hit them with a sander. :D

artoodeeto

01-15-2011, 10:37 PM

I may take you up on that - I just fabbed the parts myself today, but they're not going to look uber fantastic. On the other hand, it'll probably be ok since the case will hidden behind the screen.

I should probably rephrase what I said before about not having woodworking skills - it's more lack of tools I think. I really only have a jigsaw and power sander. No fence or straightedge, which is the biggest problem. Still, the parts I made today are fitting pretty well so we'll see how it turns out...

x88x

01-15-2011, 10:54 PM

No fence or straightedge, which is the biggest problem.

A 2x4 and a couple C-clamps work quite well for that. ;) ..just make sure you get a straight 2x4...

msmrx57

01-16-2011, 02:05 AM

A 2x4 and a couple C-clamps work quite well for that. ;) ..just make sure you get a straight 2x4...
A piece of metal angle works as well. Aluminum is lighter but also bends easier the steel.

x88x

01-16-2011, 02:16 AM

Yup, I just tend to gravitate toward wood more than not. ...that didn't quite sound right... Also, if you don't have either, a 2x4x8 at ~$2 is a lot cheaper than a length of angle iron. :whistler:

msmrx57

01-16-2011, 02:40 AM

Lumber is a lot less likely to be straight or stay straight as it is subject to swellling and shrinking based on temp and humidity.

artoodeeto

01-16-2011, 02:54 AM

Sigquoted :D

and ya, finding a straight 2x4 is the issue. Also storing one LOL...not a ton of space here unfortunately. Still, my cuts today with the jigsaw were straight enough that it worked. The only time I've run in to serious issues was years ago when I'd started building a model of Orthanc to be a dual computer case. I'd made the upper and lower sections detachable for ease of moving it (it was over 8 feet tall and....heavy...) but my cuts were crooked enough that I ended up scrapping it when it came time to add all the detail on the outside. It's a mod I'll revisit at some point; I have very different ideas on how to approach it to make it better, not to mention lighter weight.

Anyway. I had a productive day today! Got the basic box put together, although I may have to remove a side panel to cut some more holes that I didn't think to do before putting it on. Specifically, an access hole for the power plug, and a hole in the back for the USB footpedal and keyboard cables. Also need to mount the power switch somewhere.

And.... :facepalm: Score one for my fiancee, who usually councils me against getting rid of things, even if I think I'm never gonna use it again and it's just taking up space. I’d planned on going to Fry’s tomorrow as I need more m/b standoff screws, not just for this case but for the one I’m going to build for my fiancée. But I discovered today I also need a (short) VGA cable and an IDE cable. I thought I'd kept one of each, but apparently I didn't. Argh.

Enough chat. Pics now! I air-compressored out the PSU and CPU heatsink. The heatsink looks a little better than before, the CPU fan looks no different, and the PSU looks a LOT better.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-15DSC_0001.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-15DSC_0002.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-15DSC_0020.jpg

http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-15DSC_0005.jpg http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-15DSC_00021.jpg

God look at that thick dust. Yuck! Unfortunately without completely dismantling it, I can’t get it off the blades. And I got the fan really spinning fast with the air compressor, and no dust came out…so I’m not going to worry about it.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-15DSC_0007.jpg

The motherboard, as I discovered after peeling off an ancient HP sticker, is an Asus P4SD, which apparently they made for HP. I think I found the drivers online, so I should be good to go software-wise.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-15DSC_0008.jpg

I’m gonna do something about this tomorrow…
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-15DSC_0009.jpg

Making the parts:
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-15DSC_0010.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-15DSC_0011.jpg

Test fit….yikes almost zero clearance!
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-15DSC_0013.jpg

http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-15DSC_0014.jpg

Counter-sinking the screwholes:
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-15DSC_0015.jpg

Getting “help” – she knocked it over several times, amazingly without breaking it.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-15DSC_0017.jpg

And voila! Box assembled and on the piano! That front panel is where the screen will be bolted, and it’ll have a hinge at the top so it opens. I will also remove the music stand when this machine is up and running, so it’ll all sit about a half inch lower.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-15DSC_0018.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-15DSC_0019.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-15PianoComputermockupsansscreen.jpg

x88x

01-16-2011, 02:58 AM

Lumber is a lot less likely to be straight or stay straight as it is subject to swellling and shrinking based on temp and humidity.
Once it's properly dried and seasoned it's not really much of a problem except in extreme situations. You're right though, with angle iron you're pretty much guaranteed at least damn close to a perfectly straight edge.

x88x

01-16-2011, 03:07 AM

artoodeeto

01-16-2011, 11:35 AM

Looks good. Not the way I would have done it, but my way would have taken a lot longer, and I think required thicker boards as well. :P

For the dust caked on the fan, I've found a wet q-tip works fairly well...takes forever and a day though, so if you can live with it being there you might as well leave it alone.

I trust there will be some sort of felt or foam on the bottom before it's done? I'd hate to see the finish on that piano scratched.

Ya, since this will be hidden behind the screen, and since it's essentially an interim solution til I have the money for something better, I don't really care much about rough edges. It resembles a bread box and won't win any awards, but it'll work :) And yep, I have some leftover thin foam rubber I'll be putting on the bottom to prevent scratches.

re: thicker boards, what I really wanted to use was sheet aluminum, but if I can barely get a plywood box together then I certainly can't work with metal...yet...anyway. the reason I didn't use thicker plywood was mainly for saving weight - it'll be heavy enough as it is, I didn't want it to weigh a ton. Still, screwing it all together would have been much easier.

nevermind1534

01-16-2011, 03:42 PM

There was a lot more dust in the heatsink than you saw when I got that computer from school; Me and my friend who were both working setting up the computers for the new school year got nearly all of the computers filled with dust like that, and spent probably a good half hour blowing out all of the heatsinks with his air compressor. All of the exposed parts where the air comes in were covered in dust.

I wonder if you might be able to flash a non-HP bios.

The school district just gets rid of these computers with the P4s when they stop working, because they're older, the PSU is a HUGE PIA to get out, and I'm sure that replacements cost an arm and a leg. Our supervisors were supposed to bring all of the non-working computers back to the technology office for somebody who "recycles" them to take, but they let us have most of what we wanted (minus hard drives, since they swap them when re-imaging the computers) when we asked. At the first school we did, there were a lot of bad computers, and they all went into the dumpster. I went with my friend and pulled them all out after everybody else had left to go to the next school. After that, they started taking them back, and we just asked for them (they told us not to tell anybody lol). We also got a nice almost new CRT for our MAME cabinet with only a few bent pins and deformed connector (a dremel fixed half of that).

artoodeeto

01-17-2011, 02:52 AM

Well...got the case itself done today and got everything hooked up and....nothing. Won't even POST. I'm assuming the motherboard is dead, although I've got no real way of testing it short of getting a new one (anyone have a micro ATX socket 478 that can take PC2100 they're willing to donate? at the very least it needs to be mATX as my case won't fit anything larger). Arg....
I might try hooking up one of the other computer's PSU's to see if that's the problem, but it doesn't seem to be as everything seems to turn on ok. It just literally doesn't do anything after powering on...doesn't even scan the hard drive beyond the initial spin up. (and I did try running it sans hard drive, to see if it was preventing POST...no such luck).

artoodeeto

01-17-2011, 03:24 AM

Just tried hooking up a different PSU to the system...same result, so it appears the PSU is not the problem.

x88x

01-17-2011, 03:51 AM

Sounds like it might be the RAM. How many sticks are in it? Do you have any other systems that you could test them in?

artoodeeto

01-17-2011, 11:44 AM

hmm...it's dual channel and I have 2 sticks in there, Samsung PC2100 512MB. I tried them in slots 1 and 3, then 2 and 4, then a single stick in one of the slots, all with the same result.
I started looking for more RAM to buy when I realized that according to the spec sheet I found for a slightly later version of the motherboard (which, as far as I can tell, just adds an AGP slot and a firewire port) it can take up to PC3200. It just so happens that's the RAM speed in my fiancee's computer...so I tried that and got the same result. The screen says "no signal" then shuts off, the hard drive is silent after the initial power on...and that's it. :(

At this point I'd say it's either the motherboard or the processor, and aside from buying new ones, I've got no way of figuring out which is the issue. I think I'll order both but will try the m/b - most places will take a motherboard return but not a processor. Unless anyone has a P4 socket 478, up to 3.2GHz (that's what's in there right now) they're willing to donate? :D )

nevermind1534

01-17-2011, 12:55 PM

Both worked fine before sending your way...

artoodeeto

01-17-2011, 12:56 PM

k...just ordered an MSI m/b with the Intel 865GV chipset - built in graphics, very similar specs to the board that's in there new, and it comes with a celeron 2.4GHz proc and heatsink/fan, all for under $50 (after tax and shipping!).
http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=MS-7037-CELD24-PB-R&cat=MBB
It's refurb, but I'm not too worried about that. I figure this way if the P4 proc is nonfunctional, I'll at least have the celeron. And the fan on the P4 was a little noisy too (those blower style fans just don't do well when vertical), so hopefully the normal fan on the celeron will be better.

And now for a few pics from yesterday:

monitor stand removal and figuring out VESA mount hole locations on case front
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-16DSC_0001.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-16DSC_0003.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-16DSC_0004.jpg

Case construction – figuring out where to put all the various screwholes, and countersinking them. I messed up on the front panel, I countersunk 2 on the wrong side, but luckily on one of them it wasn’t far enough in to really mess it up. And the other? Well, turns out I only have 3 screws that fit the VESA screwholes anyway LOL.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-16DSC_0009.jpg

This is the underside, the screws that hold the funky PSU in place.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-16DSC_0005.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-16DSC_0006.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-16DSC_0007.jpg

http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-16DSC_0008.jpg

http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-16DSC_0010.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-16DSC_0011.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-16DSC_0015.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-16DSC_0016.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-16DSC_0017.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-16DSC_0018.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-16DSC_0020.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-17DSC_0021.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-17DSC_0022.jpg

And cleaning and re-thermal greasing the P4 and heatsink…which now I may not be using depending on what component is responsible for the non-booting. Hopefully I’ll get my new stuff tomorrow; Wednesday at the latest.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-16DSC_0013.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-16DSC_0012.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-16DSC_0014.jpg

artoodeeto

01-17-2011, 01:00 PM

Both worked fine before sending your way...

hmmm...did you use the onboard video? Or did you have a PCI vid card in there? I wondered if it wasn't set to use the onboard video, and maybe it's hanging at an error screen, but the problem is there's no apparent way to force it to the onboard without being able to see what the screen's showing. :( I'm hopin' that the new m/b with the P4 proc will work fine, but I'll keep poking around with this one this morning, while there's still time to cancel that order if I can get this working.
It's possible too that the m/b got non-visibly damaged in shipping. I had that happen to a m/b I sold on ebay once - it was fine when I had it, but apparently got dinged in shipping and was DOA (although the processor was fine).

nevermind1534

01-17-2011, 01:03 PM

Using the onboard. Have you tried pulling the battery to reset the CMOS?

artoodeeto

01-17-2011, 01:16 PM

Using the onboard. Have you tried pulling the battery to reset the CMOS?

Yep, that was one of the first things I did. I've also tried different RAM (the PC3200 DDR), no hard drive, which while it obviously wouldn't boot I should still get a POST screen, and a different much higher watt PSU. Also tried hooking the screen up to my fiancee's laptop to test it and the VGA cable, and both are working fine. Other than the problem being the MB or proc, I'm out of ideas...

nevermind1534

01-17-2011, 01:35 PM

Check for loose capacitors, etc. on the board?

If it's one of the two, I'd say it's the motherboard.

artoodeeto

01-17-2011, 02:26 PM

Check for loose capacitors, etc. on the board?

If it's one of the two, I'd say it's the motherboard.

That's my feeling too. None of the caps seemed loose or bulging, and the little green LED near the CMOS battery lights up when the power is plugged in so visually the mb seems fine. It just doesn't actually do anything :( I re-seated the processor too a little while ago, just to make sure. No change. It's what I expected but it was worth a try.

I realized I neglected to mention on the earlier set of photos - I forgot to take a pic of it after the gray primer coat, which is why there's an odd photo of it partly gray and partly black. I ran out of black spray paint after coating the outside, so that's why the inside is still gray. It's not worth going to the store and getting yet another can of paint, I was happy to have used up a couple cans of the 7 or 8 that I've had sitting around for years. I also glued thin black foam rubber to the underside to keep it from scratching up the piano.
Lastly, I *might* go back and coat the outside with a resin spray, to give it a nice hard glossy finish. Haven't decided on that one yet, but it could make it look much nicer than the flat black now. Any thoughts on that are appreciated. :)

More updates probably on Wednesday when I get the new motherboard. I was hoping it'd be here tomorrow but I forgot it's a holiday here in the States. One nice addition on the new board - it'll have SATA, so at some point I can upgrade the HD to an SSD without having to swap out everything else.

Mark_Hardware

01-18-2011, 03:45 AM

I see my line has been replaced as the sig-quote of choice...
Looks like it coming along nicely man

artoodeeto

01-18-2011, 11:49 AM

I see my line has been replaced as the sig-quote of choice...
Looks like it coming along nicely man

Thanks! Part of the reason I replaced it is, while I didn't notice til after I'd sigquoted you, AmEv had also sigquoted it just prior to me so I figured there's still someone on the forum who's using yours :)

And yeah, I'm pretty happy with the case design, except for one thing that occurred to me last night. I should have made the *back* panel the one that opens up, and had it folding down to lay flat. That way I could get to the motherboard unimpeded by the PSU or anything else, and the panel holding the screen would have been fully screwed onto the rest of the case. It should still work fine the way it is; because of how I cut the panels if I wanted the back one to fold down and still maintain structural integrity, I'd have to make almost everything again...and it's not really worth it.

AmEv

01-18-2011, 12:26 PM

I seem to take out all the fun, don't I? :rolleyes:

Looks good tho.

artoodeeto

01-18-2011, 01:27 PM

I seem to take out all the fun, don't I? :rolleyes:

Looks good tho.

LOL nah, not at all :)

In a bit of good news, the new mobo will be here today apparently! Man I love living within a couple hundred miles of where I'm ordering stuff - I pay for ground shipping and I get it overnight!

artoodeeto

01-19-2011, 12:17 AM

I'll have more pics tomorrow probably, but here's where it's at: got the new motherboard and Celeron D320 CPU, both seem to be working fine. The PC2100 RAM doesn't work, but I think it's because the FSB is set at 533MHz so it needs at least PC2700 in there. However, the PC3200 in my fiancee's computer works perfectly fine.
I need to get windows installed on it, and get files copied over and all that fun stuff. And order a couple RAM chips - have my eye on an ebay auction ending shortly...

One thing I noticed when I hooked up the new mobo - the fans were suddenly spinning a LOT faster than they did on the old one. Like, full speed. My initial thought was, hmm maybe the P4 was pulling a lot more power and didn't leave enough to run everything else. But then I remembered I'd tried hooking up a 600W PSU instead of the 185W, and the higher PSU didn't work either. So who knows, but it seems the net result was the old mobo wasn't letting enough power through its connectors to do anything.

Lastly, I'm a little concerned - the new BIOS is claiming the CPU is running 88 deg. C. Since I'm going to use PC3200 RAM I'm planning on trying the P4 back in there, so one way or another I'll be redoing the thermal grease and hopefully that'll solve that minor issue...more tomorrow - the trade-off for me working on the piano computer tonight is my fiancee wants to play Dragon Age on mine :D

artoodeeto

01-19-2011, 04:35 AM

Well, I discovered, after switching processors more times than I'd like to admit, it appears the PSU doesn't put out enough power to run the P4. It runs the Celeron ok, or at least it seems to. But with 2 sticks of RAM, the motherboard, the proc, the hard drive, and 3 fans (CPU and 2 case), it's probably drawing well over 100W and the PSU can only do 185 max.
Nevermind1534, if you read this I'm guessing that's why those HP systems had the random shutdown problem. I experienced it a few times, until I put the Celeron back in and all of a sudden it was stable.
I'm hoping to avoid having to get a new PSU, as that'd mean the entire initial system I picked up would end up unused and/or dead :(

Another bit of weirdness is the wireless USB keyboard works fine in the BIOS menu system, but as soon as it boots to windows it won't work. Tried plugging in a wired USB mouse too, to no avail. So it boots into Windows, but I can't do anything. It could be a driver issue - Windows wants to validate and is not going to the actual desktop, so no real chance to properly load drivers. I can't even load it into safe mode - I can shut it off during bootup to force the safe mode menu screen the next time I boot, but the keyboard doesn't work on that screen so I can't select safe mode. I *did* enable USB Keyboard/mouse support in the BIOS, but that didn't make any difference. I'm wondering if it's the PSU at fault - not putting out quite enough juice to run the USB ports. Luckily I can test that in the morning...more later...any ideas are welcome!!

AmEv

01-19-2011, 12:32 PM

Wait. Is USB keyboard/mouse enabled in the BIOS?

*Never mind, didn't read fully. That is strange though. Fresh install?

artoodeeto

01-19-2011, 01:21 PM

perhaps - I did determine this morning the PSU has nothing to do with it, as a 600W unit still gave the same result. What *has* worked, sort of, is using an MS wireless keyboard/mouse that has a PS2 plug for the keyboard in addition to the USB. The mouse still doesn't work, but the keyboard does now. I guess the issue must be driver related - the HD already had windows on it, and I was trying to avoid the hassle of reinstalling. But in the end it may be easier to wipe it and start over, we'll see...

x88x

01-19-2011, 01:40 PM

Yeah, sounds like a USB controller driver issue. You could always try uninstalling the USB controller, then having it scan for new hardware and hopefully find a compatible driver.

artoodeeto

01-19-2011, 01:59 PM

heh...see the real problem is it won't let me log on until it's re-validated, which means outside of safe mode I can't do diddly squat. So what I'm doing now is I've put the RAM, keyboard, and IDE drive onto my fiancee's computer since mine would be even more of a hassle to hook it up to, and I'm copying all the drivers that I've downloaded onto the hard drive. Then I'll move everything back to the little computer, load it into safe mode, and with the software there I can at least get the drivers installed. This was supposed to be an easy mod LOL....

artoodeeto

01-19-2011, 10:05 PM

This one’s darned close to being done now! Here’s some promised pics – computer is now working perfectly, and there’s some room for upgrading. For instance, while the image quality is acceptable (1920x1080 on an onboard VGA connection) I’d like to put a half-height PCI vid card with DVI in there at some point. That’ll require a better mATX PSU, which in turn will allow me to put the P4 3.2GHz processor back in there. All that being said, the Celeron boots up in about 40 seconds or so, pretty fast for a “slow” IDE system. Of course, there’s not a whole lot on there. :)

http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-18DSC_0001.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-18DSC_0002.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-18DSC_0003.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-18DSC_0005.jpg

My rather…discombobulated setup. That blue screen was as far as it got loading Windows initially. Eventually I got it to boot but it couldn’t detect the USB ports, so no keyboard/mouse. After many failed attempts I did what I’d hoped to avoid – reinstalling Windows instead of using the copy that was already on the drive.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-18DSC_0007.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-18DSC_0008.jpg

Ugh! This gray goop was responsible for nearly 90 degree C temps on the CPU!! And that was the Celeron!
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-18DSC_0010.jpg

Oh look, a copper core heatsink. This was entirely invisible before I scraped off the gray thermal crud.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-18DSC_0011.jpg

Application of Arctic Silver. Funny how it appears much rougher in one photo than the other. I honestly don’t recall which processor this is, but the Celeron now runs at 40-ish C and the P4, before I gave up on it due to the PSU being too low wattage, ran around 49 C.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-18DSC_0012.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-18DSC_0013.jpg

Lastly, this is what it looks like now. I’ve gotten everything installed and set up on it, so now all I need to complete it are the PC3200 RAM chips I picked up on ebay last night. The chips currently in this computer will need to go back into my fiancee’s machine now that I’ve got this one all set up.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-19DSC_0014.jpg

DynamoNED

01-22-2011, 05:58 PM

Very cool mod you've put together here. Just goes to show you that you never know what those old components may be good for. Wishing you the best as you finish it up!

artoodeeto

01-23-2011, 01:25 PM

Thanks! I'm expecting the RAM in the next couple days, and once they're in I can re-mount the hard drive, which will block the RAM slots. The VGA cable will be entirely contained in the case, and I might be able to do the same with the monitor power cable. Depends on if shunting it through the case shortens it too much, so I'll just have to try it and see. But ya, definitely a good use of old parts.
Incidentally, that silver thing in the last photo above is my 500GB external drive; I'd hooked it up to get some programs installed, but it's not part of the system.

Someday, I want to change it to a mini ITX system with one of those pico PSU's and a 2.5" SSD. I would probably either keep it in the same case and it'd be a lot lighter weight, or I'd build a new super tiny case and mount it to the back of the screen, and go back to using the original monitor stand.

artoodeeto

01-26-2011, 12:05 PM

It's officially done :)

Got the 1GB PC3200 RAM chips yesterday, installed them, stuck the HD back in the case, sorted out the mess of wires inside, and got nearly everything plugged in. I say nearly everything because it occurred to me I need to have an accessible USB port, so I'm going to pick up a USB extension cable and add it to the one remaining USB port inside. That way I can have the cable coming around the side of the case to plug my flash drive into so I can get files on and off the computer.

http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-25DSC_0002.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-25DSC_0003.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-25DSC_0004.jpg

This angle shows the two USB foot pedals on the floor. One for page down, and one for page up. They work perfectly!
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-25DSC_0007.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/11--01-25DSC_0008.jpg

I also opened up Soundforge and did a test recording; that too works perfectly. :D

So there you have it. This version of the build is done, and someday when I either A) have the cash, or B) prices have come way down, I want to upgrade the machine to a mini ITX or pico ITX m/b with a DVI connector, a 2.5" HD or SSD, and a pico PSU where the whole PSU plugs straight into the 20-pin or 24-pin connector on the m/b. I'd probably dispose of most of the case, instead bolting those components to the panel that the screen is attached to, maybe building a small box around them, and putting the original monitor stand back on.

This one can go to completed worklogs whenever someone has the chance to move it, thanks!

Boddaker

01-26-2011, 01:38 PM

artoodeeto

01-26-2011, 01:47 PM

Great job David! It's functional, compact, the viewing angle perfect for reading sheet music... I'm sure it will make your life a whole lot easier when picking out a specific piece of music from that gargantuan collection of yours.

Just remember to disable the screen saver when playing! :P

Thanks!! And thanks for the tip about the screen saver LOL, hadn't thought of that yet. What's really nice too is the case is shallow enough that I can scoot it back a little, and still use the monitor as a music stand. :D

x88x

01-26-2011, 02:08 PM

Looks good, I'm glad it worked out like you were hoping. :D

msmrx57

01-26-2011, 03:00 PM

Very nice! :up:

Mark_Hardware

01-26-2011, 03:29 PM

Wow man that came out great! Nice work! :up:

TheMainMan

01-27-2011, 04:23 AM

In that last photo it took me a sec to see the computer, I thought you had put a book in front of the screen! It looks completely at home there and seems to be quite functional. Great work!

artoodeeto

01-27-2011, 12:23 PM

Thanks guys!! The more I use it, the more I like it. I've had to dim the screen a bit since it gets very disconcerting to look at a bright screen, then the relative dimness of the keyboard, back at the bright screen, etc. But one thing I'm very relieved about - the air coming out of the case is not warm at all. Whew! I'm still trying to get used to the foot pedal page changer, but all in all it's worked out great.

BTW...did I mention I added up the pages of music I have in my solo piano collection and it's over 90,000? :whistler:

Waynio

02-12-2011, 04:46 PM

Only just took a good look through this log artoo & I think it's gorgeous & awesome mate +rep :):up:.

artoodeeto

02-11-2012, 12:27 PM

Well guys, I now have a job again, which means I have income again...which means modding! I'm going to be rebuilding this machine. Smaller, (much) faster, and quieter. Oh yeah, and PORTABLE!!!

The screen will remain the same, but I'm changing out the motherboard for a mini-ITX, a pico-PSU instead of the full-size one, and as I'm upgrading my regular desktop and my wife's, I'm bringing over a 2.5" SATA 160GB hard drive to replace the 3.5" 80GB drive. Not that it needs a higher capacity drive, it'd actually be fine with a 40GB drive. But my goal has always been something of a "poor man's imac" and I'd rather have the physically smaller hard drive in there.

I will rebuild the case around the new system. The old one is a micro-ATX, which is substantially larger than the ITX. And with the pico PSU in there, I'll be able to build a much smaller box and bolt it to the back of the screen. Add in a new stand, I'm thinking a couple legs that hinge out from near the top kinda like a picture frame, and I should have something I can easily pick up and take with me to my in-laws house, where they have a grand piano :D

The specs and pics (I just placed the orders today so these are the marketing photos):

ASRock E350M1 AMD 1.6GHz mini-ITX system with built-in Radeon 6310 graphics. supports up to 2560x1920 on a DVI connection (I'll be running 1920x1080). This is the slightly newer board that has a couple USB 3 ports.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157247

4GB DDR3-1066 RAM, single chip to cut down a little on voltage. I may well remove that heat spreader - depends on how tall it would force me to make the case.
160GB Western Digital 2.5" hard drive (from my wife's desktop)
USB Wireless Ethernet dongle so I can directly put music score pdfs onto it, either downloading or from my desktop

80W Pico-PSU with 60W AC-DC converter from Minibox.com. I'm real excited about this - after researching power consumption, I found I wouldn't need a high-watt PSU. In fact, under load in setups comprising more hardware than I'll be using, and taxing the CPU far more than I will be, the thing hardly went over 50W total power. It averaged 32W, but idled at under 15W. I'll have one less RAM chip, a 2.5" instead of 3.5" HD, and the most taxing thing it'll do is record wave files of my piano playing. The best part is the PSU is TINY, so it won't take up extra room.

I'll top the build off with a single slim 120mm fan blowing right on the MB, and I'll have vent holes cut in the side of the case. There's a good chance I'll remove the installed CPU fan shown in the photos - I think with the 120mm an inch or two above it should be fine, and I want to cut down on noise as much as I can.

Everything else - monitor, keyboard/mouse, usb foot pedals for page turning - will remain the same. I'll be running Windows XP on it for now, but when Windows 8 comes out and I upgrade our desktops to it, I'll likely install my Win7 copy on this machine. Which is why I went with 4GB RAM and the USB 3 version of the MB. Slightly more future-proof, although I don't expect to really push this system anywhere near its limits.

But who knows? maybe someday I'll want to use it as an HTPC too...

I'll post sketchup designs soon.

http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/12--02-11ASRockMB1.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/12--02-11ASRockMB2.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/12--02-11ASRockMB3.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/12--02-11GskillRAM.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/12--02-11picopsu.jpg

artoodeeto

02-12-2012, 09:53 PM

Here's the promised sketchups. I'm toying with the idea of clipping (rather than bolting) the computer box on the back of the screen. The line of reasoning is that ideally, I want to be able to pull the box off the back for those occasions when I'm playing a piano where only the screen would fit on the music stand (think upright). But for my own digital piano, which has a deep flat top, and grand pianos, I want it to be one unit rather than 2. We'll see if that ends up being practical.

http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/12--02-12NewPianoComputer0001.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/12--02-12NewPianoComputer0003.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/12--02-12NewPianoComputer20001.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/12--02-12NewPianoComputer20003.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/12--02-12NewPianoComputer0005.jpg

That last render shows the box's approximate mounting location on the back of the screen. My model is pretty basic; it's only real purpose is so I can build the case. Currently the cases dimensions are 10" long, 7" deep and 2" tall. I may have to push that to 2.5" tall - depends on how tall my RAM stick is w/heatsink. If I have to make the case taller I'll put the 120mm slim fan inside the case rather than outside.

Aside from size reduction, one of the other major changes I'm making is to have all the plugs accessible on the left side of the case. Currently they're fully contained in the case. While aesthetically it looks good, it's really inconvenient for moving it. The power plug will likely be mounted on the right side of the case due to cord length and where the PSU plugs in. Happily, there will be very little cabling mess in the case. The only cable of any real length will be the SATA (not shown in the model). The PSU cables will be the only others, and they're short.

That's it for now, I'll post pics of the components when they arrive later this week...

AmEv

02-12-2012, 10:36 PM

Now I have an idea as what to do with a spare LCD I have....

Aldersan

02-12-2012, 10:45 PM

That tiny mobo is cute :D

Also, instead of clipping or bolting, what about having little "ledges" on the pc part of it, that slide in to groves or L brackets to hold it to the lcd? And then maybe a pin or something to secure it? Easy to remove, should still be secure, and not too hard to do. Probably a bit more secure than clips too lol

Waynio

02-13-2012, 05:41 AM

Looks a nice monitor mount rig. :):up:

artoodeeto

02-16-2012, 08:43 PM

Most of the stuff for my new comp has showed up! I'm actually upgrading my sandcrawler computer ( http://thebestcasescenario.com/forum/showthread.php?t=25683 ), my wife's soon-to-be Rivendell computer (remember that one? I'm going to get going on it...soon... http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/forum/showthread.php?t=21563 ), and this piano computer, and moving parts around. So unfortunately I can't finish it til everything's here, since I'm moving a good chunk of my system to my wife's, and I'm moving her hard drive to the piano computer.

Anyways. The new pico PSU is TINY! Rated at 80W, although the adapter is only 60W. But it should be fine, as all my research indicates the system won't go above 50W under load, and that's with more hardware than I'll have in it.

Pics. I used a ballpoint pen for size reference:

http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/12--02-15DSC_0018.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/12--02-15DSC_0019.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/12--02-15DSC_0020.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/12--02-15DSC_0021.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/12--02-15DSC_0022.jpg

That's a 120mm fan on there:
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/12--02-15DSC_0023.jpg

And in this picture I removed the original fan that was screwed onto the heatsink. With the 120mm fan I won't need the original.
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/12--02-15DSC_0024.jpg

Finally, I updated the sketchup model to reflect the MB's actual dimensions. Mostly stuff was slightly shorter than I thought it would be. I made the side opening a little smaller, and I added the slanted vent holes. I don't know if it'll look quite that clean when I build it, but hopefully it will :D
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/12--02-16NewPianoComputer0004.jpg

This weekend I want to at least get the case built and parts in it, even though without a hard drive I won't be able to power it up yet...

Waynio

02-16-2012, 11:26 PM

artoodeeto

02-17-2012, 02:10 AM

These tiny PSU's are quite amazing eh :D would have loved to use one on my latest but was told they wouldn't handle a bunch of HDD's so had to stay with big & bulky.

Those slim fans are very handy too. :)

See you say your married now, congrats. :D:banana:

Thanks! Yeah, we got married this past June - big wedding, almost 200 people there!

And ya, those little PSU's can handle low-power stuff, and they *could* handle a hard drive array but you wouldn't be able to have much else of a system. I think the highest-rated one MiniBox makes is 160W or so. I'd love it if they could all be so tiny. One can hope. Oh yeah, and that slim fan is leftover from my sandcrawler's first water cooling loop. During an upgrade of WC parts the rad sprang a leak, so I now have a new rad with more widely spaced fins, and I did away with the cylinder res's on top, which allowed room for regular fans instead of slim.

More pics tomorrow or Saturday after I start construction...

AmEv

02-17-2012, 10:19 AM

Yep.
http://www.mini-box.com/picoPSU-160-XT
160W continuous, 200W max.

artoodeeto

02-17-2012, 10:25 PM

The RAM chip finally got here, so I got my final measurements (at 1 5/8" tall w/heatsink, plus 1/4" for the standoff screws under the MB, it'll *just* fit inside the case without modification), got the plywood, drew out the parts, and will be cutting/assembling tomorrow. I want to paint it black but forgot to get the paint, so I'll have to go back out to do that.

I keep looking at the plywood panels I drew out for the top and bottom and thinking...really? The MB will *really* fit on that?

http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/12--02-17DSC_0001.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/12--02-17DSC_0002.jpg

The plywood parts:
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/12--02-17DSC_0003.jpg

Twigsoffury

02-18-2012, 01:08 AM

man this is when you need a E-ink display because that would be sweet as HELL

d_stilgar

02-18-2012, 03:34 AM

Sweet. It's nice to see more of this.

artoodeeto

02-18-2012, 04:41 AM

Yeah, this is the computer I wanted to build the first time around but didn't have the money to. Don't get me wrong - the first machine has been great, but this one should be faster, quieter, smaller, lighter weight (and thus portable), and the screen image will look better b/c I'll be switching to DVI. Oh yeah, and it'll use a LOT less power. One of those E-ink screens looks cool though...don't know how practical it'd be, but it sure would look awesome :D

Stonerboy779

02-18-2012, 04:47 AM

artoodeeto

02-18-2012, 04:56 PM

E-ink would be great for reading its nicer on the eyes however if you where to be using the monitor for other things like recording your music it wouldn't be so practical.

Great builds by the way a very good idea to cut down on paper and make things easier for yourself.

Thanks! I do have an entire bookshelf of printed music, but this computer is so much more practical. And my shelf is around 40,000 pages worth, but the computer has closer to 100,000 pages, with TONS of room for more. I think I'm only using about 30GB total on the drive...

Last batch of sketchups! I've tentatively figured out the legs to support it. I think I'll glue some thin rubber foam on the underside of the screen to prevent it scratching up the piano top, and do the same on the bottoms of the legs at the rear. Note I've changed the box representing the screen to a modified TV model that far more closely approximates the real screen. I also found I was able to put the fan inside the case instead of outside. It'll be a tight fit, but it fits.

http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/12--02-19NewPianoComputer0001.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/12--02-19NewPianoComputer0002.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/12--02-19NewPianoComputer0003.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/12--02-19NewPianoComputer0004.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/12--02-19NewPianoComputer0005.jpg

Today's hardware store shopping list includes a 1" square dowel, a 1/2" square dowel (the legs & crossbar), black foam rubber sheet, and black spray paint.

Aldersan

02-18-2012, 04:59 PM

Looks great! Can't wait to see the real thing on your piano! :D

Stonerboy779

02-18-2012, 05:32 PM

Are the legs going to be permanently fixed or are you considering a swinging mech with some form of block to prevent them going back too far or even maybe a locking pin ect.

artoodeeto

02-18-2012, 09:47 PM

I'm going to make it all fixed on - it would be cool to have it collapsible, but it's more work than I want to put into it. And I got to thinking that at 2.5" deep, the screen is too thick for upright-piano music stands...so I won't gain anything by making the box removable.

I've spent the afternoon getting parts cut out and assembled. The MB is in the box now for test fitting; I'll be pulling it out again now that I've put in screwholes for it and the hard drive. When I put the fan on, unfortunately due to a slight MB position adjustment (necessitating a slight adjustment of the fan placement) the fan won't quite line up with the circular hole cut in the top. Oh well. It'll still work perfectly fine.

http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/12--02-19DSC_0001.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/12--02-19DSC_0002.jpg

And with me holding one of the legs about where it'll go:
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/12--02-19DSC_0003.jpg

More tomorrow :D

Aldersan

02-18-2012, 09:50 PM

Looking good!

artoodeeto

02-20-2012, 11:18 AM

Thanks! More pics in a day or two - my pump in my desktop just went kaput and I'm waiting for a replacement. Anyway, I got the piano computer built, painted, assembled, and fired up yesterday....and wonder of wonders it's working flawlessly :D Gonna get the new OS set up today (I was FLABBERGASTED when I put my wife's old hard drive in there and it booted up into Vista with NO issues other than loading new drivers...it's the first time I've EVER transplanted a hard drive and have it boot up with no errors right off the bat. Of course, I can't leave this copy of Vista on there since my wife's still using it on her new hard drive. But still...it was shocking LOL)

Waynio

02-20-2012, 11:31 AM

Hehe nice when that happens. :D

artoodeeto

02-22-2012, 09:33 PM

Got my desktop pump replaced...turns out coolant got onto the pumps PCB. Grr...musta been an O-ring failure. Anyway, that pump sadly is scrap now, although I might hang onto it and get a replacement PCB. They're cheap enough that even if I can't fix it I wouldn't be out more than ten bucks or so.

So, pics of the all-new piano computer! I'm loving it so far...except for one issue. My CS4 Adobe suite with a full copy of Acrobat won't install. It runs perfectly fine on my other Win7 machine, on a Vista machine, and even on an XP machine. But it refuses to install on the piano computer, so I put Acrobat Reader on there. It doesn't seem to support two-page view while fullscreen, but it does do 2-page view within the Acrobat window, so it's not the end of the world.

The build quality on this case isn't fantastic, but then I was really just doing a quick-and-dirty wooden box to house the computer, and you can't really see it.

http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/12--02-19DSC_0004.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/12--02-19DSC_0005.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/12--02-19DSC_0006.jpg

Power plug:
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/12--02-19DSC_0007.jpg

http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/12--02-19DSC_0008.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/12--02-19DSC_0009.jpg

The gold screws in the last photo are the two that hold the fan panel onto the rest of the case. I left them unpainted so I don't have to hunt for them if I ever need to remove that panel.

Aldersan

02-22-2012, 10:28 PM

looks great! good job and good mod! :D

Fuganater

02-23-2012, 10:04 AM

You obv know what your doing but may I suggest changing your fan around so that you have less dust in the system.

Love the build. This would also be great for small desks. I know lots of people want a nice system but don't have the space.

Waynio

02-23-2012, 10:42 AM

Would gather dust if it's as intake or exhaust but I'd dare say less so as an intake as it is with the vents being on the top, a quick flick of a feature duster or compressed air spray should clear it quickly every so often.

Looks very nicely done, awesome idea for a compact pc. :)

artoodeeto

02-23-2012, 07:23 PM

Mainly the reason I have the fan as an intake is because there used to be a little fan on the processor heatsink. I elected to remove that fan, fearing it'd be noisy, and just have the one fan blow lots of air over the whole system. I have a small air compressor for my airbrush that I can use to periodically blow dust out (with 3 chinchillas and 2 cats, it gets pretty dusty here :D )

Thanks for the compliments! I'm really happy with it; I wish I knew why my CS4 suite won't install on it, but aside from that it was a very painless build, and it's shaping up to be a great little machine. Lovin' that mini-ITX form factor...

artoodeeto

02-25-2012, 12:44 PM

Just discovered one leg on the back is shorter than the other, so all the weight is currently sitting on the longer leg. (insert grumbling here) Must fix...

artoodeeto

02-26-2012, 11:36 AM

Fixed the leg length, and added a base that's screwed into the bottoms of both legs, and has foam rubber glued on its underside to prevent scratches to the piano. I also took the wood piece that was originally going to be the base til I discovered I hadn't cut it quite big enough, and I made that into a base for the 2 page-turn USB pedals. It works really well - I put foam rubber on its underside too, so it won't scoot across the floor, and now I don't have to worry about the pedals moving when I'm in the middle of playing. I'm happy :D

Now all I need is a shorter DVI cable; I only had a 6 footer laying around but, as you'll see in the pics, I really only need a 1 foot or 1.5 foot on there...

http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/12--02-25DSC_0001.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/12--02-25DSC_0003.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/12--02-25DSC_0005.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/12--02-25DSC_0006.jpg
http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt53/artoodeeto/Piano%20Computer/12--02-25DSC_0008.jpg

And that's it, I'm calling to done! I'm sure it'll go through future revisions the next time I upgrade it, but at this point the only real reason I'll want to upgrade is if/when even smaller components are available (and by that I mean maybe pico ITX with DVI; currently all I can find are VGA ones). About the only thing I might want to change in the nearer future is the HD to an SSD when they get cheaper. And at some point I may want to put a slightly bigger screen on it, especially when I can afford an LED-backlight 23" or 24" screen. Bigger, lighter weight, less energy = :up: Til then, it ain't changin' :D