Tempest SXR

[SXRguyinMA]

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/Tempest_Logocopy.png

Ok, this isn't quite started yet. I have started getting parts in for it though. Once my NZXT Tempest EVO case comes in work will be under way.

The subject: NZXT Tempest EVO (http://www.nzxt.com/new/products/crafted_series/tempest_evo), courtesy of NZXT, from the Blast From The Past Contest! A HUGE thanks again to those guys for sponsoring the contest and hooking us up with some great gear!!

http://benchmarkreviews.com/images/reviews/cases/TEVO-001BK/NZXT_Tempest_EVO_Main_Image.jpg

This mod, like Rockin Case (http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/forum/showthread.php?t=21724), will be sponsored by my good friend John over at PCBoard.ca (http://www.pcboard.ca)!
http://pcboard.ca/_images/logo.gif (http://www.pcboard.ca)

I've already received another RGB LED kit (new version 3) (http://pcboard.ca/kits/led_rainbow/), as well as some more RGB modules and some other goodies. I've also got more 5mm RGB LED's on the way from LED Shoppe (http://ledshoppe.com/Product/led/LE1011.htm). This will take care of all interior and exterior lighting. The blue LEDs that come in the fans will be replaced with RGB ones, as well as the 2 front blue LED light strips on the case.

I've got another special project for this case. The only thing I'll reveal is that it requires the use of an Arduino. Stay tuned for that!

All of my current hardware will be going into this new case. Nothing new and flashy (unfortunately lol).

The only thing I'll have to redo is my switch panel for the RGB controller and button and LED for the DVD drive, and I'll have to redo the front faceplate for my stealthed DVD drive.

Well once the case comes in I'll start having updates!!

[SXRguyinMA]

alright small-ish update time :D

look at this pristine puppy I get to dismantle and mod :D
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0112.jpg

wow top panel off already? oh well :whistler:
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0113.jpg

fans removed. These fans are nice because they have 5mm holes in them for LEDs already, so all I need to do is wire up 4 RGB LEDs in each, cut off the 4-pin molex's and sleeve the remaining 3-pin cables and I'm good to go! I'm going to use a y-splitter that x88x picked up for me @ Micro Center so I can hook both of these fans to one channel in my fan controller
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0114.jpg

at this point is where the Arduino comes in
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/HPIM2447.jpg

I spent some quality time with SketchUp, a tape measure, micrometer, and the case and came up with this. The top panel is 100% to scale of the case. The white is the planned expansion, the Arduino model I got online, and the servo model I made myself. You can see how everything will fit in.
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/TempestTopOpen3.png

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/TempestTopOpen2.png

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/TempestTopOpen1.png

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/TempestTop2.png

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/TempestTop1.png

The I/O portion in the top part isn't how it's going to look in the end, I just put the parts in there to give a better feel for the layout.

I also took the blue LEDs out of the front panel (the two that light up the stripes along the front side of the case). I plan on replacing these with 5mm RGB ones as well, but the ones that came out were 3mm ones, so I'm going to see what I need to do to make them fit.

How the side panel fan and two front fans on this case have 3mm blue LEDs in them. They're set up strange though, with plastic parts holding in the LEDs from the top of the fans. I'm going to see what I can do to keep these fans, as they fit with the rest of the fans in this case. Otherwise I'll have to transfer the 3 clear 120mm ones from my Armor case into this case.

That's it for now. Hopefully I'll get some stuff done soon!

[SXRguyinMA]

OK so I played around with that RGB LED disc today. I had an idea to make an "eye" for the case. Similar to what is shown on the box, is the Tempest shooting beams of light from his eyes. As Kayin put it in his review (http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/frontpage/?q=node/483):


Buy this case and you can shoot eye beams too!

Well If I could find a way to make it "beam" I would, but I think this will do. I just need to find a way to mod this into the case.

I have these aftermarket projector headlights on my truck. I got backed into and one of them broke, so I got it replaced. I had torn apart the old one (why I don't remember) and had all the parts out in my shed.

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0127.jpg

Here is the Projector lens from inside. It's just a glass half circle.

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0128.jpg

here is the lens next to the RGB disc kit

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0129.jpg

and sitting directly on top of the LEDs

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0130.jpg

now this didn't quite give the look I was after. I had a top to a spray can, so I cut out the top to leave a tube

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0131.jpg

a little better, but the lights were still too direct. I wanted it diffused more

lights on
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0132.jpg

lights off
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0134.jpg

then I decided to put a plain piece of white printer paper under the lens

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0139.jpg

MUCH better!

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0136.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0135.jpg

and of course a vid :D watch in 480p for best results. I thought I had my camera in 720p mode, but I guess not. oh well.

g9pM7YhwKrI

I may try 2 sheets of paper to diffuse it a tad more, but we'll see. I just need to find a way to work this into the case somehow :devious:

[Oneslowz28]

The Arduino will only run one loop but what you can do is have it poll the temp and adjust the fins and once its finished it can scan the room. Just set a delay of like 100 between the 2 and it should work. Let me see if I can work up a code real quick.

[Oneslowz28]

You could do something like this with servo #2 being the one the eye is attached to.


// Controlling a servo position using a temperature sensor
// by Michal Rinott <http://people.interaction-ivrea.it/m.rinott>
// edited 5-12-2010 by Will Lyon to include base setting for servo if voltage not detected on pin 7
//edited 6-2-2010 by Charles Gantt to include second servo scanning control

#include <Servo.h>
#define CONTROL 7

Servo myservo; // create servo object to control a servo
Servo servo2; // creates servo object number 2

int temps = 0; // analog pin used to connect the temp sensor
int val; // variable to read the value from the analog pin
int pos = 0; // variable to store the servo position

void setup()
{
pinMode (CONTROL, INPUT); // sets the control pin to input
myservo.attach(9); // attaches the servo on pin 9 to the servo object
servo2.attach(11); // attaches servo #2 on pin 11 to the servo object

digitalWrite(CONTROL, LOW); // ensure internal pullup resistor is disabled.

}

void loop()
{
val = digitalRead(CONTROL); //read input of pin 7 and store it
if (val == HIGH){ // reads whether or not 5v is present on pin 7, if 5v present, continue:
val = analogRead(temps); // reads the value of the temp sensor (value between 0 and 1023)
val = map(val, 350, 700, 75, 105); // scale it to use it with the servo (value between 0 and 180)
myservo.write(val); // sets the servo position according to the scaled value
delay(25); // waits for the servo to get there
} else {
if (val == LOW); // if no voltage present on pin 7, continue
myservo.write(50); //sets servo position to 50 if no voltage is detected on pin 7
}
delay(25); // waits for the servo to get there
{
delay(100); //delay between functions
for(pos = 0; pos < 180; pos += 1); // goes from 0 degrees to 180 degrees
{ // in steps of 1 degree
servo2.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(15); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}
for(pos = 180; pos>=1; pos-=1); // goes from 180 degrees to 0 degrees
{
servo2.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(15); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}
}
}

[SXRguyinMA]

Minor update. I got a little bit of work done. I spent a lot of time trying to find the best mounting solution/spot for the eye. Unfortunately, once I realized all I had laid out and all I have to fit in this case, I'm going to have to scrap the idea. There was just no good spot to put it. My original idea was to put it on the front in one of the drive bays. But I'm going to have 2 intake fans (6 bays), the Sentry 2 controller, DVD drive and custom switch panel (last 3 bays). I currently have the Tt tool tray in my 10th bay on my Armor, but the Tempest only has 9 bays, so as it is I need to scrap that.

Now for the little bit of progress I got done tonight. I removed the 2 blue LEDs from the front panel. I wired up a pair of RGB LEDs with resistors. I was using some wire I bought at Radio Shack, but it was just too thick and bulky. I found an old piece of Cat5 cable, cut the ends off, and pulled all 6 feet of wiring from the inside. This is nice small diameter wiring, and now I've got 6 feet each of 8 different strands. It's perfect for hiding the wiring in tight places.

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/0702002245.jpg

I proceeded to hot glue these into the original locations that the 3mm blue ones came out of
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/0702002245a.jpg

all sleeved up and a 4-pin molex connector installed
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/0702002322.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/0702002322a.jpg

and red
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/0702002310a.jpg

green
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/0702002310b.jpg

and blue
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/0702002310.jpg

that's it for now. I've still got to wire up 8 more RGB LEDs for the 2 top 140mm fans. The 2 120mm front fans and the 120mm side fan that came with the Tempest have 3mm blue LEDs embedded into the fans. Looks nice and clean, but makes it impossible to try to fit in a 5mm LED. So for this I'm just going to take 2 of the clear Tt 120mm fans that are in Armor (and already RGB wired) and put these in the front of Tempest.

[SXRguyinMA]

What code are you running currently?


// Controlling a servo position using a temperature sensor
// by Michal Rinott <http://people.interaction-ivrea.it/m.rinott>
// edited 5-12-2010 by Will Lyon to include base setting for servo if voltage not detected on pin 7

#include <Servo.h>
#define CONTROL 7

Servo myservo; // create servo object to control a servo

int temps = 0; // analog pin used to connect the temp sensor
int val; // variable to read the value from the analog pin

void setup()
{
pinMode (CONTROL, INPUT); // sets the control pin to input
myservo.attach(9); // attaches the servo on pin 9 to the servo object
digitalWrite(CONTROL, LOW); // ensure internal pullup resistor is disabled.
}
void loop()
{
val = digitalRead(CONTROL); //read input of pin 7 and store it
if (val == HIGH){ // reads whether or not 5v is present on pin 7, if 5v present, continue:
val = analogRead(temps); // reads the value of the temp sensor (value between 0 and 1023)
val = map(val, 350, 700, 75, 105); // scale it to use it with the servo (value between 0 and 180)
myservo.write(val); // sets the servo position according to the scaled value
delay(25); // waits for the servo to get there
} else {
if (val == LOW); // if no voltage present on pin 7, continue
myservo.write(50); //sets servo position to 50 if no voltage is detected on pin 7
}
delay(25); // waits for the servo to get there
}


I posted up on the arduino boards (http://www.arduino.cc/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1278120008/1#1)and had a guy say I could get rid of

if (val == LOW); // if no voltage present on pin 7, continue


because it's using the else statement. he also suggested something like this:

sum = (sum - (sum / 8)) + (analogRead (pin) / 8);

[crenn]

// Controlling a servo position using a temperature sensor
// by Michal Rinott <http://people.interaction-ivrea.it/m.rinott>
// edited 5-12-2010 by Will Lyon to include base setting for servo if voltage not detected on pin 7
// edited again 7-4-2010 by crenn to simplify the code a little

#include <Servo.h>

Servo myservo; // create servo object to control a servo

const char CONTROL = 7; // digital pin used to detect if the system is on or off
const char temps = 0; // analogue pin used to connect the temp sensor
char trigger = 0; // varible used to store the control pin value
int val; // variable to read the value from the analog pin

void setup()
{
pinMode (CONTROL, INPUT); // sets the control pin to input
myservo.attach(9); // attaches the servo on pin 9 to the servo object
digitalWrite(CONTROL, LOW); // ensure internal pullup resistor is disabled.
}
void loop()
{
trigger = digitalRead(CONTROL); // read input of pin CONTROL and store it
if (trigger == HIGH){ // reads if pin CONTROL, if true, do this:
val = analogRead(temps); // read the value of the temp sensor (value with range of 1024)
val = map(val, 350, 700, 75, 105); // scale it to use it with the servo (value between 75 and 105)
myservo.write(val); // sets the servo position according to the scaled value
}
else {
myservo.write(50); // sets servo position to 50 if above statment is false
}
delay(125); // wait 25ms for the servo to move to it's new position and also 100ms until it gets the new value
}

Try that code, I'll post a little bit later with code to do a moving window average.

[crenn]

Just beware it will still jitter (that's an issue with the code). However that will be solved in the next set of code I write.

EDIT: Note there is probably problems with this code (Acceptable since it's 3:48AM here currently) but this is roughly what is needed.


// Controlling a servo position using a temperature sensor
// by Michal Rinott <http://people.interaction-ivrea.it/m.rinott>
// edited 5-12-2010 by Will Lyon to include base setting for servo if voltage not detected on pin 7
// edited again 7-4-2010 by crenn to simplify the code a little
// edited yet again 7-5-2010 by crenn to add features

#include <Servo.h>

Servo myservo; // create servo object to control a servo

//Constants
const unsigned char CONTROL = 7; // digital pin used to detect if the system is on or off
const unsigned char temps = 0; // analogue pin used to connect the temp sensor
const unsigned char MAX_VAL = 10;

//Main global varibles
char trigger = 0; // varible used to store the control pin value
unsigned int val; // variable to read the value from the analog pin

unsigned int updateAvgtemp(){
static int history[MAX_VAL]={0};
static unsigned char lastHist=0;
static unsigned char numHist=0;
unsigned int temp=0;
unsigned char counter=0;
unsigned char arcount=0;
history[lastHist] = analogRead(temps);
if(numHist<MAX_VAL)
++numHist;
arcount=lastHist;
++lastHist;
if(lastHist>=MAX_VAL)
lastHist=0;
temp=0;
counter=0;
do{
temp+=history[arcount];
arcount--;
if(arcount>MAX_VAL)
arcount=(MAX_VAL-1);
counter++;
}while(counter < numHist);
return (temp/numHist);
}

void setup()
{
pinMode (CONTROL, INPUT); // sets the control pin to input
myservo.attach(9); // attaches the servo on pin 9 to the servo object
digitalWrite(CONTROL, LOW); // ensure internal pullup resistor is disabled.
}
void loop()
{
trigger = digitalRead(CONTROL); // read input of pin CONTROL and store it
if (trigger == HIGH){ // reads if pin CONTROL, if true, do this:
val = updateAvgtemp(); // read the value of the temp sensor (value with range of 1024)
val = map(val, 350, 700, 75, 105); // scale it to use it with the servo (value between 75 and 105)
myservo.write(val); // sets the servo position according to the scaled value
}
else {
myservo.write(50); // sets servo position to 50 if above statment is false
}
delay(125); // wait 25ms for the servo to move to it's new position and also 100ms until it gets the new value
}

[SXRguyinMA]

I went to upload that last one, and it popped up with "error: expected unqualified-id before numeric constant" on the "const unsigned char CONTROL = 7" line

:EDIT: I deleted that line and it seems to work really well. it's just a TOUCH jittery when it moves, but that's fine. The issue I had was it jittering in one place lol

hopefully I'll have my parts tomorrow, and I can get this thing built so I can hook it all up and test it. The jittering may go away when there's a slight load on the servo. If I lightly push it with my finger and put a load on it it seems to stop jittering

[crenn]

I went to upload that last one, and it popped up with "error: expected unqualified-id before numeric constant" on the "const unsigned char CONTROL = 7" line

:EDIT: I deleted that line and it seems to work really well. it's just a TOUCH jittery when it moves, but that's fine. The issue I had was it jittering in one place lol

hopefully I'll have my parts tomorrow, and I can get this thing built so I can hook it all up and test it. The jittering may go away when there's a slight load on the servo. If I lightly push it with my finger and put a load on it it seems to stop jittering

I see why it had the error, I forgot to remove
#define CONTROL 7 so it was seeing when it compiled
const unsigned char 7 = 7; which isn't what I wanted, the code will be update in 2 ticks to reflect that. Increase the number of samples to 20 (change MAX_VAL) and see if that helps.

[SXRguyinMA]

here ya go :D click for bigger pics

He forgot to make 3 pieces though, which he said he'll do in the morning. So once again, a HUGE thanks to Tom over @ HydroCutter (http://www.hydro-cutter.com) for doing this for me!!!

Everything fits a little tight, but that's perfect. The edges are almost perfect and will only require a little bit of sanding, but that will smooth them and make everything fit perfectly. Then once it's all glued together I'll bondo it up and sand it so it looks nice. I'll get some close-up pics of the edges tomorrow.

the holes in the mounting tabs are 1/8" and the space between the hole and the edge is 1/16". Not bad for 60,000 psi of water traveling over 1,700mph!

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0152.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0153.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0154.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0155.jpg

now I've got plenty of clear 1/8" acrylic rod left from rockin case, so I will use that for the hinges. hopefully this week I can get some work done on this and more work done on the LEDs as well

[SXRguyinMA]

here's a few close-ups of the edges. they're pretty damn smooth for such a soft material. there's a slight bit of browning on some of the edges, but that was to be expected. it's not deformed at all and will be easily hidden with bondo and paint or sanded away altogether.

the pics came out ok, I need to get or make a nice photo box setup to get better lighting though

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0156.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0157.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0158.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0159.jpg

[SXRguyinMA]

Update time!!!

After about an hour of sanding on the fins i got them all to fit in perfectly

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0160.jpg

I then took all my hinge pieces and filed out the holes until the acrylic rod slid in easily, then stacked them all up to sand down the mating surfaces

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0161.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0162.jpg

after they were all sanded I laid them out in their places

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0163.jpg

I ran a piece of rod through 4 of the mounts so it would keep them properly aligned. I measured 1" from each fin edge (the middle of each fin) and scribed a line to mark where each piece was to line up.

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0164.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0165.jpg

Then I used some ultra thick CA glue with a 10-25 sec. set time and glued the parts in their places

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0167.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0168.jpg

3 sets done

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0169.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0170.jpg

All 5 sets done. This took quite a while to get right, as I needed to nudge each part gently to get it to properly line up, then glue with one hand while holding everything steady with the other. I set the actuating rod in place to help line up the 5 actuating arms, and put 15 temporary pins in to hold everything together.

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0171.jpg

Opened

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0172.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0173.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0175.jpg

I used painter's tape to hold the 3 edges on so I could sit the unit on the case over the fans and check clearances.

Louvers closed

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0176.jpg

And opened

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0177.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0178.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0179.jpg

Now I've got a bunch of sanding and filing to do on the edges of the louvers so they all open and close smoothly. Currently in the closed position they catch on each other when trying to open, so I'll probably end up beveling the edges to loosen it all up. If it doesn't work well enough I'll probably have another set of mounts cut out and put the new mounts farther to the rear of the louvers to change the pivot point. We'll see what happens though. Hopefully within the next few days I can get them all sanded and check clearances.

I'm also going to cut some small ledges to glue to the bottom backside of the louvers, so when they're closed they'll sit perfectly flush

[SXRguyinMA]

Niiiice. That's gonna look awesome once it's hooked up. :D

Thanks :D I just need to figure out where I'm going to mount the servo then make some mounts for it and it'll be pretty much ready to go! There will just be a nice bondo coat to fill in the gaps and then some black spray paint to cover it all up. I'm just not sure @ this point if I want to do gloss black or matte black...maybe I'll paint one louver in each and see how they look with the rest of the case.


Looking awesome! I showed this to one of my contacts and lets just say they like it!

Thanks CJ! :up:


I'm gonna have to learn how to make something like that. I already have a plan for it too :whistler:
sweet work on the case so far!

It's easy really. I designed it all in sketchup then added all the measurements and printed out the drawings and handed them to Tom @ HydroCutter (http://www.hydrocutter.com) and said make me this :D

Ok well it was a little more involved and time consuming than that lol, but it did go together quicker tonight than I thought it was going to, so I'm pumped :D

[SXRguyinMA]

:eek: Farging AWESOME!!!!!!! That is sooooooo damn cool. 8) +rep for sure

Thanks!!!


I want to see this in action! I'm also curious the radius of the arm (from pivot to connector) for each panel and the radius of the servo.... just curious!

Also you're welcome for the code, didn't take too long to write up and hopefully will work exactly how you want it to!

Not sure exactly what you want for measurements. I think this is what you were asking for. It's all the dimensions for the actuator arms. I can't seem to find out how to make sketchup show angles like the rest of the measurements though, but the angle is 30º. The smaller pieces are the same but without the extra arm coming off. Hope this helps :D

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/actuatorarm.png

:EDIT: upon further research it would appear that SketchUp does NOT DO ANGLE MEASUREMENTS like it does the other length measurements. Seems to be a rather important thing they left out. However you can jsut use th eprotractor to find the angle and make some text pointing to it with the angle I suppose :think:

oh and it's 1/2" center to center on the holes

[SXRguyinMA]

Smallish update!

I did all the needed sanding to get the fins to not catch on each other anymore, they all open and close smoothly now. I also added small tabs to the bottom of each one so they will only close until they're flush and won't more any farther. This will also alleviate any play in the linkage that might keep one fin open a crack while the others are closed.

I also finished gluing all the mounts. Now I'll just have to do some finish sanding on the glue and finish sanding with higher grits on the fins to take out the scratches before everything gets painted.

Hopefully this weekend I'll get to finish all the mounts permanently with the acrylic pins glued into place, and get the servo mounts made and the servo mounted. That's all for now!

[SXRguyinMA]

Update time!

The original actuator arm I had made broke because I made the walls around the holes too thin. So I cut a piece and made myself a new one

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0187.jpg

Then the 3rd side was glued on

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0188.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0189.jpg

The 1/8" acrylic rod pieces were glued into their respective holes in the actuator arm

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0190.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0191.jpg

I drilled a small hole to thread in this ball stud

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0192.jpg

Now I had to swap out my micro servo for this standard one because the linkage I wanted to use was too big for the small arm on the micro servo

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0193.jpg

I made some servo mounts

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0194.jpg

And all glued up

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0195.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0196.jpg

That's it for now while the glue sets up. Tomorrow or Thursday I should be able to hook this puppy up and test it! The linkage I used was from the forward/reverse servo from my old Traxxas T-Maxx. It's got 2 springs that should help keep the louvers shut as I can have the servo go a little past the point where they close and it'll hold them shut nicely.

Once it's all tested, all that's left is to finish gluing up the rest of it, make some mounts to mount it to the case, then bondo it up, sand it, and paint it!

[SXRguyinMA]

Very nice. Looks like there's plenty of space for the larger servo too.

Thanks! Yes there should be plenty of space for it. The next step is to temporarily mount the 2 top fans and place this on and check all clearances and see how far open the louvers can go before they hit the fans, if they hit at all.


How come you moved to a ball linkage if you mind me asking? I don't think that was in the original design.

TBH I never really had a set design in the beginning as far as hooking the servo the the actuator arm. I was planning on building the assembly, then mounting the servo wherever possible and using whatever linkage needed to make it work. I've got a ton of old R/C car stuff laying around (hence this servo and linkage) that made that part easy. I ended up needing the ball socket part because it was going to be nearly impossible to get the servo mounted exactly how it needed to be to hook it directly to the actuating arm. This way allows a little more flexibility in servo location as well as some give in the whole setup, which will be needed once I get the system up and running to properly calibrate the servo to the temp readings.

The linkage was from the forward/reverse selector on the transmission and that particular servo was a hi-torque one that was used in the steering. I had to swap it into a new case and solder on new connector and wiring (R/C nitromethane fuel doesn't do plastic any good)


Top notch my friend. Looking great! I can't wait to see it in action.

Thanks! Hopefully just another day or two when I've got a free sec to plug it in!


Looking awesome! This is going to be one of the coolest PC + Arduino mods to date!

Thanks CJ!!

[SXRguyinMA]

ok I figured it out. I set the computer off (no voltage to pin 7) setting to 180 instead of 50 (other end of servo). Then I placed the servo arm in it's correct position so the louvers will be closed when the servo is at this position. I then swapped the map=val figures to make the servo spin the other way and set the range of motion for the servo. These readings will need to be adjusted more once I get the system up and running, so I can set the ROM for the actual temps the case sees, not just ambient or in my mouth lol :D

Current code:

// Controlling a servo position using a temperature sensor
// by Michal Rinott <http://people.interaction-ivrea.it/m.rinott>
// edited 5-12-2010 by Will Lyon to include base setting for servo if voltage not detected on pin 7
// edited again 7-4-2010 by crenn to simplify the code a little
// edited yet again 7-5-2010 by crenn to add features
// edited again 7-21-2010 by Will Lyon - recalibrated servo positions

#include <Servo.h>

Servo myservo; // create servo object to control a servo

//Constants
const unsigned char CONTROL = 7; // digital pin used to detect if the system is on or off
const unsigned char temps = 0; // analog pin used to connect the temp sensor
const unsigned char MAX_VAL = 10;

//Main global varibles
char trigger = 0; // varible used to store the control pin value
unsigned int val; // variable to read the value from the analog pin

unsigned int updateAvgtemp(){
static int history[MAX_VAL]={0};
static unsigned char lastHist=0;
static unsigned char numHist=0;
unsigned int temp=0;
unsigned char counter=0;
unsigned char arcount=0;
history[lastHist] = analogRead(temps);
if(numHist<MAX_VAL)
++numHist;
arcount=lastHist;
++lastHist;
if(lastHist>=MAX_VAL)
lastHist=0;
temp=0;
counter=0;
do{
temp+=history[arcount];
arcount--;
if(arcount>MAX_VAL)
arcount=(MAX_VAL-1);
counter++;
}while(counter < numHist);
return (temp/numHist);
}

void setup()
{
pinMode (CONTROL, INPUT); // sets the control pin to input
myservo.attach(9); // attaches the servo on pin 9 to the servo object
digitalWrite(CONTROL, LOW); // ensure internal pullup resistor is disabled.
}
void loop()
{
trigger = digitalRead(CONTROL); // read input of pin CONTROL and store it
if (trigger == HIGH){ // reads if pin CONTROL, if true, do this:
val = updateAvgtemp(); // read the value of the temp sensor (value with range of 1024)
val = map(val, 350, 700, 160, 80); // scale it to use it with the servo (value between 160 and 80)
myservo.write(val); // sets the servo position according to the scaled value
}
else {
myservo.write(180); // sets servo position to 180 if above statment is false
}
delay(125); // wait 25ms for the servo to move to it's new position and also 100ms until it gets the new value
}

I was going to get some vid, but during the servo removal process I accidentally broke one of the servo mounts, so I had to re-glue it and it's setting now. Hopefully later tonight or tomorrow I can get it all back together and get a vid of it working!

[SXRguyinMA]

Johnny Five Alive!!!

Ok well not Johnny Five, but my louvers are alive :D

After a little messing with the servo arm mounting, grinding down one of the servo mounts to clear the first louver, messing with the coding and a little silicone spray on the hinges, I'm happy to report it works!!!

Enjoy :D

qD0eOEDgaqo

[crenn]

Looking good! The easiest way to change the servo direction is this line when you're writing to the servo.


myservo.write(180-val);

It does a small amount of maths before it writes it, but not too much. But your solution works fine as well.

[SXRguyinMA]

Smallish update! I managed to get some modding done tonight in between spats of watching Trace try to blow up his CPU :D

Here's a shot of the main body glued together. There's going to be a lot of sanding/grinding going on here. Mostly because I screwed up when I made the parts in sketchup....I didn't account for the thickness of the styrene :mad: Ah well, just a little more elbow grease on my end that's all :D

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0205.jpg

And as for that crazy idea I had with the switch panel....well here it is :D

Here we have the NZXT Sentry 2 fan controller. Looks great, works great, but takes up a 5.25" drive bay that I don't have to spare on the Tempest (it's got 9 bays, my armor has 10).

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0199.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0200.jpg

4 screws later and the LCD panel is off.

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0201.jpg

Some VERY gently prying and manipulating later and the touch screen sensor is off.

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0203.jpg

Here is the piece where the switches will go. I've got it marked for cutting.

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0206.jpg

And fan controller chunk is out.

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0207.jpg

Rough holes made for the front panel setup that came with the Tempest EVO.

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0208.jpg

And after about an hour of sanding and filing we have this :D

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0209.jpg

Here is how the NZXT front panel setup sits. I'm going to just use a few dabs of hot glue to hold this panel in place. You can also see the touch panel sitting in place. I cut out some small square mounts and glued them in place 2 pieces tall. These will get drilled and be used to secure the PCB in place with the original screws.

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0211.jpg

And a shot with the PCB in place. The touch panel will more or less be sandwiched in by the PCB and LCD screen. There is a small amount of adhesive that was holding it to the OEM plastic housing that will help keep it secure.

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0212.jpg

That's all for tonight as the glue needs to set up. I still need to figure out what to do as far as power and reset buttons go. I wanted to use the original ones, but I don't want to cut the housing that's holding them in place. I may just end up doing that anyways so I can use the buttons :D

Hopefully after work tomorrow I can get some more work done!

[SXRguyinMA]

Update time!

Here's a shot of the fan controller with the i/o panel installed

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0216.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0214.jpg

Then I drilled 2 holes for switches. One for power and one for reset.

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0217.jpg

Then the i/o panel was glued to the rest of the top panel

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0218.jpg

And a couple shots of the completed top panel sitting on the case

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0219.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0220.jpg

Next up was to make the mounts to hold the top panel to the case. The stock setup is 2 tabs in front, and 6 holes through the top with screws to hold it down. I figure if I use the 2 front tabs and 4 of the 6 screws for the top it should be plenty secure.

Here's a shot of the 2 front tabs on the NZXT top

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0222.jpg

and the 6 screw bosses

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0223.jpg

I then measured and transferred the locations to my top panel

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0221.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0224.jpg

I jotted down some measurements for the tabs

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0225.jpg

and the 4 screw brackets

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0226.jpg

The next step was to mark and cut out the 2 pieces that will become the front mounting tabs

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0227.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0228.jpg

I then used painter's tape to hold the top panel in the proper position on the case and glued the tabs to the panel. I also cut some small triangle braces to stiffen the tabs.

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0229.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0230.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0238.jpg

Next up was to cut out the 4 top mounts.

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0231.jpg

Then glue them in position

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0232.jpg

with stiffeners as well

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0237.jpg

That's it for now as the glue is drying. I also did some sanding to the body to smooth out and overhangs and sharp edges. The next step once the glue is dry will be to set the top panel in position and mark the holes from inside the case, then drill them.

After that it'll be finish sanding followed by bondo and paint!

[SXRguyinMA]

Time for another update!

I set the top on the case and marked the holes with a sharpie

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0239.jpg

then drilled them out

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0240.jpg

then did the same with the 2 front ones

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0241.jpg

Here it is temporarily secured to the case. It's strong no doubt, I lifted the entire case off the floor by holding only the styrene section I made

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0243.jpg

here you can see the 4 inner screws

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0242.jpg

Then I went to town with the sanding block. Then to the next town lol. All ready for bondo! I'm off to wally world right now actually to pick some up

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0244.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0245.jpg

[SXRguyinMA]

Last update for today. Hopefully more to come tomorrow!

I got some bondo on it and let it set up for a while, then did some basic sanding on it. I've still got a lot of sanding to do, but it'll be worth it in the end

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0246.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0247.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0248.jpg

[SXRguyinMA]

And after a LOT of sanding, I had to put on a little more bondo

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0249.jpg

And then a LOT more sanding, but it's ready for paint! Should get the first coat on in a day or two!!

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0250.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0251.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0252.jpg

[SXRguyinMA]

Got the first 2 coats of flat black on yesterday!

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0253.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0254.jpg

And got it wet sanded with 1000 grit today. It's currently drying and if it's dry in a few hours I'll spray the next coat.

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0255.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0256.jpg

[SXRguyinMA]

Alright update time! Sorry it took so long, we had a friend from Australia stay with us for a bit so I didn't want to spend visiting time modding lol.

So after the top panel had plenty of time to dry, I went about hot-gluing in the i/o panel

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0315.jpg

Followed by the power and reset buttons

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0327.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0328.jpg

I left the Sentry 2 panel out for now as I'm using it in my current computer, so it will be one of the final things that gets installed.

Now at this point I started placing everything in it's spot to check fitment. Dummy me forgot that I was going to add standoffs to the Arduino board, and hadn't planned on making the secondary power board for the Arduino (see this thread (http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/forum/showthread.php?t=23893) - HUGE thanks again to crenn for making that possible), so needless to say they wouldn't fit under the top panel where I originally wanted them. So I hdd to find a new place.

Well the Tempest EVO comes with 2 HDD racks that hold 4 HDDs and take up 3 5.25" slots each. I was only planning on using one of these as I only had 2 drives max that I was going to put into this case. So I went about making the Arduino and power board fit into one of these HDD cages.

The Arduino code is set so that when the computer shuts off it takes 5v away from pin 5 on the Arduino, thus telling it to shut the louvers. Well if the Arduino powers off at the same time as the computer this will not happen. So with crenn's help (and a lot of it) we got this circuit built up. It uses a 5v relay, a 5v regulator, a 15ohm resistor, a 5v zener diode, and 2 10F 2.5v capacitors. Basically 5v from the PSU powers the relay and sends 5v to the Arduino's sense pin. Then 12 comes into the relay, out to a 5v regulator, then through the resistor and diode to the caps where it charges them to a total of 5v. When the computer shuts off, the caps have enough juice to keep the Arduino on and run the servo long enough to shut the louvers. Then the Arduino will just bleed off the rest of the voltage until the caps are drained. When the computer is powered on, it takes ~5 mins to fully charge the caps.

In the breadboard:

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0316.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0317.jpg

And soldered up:

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0321.jpg

Now onto the mounting. I had these scrap pieces of stiff plastic laying around (that I was actually using for soft-jaws for my vice) that I thought would work perfectly.

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0320.jpg

Now the HDD cage had a hole in one side already, so I just lined up the plastic and drilled it.

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0319.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0318.jpg

On the other side I had to drill a hole in the side of the cage.

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0323.jpg

And using small 4-40 SS screws to hold the boards to the plastic.

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0321.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0322.jpg

And both boards mounted inside the HDD cage. This shot will be the inside-the-case side, and there will be a 120mm fan in front of this for an intake, and the HDD(s) will be an identical cage underneath this with another 120mm fan.

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0325.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0324.jpg

The thumbscrews are there temporarily because I had to change a few things on the power board so it'd work properly, and these were easy to get in and out quickly.

Having the USB on the inside will make calibrating the Arduino a lot easier. This way once the case is fully assembled I can change the Arduino's code based on the actual temps the case sees.

Pretty much all that is left is to finish wiring up the LEDs in the top 140mm fans, and figure out any other kind of case or ambient lighting I want, then take the buttons and such from my current switch panel and transfer them into one of the Tempest's front mesh panels, and re-stealth the DVD drive with a Tempest front mesh panel as well, then final assembly! I'm hoping to have it completely finished within 2 or 3 weeks :D

[SXRguyinMA]

Alright so I'm going to be working on this tonight so expect and update tonight or tomorrow sometime. i also managed to break my touch panel for my Sentry 2 fan controller (dammit!) and was trying to figure out how to get a replacement panel. Well I sent them a message on facebook, and had someone there tell me to email someone inside NZXT, so I did (and of course included a link to this worklog) . Well just a short while ago I received an email back stating that they're sending me a whole replacement fan controller! They're out of stock for now but they'll ship it out to me next week!

So a HUGE Thanks goes out to NZXT!!! They not only have incredible products but have top notch customer support! Thanks again NZXT!!

[SXRguyinMA]

Alright I got some more work done tonight!

I made up a harness for the last 4 RGB LEDs in the top 140mm fans. Every time I wire up another set I do it differently and improve upon the last version. For instance, since first doing them in Armor Redux (http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/forum/showthread.php?t=22142), I've found that if you shed an old cat5 cable, the 8 wires inside are PERFECTLY suited for wiring LEDs. And they're already twisted pairs, which is very nice.

Then comes making the actual harness. The first 140mm fan I did on this case had each LED wiring section in it's own sleeving which all got joined together. This one I did tonight has all the wiring in one continuous harness. It was a lot more work on my part to do but the end result is much nicer. :D

Here is the second completed harness:

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0329.jpg

And a close up of each wiring joint. I simply cut small sections of sleeving, then went progressively bigger as the wiring bundle got bigger.

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0330.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0331.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0332.jpg

And the 4-pin molex on the end:

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0333.jpg

And here it is installed on the fan. All I had to do was put a small dab of hot glue over each LED to make sure it wouldn't pop out as they are pretty loose in their spots.

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0334.jpg

And a shot of both fans mounted to the case:

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0335.jpg

I also sleeved the 3-pin fan harness for each as well.

I also got the Asus P5E Deluxe from Trace (thanks again) mounted in it's final resting spot. I've got my old Pentium D930 in there just to make sure no dust or anything gets in the socket. Once my Q6600 comes out of this Abit board it'll get lapped and put into the Asus board. Then that D930 will go into my Abit board and be turned into an HTPC at some point.

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0338.jpg

And I also sleeved the 3-pin harness for the rear 120mm Exhaust fan and installed it into the case with a vib. dampener. (no pics of that, but it's pretty self-explanatory).

That's it for tonight. Hopefully within the next few days I can take apart my current rig and start swapping some hardware! The two 120mm RGB fans that are in the front of my armor are going to go into the front of the Tempest (this will save me from having to wire up 2 more RGB fans, and the LED ones that come with the Tempest have 3mm LEDs, so I can't convert those).

Now the only thing I'm still debating on is whether or not to transfer my third clear 120mm fan into the Tempest side panel to replace the blue LED one, or swap out the blue LED one for a plain black and white NZXT one without the LEDs. :think:

[SXRguyinMA]

It's getting there :D

Once my replacement fan controller shows up from NZXT I'll be ready to do the final transfer of the hardware.

In the meantime I got some more work done tonight!

I started off by re-stealthing my DVD drive into the Tempest. i popped off the Tt faceplate that was hot-glued on, and found that it was rather simple to get the NZXT faceplate installed. I simply used the 3 tabs along the top that are meant to hold to foam in, and the 2 tabs on the side that hold the plate into the front panel. I just bent them as needed and adjusted them.

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0339.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0340.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0341.jpg

Drive closed:

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0342.jpg

And opened:

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0343.jpg

The next task was to transfer the buttons, switch and LED from the Tt faceplate into the NZXT faceplate. This went quick, as I simply traced the holes from the Tt plate onto the NZXT plate, and re-drilled them.

Switches in the panel:

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0345.jpg

Then I had to cut the foam to fit around the components as I had to do with the Tt plate.

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0346.jpg

One thing I noticed was the difference in density between the NZXT foam and the Tt foam.

NZXT foam on left, Tt on right:

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0348.jpg

This should help trap more dust than the Tt units did :up:

And the panel installed:
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0350.jpg

And a shot with the top panel temporarily placed into position:

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0352.jpg

And of course a vid :D (click on pic for vid)

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/th_SANY0351.jpg (http://s92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/?action=view&current=SANY0351.mp4)

Now one thing you'll notice is that the DVD faceplate doesn't sit quite flush. This is due to the mounting location for the drive. It actually needs to be mounted between the provided mounting holes. I'm going to work on fixing this without having to do more drilling on this case (it's super thick and has killed 2 of my drill bits so far lol).

That's it for now. My computer is currently without the switch panel and DVD drive, but that's ok, they're not needed right now. As soon as my new fan controller shows up then it'll be teardown time! I'll lap the proc and install the hardware and do all the cable management at that time.

[SXRguyinMA]

alright I got an email from NZXT today saying they shipped my new Sentry 2 and it will be here thursday! :banana:

So hopefully this weekend I can get it all installed and prettied up and get some nice pics taken!

I have to do some unplanned trimming to the top panel. I say unplanned because I hadn't originally planned to put the Sentry 2 in the top panel, and some of the wiring for the USB, etc hits the top panel, so I'll need to hit it with some tin snips and make the hole bigger so everything clears properly.

Stay tuned!

[SXRguyinMA]

Update time!

A shot from a couple weeks ago when I was doing the hardware transfer:

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0353.jpg

Here is how the hole in the top of the case comes:

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0390.jpg

Now I needed to open this up more to the front and rear to allow room for the cables that go to the i/o panel.

I used regular tin snips and cut a piece out of the front and the rear

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0391.jpg

Then used some plastic trim I had to cover up the sharp edges:

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0392.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0393.jpg

A HUGE thanks goes out to NZXT for this next part! I broke my touch panel to my Sentry 2 in a freak modding accident. I shot an email to NZXT asking them if there was any way I could purchase a replacement screen, as I didn't want to buy a whole second Sentry 2 just to take it's touch panel. They replied back and said they'd send me a whole new unit for free!

I got it in the other day and tore it down. Here is the touch screen mounted:

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0394.jpg

Then the LCD mounted on top of it:

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0395.jpg

I then re-attached the top panel. I'm saving pics of this for later when it's 100% done :D

I was in the process of finishing up my cable management when I realized I still had a mess of wires in front of the PSU, so I came up with an idea to make a partial false bottom.

I started by marking 2 rectangles on some carbon leftover from Rockin Case:

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0396.jpg

Then a few mins later with the band saw and we have 2 pieces:

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0397.jpg

I then hit them with the belt sander to make all the edges a perfect 90º and straight:

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0398.jpg

Then I tilted the sander deck 45º and beveled one edge on each piece. When fitted together it looks like this:

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0399.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0400.jpg

I then got my super thick CA glue and glued the two pieces together:

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0401.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0402.jpg

It's currently drying. Tomorrow after work I'll wet sand the outside of it and then hit it with some clearcoat!

That's it for now. I hope to have this 100% finished by the end of this weekend!

[SXRguyinMA]

small update tonight :D

I cut a small notch in the side where it rests again the HDD to give it some clearance.

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0403.jpg

Then I noticed a spot on the case that was just open and not particularly useful to me at this point, so I measured it up and made a piece to cover it as well:

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0404.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0405.jpg

Then after sanding the sides all flush and smooth, I wet sanded the faces and hit them with some clearcoat:

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0406.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0407.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0408.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0409.jpg

That's it for tonight. These parts will be dry tomorrow afternoon, then I'll install them, then it'll be ready for final pics!!!

[SXRguyinMA]

alright so I got the 2 carbon pieces in tonight

The first 90º piece fits over the PSU like so to cover us any cable clutter that couldn't be managed normally:

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0424.jpg

Then I had this mesh area at the back of the case with wc grommets that I wasn't using. So I took 2 pieces of double-sided tape and stuck on the other piece I made to dress it up a tad:

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0425.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0426.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0427.jpg

And with those final parts in it's done! Enjoy some so-so completed shots for now until I can get my father-in-law's D3000 and get some nice shots!!! Should hopefully be this week sometime.

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0440.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0439.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0437.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0438.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0435.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0436.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0434.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0431.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0432.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0433.jpg

[SXRguyinMA]

was playing with lighting, backdrops, etc. then messed with PS :D

went from this:

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0444.jpg

to this (which is now my background):

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/glowing_edges.png

Hopefully this week I'll get with my FIL and his D3000 and get some nice pics taken :D

[SXRguyinMA]

Alright my father-in-law left about 30 mins ago, here's a teaser :D

(Oh and it was a Pentax, coulda sworn it was a Nikon though)

I should have the pics in raw format on a DVD from him withing the next few days! He also took some nice pics of Rockin Case (FINALLY!)

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0477.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0478.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0479.jpg

[SXRguyinMA]

thanks!

speaking of motorization.... :devious:

Kx2G64BgPgM

[SXRguyinMA]

they're controlled by a single temp sensor, and it is taped to the topside of the base of my CPU cooler

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/thermaltake_CL-P0456_mobilx.png

The two red lines are where the temp sensors are. one for the louvers and the other for the sentry 2 fan controller for the CPU fan. it reads about 10ºC less than what Core Temp says in that position, but part of that may be due to the fan blowing air directly onto the sensors. I may move them, but that seemed like the best place for now. I may put them under the CPU retention bracket like that in that one vid someone posted on here a while back :D

[SXRguyinMA]

alright the GOOD pics are here! With this this mod is officially FINISHED :D

ENJOY!

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/Final%20Pics/IMGP1205.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/Final%20Pics/IMGP1206.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/Final%20Pics/IMGP1207.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/Final%20Pics/IMGP1210.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/Final%20Pics/IMGP1213.jpg

[SXRguyinMA]

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/Final%20Pics/IMGP1214.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/Final%20Pics/IMGP1216.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/Final%20Pics/IMGP1217.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/Final%20Pics/IMGP1218.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/Final%20Pics/IMGP1220.jpg

[SXRguyinMA]

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/Final%20Pics/IMGP1221.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/Final%20Pics/IMGP1222.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/Final%20Pics/IMGP1223.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/Final%20Pics/IMGP1224.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/Final%20Pics/IMGP1225.jpg

[SXRguyinMA]

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/Final%20Pics/IMGP1227.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/Final%20Pics/IMGP1228.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/Final%20Pics/IMGP1229.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/Final%20Pics/IMGP1230.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/Final%20Pics/IMGP1232.jpg

[SXRguyinMA]

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/Final%20Pics/IMGP1233.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/Final%20Pics/IMGP1235.jpg

[SXRguyinMA]

Just want to send a HUGE thanks out to everyone for their help and input on this project! (especially CJ and crenn!!)

Also want to send a HUGE thanks to NZXT for hooking me up with a replacement Sentry 2 and to John at PCBoard.ca for the lighting!!


http://www.nzxt.pl/tempest_evo/nzxt_logo.jpg (http://www.nzxt.com)

http://pcboard.ca/_images/logo.gif (http://www.pcboard.ca)

[SXRguyinMA]

Once again, a HUGE thanks to crenn for helping me out with the Arduino coding. I got the programming now set so when the computer is shut off the vents close slowly, rather than snapping shut :D


9D00Ng3BLcE

Also, stopped by microcenter and scooped up this :D


http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0539.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0540.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0541.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0542.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l11/sportrider12584/Tempest%20SXR/SANY0544.jpg

hopefully I can get it installed within the next day or two :banana: