Project Cockpit

[m4gnum]

The Base Case

Following the finish of The TARDIS, I've been looking for a new challenge. While poking about at work I found the case below. OK, I didn't "find" the case below as it's kind of hard to misplace. However, we were going to get rid of it so I kindly took it. Which was nice of me.

http://www.m4gnum.com/cockpit/images/1/front-case-sm.jpg (http://www.m4gnum.com/cockpit/images/1/front-case-lrg.jpg)
The Case (http://www.m4gnum.com/cockpit/images/1/front-case-lrg.jpg)
http://www.m4gnum.com/cockpit/images/1/door-open-sm.jpg (http://www.m4gnum.com/cockpit/images/1/door-open-lrg.jpg)
Case Door Open (http://www.m4gnum.com/cockpit/images/1/door-open-lrg.jpg)
http://www.m4gnum.com/cockpit/images/1/top-sm.jpg (http://www.m4gnum.com/cockpit/images/1/top-lrg.jpg)
Top of Case (http://www.m4gnum.com/cockpit/images/1/top-lrg.jpg)
http://www.m4gnum.com/cockpit/images/1/top-front-sm.jpg (http://www.m4gnum.com/cockpit/images/1/top-front-lrg.jpg)
The "Lid" (http://www.m4gnum.com/cockpit/images/1/top-front-lrg.jpg)
http://www.m4gnum.com/cockpit/images/1/side-off-sm.jpg (http://www.m4gnum.com/cockpit/images/1/side-off-lrg.jpg)
Side off (http://www.m4gnum.com/cockpit/images/1/side-off-lrg.jpg)
http://www.m4gnum.com/cockpit/images/1/back-sm.jpg (http://www.m4gnum.com/cockpit/images/1/back-lrg.jpg)
Back of Case (http://www.m4gnum.com/cockpit/images/1/back-lrg.jpg)

The dark strip on the right of the door is semi transparent plastic, so there could be some nice illumination through that. To the left of the door, another plastic strip which houses the power LED and hard drive activity LEDs. It packs in 12 5 1/2" drive bays to it's slender frame. On top of the case itself it has a rather hefty lid, which is surrounded by fins for airflow. The top of the case can house 4 120mm fans, though in the photo above the 4th gap is covered by a plate.On the back panel at the bottom there is room for 2 power supplies (the large hole in the last photo). The power supplies have their own special cage which I have got, but no photos just yet. The whole lot sits on a large pedestal, which hide the 4 castor wheels.

Quick Stats:
Width: 25cm (9.8 inches)
Height: 62cm (24.4 inches)
Depth: 56cm (22 inches)
Empty Weight: 23kg (3.6 stone)

You still might not quite grasp just how large this case is. I've provided a shot below of it sitting next to my Antec P160 (please note, the P160 is slightly higher than most as it sits on wheels).

http://www.m4gnum.com/cockpit/images/1/size-sm.jpg (http://www.m4gnum.com/cockpit/images/1/size-lrg.jpg)

[m4gnum]

The Idea

Mike Alpha Golf at Modland Central, ready to taxi, request IFR to the moon.

I want to do something based around an aircraft cockpit. All those switches and buttons and lights and dials and stuff. Here's an example of the overhead of a cockpit:



http://www.m4gnum.com/cockpit/images/2/real-shot.jpg


I'm planning to put some dials down the front of the case, perhaps taking apart a Coolermaster Musketeer and putting it in a suitably aeronautical arrangement, scattered between real aircraft dials. I also like the idea of getting a aircraft clock in there. Why not inject a little practicality?
On top of the case, I hope to get an instrument panel from an aircraft with loads of switches and buttons. These would then wire into the standard on/off/reset switches, fan and lighting controller and maybe find some space for some USB ports. I did find the one below on eBay which would have been perfect. I forgot to bid. It sold for a pound. One pound.



http://www.m4gnum.com/cockpit/images/2/comms-panel.jpg


This project is certainly not going to be as fully planned as the TARDIS, as it depends what I can find as to what the end result will be. I'm a bit sketchy as to how the rest of the exterior of the case will look. I might paint it up in the style of some general aviation paintwork (http://www.m4gnum.com/photos/images/rougham04/13-lrg.jpg).


Below is a quick mockup of what the case may look like. The mad skills graphics does not include the door of the case, but I'm thinking of leaving that on.

http://www.m4gnum.com/cockpit/images/2/mock-up.jpg
But what about the hardware

Of course, unless I put something in this case it's just a box. I'm planning of sticking my main ATX spec motherboard into the case (which may or may not be bought especially for this project. I'm in need of an upgrade and this may be the kick start I need) AND a Mini ITX board . Not sure on how these will be arranged internally, but it should all fit. Plus, if I get a decent switch board for the top there should be more than enough buttons to control it all. I'm thinking of putting a small TFT on the front (depending on room), which runs "glass cockpit (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass_cockpit)" style graphics when not in use as a secondary screen.

[m4gnum]

I welcome any suggestions of ideas for the styling of the exterior of the case, or anything else that you think will make the case uber mega super great.

[xmastree]

http://www.m4gnum.com/cockpit/images/1/front-case-sm.jpg

Empty Weight: 23kg (3.6 stone)

Bloody hell! It'll never fly. That's an awesome case.


I forgot to bid. It sold for a pound. One pound.Damn. Hope there'll be more along soon.

Edit: Or you could use something like this (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120088822765)

[.Maleficus.]

Sounds like a sweet idea! Nice case too, that thing must be a beast.

[M@X@ CASE - freaks]

The whole Idea is Awsome

[DaveW]

Oh yeah baby. This is my kind of mod! Take a look at Ouch!'s Interocitor (whatever that means) for a similarly themed mod.

-Dave

[m4gnum]

Thanks, I'm looking forward to this one. I really want to keep it on a aircraft theme, although The Interocitor has thrown a few more ideas into the pot.

[xmastree]

I really want to keep it on a aircraft theme
I'm imagining a model aircraft propeller used as a case fan... Mind your fingers.

[NocturnaL]

Wow thats alot of gauges man. This looks like its gonna look cool as hell. Definalty keep up with this

[progbuddy]

Dont forget the feather knobs and landing gear levers! lol. Everyone in my family is into aviation. Just to give an idea, here's a list:

dad- air traffic controller at cherry point
mom- illustrator for Helicopter Manuals
aunt- Northrop Grummond
uncle- Northrop Grummond
grandpa- flew B52's and commercial jets

The list goes on... :p

A "feather" knob would look cool on the side of the case, and have landing gear come out of the top (make it do something when you pull the handle :D) would add a nice touch. Also, maybe make a jet engine (80 mm fan + tubing = one really cool turbine engine w/ functionality).

[m4gnum]

Hey, this updates only 3 months later than the last post...

The First Panel

I bought the panel below off eBay, I haven't decided whether to mount it on top of the case or at the front. It's some sort of radio based panel about 15cm wide. It has 4 Mic selector buttons at the top (which when pressed have a satisifying clunk), 10 heavy duty flip switches, a push switch (top right, PTT), rotarty knob (volume) and 2 LEDS.

http://www.m4gnum.com/cockpit/images/3/the-panel-sm.jpg
The Panel (http://www.m4gnum.com/cockpit/images/3/the-panel-lrg.jpg)

http://www.m4gnum.com/cockpit/images/3/back-sm.jpg
Back shot (http://www.m4gnum.com/cockpit/images/3/back-lrg.jpg)

http://www.m4gnum.com/cockpit/images/3/top-sm.jpg
Top (http://www.m4gnum.com/cockpit/images/3/top-lrg.jpg)

http://www.m4gnum.com/cockpit/images/3/insides-sm.jpg
The insides (http://www.m4gnum.com/cockpit/images/3/insides-lrg.jpg)

So, what am I going to do with it? That mostly depends on what other stuff I can get but it certainly needs "gutting" to get rid of all the needless wiring and circuit boards.At the moment my plan is like pic 2 below.

http://www.m4gnum.com/cockpit/images/3/gutted-sm.jpg
Taken apart (http://www.m4gnum.com/cockpit/images/3/gutted-lrg.jpg)

http://www.m4gnum.com/cockpit/images/3/panel-plan-sm.jpg
The Plan (http://www.m4gnum.com/cockpit/images/3/panel-plan-lrg.jpg)

I'll need to remove the large switch to fit in a microphone/headphone jack, the other switches won't control individual fans (9 fans: I'm not that crazy) but have to be in a certain order to make the fans work. They may also control lights. Not sure about the mic buttons at the top, despite the clunk noise due to the metal rack moving I can't think of anything computer based that needs that sort of action. Of course, it could be replaced by a different sort of switch. Although the volume knob is a rotary type I think I'll have a second panel for fan speed control (I'm guessing there will be 4 fans in the case).

I'm also trying to read up on electronic wiring as I'm rubbish at it and with a fair amount of slightly more advanced electrics to what I'm used to it will come in useful.

[m4gnum]

OK, a slight change. The case is just too big to use. It won't fit under the desk, and takes up too much room if I put it beside it. However, the panel is too good to waste, so I incorporated it into my current Antec P160.

The 6 pole toggle switches all still work, so they were dewired, and then rewired up in a suitable fashion to change some Lazer LEDs that I got. Flicking the VOR-2 switch up turns allows you to then select between Green Lazer or Red Lazer by flicking VOR-1 up and down respectively.

Click the images to enlarge.


http://www.m4gnum.com/cockpit/images/4/6-pole-sm.jpg
Toggle switch before being rewired (http://www.m4gnum.com/cockpit/images/4/6-pole-lrg.jpg)
http://www.m4gnum.com/cockpit/images/4/red-sm.jpg
Roxanne, you don't have to put on the red light (http://www.m4gnum.com/cockpit/images/4/red-lrg.jpg)
http://www.m4gnum.com/cockpit/images/4/green-sm.jpg
Roxanne, you don't have to put on the green light (http://www.m4gnum.com/cockpit/images/4/green-lrg.jpg) Following that I used the 2 lamp houses to put in the power LED and the IDE activity LEDs. I bought a military toggle switch from Maplin, which I "distressed" by spraying it, scratching it, setting fire to it and rubbing it with coarse sandpaper. I had hope to use this to cover the power button but currently it just has another toggle switch behind it..

http://www.m4gnum.com/cockpit/images/4/toggle-sm.jpg (http://www.m4gnum.com/cockpit/images/4/toggle-lrg.jpg)
Toggle switch cover (http://www.m4gnum.com/cockpit/images/4/toggle-lrg.jpg) Because there would be a gap between the case and the panel if I put it straight into the case, I got some stiff plastic sheet and cut out a suitable "mount" which was then covered in imitation carbon fibre sheet to match other detailing on the case. The stiff plastic provides enough resistance against the case to hold it in place.

http://www.m4gnum.com/cockpit/images/4/panel-sm.jpg (http://www.m4gnum.com/cockpit/images/4/panel-lrg.jpg)
The Panel (http://www.m4gnum.com/cockpit/images/4/panel-lrg.jpg)
http://www.m4gnum.com/cockpit/images/4/case-lrg.jpg
The full case
http://www.m4gnum.com/cockpit/images/4/case-dr-sm.jpg (http://www.m4gnum.com/cockpit/images/4/case-dr-lrg.jpg)
The full case in the dark (http://www.m4gnum.com/cockpit/images/4/case-dr-lrg.jpg) So, current functionality allows me to change some LED colours and have a power and hard drive LED. I had planned on wiring up the power/reset button and dedicate a toggle switch to each fan. However, I thought I'd run with how it is at the moment for a few weeks.

BUT, I didn't even get that far. 20 minutes of using the computer later it just restarted itself which it has never done before (4 year old computer), so I ripped out the panel and put it in a cupboard till I can work out what went wrong.

[chaksq]

Looks cool. What are you doing with the case you are not using? If you were not across the pond I would buy it from you. Oh well, you should get some cockpit style gauges to and find a way to make them work as fan speed monitors or something.

[Visionary]

That panel looks pretty sweet on your P160. Sorry to hear about the problem.

I wonder if you could incorporate the big case into your table. Maybe use it to hold up one side of the table and lengthen or shorten the legs on the other side. I love huge cases. The bigger the better.

[xmastree]

What are you doing with the case you are not using? If you were not across the pond I would buy it from you.Hmm, he's not over the pond from where I'm sitting... :devious: