The Filing Cabinet Server

[Drum Thumper]

I posted a while back in the Idea section about using 'found' parts. So, after some planning, a little bit of shopping at the Home Depot, and some work with my drill and propane torch, I have started a third (gasp!) mod.

At this time, I am planning on using the old PIII mobo from Mach I of the Frankenstripe as my fileserver. This machine will eventually get a SATA compatible mobo along with a minimum of 1 TB storage configured in RAID 5.

Enough chitchat, on with the pics!

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0002.jpg

As you can see, this poor old filing cabinet has seen some better days. One of the front doors is completely busted off. I had originally planned on using both of the front doors as one large door and have it open from the side. But that just wasn't meant to be, as I seriously screwed up the intact one while trying to take it apart. Oh well.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0004.jpg

More or less gutted. The four rails have to go, so out comes the propane torch. A few minutes later, and I was left with this:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0009.jpg

At first, I thought this was riveted together, but it's either JB weld or some really good oxy-acetylene welding. I'm guessing the latter, since the ol propane torch couldn't heat it up enough.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0011.jpg

Some plywood (although I know that's not what it really is--I'm having a brain fart atm) to cover up the bottom of the cabinet.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0010.jpg

And it mocks up nicely. As you can see, I still need to rip out the other set of rails. This is on the to-do list for this coming weekend.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0012.jpg

The new front door. The dude @ Home Depot cut it just a tad bit too wide. No big problem, I'll have access to some power tools this weekend.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0013.jpg

Utility hinges, handle and a new lock. Kinda self-explanatory.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0014.jpg

Thought I would share this one too. I was trying to heat up the weld from the outside and did a good job of beginning my stripping.

So here's what's left (no particular order):

Cut the back panel for the mobo tray and the PSU.
Drill and mount power/reset switches.
Buy casters so this thing is somewhat mobile.
Install mobo and hard drives that I have lying around
Burn xUbuntu and install on system.
Prime and choose paint color.
Build HD rack.
And probably a few other things I cannot think of at the moment.

Anyways, I will be taking 4 days off this coming weekend and spend at least a day working on this. We'll have to wait and see what'll happen though.

[Olen]

Looking interesting. What are you planning on using it for?

And its MDF :)

[Drum Thumper]

Looking interesting. What are you planning on using it for?




At this time, I am planning on using the old PIII mobo from Mach I of the Frankenstripe as my fileserver. This machine will eventually get a SATA compatible mobo along with a minimum of 1 TB storage configured in RAID 5.


Today, I shall drill the holes for the on/off and reset switches. Or I might just play with the PSU.

[Drum Thumper]

Not too much of an update, since I have to work in a bit, but I did manage to get some control over the inevitable rat's nest:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0015.jpg

[Bucko]

What did you use for the cable sleeves?

[b4i7]

looks like split loom to me

[Drum Thumper]

b4i7 is correct, it's split looming out of the grab bag that I won from Crimson Sky.

I've also decided to completely stealth everything with the exception of the power cord and the CAT-5 cable. And both of those will be out of sight, since they'll be residing on the backside.

[Drum Thumper]

Update time--it's HOT OUTSIDE. What better weather for chopping up a filing cabinet?

I thoroughly pissed off the neighbors over the last 20 minutes or so with my jigsaw. Oh well, it was a one time deal. I much prefer working in a garage or shop.

This isn't the best looking work by far, but damnit, form follows function with me, so here it is in all of it's glory:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0001-1.jpg
Marked up and pilot holes drilled.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0002-1.jpg
Whoops, was a bit off on my measuring. This is why we measure twice and mark (or cut) once. No big deal, just needs a little more jigsaw lovin'.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0003.jpg
It fits. Sorta. These standoffs:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0004-1.jpg
Caused just a bit of a problem. Nothing a little dremel action won't take care of:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0005.jpg
Inside view. Now I have to mount the MDF bottom so I can start placement for drives and the PSU.

Now that the mobo tray has finally been installed, I had a realization: This is gonna be a bitch to get the motherboard screwed down onto the tray. I'm forseeing some scraped knuckles in my future.

Off to the hardware store, I need some nuts and bolts.

[Drum Thumper]

So I just spent the last hour or so fighting with a couple of screws on this thing. Sucks when you can't find your magnetic screwdrivers. :mad:

Anyways, I now have the old PIII mounted. A couple of pics:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0007-1.jpg
front

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0008-1.jpg
back

It's almost 9 pm and I need some more damn bolts.

Probably should get a bite to eat as well--all I have had today is half a large bag of popcorn at the movies.

I've got an hour before Home Depot closes, so if everything works out tonight, I should at the very least get everything mounted, if not up and running.

Think I'll take a chunk of the loom that I used on the PSU and see if I can get a decent color match. Or at least something that will compliment it.

[Drum Thumper]

One last update before I call it a night:

I pulled the mobo out, as I am still very much in mockup stage. So I decided to see if I could get xUbuntu installed on a 4 gig hard drive I have laying around here.

Then I found out that the drive is pretty much dead. Spins, writes, but can't read.

No biggie there, I have a pair of 40 gigs at my disposal, along with roughly 300 gigs between two drives that I can use for storage until I get this mobo replaced with something that'll accept SATA.

So JBOD it is for the time being.

Anyways, a few interesting pictures:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0009-1.jpg
My testing/workstation. Just threw this together and it worked quite well. I'm thinking about keeping this chunk of MDF around and adding some standoffs to it.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0011-1.jpg
I realize this looks like either a) the computer is turned off or b) Thumper's camera is a BAMF (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Megatronmovie.jpg). Actually, the heatsink fan just flat out wasn't working. I'm thinking it might have something to do with the fact that I currently do NOT have a case fan hooked up to the board through a 3 pin.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0010-1.jpg
Attempting to install xUbuntu. Seemed to work just fine until I rebooted. So my 4 gig hard drive will probably become a clay pigeon, along with a similarly ancient 2 gig hard drive.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0012-1.jpg
She's got wheels! I just might throw my blue CCFL's underneath to give it a nice glow for nighttime use.

Stay tuned, thanks for watching, this shall continue some more tomorrow. I'll be taking the hole saws to the case and making some, well, holes.

[jdbnsn]

I'm liking this project, lots of elbow room in there!

[Drum Thumper]

I'm liking this project, lots of elbow room in there!

Oh yeah. All sorts of room. In fact, I'll see if I can find a pic of me actually working on it.

I'll have another update up in a bit. This one's almost done.

[Drum Thumper]

Here's what's left to do, and it'll be done by next weekend!

Find and install some molding around the fan holes.
Hang the front door.
Install lock on front door.
Install handle on front door.
Tear down and paint.
Final assembly.

Cut a few holes in the cabinet, and managed to gouge it a bit as well. Hence the need for some molding.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0013-1.jpg
Intake fan hole.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0016-1.jpg
Closeup of the exhaust fan hole. Holesaw got away from me just long enough to do this.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0017.jpg
Since the PSU is going to reside inside, I had to make a hole for it's cord. Still needs a bit of cleanup done to it.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0018-1.jpg
A perspective shot.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0019-1.jpg
$9.99 a piece at Radio Shack. So I got two.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0021-1.jpg
My method of drilling holes worked, but next time, I'll try to find a template. This side is just a bit off. No biggie. Form Follows Function.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0020-1.jpg
$4.99 @ Ace Hardware. I now have enough mesh to do quite a few computers. I just might cut the door panel up some and install a bit of this there as well.

Speaking of the door, I didn't measure correctly the first time around it seems--was off by 1/4" inch. I took it back to Home Depot to see if they could cut basically a saw blade's thickness off of it. They tried, and while it looked good in the store, it STILL DOESN'T FIT. I might be rethinking the door over the next few days.

And the Mrs. and I decided on a dark purple for the color. I'll have to pick that up before next weekend.

[Drum Thumper]

After much deliberation, the front door is actually going to consist of two independent pieces: top and bottom. I'll add two more hinges (in fact, I might have to jump up in size a bit), and have a 14 1/4" X 24 1/2" piece of the MDF cut into two 14 1/4" x 12 1/4" pieces. Why? Because I can.

The top door will have a rectangular hole cut into the middle of it, and the afore-mentioned mesh will make another appearance there as well.

And lights. I was planning on my blue CCFLs to be on the bottom of the case, but I am now thinking that they are going to reside inside and the single lazerleds that Crimson Sky sent in the grab bag (I believe I have four of them) will highlight each wheel. So, two separate switches are going to be incorporated into the backside of the cabinet. Or perhaps I'll incorporate two of the military toggles (from Crimson Sky as well, thanks a ton man!) on one of the sides or the top.

And I still need to go get my two 40 gig hard drives from uncle Bob (yes yes I know :p), since he's almost as crazy as I am when it comes to computers--one of these days I'll talk him into modding a case.

[Drum Thumper]

Alright, update time. This one's pretty much done except for the painting, which will happen this weekend.

I got another sheet of the 1/4" MDF and had a front panel cut that is more or less flush with the rest of the cabinet. I then drilled holes for the hinges, handle and lock, and here's the results:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0022-1.jpg
Handle and mailbox lock, all mocked up.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0023-1.jpg
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0024-1.jpg
Holes for the hinges.

And here's a couple 'minor' problems:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0025-1.jpg
These screws are a bit long. A quick trip to Ace can remedy that.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0026.jpg
This needs to sit flush. So I'm gonna have to do some handywork with the dremel tomorrow so I can get one of the ridges built into the lock through the bottom, that way the metal clasp can go underneath as well.

I'll find a hard drive cage and probably just bolt it down on the bottom panel.

Almost there.

[chaksq]

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0025-1.jpg
These screws are a bit long. A quick trip to Ace can remedy that.
So can a hacksaw.

Save yourself some gas and change and just cut the screws to length. No need waste time, fuel, and money for something minor like this.

[Drum Thumper]

So can a hacksaw.

Save yourself some gas and change and just cut the screws to length. No need waste time, fuel, and money for something minor like this.

True enough, but Ace is literally right next door to where I work, so it's not a biggie.

+rep for the idea though!

[FrooP]

save the world saw your screws :D /offtopic

this thing is greaaat maaan :)

[Drum Thumper]

ARGH!

People here have no damn clue what I'm looking for--I just spent the better part of 2 hours looking for trim and getting shown sealant.

So screw it, when all else fails, improvise.

What I'm looking for is nothing more than tubing, so I'll just get some of that.

Oh, and I'm jetting town for a few days. Expect the final pics up by Tuesday at the latest.

[Drum Thumper]

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0027.jpg

Trim problem solved with some vacuum line. I bought 4 foot of the stuff, as I have one more hole to do on this mod and one on Frankenstripe as well.

Having said that, I'm gonna pack for a 3 day modfest/get out of town/enjoy the outdoors mini-vacation.

See everyone Monday,

DT

[slytherock]

Have fun! :)

[Drum Thumper]

Have fun! :)

Did I ever. Sadly (or not, depending on one's outlook), not much work was done to the FCS while I was out in beautiful Central Montana. I did, however, manage to put 60 + rounds through my 870 Express 12 gauge in roughly 45 minutes--left a bit of a bruise on my right shoulder/bicep area. The joys of skeet shooting (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skeet_shooting)!

That, coupled with a relaxing tube float down Big Spring Creek in Lewistown, MT made for a relaxing 4 day get-away.

As soon as I find my camera, I'll post some pictures.

[Bopher]

Sounds like an awesome time man. Just what I wish I could be doing. Just chilln' out and relaxing.

[Drum Thumper]

Small update--got the door hung. I'm not all that satisfied with the end results. But I think I know how to make it work properly.

I did get a chance to take an angle grinder to part of the inside of the case and got the riser that the rails rode on removed from the left side. After that was done, I fired up the dremel and cut the left inside lip so I will have better access to the bolts for the hinges like this:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0052.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0053.jpg

Here's the door open:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0048.jpg

And closed. Notice that the damn thing is crooked.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0054.jpg

I'm thinking I might get some bigger hinges and redrill.

I've still got to sand the lock hole a bit too. That will probably get done tonight when I get home from work.

And on a different front, Xubuntu is giving me hell--can't install it to the 40 gig hard drive that I wish to use for the OS. I'm going to try to set said drive up as a slave and see if I can get it to cooperate with me that way.

[Drum Thumper]

Some minor progress made tonight in the OS realm--turns out my 4 gig hard drive isn't bad at all, so I installed FreeNAS on it.

It's too damn hot to paint, and it looks like it's going to stay that way for quite some time, so on Friday (or maybe later today, we'll have to wait and see), I will reattach the front door and migrate everything that I have available into the cabinet.

And the PIII is about to be retired. I just found a dirt cheap Socket 478 board (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138262R) on Newegg. 4 IDE drives and 2 SATA drives equals a 5 disk RAID 5 array. Until I get the money socked away to buy the 5 drives (which will most likely be 500 gigs each), I'll run a JBOD configuration that will have roughly 200 gigs of storage.

2 Terabytes of storage. I'll have room for all my bootleg concert FLACs, that's for sure!

[alphastryk]

looks great man!

I just started on my socket 478 fileserver...

[Drum Thumper]

With the exception of painting and installing my newly ordered hardware, I think it's safe to say that this part is finished.

All that is left now is a bit of soldering for the fans and switches. Still undecided if I'm going to add a HDD activity light.

Anyways, onto the pics!

Installed the new hinges, and I'm really tickled with the results this time!

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0055.jpg

Front shot, all nice and even this time.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0056.jpg

A bit of a closeup of the top.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0057.jpg

Enlarged the hole just enough to get the locking mechanism installed properly.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0058-1.jpg

Backside of the door.

I'm also still undecided on whether or not to install the two blue CCFLs that I have on the bottom of cabinet or inside, or even install them at all.

Finally, I'm going to have to get a new soldering iron and some solder as well, since I have no idea where my old one is.

So here's the recap of what's left to do:

Hardware
Solder
Paint (hopefully late August or sometime in September).

[alphastryk]

looks much better with the new hinge setup. once you paint it, it will look like a miniature of a rackmount cabinet... xD

[Drum Thumper]

Alright, the fans have been mocked up, the weather is getting a bit cooler, and in addition to having to work the next six days, I also start my next block of college classes on Monday. Dunno how this is gonna work out here, I guess we'll have to see.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0003-1.jpg

Mock up of the CCFLs. Looks alright, but I kinda like this better:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0006-1.jpg

That's what it looks like with the lights inside. I'll ponder it for the next few days.

And as promised, fan mockups!

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0009-2.jpg
Bottom fan. Forgot to put my spacer in, and it rubs a bit on the gutter guard. This is why I'm doing mockups.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0010-2.jpg
Top fan. Spins freely, due to the way it's installed.

I'm thinking of installing this inside of the case as well:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0007-2.jpg
An 8 port 10/100 switch. Expandability literally built in if I do.

Just to give you an idea how small it is:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0011-2.jpg

I might try my hand at shaping the gutter guard so it will sit flush with my ghetto grommets. Shouldn't be too hard to do, I'll use a CD spindle as my mold.

Mobo and RAM arriving on Tuesday. I won't bother you, dear Constant Reader, with the mundane task of getting that up and running.

But I will, however, give you the current specs:

Intel Celeron D 315 Prescott 2.26GHz 256KB L2 Cache Socket 478 Processor (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819116031)
BIOSTAR P4M80-M4 Socket 478 VIA P4M800 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138262)
Kingston KVR400X64C3A/128 128MB DDR400 PC3200 Memory (https://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80091-2)

As previously stated, I'll be running a 5 disk RAID 5 array once I buy all the disks (roughly $100 a pop). Until then, I will be tearing Blue apart and canabalizing the 200 gig HD out of it and using it in conjunction with 2 80 gig HDs for a total of 360 gigs plus whatever isn't being used by my 4 gig (yes, that is correct, a 4 gig hard drive) by FreeNAS.

More than enough storage for the time being.

[jdbnsn]

The gutter guard looks perfect!

[Drum Thumper]

My RAM showed up on Monday, and supposedly the board will be here later today.

I already have the proc, so this should be up and running by Wednesday at the very latest.

[Drum Thumper]

Brown dropped off my mobo, so here's a few pictures:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0013-2.jpg
Ooooh....shiny

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0014-1.jpg
Everything is all hooked up, just waiting to POST

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0015-1.jpg
{/best Dr. Frankenstein voice}It's alive!{/end voice}

For some odd reason the mobo is only detecting 64 megs of ram, and yet it's a 128 meg chip. I'm going to play around with it tonight via knoppix and see what the hell is going on.

I'm also working on a new design for the fan ports. Again, I know what I want but I can't draw worth a damn.

Oh, and Friday, I'm painting!

[Drum Thumper]

Just in time for Halloween....I'm resurrecting the dead.::banana: :D

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0033.jpg
It's back, and will be done before the end of the year in some shape or form!

I've torn everything down to damn near the basic file cabinet; the floor is still attached due to some minor work that will be done tomorrow (read: installing the PSU). Then I'm going to strip that ugly beige off and toss a coat of primer on, weather permitting of course (supposedly going to be in the 60's tomorrow, that's good enough for me).

And I ran into one minor problem:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0038-1.jpg

The back panel of the mobo is a tad bit newer than the flimsy cover on the back of the tray. Nothing the dremel can't knock out.

So for tomorrow:

Cut the back of the cabinet so it will accept the PSU.
Grind the fan holes, since they're still a bit ragged.
Install HD chassis (1 for now, but it will receive another in the future).
Paint (door for sure, the rest might get primered).

Mockup stage, as far as I'm concerned, is complete. Looks like this will temporarily hold 220 gigs (roughly) of storage, as I have two 80s and a 60 gig at my disposal.

And with RAM prices plummeting, I'm also looking at two gigs for Blue. The one gig that is currently in here will end up in my wife's machine, and the 512 meg chip that she has will go to the FCS.

[Drum Thumper]

Alright, first off, the weatherman lied (big surprise there).

And secondly, I did a little research on another mod that who's worklog has been posted here, and has inspired at least one other modder (yes jbdnsn, I do mean you! :D).

So I played around a bit with some balsa wood and did a bit of a mockup:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0039.jpg

I'm planning on wrapping this motif, if you will, down the sides. And I've got an idea for an improved door as well. This will also allow for me to fix the flub on the exhaust hole.

I'm also kicking around a couple different ideas regarding the paintjob. The purple, obviously, is out the door. Olive drab green is too overdone in my opinion, but it might work as a base. A trip to Ace is in my imminent future.

I'm also hoping to get a bit more done this weekend, as I'm taking 4 days off and heading out to my parents for some much needed rest, relaxation, and enjoying the great outdoors with my .270 and 12 gauge.

[jdbnsn]

Woohoo! Joe's back to work on my new server! Heehee, glad to see you are still plugging away at it man.

[Drum Thumper]

More goodies for the Server, although it's slowly turning into a multipurpose system now. I kinda figured as much.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0045.jpg
Couldn't pass this deal up. $20 clearance item @ Shopko, and there's one left just in case I screw this up. And as an added bonus, I found a guide for modding the gamecube version of this unit. So, just a little bit more research and we'll see what happens!

I'll be tearing this apart *maybe* this afternoon. We'll see what happens for sure though.

[Drum Thumper]

More screenwork done for tonight, I'm going to leave the unit stripped as it for now. I also ran into a minor problem that will be resolved with a quick trip to Radio Shack.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0046.jpg
Back cover off, crappy speakers disposed of, just need to finesse the bottom plate off.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0047.jpg
Missed a screw. Was having a helluva time trying to get it off, then inspiration hit and I removed the label.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0048-1.jpg
Like I said, was having a helluva time. This piece is permanently bent like this--the powers of a hairdryer!

I stayed at this part for a good 30 minutes, during which time I was surfing the net trying to find some schematics so I could figure out what wires do what. After several dead ends and a little bit of spyware, I said screw it and googled the screen model (Sharp LM6Q4O1), and found out what pins do what thanks to the guys over at MP3car.com. Kudos to them!

And here's where I'm at:
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0050.jpg

And here lies my minor problem: the connector is a POS. Like I said, a quick trip to Radio Shack should remedy that.

The pins themselves go like this: (cut and pasted from the other site)

1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10

1 - NC
2 - Blue
3 - Red
4 - +12v
5 - Gnd
6 - NC
7 - Composite Sync
8 - Green
9 - +12v
10 - Gnd

And the VGA connector is like this: (also copied from the other site)

DB15 or VGA connector:
1 - Red
2 - Green
3 - Blue
13 - Horizontal Sync (connect to composite sync)
10 - Gnd

Power comes from a molex on either 4 and 5 or 9 and 10, but not both from what I've read.

I'll hopefully will be busting out the soldering iron this next weekend after hellweek in the grocery business is over with.

[SgtM]

Lookin good man. + rep.

[Drum Thumper]

5 1/2" x 4 3/8" x 1 1/8". Those are the overall dimensions of this lil screen. So now that I know what I'm working with, away we go to Sketchup to work out some ideas for the housing:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/lcddrawing2.jpg
Head on with some dimensions. For reference, metal colored part is the actual housing, the black part is the plexi cover that I popped out of the Gamer's screen unit and the smoky grey part is the actual LCD screen.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/lcddrawing1.jpg
And a side view.

Here's the deal though: I don't like the boxy-ness of my mounting housing. The front face plate needs to protrude more than the rest of the housing. So, back to Sketchup. Here's where I'm at:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/lcdscreen3.jpg
It's starting to look decent. The top cover extends 1" on each side, which will allow enough room for an on/off switch and a LED light to show that it's on.

[Drum Thumper]

First off, my main machine had a few 'issues' over the weekend. I've got some new RAM coming my way, and have installed three of the four hard drives into Blue that were originally going into the server. No biggie, as this actually opens up a bit more space (~320 gigs vs. ~250 jbod configuration I had originally planned).

So having said that...

A quick update:

Borrowed a donor case from my wife's uncle. This will allow me to get this beast up and running...

Decided that a LAMP configuration would be my best choice. If nothing else, it will give me a bit of 'real world' experience.

RAM should be here by Wednesday at the latest. Once I install the 1 gig of matched DDR into Blue, the remaining 512 meg chip is going to go into the 478 board. 640 megs *should* be enough for Xubuntu. And I also need to find the tutorial that was posted elsewhere on the net (bit tech iirc).

Tuesday is looking like the beginning of 'armor'ing the cabinet. I bought a coping saw and a set of blades at Home Depot Saturday, along with a soldering iron, as my old one got lost due to many a move. I'm hoping to shorten the wires leading from the HSF to the connector later today (Monday).

And I'll get some pics up tomorrow as well. I'm running a gimped system at the moment (dual channel architecture + 1 stick of RAM = FAIL), and don't wish to put an overly heavy load on Blue atm.

[Drum Thumper]

Update time!

I managed to get the soldering done yesterday on the HSF, and will be doing more soldering as need be.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0011-3.jpg

And I've started work on the armoring of the case as well. I see a lot of sanding in my future, but I'm going to cut all the pieces first and knock out the sanding all at once.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0019-2.jpg

There's a few splinters missing on the two trapezoidal cut pieces, I might leave this as is, as it does give it a bit of a 'used and abused' look. Or I could just bust out the spot putty. Or go get some wood putty...

This is about ~15 minutes of cutting, so I should be able to make some progress tomorrow.

Also, I mentioned that I had borrowed a donor case. Here's a pic of it:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0012-2.jpg


http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0013-3.jpg
And finally, a box of goodies that still needs to be mailed out to Bopher. This woulda gotten sent off today, but the Post Office was PACKED. :( Oh well, I'll try again Wednesday!

[Drum Thumper]

Some major progress made: FCS is now a LAMP. :santa::banana::santa::banana:

Tomorrow, I shall migrate a few things off my 200 gig drive and install it along with an 80 gig that is currently residing in my NAS drive that is of no use to me.

Things are coming along nicely!

[calumc]

Keep the good work going!

[Drum Thumper]

Not that much of an update, but I'm seriously considering breaking down and buying a stationary belt sander from Sears. I made a post (http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/forum/showthread.php?p=159194#post159194) regarding flipping a portable belt sander upside down and clamping in a vise due to the high cost of stationary ones. Long story short, the stationary belt sander that I was originally looking at was an entry level professional belt sander, hence the high cost. It wasn't until I made a trip into the Craftsman section @ Sears that I realized the a hobby level belt sander is roughly a quarter of the price.

Also, I still need to get a shelf built in this bad boy to hold the cable modem, the router, and the switch box that is going to reside inside of it, or, in regards to the router, on top of it. I'm currently leaning towards either pegboard or MDF for the shelf. Either way, I will most likely need to add a couple more fans to the system for cooling purposes.

And the Sony screen that I procured, you ask? Scrapped for this project, however, it will either go into Frankenstripe (http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7283) or the John Deere (http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6528) mod. Or both, since I have two of them.

You see, I've got a deadline now. I want to get this and Frankenstripe done before the baby (http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12646) is here. I'd like to get Deere done as well, but I seriously do not think that will happen.

[Drum Thumper]

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/sander.jpg

$99 at Sears. So I bought one.

I'm going to get the rest of the 'armor' cut over the next few days, and sanded most likely next weekend. I've also got the hardware for mounting the shelf on the inside. Expect a larger than normal post soon.

[Drum Thumper]

Update time--I spent a couple hours over the weekend cutting and sanding and cutting and sanding and...well you get the idea. Then I busted out my glue gun and the top of the FCS now looks like:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/IMG_0005-1.jpg

I took this before I glued everything down, I'll get some better pics up soon.

Here's what I've got left to do for construction:

Install shelf inside (have parts)
Cut new airflow holes (one for shelf area, one for computer area)
Buy two more 120mm fans
Continue motif down the right and left sides
Trim motif around holes, mainly to cover up the Hugh Jass mistake I made on the original intake hole
Resize PSU slot on back
Scratcbuild and install button panel (have parts, need to get it done
Install HD cage
Buy and install green CCFLs, reroute switch to plate cover (already purchased the cover, need to get the CCFLs this week I'm thinking)
Front door design
Wire management
Paint

It looks like a big list, but the majority of the work will be done on the right and left sides with the motif, followed by the front door. I've got two ideas kicking around in my head at the moment, both of which were inspired by mods here--TIP 3K and Tranquility.

And in other news, my Aerocool M40 case is going to be here any minute. The server is getting transplanted again, as I need a MicroATX board for installation review purposes.

[Drum Thumper]

This one's in my sights as well. I've scrapped the Mashie inspiration (http://www.mashie.org/casemods/tranquillity1.html) in favor of some trick painting, a la Commando.

Work to resume next week.

[SgtM]

Oooooohhhhh... what'cha got in mind for paint? huh? huh? huh? Lookin good man. Have some rep. Let me know if you need help on that LAMP at all.

[Drum Thumper]

Oooooohhhhh... what'cha got in mind for paint? huh? huh? huh? Lookin good man. Have some rep. Let me know if you need help on that LAMP at all.

The LAMP is rock ****ing solid. Biggest issue I'm facing at the moment with it concerns how I've got it connecting to my home network--wireless card, and every time I turn it on, I have to type in the password to connect, which kinda defeats the whole purpose of having it headless. It's Ubuntu 7.something, I might blow it away and put 8 on there instead. But that's down the road a ways.

The other issue I'm having is in regards to streaming video, I'm thinking that the ol' PIII ain't up for it, network congestion, or a combination of both. Once this build is done, I'll get cracking on the fine tuning of the home network--been looking into some 3rd party ROM flashes for the router.

Paint wise, I'm thinking waterdrops. Simple to do, and looks badassed.

[Drum Thumper]

Yes, I know. I've been promising updates for what, the last YEAR?!? And I really haven't delivered. That's going to change tomorrow. I've got the next two off, everything I need I already have (sans the paint, but it too freaking hot right now, lest I lay paint @ 3 am, and that just ain't gonna cut it), so there's really no excuse whatsoever right?

One minor update to add as well--I've pulled the 200 gig hard drive and put it on blue for the time being for storage purposes. The Mrs. and I are looking at a house out in the 'burbs (if you can call Slum Prairie...errr Sun Prairie the 'burbs of Great Falls) that has an absolutely huge 3 car garage (the single car portion is partitioned off from the double bay door--guess where the CLIMATE CONTROLLED shop is?!?!?!?) that's well within our price range, and if this goes through, I will feasibly be able to mod year around, with minimum issues concerning dust (it's that well insulated and whatnot) for when I'm throwing down paint. I'm still shooting for a complete hardware update on the FCS, or (more probable) just transplanting hardware if and when I decide to upgrade Frankenstripe/Blue.

Pics coming tomorrow. Most likely bare metal, with the slight chance of primer. Ditto Frank. I'll be a painting madman as soon as the sun goes down.

[Drum Thumper]

Very minor progress to report--cleaning the paint off the back panel of Frank took a bit longer than I thought it would.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/072708_23411.jpg
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/072708_23401.jpg
Forgive the ****ty pics, I forgot to grab my camera and had to take these with the cell phone. If I would of had another hour, I would have been at bare metal and been ready to prime. This is roughly 20 minutes worth of stripping with my drill. Yes, I could go get some paint stripper, but I find that using a stripping bit is much more therapeutic.

More coming tomorrow. As you can see, I've ripped this thing down completely. I'll hopefully get the MDF bottom drilled and painted.

And the paint scheme is gonna kick all sorts of ass. You'll just have to wait and see.

[DonT-FeaR]

cool


a drill ??? never heard that one before nice workk

[nevermind1534]

My dad was striping the paint off of the keel on his old boat with a drill, until he got paint stripper. For my case, I just used a palm sander.

[Drum Thumper]

cool


a drill ??? never heard that one before nice workk

If you look at the first picture, you can see my stripping bits in the lower right hand corner.

http://www.toolstation.com/images/library/stock/webbig/90287.jpg

It's a bit time consuming, especially if the work area is on the large side. But also very stress relieving.

[Bopher]

I think I need me a few of those. All I been using is sanding disks on a drill. gives you funky swirls that have to be sanded out anyway by hand.

[Drum Thumper]

I think I need me a few of those. All I been using is sanding disks on a drill. gives you funky swirls that have to be sanded out anyway by hand.

I still get a few funky shapes, especially with the metal one. I'll be going over all this with most likely 600 grit before primering.

Block sanding...oh joy. But hey, paint jobs are very dependent on prep work, so I'll do what I gotta do.

[DonT-FeaR]

oh right yea idk what i was thinking about lol

[SXRguyinMA]

Until then, I will be tearing Blue apart and canabalizing the 200 gig HD out of it and using it in conjunction with 2 80 gig HDs for a total of 360 gigs plus whatever isn't being used by my 4 gig (yes, that is correct, a 4 gig hard drive) by FreeNAS.

is anything under 100 gig even legal anymore :? :D

[Drum Thumper]

is anything under 100 gig even legal anymore :? :D

Hehe. I've got quite the collection of ancient gear. I think I still have the hard drive out of my first computer, and it only held 180 megs IIRC.

[Drum Thumper]

Following up from the previous post:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/FCSJuly302008002.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/FCSJuly302008001.jpg

Two of the three sides done. I'll probably go over the front as well--or just hit it with some 600 grit and paint over it.

And some commentary from yours truly:

5cHjnmegXOM

I would have gotten the third side done, but 8 hours of work + 45 minutes of sanding = jello arms. I'll bust out the third side tomorrow and, depending on next week's work schedule, there's a good chance I'll get the priming done on this and the rest of Frank. Speaking of Frank, I've got a bit of work to do with the lighting on the bottom--intermittent flashing, and I know where the problem is, so I'll be doing some rewiring. Then I gotta figure out where and how to hook up the white LEDs inside the case.

[DonT-FeaR]

cool

[Eclecticos]

One hell of a solid case fabrication. +Rep
Looks like it was defiantly worth the hard work and effort.
Interested to see what you do next.

[Drum Thumper]

One hell of a solid case fabrication. +Rep
Looks like it was defiantly worth the hard work and effort.
Interested to see what you do next.

More stripping tonight, and possibly laying down primer. And I've been digging around in modder's pile and I've got a few other ideas that might see the light of day as well.

Once I get to actually laying paint down, I think you guys are gonna dig what I've got in store. I'll post a youtube link to where I got the idea from along with pics of my version.

[Drum Thumper]

Once again, my apologies for the crappy pics:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/080508_00101.jpg
One side done

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/080508_00221.jpg

And I'm now out of primer. It's 12:30 am here, so I will call it a night. Got the whole thing sans the small parts on the front sanded and primered, so I'll get some more primer, finish that up, and primer all the parts for Frank as well tomorrow. I'm also planning on finally getting the shelving installed tomorrow too, along with fixing the PSU area. Will most likely knock a hole out on the top part as well for cabling management.

[DonT-FeaR]

hmmm red primer

interesting


looks good now finish it off :)

[Drum Thumper]

hmmm red primer

interesting


looks good now finish it off :)

The can says "Ruddy Brown", but yeah, its red hued. Today I'll be working till 1 am (ugh) and just remembered that the Mrs. has a doctor's appt early in the morning. So I'll just be buying 1 more can of primer and some paint for the base color. If I get a chance tomorrow morning after the appt, I'll get the shelf built. I'd go do it right now, but as of late, once I start modding I don't want to stop, and since I've got both cases at my disposal...I'm not going to take that chance--too much to do before work.

I'll be sure to grab the good camera as well.

[moon111]

Looking good. Given any though about using some sound deadening inside? My custom case is roughly the same size. I used FATMAT, the stuff they use on car floorboards. No vibrations. Made the thin panels feel solid.

[Drum Thumper]

Looking good. Given any though about using some sound deadening inside? My custom case is roughly the same size. I used FATMAT, the stuff they use on car floorboards. No vibrations. Made the thin panels feel solid.

I really haven't given any thought to it. Now I'll have to go look into it. Thanks for looking!

[Drum Thumper]

So, I've been jabbering on constantly about the paint scheme for this beast of a case. SgtM turned me onto this dude named Ed Hubbs, and he's got a ton of instructional videos on Youtube. So, after watching the one titled "Wrinkle Effect", I decided to see if it would work with spraypaints:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/FCS001.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/FCS002.jpg

This is actually the floor of the FCS, I figured it would make the perfect test piece, just in case something went horribly wrong. As you can see, it came out freaking nice.

I'm still working out the overall design for putting the wrinkle effect on FCS.

[Bopher]

Now that is cool. Looking good man.

[DonT-FeaR]

OMFG thats cool nice painting

[Drum Thumper]

Pics do not do this part justice. This back panel is not for this build, but I needed a test bed of sorts to try this out--this is going to be the second half of the paint job:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/012.jpg
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/013.jpg
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/014-1.jpg
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/015-1.jpg
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/016-1.jpg
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/017-1.jpg
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/018-1.jpg
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/019-1.jpg
It's waterdrop, and it is very subtle. I've got three coats of rattle can clear on right now, and will be wetsanding tomorrow. I just might take the cover off my jukebox and paint the top like this in the future.

Edit: Video time!

ndyKNBsqA2o

Thanks to Commando for the tutorial.

[SgtM]

Lookin sweet dude! +rep

[DonT-FeaR]

true that sgtM i love the paint

[FuzzyPlushroom]

Awesome paint work! I've never managed to come close to that intentionally... but I've accidentally made some neat stuff. Not on par with that, though. +rep

[Drum Thumper]

And I am two steps closer to calling this one done. All I've got left to do is:

HD rack
Optical drive mount (figured out, just need to buy the parts)
finish painting
a small bit of filing

Remember that tiny little hole in the back, from back when I decided I was going to stealth the PSU? Suffice to say, it's gone:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/002.jpg
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/001.jpg

So, having knocked that out, I decided to hit the case with some wet 320 grit sandpaper, and follow that up with some mineral spirits.

Then, the fun began:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/005.jpg
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/006.jpg
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/007.jpg
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/008.jpg

And that is where I am currently at. Will be wetsanding again tomorrow, followed by another coat of paint. Then, to borrow a term from the auto painting industry, an "inter-coat clear" layer will go down, followed by frisket paper. After that, it's off to a co-worker who's quite the artist--he's gonna draw some flames for me. I'll cut the flames out, wrinkle effect it, pull the other side of the frisket off, remask and do waterdrops on the other side.

And the goal is to have this done within a week. I think that is easily obtainable.

[DonT-FeaR]

the black looks nice

[Drum Thumper]

You've seen what I've planned. It is now coming together.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/FCS001-1.jpg
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/FCS002-1.jpg
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/FCS003.jpg
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/FCS004.jpg
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/FCS005.jpg

Sorry for the fuzzyness on a few of these--I've been messing around with my camera a bit too.


Next up, an intercoat clear over the whole thing and frisket paper.

[Drum Thumper]

Three more pics--I personally like the second one.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/FCS006.jpg
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/FCS007.jpg
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/FCS008.jpg

[Drum Thumper]

Carbon fiber has been added:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/060.jpg
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/061.jpg
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/063.jpg

Still have to do the other side. And I'm planning on doing this with the door as well.

[Bopher]

That paint job is looking awesome. I like the blue. +rep

[Drum Thumper]

And this is drawing closer to the end by the day. Just spent the last four hours watching the Olympics and working on some flames:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/001-1.jpg
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/002-1.jpg
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/003-1.jpg
And that is the first side. Props to my bud Chris McNaight.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/004-1.jpg
Missed a spot, had to very carefully go in with the razor blade and snag it.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/007-1.jpg
One side down

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/010.jpg
The next side drawn out--not quite symmetrical, as we're onto our second sixer by this point.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/011.jpg
Chris admiring his work.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/014-2.jpg
Brought it home, threw down a blue base. Green goes over the top, and then the marbling effect, which is going to happen in the morning.

[SgtM]

lookin awesome man! I love the waterdrops after the clear went down. +rep

[DonT-FeaR]

wow this shall look sweet

nice flames man thats talent

[jdbnsn]

Those flames look great man! It's coming along nicely, keep it up Joe!

[Drum Thumper]

A teaser:
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/015-2.jpg

I'll get the rest of the pics up later tonight.

[Drum Thumper]

Now that I have had a chance to look at the flames themselves...I have found that the wrinkle effect hasn't worked as I hoped it would. The paints reacted in a bad way--the same way that I experienced on the back panel of Frank. However, I'm going to leave it this way--I've already prepped and laid an intercoat clear down. Where the wrinkle effect did work, however, it is very subtle. Oh well, live and learn.

Some pics:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/016-2.jpg
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/017-2.jpg
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/018-2.jpg
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/022.jpg
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d146/drumthumper5150/020-1.jpg

I'm also debating whether to remask the flames and do the water drops on the side now--we'll see over the next few days. I've also still got to build a power/reset switch plate, and install it. Ditto the hard drive cage and the optical drive mount.

[DonT-FeaR]

man i want to see some one do like black with carbon fiber flames


thats cool i like it

[SXRguyinMA]

lookin awesome! diggin those flames :)

[FuzzyPlushroom]

No way, man - unless there's something we can't see from the photos, that looks awesome. +rep

[Drum Thumper]

No way, man - unless there's something we can't see from the photos, that looks awesome. +rep

I'll see if I can get a closeup.

[DonT-FeaR]

ok... im lost lol ill find out when the close up comes

[Drum Thumper]

A minor-ish update. Sadly, no pictures though.

I've remasked one side of the flames (rather crappily I might add, but I got a workaround planned to cover up my ****ups), and did the water drop approach again, this time using a water bottle (ie, the proper way). It is VERY subtle--you have to get really close to see the waterdrops. I'll be going back to my way on the other side (which is dipping my fingers in water and flicking the drops on the case). Gave it a light dusting with the blue. It's pretty cool looking--blue carbon fiber. With flames. That are going to be outlined by hand with a sharpie to cover up my crappy job of masking.

Pics later this week, I swear!

[DonT-FeaR]

sweet sounds really good cant wait