Cobra-matic : Retro Bakelite Phonograph

Ahh new work log! Retro-freakiness continues. :)

This one's going in the books as: Project Cobra-matic. Its a mod based on 1951 Zenith H664 Cobra-matic phonograph. Behold the Bakelite goodness.

This is probably the largest piece of Bakelite electronics that I've found next to a Bakelite TV. It measures10"x16"x20" and is made from very heavy quarter inch Bakelite. I'm pretty excited about this one.

So much so, I forgot pics during the tear down. This is what it looked like before I started(From:www.radiophile.com)

I'm mostly interested in the case not the record player. Interestingly enough, I was able to flip the record player mechanism on eBay for more than I paid for the whole phonograph. EBay's a funny place.

The plan? This is a gaming, performance PC, not too cutting edge as I want to keep it as quiet as possible. I considered water cooling but am going to stick with air. Although I do have a wicked brass and copper fire extinguisher or a copper toilet tank float :) that would work as cool reservoir. So yeah, like Retromod, brass and copper will play a part as will more "tube-punk"accents.

Hardware specs:
Motherboard: Gigabyte 965PDQ6
Processor: Intel Core Duo E6600
Video Card:XFX GeForce 7950GT
Memory: Corsair XMS2 2GB
Power Supply: Seasonic S12 550
HD: WD SE16 250GB
Cooling:
Thermalright XP-90C CPU Cooler
Antec Bigboy 200mm fan
Nexus 92mm fan

Hardware pics:

The pic shows the Thermalright 120. It had to be swapped out for the 90c after I saw all the copper on the motherboard. :)

Yowza it's big. This will provide the primary air intake after some modding...of course.

That's about it for now. I'll be time sharing with Retromod but thought I'd share a little of the excitement. :p

Really Diggin' this! :up:
I will be looking foward to seeing how it turns out.

Oh what a cool "Case" I hope you are going to keep this looking as 'stock' as possible. Have you considered a laptop style DVDRW?
You can get slot loading ones, that would hide away nicely, on this excellent case.

Good luck

Ouch!

Wow that 'case' has alot of modding potential. Would be cool to see a fan behind that huge dial on the front. Or even a vertical CD drive with the disk spinning behind it.

Hope it goes well.

Thanks for the feedback! I'm excited to get on with it.

I'm going to try to keep it as original as possible on the exterior. I like stealthy "found-object" mods too. I looked that maximzed appearance and minimized guilt for the modding but after the experience of not cutting the bakelite on Retromod, I'm a little more relaxed about it now. It'll never be a phonograph again likewise for Retromod on the radio but I love the design of these things so exterior-wise not much if anything noticeable will change.

Inside there will be changes, mostly out of necessity. The case is huge but the space is configured wrong for the motherboard. Check Makro Specials and Pick n Pay Specials. The record player is supported on 4 3 inch "legs" that eat up half the vertical height in the case. They'll be encouraged to leave with the help of my dremel. ;)

The CD/DVD is a bit of a problem. I've got a full size drive and a slot loader that I can mod. I'd love to try this:

Imagine, push the cd eject, the lid raises with an exposed cd. Put in a CD and the lid closes.

My plan is to install the Bigboy behind the grill. Major fan hacking underway.

But....ever have a moment where an idea is so obvious that you get pissed you didn't see it first?

This is the feeling I got when I saw this in DrumThumper's post the other day. Datamancer (www.datamancer.net) is a steampunk madman. Checkout his other mods. :eek:

So, Xperiment, yeah this is what I should have though of but it'll be the bigboy back there and the lift kit on the lid for the cd.

Love the idea for the 'lift lid' CD, kinda retro meets techno, hell you could even invent a new musical genre whilst your at it lol.

Will defo be watching this one +rep.

Looks like a cool found item mod. I like it.

Also it's good to see you have Paul's book.

Thanks Simon and Xperiment. :)

More for your viewing pleasure:

A little sketch-up mock-up to explain where this is going. The motherboard and case aren't exactly right but for sizing it'll work. I may need to flip the motherboard around and move the PSU back further in the case to fit the DVD drive in the front.

The case from the outside. It had about 6 inches of clearance on the inside before modding with the top of the video card just grazing the lid.
(These pictures were taken after the carnage)

The original phonograph turn table was mounted about 2-3 inches above the floor of the case on bakelite standoffs. I'm guessing for airflow(?) reasons.

With a dremel cutoff wheel, I removed the standoffs to open the case up.

With the standoffs in place the PSU and video card were sticking out of the case.

After the dremeling, much more room. The metal is cool perforated steel that I found awhile back. It will eventually be brass plated (along with the front bezel) when I've figured out the final place for everything. Needs some primer tho...I can see surface rust in the pic.

The front bezel - the gold/brass plating is wearing thin in a few places. It's pot metal underneath.

Remember this fan? It's an Antec 200mm

Turns out the fan was about 1/2-3/4" too wide to fit behind the bezel. The cover wouldn't fit back on. After I dremel'd the outside housing ring off, it fits with some tweaking. I put a thin styrene skin around the outside edge to even it out. (Note to self: White putty melts styrene if you put too much on.)

Ready for painting..,

The Bigboy has a 3 way switch for 980~1720 RPM, 34-60CFM, 20-32 dba depending on the switch position.

Here it is after paint. The fan blades were painted with Fusion brown, and dusted with black, and panzer grey. The housing was painted with fusion Brown and then coated with textured Rustoleum. The color is autumn brown.

I put a piece of copper contact paper where the Antec label was.

To mount it to the bezel took some trial and error.

To hold the screen on the bezel, it has posts for friction nuts that I just threaded. Then I tapped nylon spacers to hold the screen in place.

And to have a place to mount the fan. Sometimes the simplest answers are the best.

The fan mounted

From the front, it's shifted down about 3/8 inch from dead center due to space.

Which pics are better for worklogs? The bigger ones or the smaller ones in the previous posts?

PSU mounting bracket made from 1/2 aluminum angle and aluminum modder's mesh. (How do you like my simulated fan grill? ;) It helps me remember which side is which.)

I'll either paint it black or a red primer color like the front bezel screen. The angle is one piece notched and held together by JB Weld type epoxy.

The CPU cooler in place after a good lapping. The hardware survived burn in so no hardware RMA's yet. It's alot faster than any computer I have now. Sorry I didn't think to get a screen shot of the test scores.

Don't let anyone tell you that the Thermalright XP90c fits on the Gigabyte 965PDQ6. Adapter plate my hiney. I made it work with standoffs and the temps are fine but I'll lose 1/2" in vertical clearance due to the extra long standoffs if I don't cut a hole in the perforated metal to allow the adapter plate to clear.

A parting shot for an idea I had for cable management but I don't think that I'll have room. I was thinking that it would look cool with led-lit orange plexi behind.

Finally, to automate the lid opening, I've got a linear actuator but know nothing about how best to rig them up. Does anyone have any tips or tutorials on using them? What angle should I place it at? Should I balance the lid with a gas shock? The lid is about 3 or 4 lbs.

Thanks for looking. I'll be out of pocket for the next few weeks due to work but next up, actuator fun. :) Hasta luego...

Apologies for the lack of update on Cobra-matic and Retromod. I've been in lurk mode on the forums as the new job has been kicking my butt. Enough excuses though, I've been modding for a couple hours here and there so that I've got some progress to at least bring this worklog into this year.

One of the first hurdles was the location of the DVD drive. I wanted it to be upfront like a record player, kinda like this:

The DVD is a slimline drive mounted on a piece of copper with an art nouveau design acid etched into the surface. The bezel is from an old mantle clock and covers the cd while spinning. Since the DVD has a locking hub, it'll work with a cutout in the top.

I'll try to grab a video of it spinning with the LEDs lit up next weekend.

My brother had that same mobo. His water cooling system uses the same adapter. We couldn't get it to fit, so we just unscrewed the backside heatsink/heatspreader thing. Worked perfectly. Mod looks great. Love the idea. Keep it up.

Thanks Karbon!:)

Borrowing an idea from Retromod, here's the HD suspension system. It's suspended to eliminate vibrations. Suspension system add to the HD heat so I'm interested in seeing how it fares.

Sketchup

Actual (brass channel and springs sourced from the local hardware store)

The fan grills are supposed to be back from the laser cutter today or tomorrow. Can't wait to see how they turned out.

The grill will replace the mesh in the front

with something like this (it'll be either copper or brass plated) for better airflow from the Antec bigboy.

Experimenting with a firgelli L12 actuator to lift the lid but looks like it doesn't have enough power. Anyone have any experience with linear actuators?

i like this:D cant wait to see how this will turn out! very god idea:)

+rep

DVD Test - Spin up, Spin Down, and LEDs on

Thanks for the comments and Rep, pOPe!

Got the fan grills today. Wow, do they look good. :banana::banana::banana:

Need to add Vintage Manufacturing to the Laser Cutting supplier list. They got the files on Saturday and they mailed on Monday.

Behold the laser cutting goodness:

Polished a little and in the bezel:

The grill is laser cut from 0.0625 (1/16") carbon steel.

I got 3 grills as I want to try copper plating and painting to see which I like better. Just got back from the platers. They won't be able to give me a quote until next week. It'll be about twice what I expected but not enough that I'd try doing myself. Need to check a couple of other places to see if its going to be cheaper.

Went to get my camera and spotted this little guy hanging out on some quartz crystals in the living room. He's about the size of a quarter. Here lizard, lizard...

Next up: EL & LED Lighting and how not to mod a power supply :rolleyes:

you said actuator?
what a coincidence, i am a mechanical engineering student.
okay... so it doesn't have enough power to lift the lid by itself try to help it out with something or get another for the other side.

is it a three or five wire one?

the three has no limit switches and will grind itself apart if it hits the end
five has switches, but you still need to stop it.

you can control it with your io port fairly easily, or you could make it a completely separate system.

but please when you ask a general question you get a general answer

Thanks Maz, any help that you can provide is appreciated. Understood on the general nature of the question. So specifics, it's a firgelli L12 miniature linear actuator.

L12 Specifications
Gearing Option 298
Peak Power Point 67 N @ 2 mm/s
Peak Efficiency Point 30 N @ 3 mm/s
Max Speed (no load) 4 mm/s
Backdrive Force 230 N
Stroke Option 100 mm

It comes with a 3 wire interface (it has both the hobby servo interface and industrial control interface). Beyond being underpowered, I believe this is part of the problem "If the load exceeds the backdrive force, the actuator will backdrive."

It's being controlled through the servo interface using a phidgets USB servo control. Because the actuator is 12v dc and the phidget is 5v dc, I've connected them using a servo y-cable.

Offsetting it with a gas spring or counter weight lift maybe possible but space is tight in the case. I also have a Hitec HS-815BB Sail Winch Servo which can deliver 275 oz/in of torque.

It's too many years since ME101 so any suggestions that you can make would be appreciated. It would be a tremendous help if you can point me to a website or software that can help me with the calculations on how far I'm out with either of these drivers.

I'll grab some pictures of the mounting point and dimensions to highlight the space problems.

Given the problem with the adapter plate on the motherboard.

I added a quarter inch acrylic spacer with standoffs to raise the motherboard:

With 8 leds:

Inspired by the Decobox mod and a desire to try out El Wire:

The El Wire is run inside of polyethylene tubing for a more muted effect. Helpful El Wire soldering tutorial.

Once in place behind the fan and grill, the El wire will add a soft amber glow to the inside:

Taped in place for now:

My girlfriend pointed out that the copper shelf liner on the back of the fan looks cheesy so I'll etch a replacement at some point.

Fan spinning:

thats looks cool keep it up

Thanks DonT-FeaR, I'll keep at it. ;)

Instead of the update on the psu, time to do something about the backside cover for the fan. Speed mod time:

Review method at:
http://www.fullnet.com/u/tomg/gooteepc.htm

Design new back cover in CorelDraw:

Race to Kinko's and print the reverse image (always pays to have more than one):

Cut copper to approximate size (note stove background):

Put cutout laser print on copper; turn stove to 11:

Ensure SWMBO is gone :twisted:; use rolling pin to apply a metric assload pressure:

Turn off stove; dunk copper in water to peel paper:

Use thumb to clear more paper off; cover back in duct tape:

Recite "Do what you oughta, add acid to water" 3X, dunk in acid/ peroxide mixture for 45 minutes:

Rinse with baking soda & water, remove tape, clean with acetone:

Grin, Clean-up and go to bed:

Night folks.

lol nice very good work i like it

Thanks for the comment. I was trying to wedge some progress in but the weekend was too crazy for much.

Plating is a no-go for the bezel front. It's pot metal which is going to be too expensive, $80-160 depending on the quote. I may get a fan grill done since they were cheaper but first I'm going to experiment with Dupi-Color's Metalcast paint.

Small update, the etched fan label epoxied in place

99.9% less cheese.

you know you gain 3kg from that 0.1% of cheese

lol, sure but my 3DMark scores just jumped up too. So I'm thinking I got that going for me.

Original color looks anodized but its paint:

Boiling in water and detergent:

Came off, easy-peasy, with a paper towel after boiling.

Polished with steel wool

Boiled the station selector also. It's solid brass, not plate.

Teaser shot of the paint for next time.

thats alot of paint i cant wait

Mixed results on the paint. Alot of overspray and uneveness. I'll strip it off and try again tomorrow. The color is not too bad on the bezel but the grill is too flat.

Alot of progress to report on today. First, the second attempt at the dupli-color, went too heavy with the orange.

Stripped and polished for a 3rd attempt

The key was 7-8 light coats and wiping down the metal before each coat to remove powdered paint. I wasn't painting in the sun so not sure why the paint was powdered as bad as it was. It was hot today so maybe that's part of it.

Here's the final result. I'll let it cure for a week before hitting it with some rubbing compound.

Power supply painted

Aluminum mounting plate for the knobs

More later...

this is a fantastic mod bro...I LOVE the mod to the cd drive...nice touch with the "vinyl" cd's too...I used to have a bunch of those. +rep for such a unique mod! Keep it up!

Thanks dfigravity!

Small update (pics forthcoming):
Attempts to put together a PWM controller for the bigboy fan based on the a QKits Speed Controller met with mixed results.

Soldered kit together:up:, tests fine :up:, wired to fan :up:, growls like a cat :down:. Plan B. Anybody have the pinouts on an Antec Tricool 3 way switch. Details would help the tear down that's going to occur.

Edit: Ok, think I understand

The idea is to make the middle knob control the fan speed. Any other ideas are welcome. :think:

The interface for the 3 knobs that can be manually controlled goes like this. The left knob = Power, On, Reset
The right knob = Volume but can be switched to other inputs
The middle knob = Fan speed?

For programmatic control, the leds and the el wire will be controlled by a phidgets relay control.

The lid lift...still working on it which will be a post in itself but it'll be controlled via a program.

More later...

Dude that is awnesome!
Really like the way you use radio parts:)
+rep for the idea:up:

Thanks kris! As you like the old radio parts, I'll post up the details on how not to mod your psu that I promised a few posts back.

Some of the wiser TBCS member schooled me on the need for a momentary switch to turn on the pc and to also reset the pc if it locks up. Rotary switches are NOT momentary; they're in it for the long haul. Old radio knobs are no exception...or are they? Exhibit #1 for your perusal.

Thats a 3 pole - 4 throw rotary switch. Google will give you a better explanation but that means 4 knob positions that control 3 different things at once.

EEs and folks who've been at electronics for awhile will think thats nothing but to me, pretty cool to think a granny somewhere was using one of these to shift hundreds of volts around. But that's neither here nor there.

See that wire bit there? That's a return spring! Or momentary switch in a knob. You see the last position isn't locked; it'll snap back to position 3 if you let go of the knob. It can work as reset or power button. Here's where our story goes wrong though...

See that nicely painted power supply with the yellow lamp cord sticking out the base? Yes...lamp cord...I am duly ashamed to admit it. Tell me who I turn my dremel into now.

In a modding frenzy, the idea evolved that I could use the first position on the knob to replace the switch on the back of the power supply (which would have been hidden in the case). That means 115 volts through the center of the case attached to an antique radio switch.

Decidedly cool for granny's, not so much for me.

After doing this warranty voiding mod,which involved opening the power supply, cutting the switch post, and bridging the two halves with lamp cord, I got the feeling that there was an easier way....staring me in the face all along.

That's the jumper to make the power supply work when it's not connected to the mother board. It does the same thing as my bright idea but a lower voltages......

So....

Let us never speak of this again. :rolleyes:

What's wrong with connecting the knob to the motherboard, just as the normal power button would be?
Use two different poles on the switch, one for power, one for reset.

Quote:

---

Let us never speak of this again.

---

Unless of course, xmastree wanders through and sees what I've done. :)

I was looking for 4 states Off, Power, On, Reset. In other words, replacing the power switch on the PSU.

Trouble with that idea is that you need normal for off and power, but momentary for on and reset.
Now, if you could find one with a push-pull action as well as rotary, you could make it work.

Thanks for cross checking the idea. I was planning on adding a pulse circuit (capacitor tied to a relay) for the On position similar to the circuit for Retromod. Can you see a reason it won't work?

Hmm, so just three position.
1 = off
2 = on (via pulse)
3 = reset (via pulse)



I thought that 4 could be to hold down the power button and force it, but then you'd need to go back through 2 when turning off. And if you really need to force it off, just go to 1 anyway.

Should work, so long as the switch can handle the mans power.