Project: High Voltage

[slaveofconvention]

ok so time to start something new as I eventually got around to finishing (or closing down) everything else I have going with the exception of Lobo.

Lobo will be resurrected in the fairly near future - I'm basically waiting on the weather to change so I can get outside and paint, and for my workload to drop a little so I have time to clear out my office/workspace and actually FIND all of the damned bits....

High Voltage is going to be a total misnomer from day one heh - Inspired by the Power House project that SXR has in progress at the moment - I've decided to build myself something similar. The voltages are unlikely to get any higher than 12 - I don't see me needing anything more than that, so high isn't exactly the right word, but it sounds kinda cool

I'm going to cheat, of course, because I can use all of the lessons Will learned the hard way to make it easier, and instead of fabricating from scratch like Will has, I have something of a head start as I've had this lying around for longer than I can remember....

I'm also going to use this as an excuse to get back into the painting myself (my recent laptop spray job was done mainly by a friend because of the weather) and I'll be finishing this with a full automotive standard paintjob.

The plans are pretty open at the moment, but I do have two specific things in mind. The first is the colour scheme - solid yellow and black - and incorporating a standard high voltage warning sign.

I need to find a good yellow to work with - I'm leaning towards Rover Trophy Yellow at the moment - it's a nice bright yellow - not too pale like a lot of auto yellows - you can see some examples by following this link but they're only as good as the photos themselves - I'll get some paint mixed up and show you guys as soon as I can justify buying it - it's going to be a while before the paint stage after all....

I do have a PSU picked out for this project - specifically an old Coolermaster Realpower 450w unit...

... which happens to have a power draw meter on it - although I have a feeling I'm not likely to ever really make the thing move much with the kind of wattage I expect to be pulling, but I figure it might look pretty cool....

Other than that, I'm open to suggestions on what to actually put IN this thing. I think a 3.3, 5, and 12 volt output are pretty much obvious, and I do like the LED tester in Wills unit. I don't see me needing the 24v he's working on at the moment but never say never. The one thing I was considering (if I can find it) is I had (hopefully have) a 12v car cigarette lighter which fits in a 5.25" bay - actually I had two but I have a nasty feeling I might have thrown them out in a previous clearout. I was also thinking about a USB port or two, for device charging - I seem to have a LOT of gear nowadays which charges (or can charge) from a USB port. I've also decided, at the moment, not to integrate a multimeter, as the two I have lying around - well neither of them took being taken apart very well so now they're in one piece and working, I'm going to leave them alone heh.

A new front and rear panel are definitely going to be required, and I already have a sheet of steel for that - other than that - still pretty much playing the planning game.....

[SXRguyinMA]

+sub

[slaveofconvention]

Found me a different Yellow. To be honest, the two colours are almost identical but.... The new colour is Ferrari Giallo Modena - the end result will be almost the same but I can then claim it's a ferrari colour instead of a out-of-business old british manufacturer heh

[SXRguyinMA]

lol nice

:EDIT:

Check out Xoxide for a 5.25" bay 12v cigarette-lighter outlet, they should have something. Tt makes one as well IIRC

[slaveofconvention]

I have (or had) two of them SOMEWHERE lol - I just can't remember if I tossed them out during my last clearout heh

[SXRguyinMA]

Hell just make your own! take a blank 5.25" bay cover and drill a hole, then hot-glue in the power outlet and wire it up to a 12v and GND line and you're done!