One word: Lockbox

22nd August 2005

After much browsing of mini-itx.com I decided it's about time I gave it a try myself. How hard could it be right? As it turns out...not so much as you'd think.

The original motivation behind the post was to create a small semi-portable PC I could always use in a pinch if needed. And if possible add a TV capture card in case I wanted to record something from someone's cable-company-provided-DVR-box or just watch/record TV.

I originally thought it would be cool to put the motherboard into a cheap tin box souvenir I received at the Linux Expo in 1999 from a company called LinuxCare (they're probably out business now). See image below.






I ordered a mini-itx motherboard along with a special mini-PSU as kit (the two together are at a discount from mini-box.com). To give you an idea of the size of this motherboard/PSU combo here's some images:



But when I got the motherboard and tried to put it in the tin box is about 1 or 2 mm too narrow. This turned to out to be just as well because the tin is nowhere near sturdy enough for this project nor was the box really large enough to hold the motherboard/power supply and HDD.

Still determined, I started a brief quest for another empty container for my mini itx motherboard. At one point I very nearly purchased a tackle box from Wal-Mart but resisted the temptation.

Finally I took some measurements and made a trip to OfficeMax where I found a lockbox complete with combination lock that just barely fit the measurements I took. There were cheaper and better sized boxes along side the one I picked but I chose the $20 model. Here are some images of the unmodified cash/lockbox:



 

 

"Finally, an excuse to use a Dremel"

24 August 2005

The next step was to rip out the fabric on the inside of the box. On the inside of the box were two pieces of cardboard to hold up the currency shelf. These, after some twisting and ripping with a flat blade screwdriver, were removed. Eventually I had the entire inside gutted and fabric-less.



At this point I should mention I found some RAM (256 Megs) in my closet and it was the right kind (PC133) for this motherboard. I also already had a spare 80-gigabyte HDD. The only thing really missing, at least that fit inside the box is an optical drive. So with the minimal pieces together (motherboard/PSU, RAM, HDD, spare IDE optical drive) I installed Windows 2000 Pro on the HDD.

The next step for the box was cutting a hole out of the back for ports access. I can't really mark off holes in the bottom of the box until the board can slide as far toward the back as possible. Now this was some good Dremeling:





The next step was doing some initial sizing tests. So I put the motherboard into the box and started sizing it up. Still stuck on putting in the TV card I also inserted it into the PCI slot. At first I just left the motherboard on the pink styrofoam mat but eventually screwed in some brass stand offs. No matter what I did the TV card, slim as it is, was just too tall the lid wouldn't close. So I placed it aside and decided to just make it work at all, worry about the TV card later if at all.

Trying to mark off the screw holes with a pen to screw/attach the mother board was about driving me crazy so finally I found some rather long, really narrow pointed screws and just drove them in using my electric screw driver, through the motherboard holes. I wouldn't recommend this, as this was a serious risk of damaging the motherboard this way. I then added some nuts to the bottom of the board on the screws to separate the motherboard from the floor of the box.



Having *finally* attached the motherboard to the bottom I was on to the next logical step: attached the HDD. 

 

"The Hard HDD"

26 August 2005

Now I was originally determined to implement this heat sink/fan combo for the HDD and still attach it to the case. After spending what seemed like too much time attempting various implements and spare parts I gave up on this idea. I doubt it would have fit even if I had some how got it to work.

This idea freed up the screw holes on the bottom of the HDD and these holes just so happened to work with my brass stand-offs. I then found some screws that fit the holes of the stand-offs and proceeded to drill holes through the top of the lid of the box. If I had it to do over again I would have implemented an xacto-knife to cut fabric off the areas I wanted to drill through, but my way didn't turn out so bad.



The screws just barely came through the lid enough I screwed them into the stand-offs on the HDD. Finally: the HDD is attached.





Now the only real step left is adding another hole to the side of the box for a fan. I bought the cheapest possible 80mm fan I could find and screwed it to the side. I would probably get away with a smaller and/or quieter fan but this works. So I cut another hole in the box, this time on the side:





At this point the box is actually done and in a usable state. To be a "real" PC I would need LEDs for power and the HDD and access to the power button from outside the box. And, of course, some way to mount the power connector for the AC adapter. 

 

"I don't need no stinking power button"

28th August 2005

At this point in the construction I have a fully working, cooled PC in a lockbox. But I never found an elegant way to integrate the power button or minimum two LEDs for the HDD and power. Then I started to wonder why I needed a power button on the outside at all. Either this box will be on indefinitely or it will only be on briefly: in either case I can easily and quickly open and power on the system. So why do I need a switch on the outside? I used electrical tape to attach the switch to the inside lid:



As for the LEDs I really can't think of need for them either. If the OS is running the HDD is probably ok. And if I can hear the noisy chassis fan I'm pretty sure the thing is on. So why do I need LEDs?

Here are some pics of the finished box running:





Yes, I know the wires are messy to the point it would seem the air flow would seem effectively constricted. I can work on that later.

As mentioned previously I cut out the back of the box for the rear ports. What I didn't really mention was my seperate hole for the power cord. I haven't yet thought of a way to effectively mount the power connector port securely to the inside of the box. So far now the back side looks like this:



 

 

"The continuing journey"

11th October 2005

After a brief hiatus I decided I will continue this project and work log.

I haven't mentioned it yet but this kind of a box will need a wireless keyboard and mouse to work effectively. Fortunately I already have a unique keyboard with a built-in mouse stick-thing for just such a need. As far as I've found it's the only keyboard that works like this and comes in at "only" ~$120US. Below is a pic of it.



This keyboard is a lot like using a laptop keyboard: function keys to access the number pad and lots of keys in places they're not supposed to be. But short of using the accessibility features of XP to convert a normal keyboard's number pad into a mouse this is the most convenient solution I have yet found.

The only thing left is adding a screen. I already have a screen, albeit a staggering 5 inches in the diagonal, just don't have any way to power it period never mind at the same time the computer is turned on. The necessary part should be arriving in roughly a week. If anybody has ideas on how to mount a screen I'm all ears. More info will be forth coming.

Oh and I'd like to say hi to my fellow WriMo members. 

 

"Teen Screen"

13th October 2005

Readers here may or may not know of the re-release of the Sony Playstation game console around the same time the PS2 was released renamed as the "PSOne". The PSOne was about the size of Sony "Discman" audio CD player. An accessory of the PSOne is a little screen. The screen just mounts on the back of the PSOne and passes everything through such as the power and A/V cables. I found an image, thanks to Amazon if you want to see what I'm talking about.

I told you all that to mention the car power adapter for this combo. You can play PSOne games in the car, via cigarette adapter.

Why's that important? The combo runs on 7.5 volts and combined around 3 Amps. This is a proprietary power requirement. After much research I have learned the screen will only run on 7.5 volts (not 7 volts or 8 volts). And really needs, as far as I can tell, a minimum of 1 to 1.5 amps.

So the Sony version of the car adapter provides this step-down to right volt/amperage, doing so inline in the power cord. So theoretically the end used to connect to a cigarette adapter could be snipped off and connected to the proper Molex connector for a standard PC PSU.

This I learned from the bit-tech Forums discussing the issue, which only goes on for 32 pages (as of today anyway) on doing things like this. That forum also outlines how to use this screen as a VGA display. But that'd be a bit tougher especially with my mini-itx motherboard.

Assuming my slim lined PSU will actually power the screen and I can figure out if I need to rig a power button for the screen (doesn't come with one) the only problem left is some kind of screen-attaching apparatus. Or at least a screen holder. After much thinking about it I almost have an idea of an apparatus to do just that.

I was imagining a frame-like device. This would be the part that attached to the box. It would have an opening on the front, where the screen was visible, and an opening in the top to slide the screen in and out. And possibly a latch to hold the screen in place.

At this point I was I was better at creating 3D images so I could demonstrate what I am talking out.

Ok how about this: imagine a standard "jewel case" for a normal 5 1/4" CD. You can slide a CD cover in and out and it's held in places by some tabs. Now imagine the same concept but large enough to fit the PSOne screen. Did that make sense? No?

I'm also roughly describing a drawer. So I found some rubber made tiny series of drawers at wal-mart (annoying how that place has everything) and thought about it some more. What I want to do is take a part the screen and detach most if not all the elements from the screen then surround the newly naked screen in rubber. This will be a new enclosure for the screen and include grooves on the sides. For the apparatus attached to the box the other side of the drawer concept will come into play. I have to do a lot of rubber re-making so the screen enclosure slides into the screen holding apparatus and keeps it in place.

Assuming brainstorming apparatus counts as work in a "work log" this was a pretty productive post. As soon as I get some progress done I will post some images here.