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-= F i r e s t a r t e r =- ( Fanless Server ) - [ Dec / 4th ]

Discussion in 'Project Logs' started by Skylined, 21 Nov 2004.

  1. Constructacon

    Constructacon Constructing since 1978

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    Sweet. Modding an acutal switch. I would never have thought to do that. Very kewl.
     
  2. Skylined

    Skylined Minimodder

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    I didn't post anything because all these days were raining, and I like to mod outside my house.

    Bad News

    Today I started cutting the DVDs that are going to be on top, the DVDs are so weak that when I was almost finishing cutting the first DVD it started curving.
    :waah: :sigh: :duh: :grr: :wallbash: :( (I think that's enough to tell you how I feel)


    The Idea :idea:
    I won't be able to use them, but my father has some pieces of acrylic that I may use, I'll have to ask him if I can use them.


    Now I'm moving to the electronics part...
    You might remember that I've modded some old buttons to work as Power and Reset, as you can imagine I won't use them, but I'll still have the PSU's Power at the front.
    Fortunately I have 5 momentary buttons at front of the DVD, I have that PCB, and below of the buttons I'm going to put Power, HDD, and NIC's activity LEDs.


    Final words... :sigh:
     
  3. porkashi

    porkashi What's a Dremel?

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    no worrys mate, they'rea always soemthing that doesnt goto plan while moddin ,
    this is looking good, i'll be keeping a eye on this one.
     
  4. Skylined

    Skylined Minimodder

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    Cleaning the Wire Mess & Routing the NIC's LEDs to the Front

    This PSU came with several cables, which I don't really need since all I'm going to power up is the mobo, HDD, some LEDs and maybe one or two fan controllers.
    If you want to know how it looked like before, just take a look at the previous posts. ;)

    First thing I wanted to take away was the 110V/220V selector, not only because I don't need it and it takes some room, but because it's not really safe to have something that might blow up something if it's accidentally switched.
    Before taking it away I had to see how it worked, but I knew that I would either have to take it away or just short the two cables together.
    I grabbed my tester, checked for continuity and found that when it was set as 110V the switch shorted the two cables and when it was set at 220V the switch opened the circuit (better for me).
    So now, time to desolder it from the PCB!

    [​IMG]


    Here you can see all I've desoldered from the PSU.
    A cable with 2 molexes and 1 floppy connector, a 12V connector and the PSU's voltage selector.
    I've just desoldered two of the cables of the 12V connector and left at the PSU 12V and GND, since that is going to power up the fan controllers or anything else I need like for example a flashlight.

    [​IMG]


    Yeap, the PSU wasn't the only thing I've modded today. :D
    I've modded 2 of my NICs, I desoldered the LEDs and soldered a pin header.
    Yeap, if you're thinking what I think you're thinking I think you're thiking right, I think... :p
    I'm going to route the NIC's activity LEDs to the front of the DVD.
    I've used a pin header so I can use a connector and I can plug and unplug the front LED from the NIC easily. ;)

    [​IMG]


    Here you have some pics to see how it looks like without all those useless cables and connectors.
    I left a cable that has 2 molexes and a floppy connector. I don't know if I'll ever put 2 HDDs inside or even a floppy, but of course, I've tied them up. :)
    12V and GND, as I've said before, to power up a fan controller or a flashlight or anything else that needs 12V.
    ATX mobo connector, which I've tied up to shorten it.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]


    Last thing I've desoldered were the cables the were connected to the AC connector and then I've soldered long cables, one is going directly to the AC plug and the other one is going to the PSU's Power button that is going to be at the front of the DVD and then from that button to the other pin of the AC plug.
    The are the red cables on the left side.

    [​IMG]
     
  5. Firehed

    Firehed Why not? I own a domain to match.

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    Unless you have bots going

    tk421 - not to go off topic, but are there any guides around for setting up an FTP server?

    <on topic>
    Really interesting idea there. Never seen a mobo with both AGP and ISA slots :jawdrop: I'm huge into the idea of fanless computing, and although it's not exactly a gaming system I'd still find some way to make use of it if I had one.
     
  6. Fyberwire

    Fyberwire What's a Dremel?

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    Woohoo! ISA slots and vertical CPUs!

    Looking very nice, keep up the good work.
     
  7. Skylined

    Skylined Minimodder

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    I forgot to say that I've also desoldered the fan that came with the PSU.
    Here's a pic of how it looked before.

    [​IMG]
     
  8. Hackjedi

    Hackjedi What's a Dremel?

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    i have accactly the same mobo, could you please tell me which type it is?
    and how you turn on power, because i can't turn the thing on
    tnx
     
  9. PhatMatt

    PhatMatt What's a Dremel?

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    The powersupply has to have the power switch on it. look for a switched psu, that'll have the switch on it

    __________

    the mod is looking good! too bad about the flimsyness of the dvd-players though, it would have looked cool in the end if everything worked out as planned
     
  10. Skylined

    Skylined Minimodder

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  11. Who_me_33

    Who_me_33 What's a Dremel?

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    Skylined, you were saying that the dvd's came too weak when you cut the base out of them. Would it be an option to only cut out wot you need. I.E. slots for cards and cpu's. THe first one would get quite a bit of cutting, and the upper ones would get less and less.
     
  12. Skylined

    Skylined Minimodder

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    Who_me_33: I have another idea.
    I'll place some aluminum bars at the corners and then I'm going to use the tops side of a DVD screwed with the front of the DVD and the missing part from the bottom DVD to the upper part of the DVD will be filled using acrylic.
    The upper DVD will rest on the aluminum bars and secured with a lock or something. ;)


    Lowering the Case

    Ok kids, take your sits...
    Time to gain as many mm as possible.

    The higher thing I had were the PCI and AGP cards, and not because of the height of the PCB but because of the metal parts (don't know how it's called in english) that secure the cards to the cases.
    Time to cut them down! :dremel:

    First I started with the vid card that is the one that has the tallest PCB, I just wanted to cut what wasn't needed, no more, no less.
    With a ruler and a pen I marked were the PCB ended, and that's where I had to cut.
    To make it easier I removed the metal part from the PCB by unscrewing the two screws/bolts where you secure the monitor's cable to the card.

    [​IMG]


    I know I "said" :dremel:, but no, I used a saw to cut it down. :baby:
    Here is the cut vid card compared to the NICs which haven't been cut out, I might have gained about 1cm.
    The vid card is still the highest thing inside that case.

    [​IMG]


    Time to cut the NICs! :dremel: (where is the saw smiley? :p)
    This time to remove the metal part I had to remove 2 screws that secured it to the NIC's PCB.
    You might also see that I've bent that metal, that's to make some preassure against the case, that make the cards a lil bit steadier. To do that just get a plier and bent it, no big deal.

    [​IMG]


    All cards cut, this is how it looks like.

    [​IMG]


    AC Connector

    I grabbed the PSU's case and I used it as a template to mark where I had to cut.
    This time yes :dremel:.

    [​IMG]


    I could have even left it this way, the cut was so close to the connector that there wasn't any need to use screws or something to secure the connector to the case, but as this is going to have 220V AC, I don't want to give my server a shock, or give myself a shock.

    [​IMG]


    Fortunately I could use one of those holes to secure the connector with a screw, but the hole on the other side didn't match the hole on the AC connector, so I had to drill that other side.

    [​IMG]


    When I drilled, I did a small hole but I also bet that piece of metal, so I cut it down and used a file to make it the size I wanted.

    [​IMG]


    Wiring AC On/Off Button & Back Connector

    First I started soldering the cable coming from the AC connector to the On/Off button and then the cable going from the button to the PSU.
    This one as you might imagine isn't a momentary button, this isn't ATX'x Power.
    After soldering it I used heatshrink to isolate everything, I don't want to be give shocks.

    [​IMG]


    Here I've soldered one of the cables to the power button and the other cable directly to the PSU.
    The green cable at the bottom is ground. I've sanded down to metal where I grounded everything and used a screw with a bolt to secure it to the case.
    After that I tested if I had continuity all over the case and parts, everything is grounded. ;)

    [​IMG]


    I've secured the button to the front of my case using everything that came with the DVD, as this button was taken from it. ;)

    [​IMG]


    Testing the AC connector, everything is working OK.

    [​IMG]


    I started up the server and I noticed that I'll need at least one fan since the PSU gets really hot, and I don't want to burn anything.
    My idea is to put 2 80mm at the right side of the PSU controlled with a home made fan controller. It will still be very quiet.
     
    Last edited: 2 Dec 2004
  13. Skylined

    Skylined Minimodder

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    AT (DIN5) to PS/2 (Mini-DIN6) Keyboard

    Unfortunately this mobo starts beeping and refuses to boot if it doesn't have a keyboard plugged, and I don't have any option at the Setup to disable this. :sigh:
    Oh well... :idea:

    I had an old spare keyboard but it had an AT connector, an AT to PS/2 converter costs like 2US$ or 3US$, ohhh so expensive! :p :hehe:
    Before buying one I started looking all over my garbage and bingo! I found an old broken mouse that had a PS/2 connector, time to start :dremel:!

    Tools:
    Soldering iron kit
    Keyboard (AT)
    Mouse (PS/2)
    Something to test continuity, a tester or a LED plugged to a PSU.

    [​IMG]


    The old AT (DIN5) that the keyboard had, no use for it, time to rip you off!
    As you can see it has 5 pins.
    Starting fron the left.
    1. No Connection <> 2. Vcc <> 3. Data <> 4. Ground <> 5. Clock

    [​IMG]


    This is the old mouse, as you can se it has a missing button. :hehe:
    That was me, I use old parts to replace broken parts on new mice, I've already changed buttons like in 5 mice and I've always used old parts to replace them, all my friends are happy that they have a mouse working back again.
    This mouse is going to donate its PS/2 connector, what a good mouse! :p

    [​IMG]


    This was easier for me since the mouse's PCB had already marked what was each cable for.
    G- Ground, DA Data, V+ Vcc and CK Clock.
    No need to check what's each cable for at the PS/2 connector, but anyways, I leave you with what each pin is for.
    With the black plastic prong at the bottom and starting from the left.
    1. No connection <> 2. Vcc <> 3. No connection <> 4. Data <> 5. Ground <> 6. Clock

    [​IMG]


    Next instead of desoldering the mouse's cable from the PCB I suggest that you cut the cable after those curves that secure the cable to the mouse's case. Many times the cables get broken inside in that part, so to avoid a headache, lose just some cm and cut the cable after those curves.

    [​IMG]


    The cable with the 4 wires, one for each signal.
    Be careful when you cut these cables.

    [​IMG]


    Remove the screws from the bottom of the keyboard.
    In my case I had only 3 screws and 3 tabs at the top.

    [​IMG]


    Remove the screws that secure the PCB to the keyboard's case, be careful, this is when a lot of stuff can jump off the keyboard, try not to miss any part.

    [​IMG]


    With a multitester I started checking what was each of those wires for.
    As I said just check it at the AT connector.

    [​IMG]


    Once you know what each wire is for, desolder them from the PCB.

    [​IMG]


    Solder the new "old" cable. ;)
    (look who's back there :p)

    [​IMG]


    To secure the cable, this keyboard use zip ties, I've never seen this technique before.

    [​IMG]


    The finished product, an old keyboard converted to a "modern" keyboard. ;)
    (YesIknowitdoesn'thavethespacebar,butIdon'tcare) :p :hehe:

    [​IMG]
     
  14. PhatMatt

    PhatMatt What's a Dremel?

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    nice mod on the keyboard, but why not just buy a new ps2 keyboard in the first place?
     
  15. |I.H|

    |I.H| What's a Dremel?

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    wonder how it will look like when finished, anywayz, MOD ON!!!! :dremel:
     
  16. user0001

    user0001 What's a Dremel?

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    Cant you tell he loves the spacebar on that one?
     
  17. PhatMatt

    PhatMatt What's a Dremel?

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    WhoNeedsTheSpaceKeyAnyway?
     
  18. Skylined

    Skylined Minimodder

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    "nice mod on the keyboard, but why not just buy a new ps2 keyboard in the first place?"
    "WhoNeedsTheSpaceKeyAnyway?"

    1. I'm a modder
    2. I don't want to spend money on this.
    3. Do I need to tell you more?
    4. whydoessomebodyneedafreakinguselesspieceofplasticcalledkeyboardwheneverybodycanreadthisandtheywillunderstanditanyways? :hehe:


    "wonder how it will look like when finished, anywayz, MOD ON!!!!"

    Yes sir!
    Just give me some more time and you'll get more pics. ;)


    "Cant you tell he loves the spacebar on that one?"

    :hehe:
     
  19. smoguzbenjamin

    smoguzbenjamin "That guy"

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    That looks cool! Prolly what I'll be doing when I get my new system (see sig) this X-mas. Right now I'm running a P1 200Mhz 64MB RAM PC. I might also be getting a P2 slot 1 mobo so I can pop in a pIII and see what games I can host there... lol.

    Nice ideas, keep moddin! :rock:
     
  20. iamnafets

    iamnafets What's a Dremel?

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    I'm running a 450mhz P2 Server, and I've had anything from a near 10 person CS server, to it's current state of PHP, MySQL, HTTP, and FTP (and I suppose file if that counts). It's got no fans since it's in my room and running 24/7, although it has quite a hefty heatsink, so that might be the dealmaker there. I guess you'll have to be a bit more careful about running the CPU too hot, since you're actually modding the case, and investing some time into it so a burnout would be bad. Anyways, just saying it's possible, but I wouldn't risk it.
     

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