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'Wing it' HTPC [UPDATE 06/10]

Discussion in 'Project Logs' started by Protius-X, 16 Aug 2005.

  1. Protius-X

    Protius-X What's a Dremel?

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    Ok well this morning I get home from being out all night at my school formal and then an after party (I got about 2 - 3 hours sleep from 5am till 8am and I have yet to sleep) expecting to watch an episode of Initial D taped the previous night but instead I find out that the VCR won't play or eject the tape. So, I went about trying to fix it but alas my efforts were unsuccessful so the idea for a HTPC was born!

    I went about gutting the VCR and thinking for ideas but nothing came to mind. While I was gutting the VCR I found out the problem but I was too far into gutting it and decided it would be more fun modding!

    After I had gutted the VCR I went out and dremel some chunks of plastic out so I could fit computer components in. After that I decided I was going to cut out the indents in the casing and put mesh there but after I had started cutting the hole I decided to make it a window and this is basically where the idea for the name came from and that fact that I don't really have any plans and I didn't have any plans when I started.

    Anyways since pictures usually say more than words, here come the pictures!

    The dusty victim:
    [​IMG]

    The gutted carcas(sp?):
    [​IMG]

    The quick dremel job on the carcas (i'll neaten this up later, it was just to get an idea of how a mobo would fit and how I will mount it etc, although I will still be winging it):
    [​IMG]

    The winged window in the casing (as you can see, it had the same grills on either side which I was going to cut out and mesh but changed my mind):
    [​IMG]

    And here is the finished product for todays work:
    [​IMG]

    Well thats it for today, this will be a slow mod because I don't have any main usable computer components or money as yet. Stay tuned for an update in the near future hopefully!
     
    Last edited: 7 Oct 2005
  2. Lukethegreat

    Lukethegreat What's a Dremel?

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    Looks like it is gonna be good! Good luck with it.
     
  3. MiNiMaL_FuSS

    MiNiMaL_FuSS ƬӇЄƦЄ ƁЄ ƇƠƜƧ ӇЄƦЄ.

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    alot of similar projects going round right now, good luck!!

    ur on the same kinda budget as me :p
     
  4. Protius-X

    Protius-X What's a Dremel?

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    Yeah there are a lot of VCR mods around now. I've been wanting to mod a case but not having little to no money spare its hard to get a case to mod.
     
  5. Protius-X

    Protius-X What's a Dremel?

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    Ok well I HAVE been working on this mod slowly and funds permitting and this is what I have done so far:

    Second go with bondo on the casing (I didn't get a pic with the first go with bondo... cos it looked crap XD):
    [​IMG]

    After sanding:
    [​IMG]

    Missed a spot on the second go:
    [​IMG]

    After sanding, I'm happy with the result so far:
    [​IMG]

    First bondoing on the front:
    [​IMG]

    After sanding:
    [​IMG]

    Second bondoing on front:
    [​IMG]

    After sanding, needs a bit of cleaning up where I rushed cos I put a bit too much hardener in:
    [​IMG]

    I also did this:
    [​IMG]
    I had a few problems with this because I tried wiring an extra button so I desoldered the original button, soldered some wires on then soldered the button onto the wires and it worked first go.

    So thats all I've done so far and I havn't decided what I'm going to do with the casing where the grill part is. I'm either putting a window, mesh or a fan there. The PSU will be almost directly underneath it. But I won't be able to work that out until I have money for components.
     
  6. Protius-X

    Protius-X What's a Dremel?

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    Well, to say the least, I'm excited. I got a sheet of alu, a hdd, PSU and a stick of ram on the weekend and a CPU, Mobo and some more ram are in the mail! Woot! Can't wait for the mailed components to arrive so I can start work on my mod again! It should start coming together quickly as I will have all I need to finish the basics of the mod. All I'll need is some paint and sand paper to be able to have it finished completely! An update should come near the end of the week!
     
  7. Protius-X

    Protius-X What's a Dremel?

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    Well... THE COMPONENTS ARRIVED! Modding will begin as soon as I get out of school this afternoon. So an update should be ready by the end of the week, or the end of the weekend.

    Stay tuned guys... and girls.
    Protius
     
  8. Protius-X

    Protius-X What's a Dremel?

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    Well I have been working on it but I suck at remembering to take pictures. So here is a pic of where I am so far and a pic of my testing components phase.

    Testing
    [​IMG]

    Alu tray in and mobo mounted
    [​IMG]

    Because it is such a tight fit, I'm most likely going to have to have the cables run out the side. I may even have to mount a long PSU that I have onto the back because at the moment I just can't get it all to fit! ATM I'm looking into a mATX PSU since they are smaller.
     
  9. mattthegamer463

    mattthegamer463 What's a Dremel?

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    looks good, ive got a case all set for a HTPC project like this, but i need to scratch together the cash for a mobo, proc, and ram.
     

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