Awhile ago I was given an old Onkyo A-5 Stereo amp. It works sort of, but I never found a use for it until today when I ended up with an extra motherboard worth using. I decided to make a PC into this amp. I am not sure if it will end up being a media center or just a general PC. Right now I only have a Celeron mobo with 3 PCI slots so it wont be anything amazing. I plan to keep the front plat, but maybe polish it clean and replace the switches while keeping the knobs. I want to cut the top and put a window in with at least 2 cathodes wired to the switches on the front. I also want to put some analog meters in to monitor cpu load and temp. Anyway.... onto the teardown of the amp so far. Anyone want these? I broke one of the buttons and it was crucial to the mounting system so I am looking for a way to replace the buttons. I am going to rip out the mounting system from this caseand bolt to to a new floor that will either be plexi-glass or steel.
Nice looking capacitors. I think you should somehow use that big heat sink for something in the case.
any ideas? What's the size of that cut-out. obvious suggestions would be to say put a character display or something there, or a drive slot. are you not going to use the original brushed aluminium front plate? ps "ampifier" ?
I dont have a measurement handy. But I want to use the original brushed front plate. I am probably going to re-do the finish and remove the writing on it. With the holes I was thinking about either replacing with other switches, leaving the switch holes and putting in large LEDs, or cutting them to make room for a disc drive. You want them? I cant really think of a use for it unless I try water cooling, but I want that in my main rig before I put it in a little mod project
Do you want to send me the old audio components that you ripped out? Specifically the caps, pots and heatsink? Thanks, Brendan
I think I am going to try to reuse most of the pots, but I would be willing to send you the cps and the heatsink for $5 plus shipping. Let me know and I can make an ebay post or something to have a legit paypal transaction.
I like this idea. I love old brushed face stereo equip and knobs and switches. I think the only problem with having so many knobs and switches is having things that they control! You might think of cutting some of the out or jb welding/filling the holes. (just an idea) That case looks plenty big for future upgrades. I think you should plan on that, and leave room for a big vid card in your layout. (get dimensions for the different standards or just the ATX standard (cause you can always add a mini mobo into a bigger case!) from someplace like formfactors.org.) It is destined to be a media center pc, but if you're constrained by budget at this point (and stuck with the celeron and old mobo), there's no reason you can't work on the case with the idea that you'll magically be the beneficiary of hot hardware perfect for the task at a later date (or else work and save your pennies!) Have you seen slipperyskip's recent log? He used something I believe called slide on decals that you print on a laser printer, or copy an image on, and then use water to slide the decal into position and let it dry. Seems invisible to the eye. That seems to me a great way to label your switches/face panel, if it works as well with aluminum/metal as it does with wood. Can you put up a pic of what you mean by the broken switch and why its so important. I can't help if I don't understand. Rick mentioned some good ideas. Depending on what will be behind it, maybe a window? You might want to cut some holes and mount a bigger display. You should have a slimline DVD burner in a media pc, so that's a great location, maybe with a stealhy brushed metal faceplate? Light some acyrlic rings under the knobs and switches, and you'd rock! btw, careful with those capicators ... if they're still/recently charged I'd think they could give you a good jolt, if not worse.
I want to try to leave all the original holes on the faceplate. If anything I would cut the holes and put a dvd drive in. Right now I am seriously considering ripping out another MOBO from a system that could very easily be used as a media center (the guy I bought it from used it as one). I would just need a slim/cheap and good TV tuner. It already has a decent GFX card with tv out. I have not. Would you mind linking me? I will upload one this evening, but I might end up replacing them with something else. I need to make a trip to the local parts store for ideas. all things I am thinking about doing :] Sounds really sexy ;] LOL. They have been discharged for over a month. But thanks for the safety tip. besides they are only 50v
re the project log link, it's here on bit tech, probably a few posts above or below this one... Project Ingraham, user slipperyskip.
I'm not sure what computer stores or auto parts stores you have in Ohio, but I bought my CCFL from Frys, and 1 from performance-pcs.com, which has a lot of other customers on this site. I've also heard good things about petrastechshop.com, though I haven't bought anything from them. You can find CCFLs for cars, which will work off the 12Vs from the PSU, at autoparts stores. Slim dvd drives are easy to find online: newegg.com is one of my favs, and I'll also check out pricewatch.com for other online deals. You might need to get an adapter to make it work with your IDE or Sata system (since they're usually for notebooks). Slot loading drives are rarer, and I've been half-heartedly looking for one, so let me know if you find any good deals!
You're about an hour south of a microcenter up in mayfield heights. They'll have the cathodes. Don't know about the slim cdrom drive though. Be careful in there though, lots of hardware pr0n.
