The 44-pin hard-drive cable came today. I can finally fit this case together for the last time. The cable managment proved to be "fun" and I decided to eliminate the I/O cover to allow the CPU fan to exhaust more easily. I may make a replacement out of aluminum grill mesh. And I'm sufficiently far enough along on the project to clean up the remaining mess. Further developments can be done elsewhere. So now my desk is clean. I'm up late again mounting the clear mylar dust-cover for the DVD-ROM window. There's only 1/32th of an inch of space so screw mounting and moulding are impractical. So it will be mounted with aluminum tape. Once the EL cable shows up I'll have some more fun pics...
Took my matted clockwork hologram apart to find that it actually a film decal. Instead of mounting it on the front of the case I trimmed the corners to match the round sides of the cutout, and adhered it to the mylar window. I still have just enough space to fit the PCI Geforce FX5200 that I'm interested in eventually buying.
7 more hours of work and here's where things are. 1. Vented mesh I/O cover in rear (3 hours of work) 2. External power jack for EL cable (the only cable in the pic, 2 hours of work) 3. Soft aluminum accents on power button and rear of case (30 min.) 4. Rewired Intercom unit to allow others to penetrate my "auditory bubble" (1 hour of work) 5. Putting it all back together for the 20th some-odd time (30 minutes of work) The external power jack will connect the EL cable inside the keyless keyboard, to the inverter that's mounted inside of the case. This will allow me to construct the keyboard more compactly. In order to prevent the AC current from arcing from the jack to the case I had to cut out the standard fan intake and make a mounting plate out of ABS plastic. To which the external power plug is securely mounted. I tested this beforehand with the multimeter and when connecting the external power plug while hot, the AC current arc at upto 900 VAC. Seeing as I don't want that flying through my case, the extra time spent of the plastic mounting plate will make me more confident in my machine receiving no harm if I were to accidentally disconnect the keyboard lighting while the machine is turned on. Oh, and making that I/o plate was a pain. I had to use my dremel bits in a power drill because I lost my dremel's chuck somewhere in the garage. I went through 6 different etching bits before I got it and the mounting bracket completed. Next up, the Red LED cluster lights and the keyless keyboard.
It's the machine of my dreams and it's only getting better. Once I sell a few more of my spare parts I'll be able to order the necessary parts for the LCD lid, through which I can play my games anywhere I lug my little box to.
Yay! The raw material for the keyless keyboard arrived yesterday so I'll be starting on it this afternoon. still have another piece on order but I'll still be able to make progress on it. Basically I'm going to scan the underside of the original key-face, create a custom B & W keyface, then print the key kayout onto an 11x17 transparency. That will label the keys and cover the carbon contacts while still leaving all the underlying circuitry exposed. The anticipation is killing me!
Yazoola! 8 hours of work and I'm nearly finished with the keyless keyboard. Spiral-wrapping the cord alone took about 4 hours. The rest was all fabrication. Now that it's in one piece it looks even weirder than I expected... All that's left to do is the key-label sheet. That may take another week of waiting but it won't be too big of a deal. I'll have more pics when it's complete.
Now that is different and off the wall!!!! Great job. that would be a great way to confuse some drunk friends or just dumb ones!!! LOL!!
the keyless keyboard is really cool, you should make a modding guide on how you did that, or tell me cuz i would be interested in doing that good job on the case and keyboard and other stuff you may have done for it(really tired from studying for my calculus final so i don't really remember) -glenn
And that's just a crappy pic of the prototype. I'm still cleaning up the different assembly parts and working on a new way to mount the EL cable. The underside of the key-label sheet will be painted with RED ClearNeon paint so that the UV status LEDs will further illuminate the keyboard. I'll provide a more detailed set of pictures once it's complete.
I killed it while fiddling around with it plugged in. Fried the circuits somehow and it won't come on anymore. so... Cons 1. lost 10 hours of work 2. wasted $16 in materials 3. frustration 4. have to spend more time on a new version 5. I have to spiral-wrap a completely new cable Pros 1. I now have the courage to make a mini version with a spare 88-key keyboard I have 2. The mini version will be easier to construct since it has a less-annoying membrane-to-IC interface 3. it'll be alot smaller (12" x 5") 4. I can use a standard size scanner and standard size transparency when making the key-label sheet 5. the cord won't be 6 freakin' feet long I'm off to Home Depot to get a new sheet of polycarbonate. I'll have pics of it finished in less than a week now that I don't need to order specialized sheets of transparency film. *sigh I've already swapped out the fugly green LEDs for UV ones, so that's atleast a start.
Nice work ! I'm thinking about a mod with this case (but with an Epia MII... will it fit in ? ), so i'll follow your log with a particular interest ! EDIT : i forgot : Hi everyone !! first post !
right... but i was thinking about the PCCard slot's height and the PCI riser and its card... well, it's not this topic's subject, let's continue, sorry for pollution !
I don't mind answering. It will fit the MII, even with a PCMCIA card and PCI card installed since the riser is mounting the PCI card component face-up. You'll have plenty of headroom and since the MIIs PCMCIA slot is low enough, you can access it through the I/O cutout in the back of the case.
Well, here's what the markI keyless keyboard looked like before it shorted out. May it rest in pieces... Work on the markII will progress next week. But, my progress may be haulted if I need to have my toe cut open to fix an ingrown toe nail. :|
