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Portable Desktop Computer Case HOWTO
Louziffer writes: "I've just upgraded the case on my computer with a modified IBM P70/P75 Traveling Case with solid rubber wheels, a steel retractable luggage handle, and a combination lock. The project page includes a tools and materials list, a full set of instructions, and other ideas for making your own. These instructions could easily be adapted to making a case out of nearly anything similar. (The RF debate is addressed in the pages, for those who want to rant.) I'd like to see what other cool projects people are working on in this capacity. Computer cases can go far beyond the neat-but-overdone realm of clear cases." This one looks ready for a beating, or to arouse the suspicions of airport security. Lucid directions let you join the fun, too.
No problem. I have a similar case. An overclocked celeron in an aluminium briefcase with a single large red button next to the handle. I was a bit concerned about airport security when I bought it to the US from NZ as cabin luggage last month. But nobody look twice. Thinking about adding an alarm clock and bundle of candles for the trip back :-)
wouldn't putting a handle on the top of your existing case do just as well? Just remove a suitcase or briefcase handle from an old case and bolt it to the top of your box. All you need is one of those dust covers to fit your box in case of rain and your good to go.
An alternative is always PC Tote, but then that requires all the lifting and the carrying and the kicking and the screaming.
"Prejudice is wrong; you should hate everyone the same."
x-rayed.
You mean, at the x-ray machines that have those huge labels on the front that say that everything besides scientific and high-speed film can go through? The same x-ray machines that have the nice little happy face next to the picture of a laptop? X-ray machines are fine on portable electronics except things that store information via x-ray (or something like that, can't remember). Magnetic data is fine.
However, it would be rather interesting to come into the airport dragging a gray box with several strange openings and buttons, refuse to have it x-rayed, and then not let them disassemble it for examination (what do you mean I can't take apart this hard drive thing? It might have a gun inside!). Got to try that sometime.
BTW - Redhat sponsors our LAN party out here, which is a big reason for the stickers all over my monitor.
LouZiffer
LouZiffer
why not just get a laptop?
ReadThe ReflectionEngine, a cyberpunk style n
Almost complete mirror - a couple images I can't get to come down at all...
Case Project Mirror
In short, unless you work for IBM don't bother trying to get ahold of the exact case I used. There are plenty of other alternatives.
LouZiffer
LouZiffer
Drilling, as you suggest, works. But it can be damaging to the components as well as yourself if the drill slips or catches on the metal. I chose the safest method... and it really is quite easy. With a bit of practice you can remove a rivet just as fast as you could drill one. You should try it sometime.
LouZiffer
LouZiffer
I'd rather build a 19" rack... but gee, how to do it for cheap???
I've done this. Admittedly, "cheap" is relative to the price of buying a factory made, but it wasn't that hard, and the thing is incredibly sturdy
1) The box frame is made from 1.5-2" construction angle iron. I got mine surplus, but I've seen 6-10 foot lengths from a HQ/Home Depot for $10-20. Use perforated angle iron for the two vertical corners in front. It doesn't have the same hole spacing as a 'real' rack, but that hasn't been a problem yet!
2) Half a dozen carbide masonry bits makes for a cheap way to cut the 1/2" holes I used for bolts
3) to assure squareness, structural rigidity, and a aesthetic side, I cut plywood panels slightly smaller (by the thickness of the angle iron) than the final desired dimensions. I bolted these inside the frame as templates to hold everything together as I drilled and bolted. A cheap sheet of 4ftx8ft BC grade plywood is about $11-15
4) Then I removed the panels, sheathed them in aluminum roof flashing (a single $8 roll was plenty for the whole project) It was like wrapping a huge flat present - aluminum sheet is easy to work with. Then I bolted the sheathed side and bottom panels back onto the frame as EMI/RFI shielding and structural reinforcement.
5) I used aluminum angle iron for the rack slides. I could've used steel, but I was impatient, and aluminum is much easier to cut/drill
At this point I could have stopped, painted and been done, but I decided to make this way cool.
A) I removed the panels, welded the corners (which had been bolted) and replaced the panels. It was my first real welding project, but it went pretty well. My grandkids will be able to use it in 2030.
B) I painted the frame black, and I plan on laminating some jade green marble formica veneer onto the side panels. A jade marble tower with black steel corners will outclass any commercial rack (from past experience, I know to keep a black permanent marker handy for touch-up)
I took (old-fashioned film) photos as I worked, and someday I'll get them developed, scanned and posted on the web. If I can sort them out from the 20+ other rolls of undeveloped film I have lying around (I have a darkroom I haven't used in years, but it's hard to force myself to send film *out* to be developed)
The whole project took me a week (of spare time) but it was a real hands-on rush. I'd do it again! (well, maybe... )
_____________
If you can go to bed, knowing you did a valuable thing today, you're very lucky. If you can't... it's not bedtime
An excellent suggestion. Most road shows have hardened experts (ad cases) for transporting sensitive electronic gear that needs to be setup quicker than it is broken down.
If you're into Lan Parties, spend a few nights with a travelling band and adopt their procedures. (No one can wrap cable as efficient as a good roadie).
-- @rjamestaylor on Ello
Yes. My roadie friend got tired of touring with rock groups, so she switched careers to LAN installation and system administration. Worked out very well.
This sounds intriguing. I would love to find a case that is not as deep as the average minitower so that it will fit in my entertainment center in the living room. If anyone knows where to find such a beast, I would love to hear about it. Thanks!
Stupid people will be persecuted to the fullest extent allowed by law.
The X-Rays themselves are not a problem. The problem is the huge-ass power supply for the X-Ray machine, with it's giant transformer. That's the problem. That's what screws up magnetic data. The safest place, in terms of shielding, is right in the middle of the X-Ray machine. The worst place is on the belt after the X-Ray machine...where the power supply is located.
"How perfectly Goddamn delightful it all is, to be sure" Charles Crumb
Get some monofiliment fishing line. It's small enough to thread into the gap between the card edge connectors and the motherboard. Use this to make a loop to secure the back edges of all the cards. I built some systems to go on the road, and the cards normally are only secured on one end by a single screw. This is not enough to keep the card secured.
Before I did this, every system had to be opened at the site before power-on and the cards re-seated. After I put the fishing line tie-downs in (using a "surgeon's knot" and acetone) we didn't have a single badly seated card. Oh, and a small amount of silicone to hold the drive connectors on.
"How perfectly Goddamn delightful it all is, to be sure" Charles Crumb
"What I cannot create, I do not understand."