Multi-specific electronics (Computer Case Modding)

[StormRyda]

Hey all...this is my first time posting in a long while. I occasionally read the forum's since I am no expert myself in electronics but it's getting their.

I'll get to the point. For next year's local case modding competition I have some ideas in mind which I have not been able to solve and would like some opinions.

The power button on your computer is basically just used like a switch in which when its pressed it lets a current through which opens the circuit for operation and your computer starts up. How could i accomplish this remotely/wirelessly(with what circuit?) I really don't want to have it like a rf remote in which i have to point it at the computer kind of like the tv to turn it on. if theirs any way to accomplish this so that you could turn it on through a wall? This circuit would be running off of the PSU.

I have seen small lcd displays that are attached to cars or other misc devices that are hidden then come out and fold up like a labtop. Lets say i wanted to put one 5" x 5" or similar lcd in one of my 5.25' drive bays..how could this be done? Im not worried about powering it yet or what type of lcd..I just want to know how the concept of folding it up is accomplished.

Their is a few more features that I would like..but I don't want to bother everyone with all these questions. If anyone has msn? or even aim/yahoo (i can download it) that would be of much greater help since we can communicate in real time - much easier. Thank you for all your help.

 

[grrr_arrghh]

I really don't want to have it like a rf remote in which i have to point it at the computer kind of like the tv to turn it on. if theirs any way to accomplish this so that you could turn it on through a wall?

to work through a wall will require RF - i can't think of any other way of doing it. Unless you just want the switch on a very long piece of wire...and also the TV remote uses infrared, which requires line of sight. RF doesn't (I don't think..)

I have seen small lcd displays that are attached to cars or other misc devices that are hidden then come out and fold up like a labtop. Lets say i wanted to put one 5" x 5" or similar lcd in one of my 5.25' drive bays..how could this be done?

if I understand you correctly, it could be done mounting the LCD in a frame, which has a sprung hinge attaching it to a larger frame at one end. This second, larger, frame is on rails, and when it slides out of the drive bay, the sprung hinge would push the LCD into full view. Is that the sort of thing you're talking about?

Their is a few more features that I would like..but I don't want to bother everyone with all these questions. If anyone has msn?

Post them here. No one is going to be bothered by asking too many questions (I do it myself with monotonous regularity). Also, if you chat to someone over MSN, you only get the benefit of one person's ideas/knowledge, but if you post the questions in the forum, everyone can give their input.

You're welcome to PM me with your MSN address, and i'll add you, but I may not be able to help.

Tim

 

[Exo]

The easyest way of using rf to turn your computer on would be buying one of the velleman RF remote control kits.

If you don't want to buy a kit it get's a bit more complicated.
there are rf transmitter/receiver modules available, but they require microcontroller control...

 

[pike]

keep in mind that the reciever has to be mounted outside the case other wise it will not pickup the signal because it is shielded by the computer case.

Assuming you have one of those recent PSU's ( 4 years or newer), you just have to apply the relay to the motherboard switch headers which would require a very small current to trigger so only a small relay is required.

 

[DirtyLude]

I would think just the antenna would need to be mounted outside the case, rather than the whole receiver. Of course, if you're using one of the Plexi/Lexan cases, you'd have no problem.

http://www.rentron.com has a load of RF modules and kits that should help you.

The retracting LCD screens are prebuilt modules. Unless you can find one that's specificly manufactured for a 5.25" slot, it would be pretty difficult to homemake this with any kind of quality that you could show off in a case mod gallery. I think I've seen retractable screens for computers somewhere, though.

 

[xyz_sport]

heres aa link for the foldable lcd thing... **broken link removed**

 

[kentken]

The above link has some good ideas, you might want to go to the hardware store and take a look at drawer slide. They come in all shapes and sizes, and whould be smooth.

Is this to be manualy opended or powered?

Also look at the other mod they did, it has a very clean look.
**broken link removed**

Happy Modding
Kent

 

[StormRyda]

Sorry for the late reply.

Thank you to all your opinions. To anwser your question, yes it will be powered. It does not seem that hard to do...but I just want to make sure to get it right the first time. That site was great for the retractable lcd mod.
Another one of my questions that I posted was about RF. I live in Canada, and is it possible to build a rf controller/reviever that is allowed in Canada without a license?

I'm not sure where to find this information, and the one person who provided me with a pdf link, my Adobe could not open the pdf for some reason. Would anyone be willing to find me a copy of Canada's frequencys that do not need to be licensed and maybe a schematic for the actual circuit? It would be greatly apprechiated. Would building the circuit be cheaper then actually buying a pre-built rf circuit? Also whats the difference between the mhz? Higher mhz - longer range? I would really like to take a crack at building it.

Thank you everyone.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

Re: Sorry for the late reply.

Thank you to all your opinions. To anwser your question, yes it will be powered. It does not seem that hard to do...but I just want to make sure to get it right the first time. That site was great for the retractable lcd mod.
Another one of my questions that I posted was about RF. I live in Canada, and is it possible to build a rf controller/reviever that is allowed in Canada without a license?

I'm not sure where to find this information, and the one person who provided me with a pdf link, my Adobe could not open the pdf for some reason. Would anyone be willing to find me a copy of Canada's frequencys that do not need to be licensed and maybe a schematic for the actual circuit? It would be greatly apprechiated. Would building the circuit be cheaper then actually buying a pre-built rf circuit? Also whats the difference between the mhz? Higher mhz - longer range? I would really like to take a crack at building it.

Just check reputable Canadian suppliers, they should stock licence free radio modules for your country. It's not worth trying to build your own, it would be fairly difficult, probably cost more, and probably wouldn't meet the licence free requirements.

Generally the higher the frequency, the shorter the range - but licence free is supposed to be short range. Anything VHF or UHF is basically 'line of site', but licence free is usually 100m or so.

 

[pike]

Re: Sorry for the late reply.

Generally the higher the frequency, the shorter the range. Anything VHF or UHF is basically 'line of site', but licence free is usually 100m or so.

How can higher frequency mean shorter range??? Ive never heard of such "phenomenon" before.

 

[pittuck]

For doing the power interface you should isolate the RF/IR circuit from the actuall on/off switch. Perhaps using a opto-isolator and then u should rewire the power switch. Perhaps even using a PIC to control it all, will make the circuitry easier but means programming / building (or buying) hardware to control stuff.

Just an idea, knowing PIC programming will allow you to do much more with moding, perhaps pretty LED patters in random motions, or have half a dozen patterns (If you have a side pannel, u could highlight each component in turn...)

Regards,

- Martyn

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

Re: Sorry for the late reply.

Generally the higher the frequency, the shorter the range. Anything VHF or UHF is basically 'line of site', but licence free is usually 100m or so.

How can higher frequency mean shorter range??? Ive never heard of such "phenomenon" before.

You're obviously not a radio amateur :lol:

If you want to communicate round the world you use lower frequencies, these are reflected from layers in the upper atmosphere and 'bounce' round the world. This is why you can't use low frequencies to communicate with satellites or space craft.

Once you get to about 30MHz this bouncing becomes less effective, and you can broadcast into space above these frequencies. By VHF frequencies there's no 'bounce' at all and the radio waves travel on into space.

Meanwhile, back on earth, things work in a 'similar' sort of way.

Radio waves, like light waves, travel in straight lines - BUT they do seem to 'droop' to some extend. If you're either side of a hill you don't have 'line of sight', so a radio shouldn't work - but, depending on the frequency used, it will work over the hill to some extent. VHF will 'bend' so far down, but by UHF frequencies it won't work at all.

Also, higher frequencies are absorbed more by water in the atmosphere, so this again reduces range at higher frequencies.

As a radio amateur it becomes very obvious that you can get much further at 2M (VHF) than you can at 70CM (UHF), from the same place, with the same power.

If you want more information about progagation at radio frequencies, try amateur radio text books.

 

[grrr_arrghh]

they do seem to 'droop' to some extend. If you're either side of a hill you don't have 'line of sight', so a radio shouldn't work - but, depending on the frequency used, it will work over the hill to some extent. VHF will 'bend' so far down, but by UHF frequencies it won't work at all.

If you draw a line (looking sideways on) from sender to receiver, the radio waves will travel in a rugby ball shape between these two points, with the center of the ball being the line. However, as you get closer to the edge of the rugby ball shape, the signal gets weaker. I think.

 

[zevon8]

If you want to experiment with some low cost tranceivers, I would start with the FRS radios. They are licence free in Canada, and I have seen them for as low as $20 CAN each. They operate in the 460 MHz band.

Here is a link to alot of pretty good info, including the FRS radios:

https://www.linuxsecurity.com/docs/Hack-FAQ/radio/frs-family-radio-service.shtml

Here is another site that covers modding radios, including the FRS models. They are brand/model specific, with detail description of what to do. Good reading.

https://www.mods.dk/

If all you need to do is turn off and on the PC, maybe just a wireless doorbell transmitter is all you need. These are inexpensive, small and would be easy to adapt to this need.

 

[tansis]

Remote switch on for a computer with a keyfob transmitter?
Seems pretty pointless ,after all still got to sit at keyboard.


What about a voice recognition module interfaced to keyboard shortcuts and/or the power supply or open/close that LCD bay?

A Dyson style cyclone air filter to replace those forever grubby dust clogged bits of foam.

Water cooling has it's appeal as well, but a very fine spray of mist works better. Other fluids with slightly lower boiling points may be worth exploring. Then of course there is the fascinating realm of liquid metals and alloys.

Fan noise and RFI are a couple of pet hates, am toying with the idea of mounting the cooling fans in a remote soundproofed enclosure connected to the pc with a hose from a vacuum cleaner.

Flash memory seems to be falling in price every month, you can buy small capacity solid state HD's off the shelf but they aint cheap, someday it might be worth the trouble of building one.


Case /keyboards and mice can be made much more than metal /plastic and glass, wood and stone are available these days. Sadly these do cost a small fortune then again the notion of a bespoke enclosure hand built by a cabinet maker, maybe some inlay, bit of brass to polish....