My Amiga CD1200 Project

[diablothe2nd]

over the past week or so i've been measuring, thinking, test fitting and repeating the above until i finally decided to dive in and start cutting up a rather expensive Lian Li PC-C37B HTPC Case.

I didn't get any photos of it before I started hacking but here's what it would look like if i'd have used it as a normal pc:


but we dont want to do that!

first I drilled out the rivets for the back plate, then cut out the vertical support bracket at the back. a bit more filing and cutting, and removing and repositioning the motherboard pegs and we have the 1200 motherboard in position and my 500x500mm 1.2mm aluminium sheet has arrived ready to be turned into a new backplate:


following is a few images of me test fitting other components:





and a view from the front:


airflow will travel from left to right, the psu aiding to exhaust to the right also. the psu wont be mounted flush to the case, but basically where it is in these pics. the idea being so i can reroute the power socket to the rear of the case as i dont want a power cable on the side for obvious reasons.


in this image i've finished relocating the hard drive cradle and have it in position. I'm also test fitting pci slots.


there's actually enough room for 6 slots, although the top left one will be blanked off due to the hd cradle being in the way. or i suppose i can put peripheral sockets on the plate:


here i'm test fitting a graphics card. and yes, i know its agp, it's just what i had to hand that i didnt mind banging around as it's already dead




there's still lots more to do. i actually want to swap out the 20mm mobo pegs for some 10mm ones as the pci slots need to be a fraction lower so i dont have to cut the upper bracket, but still have enough room for the mediator sx and the pci extension cables.

i plan on making something rather fancy out of the spare aluminium sheet for the BPPC to sit on that is also an "air duct" that will exhaust out the side :P

I also managed to pick up a nice addition pretty cheap on Amibay recently:


When I've swapped out the horrid yellow DIN wire for a black one, that'll be awesome


Oh and I've almost settled on the final specs:

BPPC 060@66Mhz PPC@330Mhz 256MB Ram on board
SCSI HARD DRIVE
SCSI DVD Drive
BVision (if i can find/afford one)
PC-Key 1200 Keyboard Adapter
Mediator LT
Spider II USB 2.0
100Mbit Ethernet
Terratec 512i Digital Audio Card
Radeon 9200/256MB

the graphics card allows sharing of 250mb of it's ram as fast mem, for a total of 506Mb ram!

further ideas are an infrared receiver so i can use CDTV remotes to control cd's etc using Arexx, an LCD for the front fascia that i'll no doubt have to program myself. and wireless (bluetooth) RS232 for the controllers.

[johnim]

looks nice so far mate keep it going.

nice to see you back too

[roy bates]

have you got the busboard yet?

im a bit worried about the distance between the buboard itself and the cards,what do you think?

and welcome back.

[diablothe2nd]

thanks for the welcomes

i haven't yet roy. and me too! i wont make the backplate until i have the mediator in my hands.

from the limited amount of pictures on the net at the correct angle, it appears the mediator pcb comes level with the RF box. then adding the pci socket on top plus the 5mm extension does leave it close! this is why i'm going to replace the 20mm mobo pegs with 10mm ones. will probably need to file the bottom lip a bit but that's not a problem. it's the top i cant cut/file as the screw holes for the lid are on it.

[Peter]

Amazing - really looking forward to seeing more progress!!

I never tire of looking at these projects - it makes the small mods that I have made in the past seem so timid and almost insignificant.

Love the case, it is very sleek and the CDTV keyboard really compliments it.

Great work, thanks for sharing.

[roy bates]

there 25mm from the motherboard and then addon another 14mm minimum for the pci slots.

thats alot of height isent it?

still i dont think its impossible.

[diablothe2nd]

thanks for those measurements roy

i just went and double checked. if i drop the mobo 10mm it'll *just* fit when you include another 5mm for a pci extender where the wire comes out sideways.

[roy bates]

no probs


are you going to hack the power supply so the mains leads come out the back?


actually,you know you dont really need the case on the supply for it to work
there are holes in the side of the case for fans,if you see what im saying.

[diablothe2nd]

Originally Posted by roy bates

are you going to hack the power supply so the mains leads come out the back?

not going to hack it, just going to plug in a 90 degree plug that goes to a socket at the back.

[Bastich]

Looking good

[diablothe2nd]

Originally Posted by roy bates

actually,you know you dont really need the case on the supply for it to work
there are holes in the side of the case for fans,if you see what im saying.

ah you edited your post after my reply. yes the psu will remain where it is in the photos, exhausting out the vent in the case. although i may fashion some form of duct out of the remaining aluminium to assist the air flow and prevent it from recirculating, like what i plan with the bppc ducting and exhaust

[diablothe2nd]

I've just mocked up in 3D what I have in mind for the PSU and Accelerator ducting so you guys can see my vision a little more clearly

basically the bppc will sit on a tray sort of thing, that's ducted to the middle fan hole (which will need to be offset from the actual air holes in the case slightly). the idea being, that air will get sucked across the heat sinks of the bppc and out the case.


the left air vent will be ducted to just the exhaust of the psu, the middle vent will be the bppc exhaust and the right vent will be general case heat extraction. notice the middle and right vent will need slightly offsetting as the bppc itself will be in the way of the fans otherwise.


here's my plan for the back plate:


and some other angles:




*EDIT* Updated images with new PSU position and added fans to show placement

[diablothe2nd]

i've replaced the pegs with 5mm ones. wont need much filing on the bottom lip thankfully. i now have enough clearance for the mediator. thanks again Roy

i've also removed a bit of the bracing bar so the psu can now be moved another inch over... so i've got more room for a plug and the bppc duct

[diablothe2nd]

woot! just found a company a few mins drive from me that will black anodise any parts of aluminium i throw at them!

[cpiac64]

same idea, but no space on my case for apollo1260

[diablothe2nd]

Originally Posted by cpiac64

same idea, but no space on my case for apollo1260

that sucks a bit. but can't you just make another side panel that's a bit deeper to accomodate?

it looks like i may be remaking the right hand side panel so i can relocate the fan grills.

[roy bates]

Originally Posted by cpiac64

same idea, but no space on my case for apollo1260

what case you got?

[cpiac64]

beige case desktop no brand, 38 cm X 36 cm X 9 cm, ideally for 1200 rev 1.4d or similar with mouse port cable

[diablothe2nd]

you've definitely got the height and depth. you just need another 3 centimetres width to get the apollo in, or 43cm for apollo with mediator.

you can get sheets of aluminium pretty cheap. Mine was £10 plus postage. and a hand riveting tool with different sized rivets only cost another £12. you just then need to drill out the rivets holding the panel on and replace it with your own.

[cpiac64]

thanks for info, but i want create a riser 180° for apollo