My Project Black 1200 Stage 1 & 2 Complete

[chrispy]

After seeing a kick ass A1260CD on a German forum about 3 weeks ago I decided after being back on the scene for around 4 days this is what I ultimately want to do with my 1200.

The obvious way is to do it in stages so I started by spraying the yellowing case and installing black CDTV keys (it's easier to get an audience with the Pope than it is to find a good condition CDTV keyboard). Anyway, here's stages 1 & 2 of Project Black. Appologies for the poor photo's, being disabled it's very difficult for me to keep still for that perfect picture.

OK, I had three whole 1200's in my storage container that had been there since the mid 90's I guess. After getting the three of them out and booting them up they all sprang to life no probs whatsoever. One had stayed perfectly white, one had started to turn yellow very slowly and the third had turned into Rachel Stevens so I chose the Rachel Stevens model for the project.

After a lengthy discussion with a chap at a car body repair shop he suggested I used a liquid plastic spray that they use to re-new black body moldings like bumpers, mirrors etc etc. He said over time it will start to seep into the plastic and become permanent and it turned out cheaper than regular spray also. Here it is :-



I gave the inside and out of the case two full coats as that was more than plenty. Here's the top section after it's first coat :-



And it's second :-




I love the tough matt looking finish. Anyway's same can be said about the bottom section, here's the pictures :-





Personally i'm very pleased with how it's turned out anyway.

Next was what I was expecting to be a real ba****d of a job but turned out easy enough. Replacing the keys on my 1200 keyboard for the CDTV ones. After a chat with Phantom on Amibay he explained that you just place a little flathead screwdriver under the keys and gently lift up. The keys differ only in the fact that CDTV keys have a kind of rubber riser underneath them whereas 1200's have a spring. I decided to use the rubber ones instead.

THis was the donor keyboard :-



And this was the 1200 the keys were going on :-



The only pain in the arse with this job is that some of the keys have a metal retaining clip underneath that enters both ends of the keys but once you've got one off they are simple to do afterwards.



These are the little rubbers risers that are under the CDTV keys :-



Well, that's the numeric keypad done at least :-





Be careful with this spacebar, it can be a real bitch.



See I wasn't alone doing it. I had the help of my Mr Potato Head collection.



Almost done.



And into it's new housing.



I don't know if anyone is going to be even remotely interested in this but it was enjoyable to do and i'm looking forward to further mods now.

[Charlie]

What's the action of the keys like - rubber vs spring?

[chrispy]

I don't see much difference to be honest with you. I decided to stick with the rubber as that's what came with the keys. Maybe a little quieter?

[Jimbo]

Myself I love to see pictures like this. You did a great job m8 it has to be said. Got me thinking about a 2nd A1200 now just to do this

Nice work

[cosmicfrog]

hey chrisby Mr potato head don`t take a bad photo

looking good

[chrispy]

Which potato head you talking about now? The big lump of one in the chair or the ones on the shelf? I got bloody loads of them now and it all started off as a joke that got a bit out of hand lol. Incidentally, if anyone has a Yam Solo or a Chewbacon i'm interested lol.

[cosmicfrog]

the one takeing the photos of course

so whats next to do ? have you decided yet

photo logs like these and fitsteves annoy me that my camera is naff and/or I don`t do one myself, we all got our problems .... ribbit

also nice setup you got there

[chrispy]

I've got so much crap in my office it's unreal. For the 1200 next is a slimline cd/dvd drive and a Blizzard IV 060 hopefully. Sadly, that has to be put on hold as I have had this beast under my desk for over a year waiting to be done and I still haven't got around to even starting it :-



First of all the green's going to be changed to yellow as my little niece has decided to call it Bumblebee of all things (because it's fat and slow looking) and then I start it just after christmas. When it's done it'll control a large portion of our house like central heating, gates, lights up the drive, garage door, cctv system, curtains and blinds and a lot more which I can control from my iPhone when i'm out and about. Home automation software has become so simple to use now basically anyone can do it.

I need to get it done asap as my current little server cannot be upgraded anymore and that controls the media system for the whole house. I've got 4 x 2TB drives in there and the last one is just about full. There's thousands of mp3 albums on there, about 2000 movies in avi format and hundreds of TV series that are streamed through ethernet cable around the house so wherever you are you can watch a different show, movie or listen to a different MP3 cd than in other rooms. It'll be a long process that should take about another 4 years in total (funds permitting).

When it's finished it'll hold an Intel i7 Extreme 985, a Republic of Gamers III motherboard, 12 gig of Ram, 8x 2 TB sata drives and 2xsli graphics cards with a Creative Fatality Champion Series 7.1 sound card.

[Jope]

Originally Posted by Charlie

What's the action of the keys like - rubber vs spring?

The difference is rather profound. Rubber - satisfying click, spring - soggy mush.

[Nostalgeek]

Hehe I love these reports. Great work Chrispy, and the matte finish of the plastic spray is great indeed!

Still - would have kept the Rachel Stevens as it is, that sounds pretty fit

[chrispy]

Originally Posted by Nostalgeek

Hehe I love these reports. Great work Chrispy, and the matte finish of the plastic spray is great indeed!

Still - would have kept the Rachel Stevens as it is, that sounds pretty fit

The decision was made for me by the wife when she came in my office one night and found me with Rachel Stevens (the keyboard) in one hand and my d*** in the other with an open jar of hand cream on the desk

I'n off now to watch Resident Evil Afterlife. Wonder if my son will keep quiet long enough for me to enjoy it?

[ck1200]

The build looks excellent there mate and a great result with the cdtv keyboard give's me future ideas lol

chris

[seuden]

Awesome work!! I'd love to have a black A1200 but I'm afraid of dismantling a CDTV for it's keys as I'm sure alexh would be at my door with a hatchet ready to dismantle me!! :-(

[chrispy]

Originally Posted by cosmicfrog

the one takeing the photos of course

so whats next to do ? have you decided yet

photo logs like these and fitsteves annoy me that my camera is naff and/or I don`t do one myself, we all got our problems .... ribbit

also nice setup you got there

OK, i've just taken delivery of some neon blue power, floppy and hdd lights to attempt to transplant into the Black 1200 to replace the shitty green and orange ones. I'm not very good at soldering but i'm determind to have a go myself. I'm hoping to try it this weekend but we have a burst water main under our kitchen and as it's such a huge kitchen 22 feet by 18 feet i'm not digging up the floor, i'm going to get the garden dug up instead. Hopefully, if I can get that done by the end of tomorrow (saturday) i'll have sunday to have a play with this 1200. Then it's the cd/dvd drive and a quick sale to move onto another project (fingers crossed).