Christiaan Venter Posted February 7, 2017 Posted February 7, 2017 Here I will upload my build process of a Russian naval(?) radio found at a knickknack shop. No idea how it got to ZA, not asking where it came from (wish I knew what stories it told), and I'm gonna shred the insides. edit: Uploading my own pictures with some slight progress report, at least it makes for a better header than a stock image off the internet.
Christiaan Venter Posted February 13, 2017 Author Posted February 13, 2017 Update Monday 13 Feb: Been working on more concept drawings (freehand drawings on line paper). Looking at acquiring an AIO for the CPU (perhaps this http://www.wootware.co.za/coolermaster-rl-n28l-20pk-r1-nepton-280l-cpu-liquid-cooler.html ) Intention is to have the following in the build: x1 AIO water block (plan to fit a 480 for either CPU or GPU) x1 PSU x2 HDD (already own drives) x2 SSD (create space to mount drives. Don't currently own any) x1 Motherboard (DX79to, 16GB DDR3 1600MHz, OC i7-3820 @4.4GHz) x1 GPU (current Galax GTX 960 4GB) x5 slots for PCI expansion (full ATX support in future) x2(?) Coolermaster R4-JFDP-20PR-R1 Jetflo Red LED case fans (on the AIO? haven't decided) The motherboard will lie flat on top of a mounting block with storage underneath, makes less travel distance for both AIO pipes and PSU cables. Due to the short depth of the case, I'll have maximum 320mm from front to back for any GPU which shouldn't be a problem for 90% of available cards. I'll aim for getting concept work posted before next week Monday
Christiaan Venter Posted February 17, 2017 Author Posted February 17, 2017 Update Fri 17 Feb: Finished my first draft on AutoCAD, stil a lot of work left to do before the end of the month (See image) Also made space in my apartment for a table to work on, moving that in this weekend and then slowly start dissembling the machine. In other news I'm planning on buying (as I don't have a sponsor) my next upgraded AMD computer to install in this build. Here's a short list of items I will need to buy and what it would more or less cost in ZAR AM4 build estimates: ~R15,200 (~$1200) Motherboard: ~R2300 (X370 or B350 and whoever has red/what catches my fancy) RAM (DDR4): ~R2200 (16GB) Waterblock: R2140 (Coolermaster Masterliquid Pro 240) CPU (R7 1800X): ~R7000 (lower end cpu maybe? probably, R7 1700x) New PSU? I'll hold off as long as I can (use current 650w or get a new one for ~R1500) SSD: Not gonna have one. Budget simply won't allow (unless I get a sponsor) GPU: use my existing Galax GTX 960 4GB (again, unless I find someone willing to sponsor) So the above listed prices are more or less what I anticipate items will cost when it finally reaches South Africa, due to import tax, listed VAT on the price (something the US doesn't do and I find weird) and standard markup. As for RAM, the AIO and possibly new PSU those I have listed prices but especially RAM is limited to what I can get on the AM4. Doesn't help me buying something crazy and then its not compatible with what I end up affording. So much planning and documentation. I kind of like this though! Not that keen on spending more than my monthly salary in one go. I'll see if I can have a friend supply me the capital in the meantime. end of line
Christiaan Venter Posted February 23, 2017 Author Posted February 23, 2017 Update: Thur 23 Feb I've managed to nearly completely disassemble the radio. Next is to make adjustments to my tech drawings and mark out lines for cutting on the base of the radio, things like keeping the mirror object working, using the existing sliding base to mount my hardware frame and integrate the current dials and knobs to making it boot. Thought: Find a variable resistor to attach to the AIO fans, and manually tune the speed to the frequency dial of the radio.
Christiaan Venter Posted March 10, 2017 Author Posted March 10, 2017 Update: Fri 10 Mar Made the purchase for PC parts this week, pictures when I get them delivered. -Asrock x370 Killer ATX motherboard -R7 1800x -CM G550M PSU -CM Masterliquid Pro 240 -Corsair MP500 -G.skill TridentZ RGB 3000MHz 16GB (2x8GB) Need to source some electronics for special parts but I don't want to tell everything just yet. I'll either i) make a new frame to mount the motherboard and IO shield and GPU or ii) cut up an existing case for simpler mounting and just paint it well. I'll surprise myself.
Christiaan Venter Posted March 27, 2017 Author Posted March 27, 2017 Update! Worked all weekend and felt like I didn't get as far as I'd like, but I managed to get some decent photos of progress! Also youtube link for a short clip on what the box does. 1) Clearance issues that had to be dealt with 2) X370 Ryzen board fitted and seated inside the box 3) Top down view of seated X370 Ryzen board 4) Back view of seated X370 Ryzen board (with PCI-e slots and extraction fan vent) I'll work on getting more photos of the PSU and radiator mount as they happen.
Christiaan Venter Posted April 3, 2017 Author Posted April 3, 2017 Update: Scrapped nearly everything, starting over again. When everything was ready to be fixed (I used rivets), everything else went out of alignment. I've gone from "Almost done tonight" to "I'm set back by 4 weeks"
Christiaan Venter Posted May 2, 2017 Author Posted May 2, 2017 Hi everyone! So, it has been nearly a month since my last post and that was because I pretty much only focused on getting this done and didn't focus on the social media aspects. I will try to submit my final tonight (I need to add my Youtube content still.) So, here's a public write up of how things have gone for my entry the last three months: (I was using different cameras I had access to, most commonly my terrible tablet camera) Start, Feb: I jumped into planning, looking at what I have and the things I could do, initially thinking I could do a case mod with one of the two towers I have in use around my room, until I remembered getting my hands on this one a few years ago: I don't have footage of me ripping it apart except for these: Before After: I had cut away at the aluminum to make a base to work from keeping the front as intact as I am able for ascetic(?) purposes From there I quickly estimated what the rest of my build would look like. The next few stages involved cutting up a scrap tower for its mounting base, IO shield slot and PCI card holders which I promptly started attaching to the base of the radio. I had very little room for error, which I found I didn't really solve the first time round. Both sides were as tight on space as this (I later decided to cut away at these edges to make more room. It came with its own set of problems that I had to work around.) Then I got the happy news my Ryzen system was on its way! I opened the box at the office to have a look at it. I chose the ASROCK X370 Killer SLI for its WIFI, great range of features and the black and white themes. Then I found ZA doesn't have the WIFI version and I bough the non Killer SLI/AC version. Its fine, I can just get a WiFi card right? Mix board with mount, and I got this! I thought it looked cool. Long story short, I had to get a replacement board thanks to a small hardware fault not recognizing my M.2 drive and crashing windows during a BIOS rollback (I bricked it). So here's my first photo of the ASRock x370 K4 gaming board! Here's my first attempt at making the frame fit to the base (with a dummy board) It didn't work. I was two months in and my first attempt screwed me over because I didn't know what I was doing. So with only 4 weeks left I started what felt like was nothing, and made this in one Saturday. The differences were I had better feet on the support beams on the sides, as added structural support around the IO shield as the steel was super thin and tried to bend whenever I touched it. There were some revisions done to this particular shape like the fan mount being removed in favor of more PSU space. I felt so proud when I fitted the board and it worked nearly flawlessly. Then I tidied it up. I spent every night I could for just over a week and ended up with a frame that holds the PSU and radiator up. it was a gruiling mission to get this far, with the only thing driving me a looming deadline of two weeks. The frame worked, but it wasn't sufficient and I had to make some adaptations to have the freedom I needed. The weekend before last I got some paint and did a number on the frame (which I could conveniently enough remove with just 11 rivets holding it in place along the base and one along the top (and two screws) With the painting done I fitted the computer parts on Thursday (25th April), spent the Friday getting electronics to power the light bulb and spent the day calibrating the dials and lenses. Here I am adding some last minute touches sleeving cables during the photo shoot And with this I'm signing off, thanks everyone for your time to look through my first entry!
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