Project: The Unidyne PC

Everfalling said:
ah ha! i've sussed it! It's an old timey microphone! holy crap that's awsome. i was thinking this was a neat design, but then i saw the pole stand and then the black highlights on the wood and it became clear to me... i've been just looking at the pictures so i donno if someone has already hit on what it is... anywho..awsome stuff man, i can't wait till this is done.
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Thanks for the comments!

Yes, it was guessed earlier in the thread by a microphone collector. I haven't included any pictures of an original because...well...I wasn't ready yet.

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Here is an original Shure 55 Unidyne microphone.

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you should add an actual hidden microphone in it for use as a voice recorder as well. just for the novelty of it. heh
 
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I/O shield work. Each port is hand cut with a variety of hobby files. I start with the ports that stick out the farthest and work my way in. The D-subs are the most difficult because of their shape.

I still have the rest of the ports to cut out. In addition, I have the exhaust fan outlet, the power switch hole and the DC power hole. I am considering dropping a couple of extra USB ports into the mess as well.
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The shaft on the mic stand is too small in diameter for the scale of the computer. After eying the tubes on my wife's vacuum cleaner and after receiving several warnings I decided to take a trip to my local computer parts store; also known as ACE Hardware.

I found this chrome drain extension that is seen in this photo being elevated to show the difference in diameter.
 
This mod is really coming together very nicely.
Hell, I don't even wanna call it a mod. It's flat out case fabbing, of the highest caliber. Superb work indeed.
Someday, I will be good enough at metalworking to duplicate. (Yeahright.) ;)
 
AreEss said:
This mod is really coming together very nicely.
Hell, I don't even wanna call it a mod. It's flat out case fabbing, of the highest caliber. Superb work indeed.
Someday, I will be good enough at metalworking to duplicate. (Yeahright.) ;)
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Thanks for that!

I would love to be able to pour cast aluminum parts. I would like to believe that what I'm doing here is the first step in creating the molds to do just that.
 
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Another major milestone accomplished by boring a hole into the lug at the proper angle. I sweat big time over this step and I'm glad to move on.

It feels as though I'm on the downhill now.

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The 1 1/4" chrome tube extends 1 3/4" into the bore hole. The illusion is that it pivots at the attachment point. The reality is that the tube extends far into the block of wood.

Hopefully, this solution will be strong enough.

I'm working hard to get the case up on its stand. Painting will be extra fun with the case up in the air on a spinning mount.
 
Beatuiful. If you could just go ahead and send some of those woodworking skills this way that would be great.

Thanks.
 
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I finished up the I/O plate except for testing it out with all the different connectors. I may need to trim some more up around the PS2 ports and S-video port.

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Testing the cartridge computer. The I/O plate is attached to the board using the six D-sub connector screws. It is very solid.

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I still need to figure out how to best "lock" the cartridge into the case. I might also install a pair of 2U server case handles to assist in extracting the computer.
 
Where's your other entry point for airflow going to come from? you going to sneak in some holes into those black fins where we can't see them, or what?

Looking good, BTW.

 
Very very clean I/O panel, looks like CNC but you did it by hand? You're far more patient than me. How are you planning to finish the wood? Are you planning to replicate the original burnished metal? Do you have an idea on how you'll replicate the logo in the center?
 
uzor said:
Where's your other entry point for airflow going to come from? you going to sneak in some holes into those black fins where we can't see them, or what?
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Yes. I made a cut in the side panel before I glued the parts up. I struggled a lot with the air inlet issue. I thought of holes drilled up from the bottom.

The 2" x 4" rectangular hole I opened up is pretty well hidden by the flat black paint and the detail pieces I glued up onto the cases side. I'm sure if you look hard you can see it.

Edit: See the middle photo in post #80. You can see the wall through some of the fins.

themark said:
Very very clean I/O panel, looks like CNC but you did it by hand? You're far more patient than me. How are you planning to finish the wood? Are you planning to replicate the original burnished metal? Do you have an idea on how you'll replicate the logo in the center?
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The I/O plate holes were cut by hand after drilling a pilot hole (or two). The two square holes were started with a Dremel hogging out most of the center.

I use razor sharp hobby files on fairly thick aluminum. The plate has to be thin enough to easily cut but strong enough to sustain hard file strokes without bending. After a while it seemed like I was carving the metal.

What you see took me around 9-10 hours to finish.

As far as the wood finish and emblem...stay tuned.
 
Ya i/o panels are tough. I'm glad people still make them by hand instead of using backplanes from old cases.
 
I finally see what the goal of it was ahah very nicely done.
Wood seems like a very easy material to work with... but it isnt >_<

Seeing so many ITX projects makes me want to buy a mini itx too :(
 
awdark said:
Wood seems like a very easy material to work with... but it isnt >_<
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Thanks for your comments. I don't have my smiley translator on. I hope >_< has some sarcasm in it. ;)


Qtip42 said:
Ya i/o panels are tough. I'm glad people still make them by hand instead of using backplanes from old cases.
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I've been using a lot of development and industrial boards lately that don't have I/O plates. I learned from the DECOmputer that I can't get away with just not including one.

The trick I found was getting the proper thickness of aluminum.
 
Just chiming in to say beautiful work and craftsmanship. Glad to see someone that appreciates classic style.

Maybe a small engraving of Sammy Davis Jr or Ginger Rogers? ;)
 
Dark Prodigy said:
Just chiming in to say beautiful work and craftsmanship. Glad to see someone that appreciates classic style.

Maybe a small engraving of Sammy Davis Jr or Ginger Rogers? ;)
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Thanks for that. Sammy Davis maybe...Ginger Rogers was a dancer.

Maybe instead of the Shure Brothers emblem on the front I'll just use a picture of Elvis. The one from his stamp showing him singing into this mic. lol

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I sprayed an entire can of aluminum paint onto the thing. No sanding or worry about runs. I wanted to test this new paint I got to see how how fast it dries and how it looks.

I mostly did this to bring out the imperfections in the surface. I will have to use some wood filler or even some auto body Bondo to smooth out the spaces in the wood.


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Making wood look like cast aluminum is quite a process. This will be the third project that I've done this (The Machine Age PC and The Zenith PC) so hopefully it should go well.

I'm still not sure about the final shape of the case. Some angles look better than others. I'm hoping that this coat of paint will help with the perspective.
 
slipperyskip said:
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Hi
I've been following this project since it's begining and I wanted to say it looks great, not to mention the rest of the projects on your site.

I have a suggestion for you: I saw you placed the power button on the i/o plate in the back (at least I think that's what it was). Why not place it as the logo on the front? Or, make the logo lighted with some leds behind it? Or both...
 
Itay said:
I have a suggestion for you: I saw you placed the power button on the i/o plate in the back (at least I think that's what it was). Why not place it as the logo on the front? Or, make the logo lighted with some leds behind it? Or both...
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Thank you for your kind words.

I was originally going to place the power switch in the place of the logo but that idea went against my goal of having a wholly self-contained cartridge computer.

This project is actually two projects in one. I have wanted to build a cartridge computer for some time. I am using the shell in this project to demo the idea. The cartridge computer project is complete and I intend to do a write-up on it this weekend to publish onto my site.

Why a cartridge computer? As long as I know the size of the cavity that is required I can build up or bore out or hollow out any "case" or found object, whatever, and have an instant computer that is guaranteed to work.

Maybe I'm crazy but I think that is pretty cool. But then again...maybe I'm crazy. ;)
 
slipperyskip said:
...
Why a cartridge computer? As long as I know the size of the cavity that is required I can build up or bore out or hollow out any "case" or found object, whatever, and have an instant computer that is guaranteed to work.

Maybe I'm crazy but I think that is pretty cool. But then again...maybe I'm crazy. ;)
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You're not crazy at all... I was thinking quite the same about a computer I want to build. It's a tricky metal case that should look almost the same after I mod it, i.e. fool most people to think it's not a computer. Alas, the shortage of money and time... :(
 
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Paint and sand and paint and sand and paint......

Time to sit back and squint at it for a while.

It is still very "squarish" in shape.

...paint and sand and....

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Here is a temporary logo to check the look.
 
That last pic just blew me away :eek:! Awesome... :D
 
Itay said:
That last pic just blew me away :eek:! Awesome... :D
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Thanks. I like the lighting in the shot.

I'm still doing work on the lug. Fitting up some bits and pieces. Sanding, painting, sanding, etc...

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I'd like to suggest (and take this for all it's worth - $0 in any currency) that you consider a windscreen in between the outer finished slats. It's been a while since I've worked with a 55, but IIRC, it has a foam windscreen inside the body over the transducer. Something like a thin layer of black foam (maybe with a layer of mesh screen over the top) would work great in your application.

Then again, you probably already have plans for it, so who am I to suggest?
 
that is just dam awsome and one of the MOST original mods i have seen lately.

So , have you contact the company to show them your work ?
 
Wow, awesome so far. I thought you would chinze out on the base but it is looking good.

Yeah let Shure know about your project. Who knows they may link to you, or at least send you a tshirt. I interviewed with them and I got a mouse pad. You figure a tribute computer has to be worth something.
 
man this is absolutely awesome! keep up the good work and thats an idea I would have never thought of!
 
slipperyskip said:
I decided to take a trip to my local computer parts store; also known as ACE Hardware.
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lol! funny, awesome mod too, the paint job is great, I bet howard stern would appreciate a mod like this :p
 
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Thanks a lot for all the comments guys!

Sorry for the lack of updates. It's hard to concentrate when there is blood in the water. :)

Here are a couple of photos using different lighting. I figure I'm about 90% complete right now.
 
Wow, this looks fantastic! I knew it would look good, but this is waaaay exceeding my expectations.

Nice work bud!
 
Pics all hooked up to a monitor and all? I imagine those cables might be annoying.
 
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