The (now the death of) Dolby DP600 Build (BEYOND COOL BUT PIC HEAVY)

[sam_sam_sam]

Re: The (now the death of) Dolby DP600 Build (BEYOND COOL BUT PIC HEAVY)

That is the vendor mine came from. I remembered the name once I saw it. I never had a problem with any of hte meters as far as function & accuracy.

Thanks for your reply and help with this question

[Topcat]

Re: The (now the death of) Dolby DP600 Build (BEYOND COOL BUT PIC HEAVY)

Just a FWIW after the fact..... I should have added interior lighting inside the oven / test bay. I've had to use a flashlight a few times in order to see things, usually the front panel pins for the buttons. Adding it probably wouldn't be difficult in itself....but it'd have to be removed from the rack.... I'll pass for now.

[sam_sam_sam]

Re: The (now the death of) Dolby DP600 Build (BEYOND COOL BUT PIC HEAVY)

Just a FWIW after the fact..... I should have added interior lighting inside the oven / test bay. I've had to use a flashlight a few times in order to see things, usually the front panel pins for the buttons. Adding it probably wouldn't be difficult in itself....but it'd have to be removed from the rack.... I'll pass for now.

I would say if you have to use a flashlight few more times it might worth the time and effort to make the time and have the resolve to complete the modifications that you did even know you needed it has happened to me a few times in the past but it is a hindrance as well because it takes a long time to complete something sometimes just because you think to much and for to long

[Topcat]

Re: The (now the death of) Dolby DP600 Build (BEYOND COOL BUT PIC HEAVY)

Just to update the thread, the machine has 383.7 hours on it now. I don't have an ETA of when I'll do this, but there are a few revisions I want to make that would require pulling it from the rack.

Revision 1: Remove the CF card reader with IDE interface and replace it with a SATA Optical drive. I've had too many modern boards that simply did not like the IDE to SATA adapter for the IDE interfaces of the ODD and the CF. Two opticals (IDE and SATA) would be far more beneficial. I've also ran into some compatibility issues with the CF setup all together, overall it hasn't been all that practical. For diagnostics utilities, trusty optical media has proven to be the workhorse for older stuff. USB bootables for more modern.

Revision 2: Add test bay lighting and a switch to control it; powered by the IPU. I already know in my head how I want to do this, but it would require a little modding and of course some additional wiring.

Everything else as far as function has been stellar so far!

[sam_sam_sam]

Re: The (now the death of) Dolby DP600 Build (BEYOND COOL BUT PIC HEAVY)

Just to update the thread
Revision 1:
Revision 2:
Everything else as far as function has been stellar so far!

I will be following this post to see what you come up with

[Topcat]

Re: The (now the death of) Dolby DP600 Build (BEYOND COOL BUT PIC HEAVY)

The test of some LED lighting for the bay:





These will attach nicely under the lip on both sides and make it nice & bright in there.

To make this work the way I want, it will require adding a switch and a few wires. I'll place the switch under the four on the far left side. Fourth one down is the test bay fans. Number five will be under that; for bay lights.

[sam_sam_sam]

Re: The (now the death of) Dolby DP600 Build (BEYOND COOL BUT PIC HEAVY)

Can I make a suggestion for the LED light strip that you are using why not go down the length of that side that you have it on that way it would light the hole board and would easier to see what you are doing

I would use a light strip that the LEDs are a little farther apart from each other for much softer lighting effect

I like your idea about the light switch for turning it off and on when needed

[Topcat]

Re: The (now the death of) Dolby DP600 Build (BEYOND COOL BUT PIC HEAVY)

Can I make a suggestion for the LED light strip that you are using why not go down the length of that side that you have it on that way it would light the hole board and would easier to see what you are doing

I would use a light strip that the LEDs are a little farther apart from each other for much softer lighting effect

I like your idea about the light switch for turning it off and on when needed

I'm also working on the idea of a diffuser....that said, the pics (flash off) didn't give a good representation of the light. I like the 'under the lip' mount; as you'll never see the strips and the glare...or accidentally look at a strip and be seeing spots for the next 10 minutes. To not be more of a hindrance than help, they need to be installed carefully; to be pretty much hidden away. There's also the idea of one up under the control panel casting downward on the interfaces...again, out of the way but creating useful light.

I considered wiring the lighting into the same switch as the fans....I can't tell you how many times I've closed the lid and walked away with a board in there testing and forgot to turn the fans on. Never had problems with heat....but still. Seeing the lights on, I'd know the fans were on.....but I really don't want the lights on all the time. I also considered a door switch on the lid; when the lid closes, the fans come on automatically.

[sam_sam_sam]

Re: The (now the death of) Dolby DP600 Build (BEYOND COOL BUT PIC HEAVY)

I considered wiring the lighting into the same switch as the fans....I can't tell you how many times I've closed the lid and walked away with a board in there testing and forgot to turn the fans on. Never had problems with heat....but still. Seeing the lights on, I'd know the fans were on.....but I really don't want the lights on all the time. I also considered a door switch on the lid; when the lid closes, the fans come on automatically.

This would probably be a good idea to this

[Topcat]

Re: The (now the death of) Dolby DP600 Build (BEYOND COOL BUT PIC HEAVY)

500 Hour Update!!



Going to bite the bullet and pull the unit from the rack for some revisions. Fortunately, no bug fixes or safety issues...just some design revisions. Of course the two revisions listed above; lighting in the test bay and removal of the CF reader to be replaced with a SATA optical.

Revision 3: Fabricate blockoff plates for the rear opening where the keyboard/mouse cables & VGA cables come in to tidy up the mess.

Revision 4: Design some reinforcement & lift handle for the leading edge of the lid. It's a little flimsy on that leading edge, I want to firm it up a little and of course something to grab a hold of and lift the lid....as of now, I just grab it from the side and lift.

....but first it has to be extracted from the rack...

Here we go!!



I'm not taking it out the same way it went in. That was a friggin nightmare. Going to try a different approach. I'm going to take the rack slides loose from the side of the machine (leaving the slides mounted in the rack) versus taking the rack slides loose from the rack posts.



There's 4 bolts on each side that hold this.





Now a shim to slip under the oven to go between it and the top 'diskwasher' to keep from scuffing the hell out of the diskwasher top.









Came out amazingly easy!! Removed all the bolts, and it lightly dropped down onto the wood. Made sure everything was cleared and simply picked it up and set it on the table.



Something tells me it'll be a little more of a fight getting it back in.....but nowhere near as bad as it was when the slides were on the machine versus in their permanent spot on the rack posts.



I plan on doing as much of this as I can over the weekend, keeping the downtime to a minimal....as this machine is used pretty much on a daily basis here....but problem # 1 has already reared its head....I don't have any of those small toggle switches left....I used them all apparently....and all this effort to put some oddball switch in there would send my OCD into a tailspin.....so I'll have to toss this one around in my head a little. Of all the kooky things I've made in my lifetime, this one has proven to be very useful!

[sam_sam_sam]

Re: The (now the death of) Dolby DP600 Build (BEYOND COOL BUT PIC HEAVY)

Are you going to add the LED strips to your revision this time around
As mentioned in a post above #206

[Topcat]

Re: The (now the death of) Dolby DP600 Build (BEYOND COOL BUT PIC HEAVY)

Are you going to add the LED strips to your revision this time around
As mentioned in a post above #206

Yes...one of 4 revisions.

...and here we go!! I went to the junkyard yesterday (one of my favorite places) and got some angle iron.....wanted the small iron....but they were out of it.... They had a shitload of it last time I was there....but anyway, got some aluminum the same size I wanted...and what I took was all they had of that. It wouldn't even register on their big scale for pay-by-weight, so they told me to just take it.



Now time to start disassembling....the front panel had to come off.... I remember thinking when I initially assembled this that it would be a nightmare to take it apart again.... I was right!! With any luck, this will be the last time I ever have to disassemble this beast!





The IDE interface for the CF card removed. Had to use stubby screwdrivers to get to the fasteners; as I didn't want to remove the cage....to get that out, the control panel has to come up....



...to be replaced with a SATA interface...



SATA DVD drive....



Installed in the cage... No, I didn't post the pics of it's removal....but it's one of the reasons the front panel had to be removed. This cage is fastened from the front to the inner frame.



Trimmed the extra IDE interface off the cable....to save clutter.





SATA power adapter added.





Now for the lighting in the bay....

Fed power through, the control panel harness; powered by +12v from the IPU. I did update the diagram on the whiteboard.



Hole placement marked for the 5th switch in this cluster.



Pilot. No, it's not off....the line was a little crooked....I re-measured marked the correct spot.



Full hole.



5th switch.... I didn't have any more of the ones I used for the first 4....but I found one of the same size hole and same type in my junk bin. This won't send my OCD into a tizzy! Heck, if I didn't say anything, nobody would know.....





Now for the LED strips.....but there was a problem...the pressed-in rat nuts under the lip....



Punching them out would have made the lip look like shit and bent the hell out of it....so instead, just cut them off flush with a cutoff wheel in a dremel.



The mess....



Worked like a charm!



Strips prepped.



Installed....fabulous fit!



Time to wire it up.





Tested....and works. Room lights off. Bay lights on. Very nice!!



Testing before closing the bottom back up....both lighting and making sure the IDE interface is still OK.



Testing SATA interface. Both interfaces booting as expected.





...and done until tomorrow...good stopping point.



The worst is over.....but still a few things to do.....

[sam_sam_sam]

Re: The (now the death of) Dolby DP600 Build (BEYOND COOL BUT PIC HEAVY)

Very cool and nice did you use the LED strips that you put some pictures earlier post if you did how did you do the diffuser that you talked about in this post

Now you can see what you are doing instead of being in the dark

[Topcat]

Re: The (now the death of) Dolby DP600 Build (BEYOND COOL BUT PIC HEAVY)

Mission Accomplished! Two full days work and I got it done and back in the rack.

Bottom closed back up....hopefully for the last time ever!



Now for the next step....firming up the leading edge of the lid....this spawned into a few more little upgrades.....but one thing at a time.



The next problem was that what I have devised in my mind had to be flush on the top side; that means no screw or rivet heads.....but of course it all had to be fastened into place....so drilled out and tapped/threaded. This is when I'd much rather have used steel. Aluminum is such a pain in the ass to work with. Clogged cutting & drilling tools constantly....but anyway....



Initially, this is where I was going to stop; just going to make a lift handle...and that was right around noon...



...so after lunch and time to ponder, more work just got created.... Might as well make a trough/frame for the keyboard so it's not just laying there loose....I always had to move it out of the way, which was a bit of a hassle....and the reason that the top side of the frame had to be flush (couldn't rivet or bolt).

Creating the mock before any drilling....









Got everything fitting like it should....time to mark & drill...





All fastened into place.





Now time to pick handles.... The big one was original to the Sencore thingy, the small one is of unknown origins....they (there's 2) were in the bin with all the parts for this project....but I do not remember what they came from.



Yea, easy decision.... the larger ones were just too big. The small ones will be perfect. The lid isn't all that heavy.



,,,and with the handles done, another weird 'off the cuff' revision... These are the original swivel ball mounts for the 8" displays; they were on the displays when I got them. I never received the female portions, so they were essentially scrap....but I just didn't throw them away....



This is another thing that annoyed me with the lid. Not only did I have to lift the keyboard out of the way I also had to lay the lid all the way back (180*) when opening it. Pain in the ass! So these will make fabulous lid perches. Yes, I did consider safety chains to hold the lid.....but didn't really want anything metal dangling around inside the bay for obvious reasons.

That rail on the back side is double thick and very solid. It can more than take the weight.



Drilled.



Fastened.



Same on the other side.... Now for the next problem.... The way the lid laid on the balls, it stressed the hinge more than I was comfortable with, there was too much flex in that section of the lid.



The fix was simple. Just a piece of angle spanning the width that catches on two surfaces. This eliminated the hinge stress and created a solid rest for the lid at multiple points in the angle plus simply the added reinforcement.





Straight as an arrow!





These could be bolted; as there was nothing that had to rest on them.



Now for this eyesore. The ultimate goal for this was to prevent the cabling from chafing on the sharp edges in that opening. Once upon a time a power supply mounded in that opening.



The donor material came from the old Dolby unit. This was a baffle at the midplane in the original machine.....but no longer fits now.



PS/2 first. Grommet selected and marked off...and a hole saw.



Easy peasy.



Next section of the baffle was a pre-stamped wire channel....perfect for those VGA cables!





Hit the 30 image limit......to be continued in the next post.

[Topcat]

Re: The (now the death of) Dolby DP600 Build (BEYOND COOL BUT PIC HEAVY)

Continued....

Not a bad fit!



Top closed in.





...and that's it! Time to go back in the rack!



Back in the rack. It literally took me 5 minutes to get it back in there and fastened back in place. So very easy when the slides are already attached to the posts. Just run the bolts back in and done! I also did not modify the rack posts to allow the unit to extend outward more. It really isn't needed, especially now with the lid mods and the interior lighting...

The keyboard is a snug fit, I can open the lid and it doesn't fall out of the frame....but just to be on the safe side, I did attach the bottom of the KB to the frame top with velcro strips.





Final round of testing.



...and that's it!!



The Oven is officially complete. No more revisions slated! I still have more neat things to add to the rack over time....but this unit is now 100% complete!

[TechGeek]

Re: The (now the death of) Dolby DP600 Build (BEYOND COOL BUT PIC HEAVY)

So how heavy is this beast fully-loaded?

[Topcat]

Re: The (now the death of) Dolby DP600 Build (BEYOND COOL BUT PIC HEAVY)

So how heavy is this beast fully-loaded?

I'm guessing maybe 60~70lbs, it's not that bad....it's just awkward to handle.

[sam_sam_sam]

Re: The (now the death of) Dolby DP600 Build (BEYOND COOL BUT PIC HEAVY)

I like how you modified the top of your testing device
The ball device to hold the lid open was very nice idea
Do you still have modifications in mind for your testing device or do you have it way you had in mind and if a completed project

[Topcat]

Re: The (now the death of) Dolby DP600 Build (BEYOND COOL BUT PIC HEAVY)

Do you still have modifications in mind for your testing device or do you have it way you had in mind and if a completed project

Unless something arises (bug or malfunction), this device is complete. The rack overall is not though, lots of nifty things slated for that; in which I'll update the thread as they materialize.

I appreciate the kind words. I couldn't even imagine the man-hours that have gone into this.

[sam_sam_sam]

Re: The (now the death of) Dolby DP600 Build (BEYOND COOL BUT PIC HEAVY)

I couldn't even imagine the man-hours that have gone into this.

I have had projects like that where I lost count of how many hours I have spent on a given project