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

[Topcat]

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

Now let's see it pushing a full load! And maybe some video of it doing so?

It's coming. Right now, I'm testing function of the machine; testing the tester!! Just making sure there's no real kinks anywhere; functionality issues, safety issues, etc...but some harder abuse is in the plans for sure

The only glitch is the TPU STBY lamp not going out when the TPU powers up. To correct that I would have to add another relay to the mix to deactivate it when TPU power is sensed and trips it from an outside power source. The IPU would do this... but honestly, not really worth the effort, I'd have to add a relay and a few wires. Maybe someday, but its not a problem....just a glitch.

I tested a plethora of various boards so far. Only quirk so far with function was some Foxconn 3rd gen I-series board that for some reason did not like the SATA to IDE adapter....at all! I also have some small SATA DOM's with boot utilities on them as backups for things like this....but no other board has had any issues.

I've also found it's just easier to leave all the ATX & EPS extension cables plugged in. Some boards need the extensions, some don't.....but the constant plugging & unplugging is probably just going to cause wear & failure. The extenders are cheap & plentiful....if I wear one of those out, no biggie. The main harnesses that go through the floor of the case would be a nightmare to have to repair/replace!

The case bottom is actually buttoned up on this. All the transfer switches are connected and working as they should. I'll have more pics later.....but for the first time since this started, the case for the Dolby unit is closed up!!

There are a few revision / finishing touches I want to make before actually installing this in the rack. For example the rear of the test bay, I want to make a blockoff plate where the KB/MS & VGA cables enter. That opening is where an ATX PSU once was. Good location for the cabling, but that needs to be cleaned up.

Very Nice Job Very Neatly Done Very Impressed with what you came up with now I need to do the same type of thing for a BMS testing battery station for all battery sizes

The only issue that I have with doing this is what type of switching power supply do I use that can control the voltage and current from 2 to 48 volts dc and a current range from 50 milliamperes to about 4 amp or so

I like your idea about the voltage and current meter yes I got the inspiration from your project about putting meters to show me what is going on in real time

Glad I could be some inspiration! It's why I share projects like this....if helps one person along the way, it served its purpose.

Be careful experimenting with lithium ion & lithium polymer batteries, they can be a fire hazard!

[sam_sam_sam]

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

Very Nice Job Very Neatly Done Very Impressed with what you came up with now I need to do the same type of thing for a BMS testing battery station for all battery sizes

The only issue that I have with doing this is what type of switching power supply do I use that can control the voltage and current from 2 to 48 volts dc and a current range from 50 milliamperes to about 4 amp or so

I like your idea about the voltage and current meter yes I got the inspiration from your project about putting meters to show me what is going on in real time

[TechGeek]

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

Now let's see it pushing a full load! And maybe some video of it doing so?

[Topcat]

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

Good time for this thread to have turned to a new page! Pic heavy today as wiring has been completed. It was every bit as daunting as I expected....it's probably why it sat so long from then till now....I knew what I had gotten myself into....but here we go!!

Hole poked in the back of the lower section for the test bed bay fans, grommet, and wire.







Attached.



Tidied up.



Wired to the rheostat.



Wiring completed and tied up in rough and relays installed. I'll do a final cleanup when it's 100% finished....but today was a huge step in that direction!







Extra plugs....just incase I add something later.



Moment of truth!



First live test was performed with no motherboard. This test was to verify voltages on the TPU output; as a lot of modifications were made to its harness....needed to make sure no mistakes were made that would result in magic smoke. All voltages present & accounted for. That cheater plug will trip the power_on for the PSU when plugged in. I also developed an override for ATX soft-on, mainly for testing AT style boards.....



2 lights, good sign and no snapped breakers!!



All switches off, red lamp indicates IPU has standby power. Switch 1 (top-most) turns the IPU on.



Switch 1 on, IPU powered up as expected. Since the 'cheater plug' was not connected, I turned switch 2 on; which is the ATX override, which turns the TPU on with nothing connected (or an AT board that has no soft-on). The red lamp indicates it's in override. The override control is powered by the IPU, this will function even if the TPU is off; which leads us to switch 3, which powers the TPU.

The 2 lamps next to the switch indicate the presence of -5v and -12v. The two lamps below that are TPU status. The illuminated red indicates standby, the green indicates PSU is ok. It will go out and the red below it will go out if the PSU reports an error, and start screaming. The red button next to the red lamp silences the alarm.

There was only one known glitch, the TPU standby is supposed to go out upon powerup....it does not. I have to check my wiring.....but all things consdered, this is very minor. You can see it in the pic....the red standby lamp next to switch 3 should be off with the TPU on.



Now to test with a motherboard....a junky old socket-a.....lab rat.



Alive! Meters are in rows, 1-4 are the top; left to right. Bottom row is 5-8.

Meter 1 = +12v ATX rail
Meter 2 = draw on the 4/8 pin +12v EPS
Meter 3 = +5v ATX Rail
Meter 4 = 3.3v rail
Meter 5 = draw on the 20/24 pin +12v
Meter 6 = draw on the PCIe +12v
Meter 7 = draw on the 20/24 pin +5v
Meter 8 = draw on the 20/24 pin +3.3v

...and here it is!! It's pulling 10A off the +5v rail, as expected for something of this era. Pulling nothing off the 12v rail. A few amps off the 3.3v.



The clock is running!!





Lets step it up a little.... Athlon FX4100 board.





Here's the answer as to why I only had IDE interfaces....

Adapter!!



The shroud interfered with the housing, so I simply removed it from the shroud.





Now for something with some stones....



Booted.



Now we have a little more amperage action. Nothing really drew much from the 20/24 pin +12v. This pulled from the EPS connector naturally, as well as the PCIe powering the GPU. I haven't done indepth testing of the board as of yet to really make the ammeters dance....but the basic testing was a bit entertaining so far!



PCIe connector in the floor of the case.



This was also the first test for one of the two VGA transfer switches.





I still have some stuff to do, but IT'S ALIVE!!

[sam_sam_sam]

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

As established a couple pages back, this contraption is a very overkilled motherboard testing/diagnostic & burn-in station. It'll end up in my big ratdude rack with other diagnostics machines; some already developed & deployed (logged in this thread) and some stuff still under wraps.... I won't be as heavily used as it would have been say 10 years ago....but I still see quite a few motherboards for repair....and tested them laying loose on a bench. Now they get to be tested in this magic machine.

This is very interesting setup and what you are going to use it for

[Topcat]

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

Very interesting project can I ask you what you are going to do with it when you are finished with this project can you go into some detail about it if you can

As established a couple pages back, this contraption is a very overkilled motherboard testing/diagnostic & burn-in station. It'll end up in my big ratdude rack with other diagnostics machines; some already developed & deployed (logged in this thread) and some stuff still under wraps.... I won't be as heavily used as it would have been say 10 years ago....but I still see quite a few motherboards for repair....and tested them laying loose on a bench. Now they get to be tested in this magic machine.

[sam_sam_sam]

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

Very interesting project can I ask you what you are going to do with it when you are finished with this project can you go into some detail about it if you can

[Topcat]

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

What, all this wiring and you're using zipties instead of braiding them?







</s>

I actually did consider loom lace......but my knot skills are lacking....

[TechGeek]

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

What, all this wiring and you're using zipties instead of braiding them?







</s>

[Topcat]

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

Nothing astonishing was accomplished today, but I did manage to get the ammeters wired in.

The piece of paper is there so the camera would focus on the correct wires. The ammeter cables are the 2-conductor + shield. I made a ground strap for each shield.



...and done...



I hope I have a little more time to tinker with it tomorrow....

[Topcat]

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

The fun continues!! VGA transfer switch from the internal display to the external....hole drilled.



Marked on the inside.



Test fit before cutting backing.



...and cut...



Perfecto!!



Front fastened to the body....and I hope I never have to remove it!



Back to wiring.... Mains disconnect switch wired.



ATX controls terminal block wired. I did a terminal block for these so if the little wires & ends wear out and need to be replaced, I won't have to cut a bunch of splices....



Wired TPU status LED's and alarm/warn silence.



Modular terminal block wired.



Now for the shunts..... Power cabling first.



Power done. I had to make extensions for all the 20/24 pin & 4/8 pin EPS connectors, so don't pay any attention to their coloring; it's irrelevant for this, its obvious what their mission is....and using the nice Nissan wire. All splices were soldered.





Packing it in for the day....



The big wad of loose wiring is shrinking down...but still a ways to go.



Trashed all the looms from the old harness....was getting tired of stepping on them...there's more in there than it appears!



Meters are next. One thing I've found is that the wiring stage of this is absolutely mentally exhausting. I have done several live tests along the way to verify things are working as they should. Still batting a thousand! No magic smoke, shocks, or snapped breakers!!

[Topcat]

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

Today's accomplishment was completing the main panel wiring....I knew this would be a tedious process. I didn't underestimate it!

This should be the last larger hole I have to cut. I have a couple smaller ones that will come with the final assembly; but this should be the last of the big stuff.

Nice grommeted wire channel.



Wired up the ATX buttons and the modified USB display harness.





Live test of the display controls. Powered on, no signal; red LED lit.



Powered on + signal and working!





Of course the monitor control buttons worked as they should....so now onto wiring the switches... They are a small subharness of their own. I ran out of color color/stripe combinations and had to reuse colors for the switches, so I segregated them. Easy peasy.



....and done!!!







Test fitting the harnesses through the case floor. Fit with a little bit of room; not much, but a little...









The pinouts grew a little more...



This was just a test fit. I'll have to lift it back out of there to install all the drive cages. I also need to final test the drives prior....once assembled, replacing them would not be a joyous event!

Once all that is done, then comes finishing wiring the bottom section and then the final assembly....

[Topcat]

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

Today there was a little progress....but progress none the less.

Needed to add wiring for ATX controls; POWER ON, RESET, and ATX POWER LED. There was a HDD LED, but I deleted that. The dongle came from an old junk case. When I test a board, I always poke at the ATX power_on pins with a screwdriver....the totally wrong way to do it....so I'll add the appropriate ATX buttons....



The harness cut off the button block.



Small hole drilled for routing the wires through the case floor.



Now the fun. The grommet lip was too narrow for both layers of the case floor....so once again the hole saws came in handy again. I drilled through the bottom side (aluminum) and removed that layer.



I then widened the pilot hole out to the correct diameter for the grommet.





Perfect fit!!



Dongle fed through.



Mains rerouted for the disconnect.







Put ends on...



Fastened down to terminal block.



Now back to the panel!!

Volt meter grounds.



Volt meter positives and ammeters. The ammeters cables are 2-conductor with shields, from the nissan harness. Gray jackets with a colored stripe, just enough for all 5 ammeters.





Pinout list is growing....



Getting closer!!

[Topcat]

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

TC, if you don't have an industrial engineering degree, you should go to your nearest local university and tell them to just give you one. Seriously, this is top notch work and design you'd expect to see from a proper experienced engineer.
(Though I suppose you don't really need the degree anyways, because... well, not like you're looking for an employer or company to work for. Of course, it may be nice to have just to put on your wall, perhaps to show off to customers? )

I guess all those years of case modding have paid off. I'd defnitely need an electronics refresher course (I'm very rusty with theory) and some more advanced schooling...and I don't know how well I'd fare in an academic environment at my age....the thought has crossed my mind....but for what reason/? A wall hanger? ...but there's never a bad reason not to better ones self though, even if I never worked in the field...the knowledge would be worth it....and to think of what I could create then!

Didn't doubt you wouldn't - not with that kind of level of detail you give it.

I definitely appreciate the vote of confidence....but I did catch a couple of wiring goofs; which is why I check multiple times....but goofs none the less. Of all the cockamamie things I've made over the years, I think this one takes the prize. Been a lot of fun and perhaps a bit of functional tech art at the end of the day.

Besides, with the crazy way inflation is these days, $70 is almost pocket change now for buying anything. Some people spend more than that on overpriced coffee (from you know where ) per week! I'm sure these hole saws will last you more than a week.

These are the good ones. I used the same Lenox brand to cut the steel control panel, that didn't even dull it up. They'll last a lifetime, odds are....and yea, 70 bucks isn't even a trip to the grocery store today. Quite sad really.

I didn't accomplish anything earth-shattering today, but did begin wiring the panel. I settled on the wire to use; a cabin harness from a wrecked old 300zx. Nissan used stellar quality wire in these cars, nothing else I had here or could go buy today would even come close to this....I just had to harvest it.











Pile of scrap....



Let the fun begin! I did the IPU & TPU indicators first. All the LED's in place in their sockets.



I just tied the negatives directly to a ground tab on the chassis. Save clutter. The entire body of this is ground and nothing is coated. The positives are unique colors, making identifying easy on the underside.





The schematics are on paper and in my brain.....but I will never memorize a pinout this large....enter the whiteboard that my wife graffiti'd. I've been working around it....but as the pinouts grow, it might meet the eraser.



This small accomplishment today is the results of ~5hrs work..... This part isn't moving fast.

[momaka]

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

TC, if you don't have an industrial engineering degree, you should go to your nearest local university and tell them to just give you one. Seriously, this is top notch work and design you'd expect to see from a proper experienced engineer.
(Though I suppose you don't really need the degree anyways, because... well, not like you're looking for an employer or company to work for. Of course, it may be nice to have just to put on your wall, perhaps to show off to customers? )

Some more cutting.....

https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1675310220

Here's why....getting the VGA cable throught hat little hole wasn't going to happen.....so some creativity yet still maintaining appearances.

https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1675310220

https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1675310220

Ingenious design!

I powered it up for the first time.....well, lets just say connected the mains.... The relays and the LV stuff isn't installed. I just wanted to poke at it with the meter and make sure voltages were where they were supposed to be....and they were. I didn't snap a breaker with it yet!

Didn't doubt you wouldn't - not with that kind of level of detail you give it.

Today started off with a trip to Lowes for a hole saw that was 1-3/8" to cut the correct size hole for a large grommet that the ATX connectors will pass through the floor of the case. I always buy the good Lenox brand when cutting metal, they hold up fabulous. Cheap ones are fine for cutting wood, but a task like this, one hole and they'd be dull as Biden himself!

Thanks, I really needed a good laugh today. This delivered.

I get there and Lowes has the one I want on clearance as well as all the same of that series around it....so I grabbed one of each size remaining; and the arbor for the smaller ones (they use a different arbor than the larger ones)....so $70 later, here we are....but good tools are a lifetime investment....

Besides, with the crazy way inflation is these days, $70 is almost pocket change now for buying anything. Some people spend more than that on overpriced coffee (from you know where ) per week! I'm sure these hole saws will last you more than a week.

I think I shared this story here (maybe a few pages back) where I borrowed some cheap hole saws from uncle about two summers ago and broken them. Well, this summer, he was using a new set that was the exact same as the old one (he had a spare). Was making holes in some kitchen cabinets for plugs and wires. Couldn't get the right hole size TWICE using the same exact bit / hole saw - the set was just that garbage and inconsistent. My uncle almost ruined a piece of the MDF on the back due to this. I really ought to buy him a better set when I see him next time. Good quality tools also save you time and wasted nerves by doing the job right the first time. Sadly, he is at that age where he is pretty much retired and says he doesn't need better tools because he rarely does that kind of work anymore. Yet, he still does it often enough (at least from what I've observed) that it would really be nice to get him a better set.

[Topcat]

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

I got a little more done this evening; was busy throughout the day.... It's time to wire the panel, but I contemplated the internal display and decided to roll with it. My original plan had an AFT mounted display, but changes in the rack tower config rendered that not such a practical idea; as right above it would reside a 19" rackmount display.... There are several reasons I wanted an internal display.... The big one is that I want the unit to be self contained for operation; IE will operate completely stand-alone. It won't not depend on any external source for anything..... As time goes on, it will have a few side roles in the rack tower's overall function....but it can also run stand-alone; thus, its own display. It also filled up that vacant upper-left side quadrant nicely.

The big question now was how I was going to achieve this. I wanted to mount it flush in that vacant quadrant, but that wasn't playing out well. This machine will be about waist-height when in the tower, control panel about even with my belly button (maybe a tad higher); this makes for easy access to the test bed and ergonomic when using a KB & MS standing at it. The display flushmounted would render it completely unviewable; the angle was FUBAR. No way to make this work and still make things accessible....so I did a pedestal mount instead. Doesn't look as nice as it would have if it were flushmounted, but this is a test bench, not furniture! ...so here we go!!

Holes drilled.



A couple things cut out of the way for clearance reasons.



Test fitting.





I knew that clearance on hole saws would pay off!!!





Some more cutting.....



Here's why....getting the VGA cable throught hat little hole wasn't going to happen.....so some creativity yet still maintaining appearances.





View from inside the case.



Now for the display itself. For this to function as I want, some mods had to be made. I already had controls implemented for a display on the control panel...now to make them work with this monitor.



First, I wanted indicators. I originally had a 'display on' on the control panel, as the monitor I was going to use only had an indicator that was ON or OFF. This one however has an ON an and a STBY....a dual position LED....but WTF, it was on the back of the monitor, not even visible....so I removed it.







I then modified the 6v panel LED's by removing their current limiter; as the output for the display LED's is already current limited.



Now to tie this to the main panel.... HMMM... Easy! THis is the monitor from earlier in the thread with the non-functional USB touchscreen, but the interface was there! NIIIIIICEEE!! All the switches and the LED's use a standard common to the interface board. I have 4 conductors and a ground in the USB cable!!



Easy peasy! I only needed basic functions on the control panel. If I needed more, the buttons on the rear of the display are still usable.....but for all intents & purposes, all that's really needed is the indicators, soft on/off, and auto adjust.

Red = red LED
Green = Green LED
Black = Auto Adjust Button
White = Soft on/off button
GND = well, you know...

Worked like a charm!!



Monitor reassembled.







Now for the other end....a USB cord from the junk bin.



No longer USB, this will interface with the display indicators & buttons on the control panel.



A mod to the control panel for the red LED, which indicates standby/no_signal. Green of course indicates signal/powered on.





USB cable fed through the cable grommet.



Now the power cable fed through. This monitor uses a simple +12v, easily powered by the internal IPU. The brick that came with it will not be used.



This cleared the path for the panel wiring to begin.....

[Topcat]

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

Yay Monday.....and I was busy today so I didn't accomplish much....but I did finish poking holes in the front panel.

This was something that was in the original draft for the machine but deleted when the touchscreen power controller was developed....but I decided to bring it back if for nothing more than safety & emergency cutoff if ever needed.....which is the mechanical mains disconnect / master switch & indicators.

...and here we go!!





Installed.





The indicators. The bottom one (on top in the pic, the unit is upside down) indicates a 'live chassis'. The top one (bottom on the pic) is 'master on'. The 'live chassis' is a no-brainer, mains voltage present when lit whether the switch is on or off....but when the time comes that this (and other machines in this rack) are controlled by my touchscreen unit, that's when this will be more useful. Of course the other needs no explanation....if that's on, the unit is powered up....and a standby lamp will also illuminate indicating the IPU is powered.





Now for the test bay fan speed rheostat.....





...and that concludes all the hole poking in the front panel.....which left a huge void in the basially upper left quadrant of the face......what could I put there....

Internal display? 8" 800x600, good for basic test displays & troubleshooting softwares such as memtest, 'troubleshooter', etc....

This will flushmount clear (barely), but it can be installed in this location.



This stepdown allows it to mount nicely to the front and look like it was born there.





I'll have to kick this one around. I could flushmount it or pedestal mount it; which could give it a bit of an upward tilt (easier to see viewing angle), and the rack doors would still close. The electrical modifications to the schematic would be minor, and I would also add a video switch to transfer video to the larger external display if I needed higher resolutions or simply a larger display..... I want to kick this one around a little.....but I'm warming up to the idea ratehr quickly!

[Topcat]

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

Today's task was HV routing & connecting.

First off, I had to create an entry point for the mains... The donor for the connector was once again that fried DLI IP switch..





What I was after....



Now for where it'll go in this contraption....

Here's a nice place!!



Marked.



Cut.



Installed and perfect fit.





Now to drill 3 holes for exterior line cords, 2 for the TPU and one for the display. Grommets installed of course.





Cords fed through.





Display cord done.







VGA selector removed, terminal blocks, and relay bases set & marked.



Floor plate lifted out, hopefully for the last time!!



Drilled.



Everything fastened down.





Wiring mains & connecting HV stuff.



Done with HV....







I powered it up for the first time.....well, lets just say connected the mains.... The relays and the LV stuff isn't installed. I just wanted to poke at it with the meter and make sure voltages were where they were supposed to be....and they were. I didn't snap a breaker with it yet!

Next task it to wire the panel.

[Topcat]

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

Not a massive amount of pictures today, but I did make some progress.

Today started off with a trip to Lowes for a hole saw that was 1-3/8" to cut the correct size hole for a large grommet that the ATX connectors will pass through the floor of the case. I always buy the good Lenox brand when cutting metal, they hold up fabulous. Cheap ones are fine for cutting wood, but a task like this, one hole and they'd be dull as Biden himself!

I get there and Lowes has the one I want on clearance as well as all the same of that series around it....so I grabbed one of each size remaining; and the arbor for the smaller ones (they use a different arbor than the larger ones)....so $70 later, here we are....but good tools are a lifetime investment....



Clearing a terminal block off of old connectors....these go back to my high school days. Once upon a time, these were part of a car audio & security system. The car and all of its electronics are long gone.....but when I stripped out the car, I kept all the wiring.... Yea, this box of wiring has been with me over 30 years!

...but it is getting reused!



The grommets. The big one is what I had to cut the hole for.



Terminal block mounted.



Soldered terminals onto the wires to attach to the block. Antec used the crappiest wire I think I've ever seen. I had a hell of a time getting those to tin! I wasn't overly happy with it....it's solid....but ugly. I may end up redoing it with different wire before it's all done.



...but I got it...





Now the location for the harnesses to go through. Small pilot hole drilled....



Cut.....



Nice outcome!



Wires fed through.



Not bad!! Through use, those wires will see a lot of movement.... I definitely didn't want them chaffing on the bare metal hole!





Just some random motherboard to see how the reach was. It will be fine with most....but fear not, I have extensions for each interface if it's ever needed.



Now to dissect some of the molex 5v / 12v plugs on the PSU.... THis made me a little nervous; essentially butchering a quite expensive PSU!!





+12v on one of the shunts (R3); which will feed the PCIe interface. Soldering the wires on this PSU were glorious! Tinned easy and shazam!



More wires.....I stopped here, it was getting late and I wanted to ponder a few things....



SO far so good!! Hard to believe I've been diddling with this thing for over a year and a half though....

[Topcat]

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

...so I had a 'snow day'... Hold onto your hats folks....the last of the heavy grinding & mechanics have been done. It's not all finished yet, but the worst of it all is definitely over.

Today I cut out drive opening for the front of this thing. I wasn't as nervous doing this, as this is just a 7U rack blank, it could be replaced if I completely hosed this; whereas if I botched the control panel with all the gauges, this would have created a horrific time in reproducing it.

So here we are. This is the original optical cage from the Dolby unit....but here's the problem. The Dolby unit is now upside down, so nothing lined up anymore as far as drive mounting holes. Easy fix. These are test units just for fitment.



Now for the 7U face plate.



Unit flipped over so I can get measurements.





This opening is larger than the actual drive faces, so I had to take measurements from the bottom of the drive when it was fastened in to the base of the opening (reference point closest to the floor of the case) and measure it out from there.



Taped off.



Cut out.





I only had to do a little filing & fine fitting. I was impressed with whatever this plate is coated with. I was expecting the heat of the pneumatic angle grinder to wreck the finish....I already had it in my mind that when this was done I'd have to repaint it.....but the coating took the heat! I will not have to repaint it! This metal was too thick for the Dremel, I had to use the big daddy cutter!





Test fitment drive & dummy tray removed.



Real drives installed.





There's maybe 1/64th" of clearance around those drives. Nice snug fit!





Now to mount the 'IPU'. This had to be done at this point to make sure some clearances would be correct before going any further.... This was simple. Mounted on the posts where the original display board was mounted for the Dolby unit. Simply made brackets from some rear bay covers.





Now the next step....a 3-bay stack of interfaces. These are 2x 3.5" external IDE interfaces. The cages they are mounted in are originally out of a bunch of DVR's I scrapped. I knew I hung onto these for a reason!! A little fab work was required to unite these; they are single-drive cages only.



Not quite done yet....but the secret was drilling out their original mount holes so I can put bolts through them.



Now to mount this up. The control panel had to come out.





A through hole had to be cut.





now for the 3rd device in this stack, a 3.5" floppy, mounted in yet another of those DVR 3.5" cages.



All fastened in place.







Now for the fun, cutting yet another hole in the face of this for the floppy. Yes, I know it probably looks a little out of place, but this thing is not as spacious as it looks. For clearance reasons, this was the optimal place....and this thing wasn't made to look pretty.





Final test fit with the control panel in place (screw height of the panel when fastened is critical for spacing, the lip of the black face plate rests on those screws.





I'm sure you're wondering why I used IDE drives...there was a reason, and this will make sense a little later. All the interfaces clear even with an eATX board and/or full length GPU's installed.



I still have a few holes to poke in the face plate, for some indicator lamps, switches, variable controls, and of course mounting holes for the face plate itself.....but this is basic drilling....the hardest part of the mechanical fabrication is over!!

Wiring this will be a very daunting task.....and it's coming up sooner than I though!! That said, I can't wait to finally see this thing work!!