Re: [OT] beefy steel cases
In article [EMAIL PROTECTED], Douglas A. Tutty wrote: I'm wondering if in your travels, have any of you seen a case (tower, desktop, or rackmount) that is: - Grab an old iron stove, and stuff a newer case into it. - Go to the nearest welding shop, have them weld a nice 500lb steel box. - ... -Toby. -- [100~Plax]sb16i0A2172656B63616820636420726568746F6E61207473754A[dZ1!=b]salax
Re: [OT] beefy steel cases
Hi, Doug. My suggetion is: - start with good, standard but not-so-bulky case; - build a cage around the commercial grade, made from thick sheets of steel; - do lots of small, tiny drills on the external cage, for proper ventilation; - do a couple of larger holes for cables and wires on the back; - put a thermometer sensor inside, with a display on the outside, for proper temparature monitoring, just in case you need more holes; You should end with far better protection than those provided by more expensive devices. The small holes won't let pass much EM energy thru them. The larger ones can be concealed by walls and you may point them to safer areas. They'll be blocked by the cage itself and should cause little to none side effects on areas of interest. You can hire someone or a company to do some bending or soldering if needed. Best regards to you and your wife. On Mon, Feb 11, 2008 at 11:35 PM, Douglas A. Tutty [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: On Mon, Feb 11, 2008 at 12:37:59PM -0700, Steve B wrote: I have one of these, http://calpc.com/catalog/mid_tower.html, and its quite beefy. I wonder if you could measure two things for me: 1. The thickness of the steel panels (not of any structural frame). I'm comparing these with norco cases which are made of 1.2 mm steel, so a normal metric ruler and an eyeball would suffice. 2. The size of the vent holes. The mid tower chassis page doesn't have alternate views. The 4U rackmount case has a rear photo. The vents look like brickwork: more vent than metal. The dimensions of the holes and the metal between them is critical. If you could give me the three measurements, again to the nearest 0.2 mm. -- vent-hole lenght: -- vent-hole height: -- metal between vent-holes: Thank you. Doug.
Re: [OT] beefy steel cases
On Mon, Feb 11, 2008 at 11:55:52PM -0500, Steve Shockley wrote: Jay Hart wrote: Yes, I too at one time bought a huge case. Has 10 5.25 bays. Only problem is that you can't use all of them due to cable length limitations. Multiple controllers? Onboard IDE controller (pri and sec interface) and a Adaptec 2940 SCSI card. No, I meant you could use more controllers to add more drives. Not enough cable to do more than 4 SCSI drives? Add another channel. Or a hot-swap bay: one cable from the back-plane to the card.
Re: [OT] beefy steel cases
If anyone is interested, I have five of the cases at the following website for sale. http://www.kevla.org/cases Jay I have one of these, http://calpc.com/catalog/mid_tower.html, and its quite beefy.
Re: [OT] beefy steel cases
Jay Hart wrote: Yes, I too at one time bought a huge case. Has 10 5.25 bays. Only problem is that you can't use all of them due to cable length limitations. Multiple controllers? Onboard IDE controller (pri and sec interface) and a Adaptec 2940 SCSI card. No, I meant you could use more controllers to add more drives. Not enough cable to do more than 4 SCSI drives? Add another channel.
Re: [OT] beefy steel cases
On Mon, Feb 11, 2008 at 08:01:35PM -0500, Steve Shockley wrote: Yes, I too at one time bought a huge case. Has 10 5.25 bays. Only problem is that you can't use all of them due to cable length limitations. Multiple controllers? I have one of these, http://calpc.com/catalog/mid_tower.html, and its quite beefy. Their web site lists that it can take *one* hot-swap power supply. Not quite sure of the point of that... I haven't looked at that yet. Other case makers also make hot-swap supplies. Its a PSU box with two (or three) separate modules. Presumably, the common parts of the box are just mechanical and all the electronics are replicated in each module. A good example (i.e. good picture) is on the supermicro site. Doug.
Re: [OT] beefy steel cases
Yes, I too at one time bought a huge case. Has 10 5.25 bays. Only problem is that you can't use all of them due to cable length limitations. Multiple controllers? Onboard IDE controller (pri and sec interface) and a Adaptec 2940 SCSI card. I have one of these, http://calpc.com/catalog/mid_tower.html, and its quite beefy. Their web site lists that it can take *one* hot-swap power supply. Not quite sure of the point of that... New marketing term... you haven't heard of it before, they just invented it...
Re: [OT] beefy steel cases
Yes, I too at one time bought a huge case. Has 10 5.25 bays. Only problem is that you can't use all of them due to cable length limitations. Multiple controllers? I have one of these, http://calpc.com/catalog/mid_tower.html, and its quite beefy. Their web site lists that it can take *one* hot-swap power supply. Not quite sure of the point of that...
Re: [OT] beefy steel cases
I have one of these, http://calpc.com/catalog/mid_tower.html, and its quite beefy.
Re: [OT] beefy steel cases
On Mon, Feb 11, 2008 at 12:37:59PM -0700, Steve B wrote: I have one of these, http://calpc.com/catalog/mid_tower.html, and its quite beefy. I wonder if you could measure two things for me: 1. The thickness of the steel panels (not of any structural frame). I'm comparing these with norco cases which are made of 1.2 mm steel, so a normal metric ruler and an eyeball would suffice. 2. The size of the vent holes. The mid tower chassis page doesn't have alternate views. The 4U rackmount case has a rear photo. The vents look like brickwork: more vent than metal. The dimensions of the holes and the metal between them is critical. If you could give me the three measurements, again to the nearest 0.2 mm. -- vent-hole lenght: -- vent-hole height: -- metal between vent-holes: Thank you. Doug.
Re: [OT] beefy steel cases
Yes, I too at one time bought a huge case. Has 10 5.25 bays. Only problem is that you can't use all of them due to cable length limitations. With SCSI2, could use up to 4 prior to exceeding 36 inch cable limit. Then could use two more for IDE. But the other 4, never could use. J I have one of these, http://calpc.com/catalog/mid_tower.html, and its quite beefy.
[OT] beefy steel cases
hello,
Me again with my project.
Some people off-list have found me some low-MHz computers and will mail
me the boards with CPU + memory etc. One is a Tyan dual Pentium
{133|166}.
Now I'm looking for a great case in which to mount it (them?). Starting
with wikipedia on EMR shielding, and surfing fro there, I've learned
that steel is much better for this than aluminum of the same thickness,
and the thicker the better (see skin depth). Wouldn't you know it: my
Athlon64's case is steel frame with thin aluminum panels. So, I guess
its case should be changed too.
Asthetics don't matter.
I'm wondering if in your travels, have any of you seen a case (tower,
desktop, or rackmount) that is:
-- of heavy steel frame and panels.
-- perhaps overlaping vents with no line-of-sight from the inside to the
outside.
-- decent number of drive bays
-- plus all the other normal good stuff for a case: great cooling, no
sharp edges, etc.
Front-panel USB is not important, especially if it has extra rear slots.
Front-panel sound is not important.
All the front panel needs is a power switch (preferably covered against
accidental pushing) with an on light, and perhaps a drive light.
If this rings a bell, could you let me know so I can track one down?
Thanks,
Doug.
Re: [OT] beefy steel cases
If aesthetics is not important, a very good question to ask is - how good are you with power tools? Else, heavy steel boxes are expensive to ship :) -- http://www.glumbert.com/media/shift http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGvHNNOLnCk This officer's men seem to follow him merely out of idle curiosity. -- Sandhurst officer cadet evaluation. Securing an environment of Windows platforms from abuse - external or internal - is akin to trying to install sprinklers in a fireworks factory where smoking on the job is permitted. -- Gene Spafford learn french: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1G-3laJJP0feature=related
Re: [OT] beefy steel cases
On Sat, Feb 09, 2008 at 01:23:51PM -0500, bofh wrote: If aesthetics is not important, a very good question to ask is - how good are you with power tools? Else, heavy steel boxes are expensive to ship :) Well, perhaps I could make/find/whatever a steel tub with a lid (or an old safe) :) in which to put said computer case, but I'd like to start with a decent case. Who makes a solid, steel case that doesn't cover up large holes with plastic stuff? It seems that server cases now use hot-swap drives so the only thing between the drive and the world is the plastic handle on the hot-swap carrier (unless there's metal in there which I can't see on pictures). Doug.
Re: [OT] beefy steel cases
Douglas A. Tutty wrote: ... I'm wondering if in your travels, have any of you seen a case (tower, desktop, or rackmount) that is: Yes, but a very long time ago. Some of mine were by Zenith (or at least delivered via Zenith) and weighed way too much, using something outrageous liked 1/8 steel or something. For shielding, it doesn't have to be thick unless you want it to be able to take a bullet or you just want it clunky. -- of heavy steel frame and panels. It doesn't have to be that beefy, just a complete faraday cage -- at least for the frequencies generated by the components. That gives you some play in regards to the distance between the inner and outer ventilation grilles and the size of the holes in the grilles. An old dorm fridge, milk box or metal ice chest, for example, could be used for the main unit if the gasket is replaced with wire mesh and you figure out the ventilation. Remember that the cables and peripherals will leak, too, and must be shielded if that is really what you are after. The mouse you could rewire yourself probably, but I'm not sure any more what the keyboard and screen need. -- perhaps overlaping vents with no line-of-sight from the inside to the outside. The grilles should have round holes. I can't remember if they should be of different radii. This might give some ideas or look around elsewhere for info on RF shielding: http://www.eskimo.com/~joelm/tempestsource.html Regards, -Lars
Re: [OT] beefy steel cases
Well, perhaps I could make/find/whatever a steel tub with a lid (or an old safe) :) in which to put said computer case, but I'd like to start with a decent case. Who makes a solid, steel case that doesn't cover up large holes with plastic stuff? It seems that server cases now use hot-swap drives so the only thing between the drive and the world is the plastic handle on the hot-swap carrier (unless there's metal in there which I can't see on pictures). (well OT for openbsd-misc...) The slots and holes in a case and the cables coming out are going to be your problem. If you are radiating out the solid metal parts of your case you have other problems. Google 'slot antenna' for more info. Also the book Noise Reduction Techniques for Electronic Systems by Henry Ott is very thorough. Perhaps you should try shielding your wife instead of the computer equipment. Put her in one of these: http://www.djmelectronics.com/quietbox.html :-) -- Hardware, n.: The parts of a computer system that can be kicked.
Re: [OT] beefy steel cases
Douglas A. Tutty wrote: Who makes a solid, steel case that doesn't cover up large holes with plastic stuff? The 2U and 4U rackmount Antec cases I've used in the past can be used with only internal drives. The front panel door (and chassis slot covers) are vented with small holes. I guess what would matter is whether the holes are small enough that the wavelength of the radiation you're trying to keep contained cannot pass through it effectively. The holes in these are smaller than the diameter of a pencil. I could send you some pics if you like. They are definitely heavy steel with burnished edges, too. -John
Re: [OT] beefy steel cases
On 2/9/08 8:38 PM, Douglas A. Tutty wrote: Who makes a solid, steel case that doesn't cover up large holes with plastic stuff? http://www.naval-technology.com/projects/typhoon/ ---chefren
Re: [OT] beefy steel cases
On Sat, Feb 09, 2008 at 02:59:32PM -0500, John E.P. Hynes wrote: Douglas A. Tutty wrote: The 2U and 4U rackmount Antec cases I've used in the past can be used with only internal drives. The front panel door (and chassis slot covers) are vented with small holes. I guess what would matter is whether the holes are small enough that the wavelength of the radiation you're trying to keep contained cannot pass through it effectively. The holes in these are smaller than the diameter of a pencil. I could send you some pics if you like. Yes please. I'll also check the antec site. They are definitely heavy steel with burnished edges, too. thanks, Doug.
Re: [OT] beefy steel cases
On Sat, Feb 09, 2008 at 09:15:12PM +0100, chefren wrote: On 2/9/08 8:38 PM, Douglas A. Tutty wrote: Who makes a solid, steel case that doesn't cover up large holes with plastic stuff? http://www.naval-technology.com/projects/typhoon/ Yes, that would make a high-quality faraday cage, assuming my little P-133 is the only computer operating. Then again, so would the reactor vessels. :) I'm assuming that you've read Clancy's book (not just seen the movie). Note that Skip writes his computer model in Ada and runs it on a Cray. Hey, I just looked up the Cray1 on Wikipedia. It ran at 80 MHz! Perfect. Just what I want in my basement. Anyone want to port OBSD? :) Doug.
Re: [OT] beefy steel cases
On Feb 9, 2008 4:12 PM, Douglas A. Tutty [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hey, I just looked up the Cray1 on Wikipedia. It ran at 80 MHz! Perfect. Just what I want in my basement. Anyone want to port OBSD? In terms of pure computation, I believe a dual PPro200Mhz beats a Cray X/MP. -- http://www.glumbert.com/media/shift http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGvHNNOLnCk This officer's men seem to follow him merely out of idle curiosity. -- Sandhurst officer cadet evaluation. Securing an environment of Windows platforms from abuse - external or internal - is akin to trying to install sprinklers in a fireworks factory where smoking on the job is permitted. -- Gene Spafford learn french: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1G-3laJJP0feature=related
Re: [OT] beefy steel cases
On Saturday 09 February 2008 16:12:55 Douglas A. Tutty wrote: On Sat, Feb 09, 2008 at 09:15:12PM +0100, chefren wrote: On 2/9/08 8:38 PM, Douglas A. Tutty wrote: Who makes a solid, steel case that doesn't cover up large holes with plastic stuff? http://www.naval-technology.com/projects/typhoon/ Yes, that would make a high-quality faraday cage, assuming my little P-133 is the only computer operating. Then again, so would the reactor vessels. :) I'm assuming that you've read Clancy's book (not just seen the movie). Note that Skip writes his computer model in Ada and runs it on a Cray. Hey, I just looked up the Cray1 on Wikipedia. It ran at 80 MHz! Perfect. Just what I want in my basement. Anyone want to port OBSD? :) Doug. You want to get some 3M copper foil tape and put it either inside or outside the entire box, overlapping, and if you really want to seal it RF wise, solder a spot every few inches along each overlap. If you do this you will drastically reduce the RF leaving the box. --STeve Andre'
