Main > Project Announcements

Building 2x bartop cabinets (Second cabinet complete!!!)

<< < (3/12) > >>

leapinlew:

--- Quote from: theCoder on October 14, 2007, 12:28:35 pm ---
--- Quote from: dmworking247 on October 14, 2007, 08:28:58 am ---...I've yet to attempt hacking the power button which is integrated into the keyboard).


--- End quote ---
Trying to hack the power button on my Partybox project, the solution ended up going in from the backside.  I demolished the switch from the front, but could not get at the leads until I took a dremel tool and hacked away the plastic beneath the switch.  With a power supply connected, I started shorting the leads together until it came to life.

Good luck with your project.

--- End quote ---

Good image coder. On the thinkpads, it uses a slider type switch to make the connection. It has a switch on the side, at least I think it does).

So - I would decase it and find the points where it touches to make it's connection and solder some leads onto there. It could be some sensitive soldering. On mine - it was pretty easy with big contact points.

bfauska:
Looks like a project worth following.   :cheers:  I like the sound of a rotating monitor/swapable controls bartop, and your craftsmanship looks like it should do the project justice. 

As far a shortening the links: (although, we'll now need IG-88 to modify his post with your quote too)

When you use the url feature on the forum instead of putting the web address in between the two boxes like this:
--- Code: ---[url]www.webaddress.com[/url]
--- End code ---
put it in the first box with an = before it and then put a title for the link in between the boxes like this:

--- Code: ---[url=www.webaddress.com]The name of the link here[/url]
--- End code ---

The finished product will look and behave like this
Your first Home Depot Link
Your second Home Depot Link

There is also some TinyURL thing that I know nothing about and can't imagine it being as easy as that so I won't bother learning.  If you (who probably didn't know this) could fix your original post and IG-88 (who, probably unwittingly, actually compounded the problem) could fix his quote of you this thread would be much easier to read.

Good luck on the project, it looks great so far.  And thanks for sharing your progress.

Edit:
Just noticed that in the original post there is a shortened link, so maybe I'm trying to teach something you already know,  oops.

Thank you IG-88.

IG-88:
oops :-[ got it.

dmworking247:
Hi guys,

Sorry about the URLs, I do know how to use the URL tag, unfortunately the post with the Home Depot links was a quick reply and I just pasted in the URL directly (no tags), and the forum automatically converts that into a link. I've fixed it now.

Regarding the Thinkpad power button, I did read the Party Box thread and I'll be looking for similar shortcuts before doing anything permanent.

Note that Thinkpads, at least the more recent ones, have a soft-touch switch integrated with the keyboard, not a slider on the side of the laptop itself like the old style.  This means there's no actual button on the system board, but a tiny button at the top of the mini-keyboard which is harder to get inside. I think I might have a replace keyboard for the Thinkpad, which if I do will allow me to experiment some more....

dmworking247:
No progress on the cabinet today (nasty thing called 'my job' got in the way).

However, I thought I'd share a little feature I'm trying to build into the first bartop cabinet:

The ventilation holes in the top of the bartop would be drilled in the shape of a space invader (one hole per pixel).  The cabinet light will hopefully cast light in the shape of the space invader on the wall behind the cabinet (when positioned correctly).

Picture of the first template attempt.



Photo of the light being cast on the wall, using the template above on the cardboard cabinet mockup to practice positioning the light source. Note the invader gets wider at the top because the light has further to travel to the wall (as the panel is on a 45' angle)


A new template drawn/drilled on an angle and with different sized holes to compensate for the angle of the panel and disbursement of the light. This initially looked better, but I glued on a second panel to try and 'channel' the light


These are just practice attempts on scrap MDF. To pull this off correctly will take some careful planning, as the position of the light (distance from holes), the width of the panel the holes are drilled into, and the angles of the holes all make a difference to the light that hits the wall.   Since the light source for this will be the same as for the marquee, I also need to consider reflection (if the light has to be mounted lower in the cabinet), and I have to make sure the cooling fan does not block the light to the ventilation holes.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page