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constructing cp...where to put keyboard???

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hulkster:
im making a showcase cab with a 4 player cp.  i want to have a keyboard accessible obviously, and am trying to figure out the best route to go.  on my old cab i didnt have a pull out drawer type thing in my cp box, i just kept the keyboard in a spot behind the cp, so when i needed it, i just lifted it out and layed it on top of the cp to do work or whatever.  well that kinda scratched the lexan a little..not much, but enough to piss me off.  ive seen like little compartments in the front of cp's where people have locks (like in the UAII) so they have to open a door to get to the keyboard.  thats a good design, but kinda unsightly.  i want my keyboard to be out of the way and i dont want a lock or anything or visible door in the front of the cp where i would access the keyboard/mouse.  does anyone have any suggestions on where i could put a compartment, or where i could put my keyboard so when i needed to use it, it wasnt uncomfortable, yet discreet so that on first glance, you cant see the place where the keyboard resides.  understand?  i want access, but i dont want anybody to know that there is a keyboard accessible.  so whats the best way to do this??

DrewKaree:
Hulkster, the idea I might be going with (I'm trying to see if there's a way I can bypass the need for a keyboard alltogether, but if not....) is have an opening on the BACKSIDE of your CP.

Since you/I are going to have a podium, we've got the backside of that thing.  If I remember correctly, there is a keyboard tray that slides up/down/in/out that would suit that need perfectly.  You'd slide it out towards your screen and up, mebbe even with a little angle so it'll be easier to type on.  Of course, this depends on your CP depth....mine is gonna be 14-15" so for me, no problem...for you, I don't know how deep, but if you've got an "I gotta have everything on this one panel" CP, it may be too cumbersome.

As a side note, since you're in the building stage, I was going to mount the motherboard on a drawer slide on the back of the podium near where it would connect to the base so as to make accessing that easier.  You may hate that idea, so take it for what it's worth. The other place I thought of placing it was in the "connecting" base itself.  

hulkster:
well i was thinking about getting one of those crane like thingys for the keyboard, but my cp is like...well i cant remember at the moment but its like 24 or so inches wide.  so it might be a stretch for me.  i have 4 players with a trackball so its not "everything" but its a lot.  anyway, i dont mind putting it in the back, but i need a place to set the keyboard if im doing something with it.  before i just put it on my lap, but if im sitting there trouble shooting, that can get tiresome.  also, where would the mouse go?  i guess i could lay down like a piece of cloth so as not to scratch the lexan...hmmm.....your thoughts?

oh and about the motherboard thing...im going to keep my pc in the case, so i wont have to worry about mounting it anywhere, and it will go under the monitor section.

hulkster:
what do you think about this keyboard?  it would easy to contain since you can roll it up, and i could basically put it under the cp or something and its soft enough that it wouldnt scratch the lexan.  

SpamMe:
I thought about using one of these, but I've heard they're difficult to type on (spongy, no feedback etc.), and they tend to be expensive, for a keyboard anyway. I'm just using a dirt cheap low-profile one, and it sits inside my cp, there's plenty of clearance. If I get some money/time, however, I plan on buying a metal one (possibly mini) and countersinking it into the bottom of the control panel box. I just use it for administration, though, it'd be a pain to use for pc games or something like that.

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