Cobra-matic : Retro Bakelite Phonograph

[DonT-FeaR]

hmmm.... thats weird i didnt even see the names... ba ha ha i am a part of your case ...

lets make sure im not a rouge piece

[Mach]

Thanks for the comments guys and sorry for the delay. I thought I had responded but apparently not. I've been beavering away on my speaker mod and not paying attention.

Ahh, the label. It seemed fitting since tbcs attracted me to modding and your comments kept me going.

Bad news, I was re-routing some wires, preparing to film the case in action, and shorted out the dvd drive. Good news, lighting struck twice with same mod to another dvd. Still need to remount it but it works.

This a ts-l632 drive and this is the micro switch (front two contacts are the ones that tell the controller that the drive tray is closed ie closed switch = closed tray)

This is the header that is fed from Open DVD momentary switch - Before

After - pins 5 & 6 with two tiny wires attached.

I need a more powerful magnifying glass

Pulsing the momentary switch circuit and then opening the micro switch fools the DVD controller into thinking the tray just opened. Closing the switch, makes it thinks it closed.

Using my Radioshack Electronics kit to test . This happens automatically when its back in the case via the phidget board.

[Mach]

I was hoping that this update would mark the triumphant return of Cobra-Matic but a lightning storm/power surge two nights ago says no. Here's the symptoms: No fans work, psu or otherwise. Lights on the DVD and MB power LED. That's it. The night before it was working fine, all temps looked good, and it was all back together for a couple days so I don't think it was user error on my part.

I'm guessing it's the PSU. Any other guesses? I'll pull it apart this weekend to check each component, @#%$^...

[blueonblack]

Oh, WOW. Computer problems are bad enough, but to have them in a machine that you put that much time and effort into is SO muc worse. My two cents, you're leaning the right way with the PSU. It's where I would start, anyway. I hope you built it with upgrades/component failures in mind. It's easy not to when you get to working on something like this.

Good luck!!

[Mach]

Thanks, a bit of a setback but with each passing tear down its getting easier and the lessons learned are increasing. The big problem to date was getting it positioned in the case since it's such a tight fit. I built a jig to lower it into the case which has come in handy but it could be easier. To be sure, the next case will be more modular.

I need to post up everything I've learned for found case mods as there will be a few more in the future. In the long view, its all good because of the knowledge gained. Short view, it sure would be nice to be done.

[bennyrux]

My condolences for the setback, but I appreciate the update...otherwise I wouldn't have seen your mod. You have done/are doing a fantastic job. It looks great!! +rep

[Mach]

Thanks bennyrux!

Color me confused, I'm not sure what's going on at this point. I tested the power supply while still in the case and the readings were not good. The 5v was reading between 3 & 4 volts and the 12 volt was around 1-2 volts. This was using a multi-meter and using this link as a go by: http://www.lockergnome.com/it/2005/0...pply-problems/

Based on that, I pulled the power supply. Bench testing with the green and black wires shorted, all voltages checked out ok except for the -12v which showed about -11.3v. Hmmm, maybe not the psu?

I then pulled all the ram and cards and started adding back, one by one, first the ram and then the cards, restarting at each change. Each time it started up fine. I'm still leaning toward it being a failing psu or HD problem (the only thing that I haven't checked) but I'm puzzled. I'm going to hook it all back up outside the case and let it burn in for awhile to see. Is there any way that interaction with the motherboard could have caused the weird psu readings initially?

[Mach]

Thanks pope!

Well tear down and re-build complete. I'm still scratching my head on the whole thing. I'm hoping that I over reacted. I had the BIOS set to autostart with power on but for some reason, the setting was lost. When the PC didn't start automatically and with the weird knob configuration, I thought the PSU has failed. I left it burn in last night. It was still chugging along this morning. I'm typing on it now. So no blood, no foul.

While I had it apart, I fixed a ground loop by soldering in a GLI. I also got rid of the Asus Xonar card. The card was located up against the video card fan and was picking wicked bad noise from the fan. After I pulled the card, I noticed that something was stuck in the center channel socket. Turns out it was a broken silver tip off a 3.5mm connector. Funny thing is that I didn't put it there (my connectors are gold). I'm guessing it was a return to New Egg. Lesson learned completely test hardware when it's delivered.

Just glad everything is now working. A little polish and touch up left. Pics with speakers soon. Thanks for reading.

[blueonblack]

Excellent news!! May it serve you well for years to come!

[DonT-FeaR]

good work mr fix it