Newbie has some questions...

[jdbnsn]

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if anyone could help me out with some small concepts that may be used in a future rig. I am very new to all of this modding and customizing and while computer literate, I am not all that savy with basic electronics. I will list the questions I have and if anyone can help, Thanks in advance!

1. Has anyone, or does anyone know how a remote key (as in to open your car door) can be used/manipulated to trigger a function? I would like to have one that can operate on/off switches.

2. Along the same lines, if this can be done, can an extra 2-way LCD pager (for a car alarm) be read and decoded so that multiple functions on the remote could operate multiple functions on a project?

3. I was wondering also if anyone can tell me how difficult it would be to get a computer to operate switches (that were once manual). e.g. like replacing the controls on the dashboard of a car for air cond., heater, fan speed, etc.. with computer commands that would route the appropriate signals to the hardware. I assume this requires some program writing knowledge, but I have no idea how involved it may be.

4. Does anyone know where one can find plans and a list of commonplace components to build a DIY watercooling system (aside from a heatercore from an engine) that a beginner (on a radically impaired budget) could use to construct his own watercooling system?

5. And lastly, has anyone ever tried using a dorm-sized refridgerator and putting the computer components in a vaccuum sealed container inside for a super-cooled computer or implement the parts from a fridge into a case mod?

Sorry for the long list of Q's everyone, the problem is I have very little spare time to web-crawl or I am sure I could eventually find out which if any of these are possible. But lately, I have been studying for the USMLE boards as well as classes and my internet searches have turned up nothing useful. Thanks again and I appreciate very much any thoughts that you have!

[DaveW]

Hmm...i'd reccommend not aiming your sights too high for a beginners project. But i'll try and answer your questions if i can.

1) It should be easy enough to do this, you can probably get the plans for it online if you really wanted to. Or, i think Matrix orbital do a remote control for some stuff for use with Windows Media edition. You could probably reprogram that.
2) As above, modding a remote control wouldn't be too hard. If you wanted it to interact with external features, you could probably get a serial interface module, which is cheaper than any USB interface module. Then a little bit or programming could solve your worries.
3) Yes, it wouldn't be easy to do this, but it is possible...

What i'm thinking at this point is why you need these functions. Are you putting your computer in a car? I don't understand why you would want to mod your computer in this way, i can understand that yes it would be cool, but it would also be pretty expensive, if you wanted to remotely turn on a computer that's next to you. If you were more specific i might be able to help out.

4) I'd reccommend keeping an eye open for discount parts in your local electronics stores. Water cooling systems are not too common outside of computing to be honest...your car and fridge systems are far too complex, and believe me when i say that you don't want to feck around with the coolant they put in fridges. Check on the net for a beginer's kit, i've seen some for £60-$100 that do a decent enough job. Are you in the UK? If so check scan.co.uk for decent watercooling on the cheap. Building your own system is risky, but possible, and in the end could be cheaper than the alternatives. I'm not sure on this one: again, a little more specific info would help.
5) People have done this before. Crazy people. But whatever you do, and i mean this, do NOT start mucking about with bits of fridge. They use nasty chemicals that in the UK, we're not even allowed to throw away anymore. We have to take our old fridge freezers to special centres for disposal. Do not mess with these.

Sorry if i just seem to have shot all your ideas down-give me more specific information, and i might be able to help you out, but as things are, i don't quite know what you want from your system. Don't give up though, you might just need to set your sights a little lower.

-Dave

[jdbnsn]

Hi Dave,
Thank you so much for the input, and trust me, I don't feel as though you're discouraging me just pointing out the realities which is what I was looking for. I can see your point after reading the list of questions now all together, (what on earth is he trying to build?). Actually, I don't have a single concept mod in mind here but numerous small projects that I would like to try in the near future. I have always loved building DIY projects ever since I was a kid (mostly furniture and car stereo systems) and taking stuff apart to see how it works. I have some of these parts lying around now, such as a standard keychain remote and 2 way LCD pager remote for car alarms. These weren't intended for computer modding specifically, I have a friend who is a Batman finatic and I would like to build her some simple silly piece of furniture (something dumb like an armoire) that could be remotely activated to unlock and turn on a lighted batman symbol with the keychain like in the movies. All of the design is quite simple, except I don't know how to use the keychain's transmission (recieve it or use it). But I thought if this works, I could maybe implement it into a future case mod ( I had a vision of a cool Mexican Low-rider car model tricked out, the keychain could activate the hydraulic shocks), but this type of thing would have to wait until I have more money for robotic mechanisms.
As for the watercooling system, I have always enjoyed building my own version of something like this if possible (and if it works good enough), this is more of a hobbyists whim really. I know I can use a heater core from a vehicle for a radiator, tubing is easy enough to get, and there are lots of appliances that pump water from one resevoir to another, so I thought maybe someone might know of an equivelant pump that I could pull out of a junk-yard. I appreciate your warning about the refridgerant used in air conditioners and freezers, etc.. You are absolutely right too, I am in the US and we have new laws about disposal, and some of the chemicals are being replaced with newer safer ones, but they're all still nasty. I worked as an auto mechanic (sort of) for a year and I don't mess with the chemicals myself at all. But once a system has been cleared, it can be dismantled and you could rebuild it and test it later (they way it's done in cars is to fill the system at high pressure with UV reactive gas and take a UV lamp to look at all of the connections for leaks). This idea is more in the category of maybe some day, but no time soon. But it still seems fairly do-able to build a watercooling system for a computer (except for the blocks).
I wish I could give you some more specific plans that I have, but I work kind of backwards. First I play around with something like the remotes until I find that they work, then I think "Ok, what can I make this do?"
Thank you for all of your advice, I will keep it in mind when working, and hopefully I can get some of these ideas off and running.
Jon

[jdbnsn]

Dave,
I forgot to ask you about the serial device you mentioned in #2. Can you tell me more about this? Thanks.
Jon

[DaveW]

I think the best way of figuring out the way that the car part works is to use a multimeter to find out what signals it sends out. If you know the exact part number, try typing it into google and seeing what you can find out. Else, just plug it into an electrical source (not the wall socket, but i'm guessing you know that...a constant electrical signal generator of somekind, you can get them at your local electronics shop) and messing around, taking notes of what each output does. You might want to be careful with the vlotage you apply to it, you don't want to damage it. When you've figures out what voltage output it has, then you can figure out what to do with it. If it outputs a 5volt signal, with low amperage, then the world of logical programming is open to you. This would mean that you could use the PIC Microcontroller, and some assembly programming, to pretty much make anything you wanted work via the signal. If it's higher, you can still use PIC's but it requires a bit more electronic mucking about. I'd say that it probably uses a 5 volt line, which you can then plug into a power relay to activate whatever type of system you want.Although this is more electronics and less computing involved.

Serial interface modules are pretty common, although i don't even think that they're necessary. I think it's possible to directly communicate with the serial port by addressing DLL files, which you can do in lots os programming languages, from C++ to Visual Basic (correct me if i'm wrong, anyone...)
If you can do this, then you can also interface with USB, but you'd need a decoder of some sort i think to decode the signal. With serial, i think you can control the pins with less external hardware. If you got desperate, there's always the Parralell port. Serial interface modules are pretty common, so have a look on google and see what you can find.

Nice idea about the Mexican low rider, watch your Hard drives when you're messing with that suspension though. I'm looking forward to the days of solid state hard drives-computers with no moving parts? What, say you?

Watercooling systems are all over these forums, so i'm sure you could find someone who'd help you. The big modders here are all friendly guys, so e-mail them and they'll help you out. My own case is fan cooled, because i like the way the Zalman big flower in particular, looks. It's not as expensive and it's almost as effective. It's also pretty damn quiet. In the past, Fans were considered the lower end of the cooling specrum-now, people have realised that liquid cooling systems, although effective, are pretty much limited because all liquids are higher desnity than air, so they can't absorb heat as fast. So although fans have caught up, liquid cooling hasn't advanced far enough to keep it's head fully in the market. Now it's either or. Personally i'd only bother with liquid cooling as an interest, for practicallity i'm sticking with heatpipes, sinks, and fans.

Post some photos of your plans, i'll try and give you some ideas if i can. All i've ever posted on these forums is sketches, and i get plenty of input from the other guys and gals, so try that before you start cutting holes and destroying cars etc

Good luck with your mods

-Dave