this is the SECOND worklog on my TA carputer due to some minor problems with the old setup which eventually led to motherboard failure.
Here is the first worklog. Since I just came into a little bit of money to purchase some more gear, I figured why not re-design everything?
The reason my motherboard bit the dust was because in my original design, everything was packed into the dashboard and I ended up busting a capacitor off the board. So this time, I am creating a small fiberglass enclosure behind the driver's seat to hold the powersupply, motherboard, and hard disk. Here's a pic of the new location with the components laid in place to make sure there's enough room:
Next, I started sreating a fiberglass enclosure to hold everything. First, I taped off the whole area using 2" masking tape and cardboard:
Then I smeared a coat of vaseline over the tape to keep the fiberglass from adhering to the tape/cardboard:
Next, I laid two layers of 'glass to the area using fiberglass resin, fiberglass matt, and a couple of cheap 2" chip brushes:
I purchased a sheet of 3/4" thick pvc plastic from
McMaster-Carr, and cut some to form the inside surface the components will mount to. After I screwed it in place inside the fiberglass form, I filled the hollow spaces between the two with expanding spray foam, and trimmed it with a hacksaw blade:
That's all i've done for now- I'll post updates as they happen.