Citation de "Timstone"

Top_Nurse:
This thread is very informative (this way I'm seeing new idea's and sollutions) and it's great to see all the wonderful work you've done on this project.
Would you like to post a picture from the side of your watercooled electronic beast? A pic that shows the entire side?
I'm curious how you've arranged the whole computer.

Thanks for the nice words. You will have to wait a few days for that pic as FF is all torn apart again.

However, the lull in my modding has taken a second wind and very soon I will have a new update. I'm currently modding the hell out of my AC electronics so look for some new pics in less than 24 hours.

Okay it is Feeding Frenzy time again :eek:

Today I have made some changes to the way the Aquaero looks and works as well as adding a Multiswitch to the Aquaero. So on with the mod. This first couple of pics shows the standard Aquaero and the way I left my Aquaero a while back.


AC stock photo showing front panel. My display is a VFD.








One of the things that has always really irked me about my Aquaero is that the buttons flop around a lot and contribute to a lack of definitive tactile feedback when using it. Here is the way I last left my Aquaero after adding two Aquastream controllers to it.







I'm not going to bore you with how to take an Aquaero apart because if you can't figure it out you definitely don't want to do this mod. These pic's show the Aquaero with the VFD display and mounting hardware removed.
















And here is the area that needs fixing. Those three switches and the corresponding metal buttons that move them.










So here is just the Aquaero main board with the metal buttons sitting on the switches.











There is a couple of different ways to fix this. You could add washers to the metal buttons so the buttons don't move as much or you can do as I have done and modded the unit so they don't move with the added benefit of getting a flush button on the front of the Aquaero faceplate. If you want to do what I have done then you will need to partially disassemble these three switches from the board.












You will also need to go buy some 1/2" heat shrink. You want the stuff that has the meltable glue inside.











When you get the black switch top off if you weren't careful you will have something that looks like this with three small parts rolling around on the table. No problem as I will show you how it all goes back together later on.


















So the first thing to do is to cut a small piece of the heatshring off. The idea here is to bond the metal button to the top part of the switch that you just removed. You could also use epoxy or instant glue, but my way makes for somewhat easier disassembly should you choose to want to return it to stock condition. You want to have enough to give a secure connection, but not so much as to cover up the bottom of the switch top or you might have difficulty reassembling it later. The best way to shrink the tubing is to use a heat shrink gun. While I have never tried it I suppose a high wattage hair dryer might work as well. The really ghetto way is to use a BIC or a match.











The first thing that goes in is the rectangular looking part that is slightly concave. It only will fit in one way, but make sure that the concave surface is as you see it. IOW, you are looking at the concave surface.












Next in goes the round disk.











The last part is the spring that resides on the plastic pin.

Now you are ready to reassemble the switch. Please note that the switch top (black) and the switch bottom (blue) have one side that is flat. Make sure you line this up correctly on reassembly or the switch will not work properly.
















Here is one of the completed buttons back on the Aquaero mainboard.











Here is all three of them ready to roll.
















Now is the time to reassemble the Aquaero and add the Multiswitch. The first thing to do is to put back on the Aquastream controllers. If you don't have any then you can shorten up this assembly considerably.











Here are the parts you will need to do the rest of this mod. They are all obtainable from McMaster-Carr in the standoff section of the catalog. I ditched all the metric hardware and reassembled my Aquaero with inch sizes, but depending on your circumstances and where you live you might want to do something different. The standoff's I used are for the most part 6-32 thread size and 3/16" wide. As you can see you will need some 1" and 1/2" standoff's. These are the ones with female on one end and male on the other end.

















The first thing you will want to do is to make up four of these assemblies using your 1" long standoff's.










The 1/2" standoff's closest to the three buttons are fitted to the Aquaero mainboard with 6-32 buttonhead socket cap screws (sorry no pic). The side farthest from the buttons are secured with the 3" long assemblies you already made. You want them tight, but not so tight that they will damage the circuit boards.











The next step is to fit the display board on to the assembly you just finished. Be careful here as the display is easy to damage and costs like $60 USD to replace.

















These are the parts that will be used to finish up this mod. If your paying attention you will notice that the double female standoff's are 1/4" wide. I couldn't find any 3/16" ones so I used some 1/4" wide ones I had hanging around. They are 3/8" and 1/4" long respectively. BTW, this mod will not work if you use 1/4" wide all the way through so be forewarned.











You will use the 3/8" long ones to secure the display board as seen on the left side of this pic. The 1/4" long ones will be used to secure the display on the right side of this pic.










Now you will use the two remaining 3" long assemblies and the two of the male-female 1/2" long standoff's to provide the Multiswitch mount and to start to finish the Aquaero faceplate mount.

Now here is the tricky part of this mod. You have to figure out a way to account for the display circuit board thickness otherwise the faceplate will not fit on properly. I used a couple of # 6 nylon flat washers to approximate the thickness of the board as seen below.









And here you see the double female 3/8" long standoff's attached.











Here is the back side ready for the Multiswitch.












Here is the Multiswitch mounted and ready to install along with the ubiquitous buttonhead socket cap screws.

















And here is the final results:

Citation de "Timstone"

Very nice pics Top_Nurse!
But please tell me, why do you need the Multiswitch?

Have no idea. Just decided that I would like it and bought it. Actually I wanted it so I could computer control a third Aquastream controller and do some special lighting sequences.

Thanks for all the nice nice. ;D Same old Nikon 5400 that I have been using all along.