xBook Worklog (Now Powered via PicoPSU!!)

[hackmodford]

As some of you might know my account was accidentally deleted. Thus all my previous post are gone.

I'm restarting the worklog for the xBook (The xbox laptop)

I've got two of the metal plates. 1 for the screen to be mounted to and another for the base. I just got some of the sidewalls and started glueing.



In this picture I've layed the first layer of sidewalls on the baseplate down and JBwelded it for strength. There's an xbox dvd drive in there to give you a size comparison.


Here's a cool depth view...

I also have a softmodded xbox with a 2.5" laptop HDD and a 15" Hi-Def LCD

[vskid]

Looking good, when do you plan on having it finished?

[hackmodford]

Looking good, when do you plan on having it finished?

No plans since this baby's mine but hopefully before the end of the school year

Anyways I've inserted all sidewalls for the base half.

The jug/ruler is for size reference. Notice the screen frontplate propped against cardboard box. I thought this thing was going to be gigantic but it looks okay



And here's the layout. That empty spot in the top left corner will hold the 2.5" HDD mounted on some... err... maybe foam?

Anyways There's not much more to do with what I have now. I need to cut the top plate for the base I guess...

[joeyjoe9876]

this is gonna be sexy
can't wait for it to be done

[64M320N3]

The fact that everything you ever did was deleted makes me sad.
But the fact that you are continuing this project is great! It looks fantastic!

[hackmodford]

The fact that everything you ever did was deleted makes me sad.

Thankyou

[snowpenguin]

Is that CNC'd?

[Joes2Silly]

Not meaning to call anyone out, but I really hope you finish this thing up! It seems that there have been a lot of xbox portable projects lingering unfinished on benheck. Maybe I should make one, I just got a new 1.6 xbox with a Smart XX V3

[64M320N3]

Not meaning to call anyone out, but I really hope you finish this thing up! It seems that there have been a lot of ANY CONSOLE portable projects lingering unfinished on benheck.

^Fixed.
I have to admit, I'm still working on mine. At least I got all of the parts and the case is completed.

[hackmodford]

Is that CNC'd?

Pretty much...

There was a sign shop that had this router machine. He cut the sidewalls out of some kind of PVC.

The metal plates were made at a machine shop. They had some sort of water jet cutter.

So technically not CNC but pretty close.

Sadly the signshop made a lot of mistakes and dropped the project on me. So there's a lot of pieces missing. I'm going to see what I can do with the other half...

[hackmodford]

The outside of this is kinda rough. Do you think coating it in bondo and then sanding it smooth would be a good idea?

The xbox psu has a 12V line? you think it would pump enough juice to power the screen?

[hackmodford]

Well I decided to do what I could with what I was given so I started adding sidewalls to the screen half.

One small annoyance was that one of the pieces was half routed into another piece, leaving me a hole to deal with...


So being quick to think I quickdrawed the hotglue gun

And filled that baby up...

When I glued it down I added JBweld it right away instead of waiting to do the whole thing. I also added it up the center seam.


You can't even tell it's just full of "hot-glue"

So now the whole thing looks like this


I couldn't add the second layer of sidewalls since I used it on the base. I'll just have to recut it. Also there's going to be a rise in the center that's another inch thick I think...

[Harlequin]

Looks good, but I want to make a suggestion. Presuming that this is a top down look with your DVD being in the "front" of the xbox, you might want to consider rotating and swapping where your PSU and MOBO are.

Benefits:

1. Your video and LAN port will be rear facing. This makes for shorter connection to the LCD and easier access to the LAN port.
2. Your IDE cable will be considerably closer to the DVD/HDD, so less clutter.
3. The existing gap in the bottom center between the DVD and the a/v header will fit in nicely with the area you have designated for the HDD. May as well consolidate some space for future needs.
4. Your USB/controller ports will all be in the front, so shorter wires will be sufficient.

I couldn't make out the model of DVD drive you have, and can't see the version of the xbox...again, if it isn't 1.6, pick up http://shop.sickmods.net/product/ATX_to ... nverter_2/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and a pico PSU if it won't blow your budget. That could free up a lot of space in the ol' box and give you some more options for... well... more options. It would also give you enough space to wire in the power connector, and have your plug in located in the rear, which I belive is why you have the PSU located where it is.

Can't remember if we have gone over the PICO PSU and ATX converter before (sure we have) sorry about your account. Project is looking good, I hope it gets nailed down shortly.

[hackmodford]

Well the DVD drive is staying where it is I know that.

Also the stuff in there is not what I'm using. It's just an old broken xbox I had. I can't really think of any reason to use a picoPSU since I have room for the original and it makes it easier on wiring. I think I have a 1.4? I guess I'll check.

The real reason I want to keep the PSU in back is because I have a lot of vent holes there and it would block controller ports in the front.

Edit: just looked at that link. Didn't realise that there was a converter. Now that makes me really want to try to use the pico psu. But maybe I should use the original? I need all the weight I can get to keep the thing from tipping over

[vskid]

The xbox psu has a 12V line? you think it would pump enough juice to power the screen?

Could you find out how much power your screen uses? My Xbox's PSU says it can provide 1.2A to the 12v line, your screen probably uses more than that. The 12v line is probably meant to just power the DVD drive and HDD. Maybe you could fine another PSU of similar size (not a picoPSU) that outputs more power to the 12v line... I'll see if I have anything that would work.