Internal tank mods -or- I am a dremel Ninja
First thing I did was remove the fan and heatsink from the RDFR speed controller. It really wasnt needed now since the motors were so small and it was big, noisy, and power hungry.
Next thing I had to do was remove the old battery compartment that was attached to the upper hull. It normally would have rested right on top of where I was planning on mounting the motherboard. Since I wasn't going to use it for anything, I just lopped it off.
I did make a small mistake here. The upper hull gained considerable strength from the battery compartment. I cut too close to the top of the hull and removed all of that strength. I should have left about an inch or two below the top of the hull. The cuts are highlited in red to make it easier to see.
Next I measured and cut the rear compartment riser to fit the motherboard. There was a ledge at the very rear of the inside of the hull that I wanted the moatherboard's mount to rest on. I planned on using a piece of plywood to rest across these parts so I would have something for the motherboard to mount to. The ledge is highlighted with yellow and the cut is highlighted in red.
Here is the first piece of plywood that I cut for the board mount. It worked ok untill I realized I had made it too small from front to back to fit the motherboard. I had to toss it, but I realized that I would be much better off making a single plywood piece that covered the entire inside of the hull. I would cut out spaces for the batteries etc.
This time I measured things a little more carefully.
It fit quite well on the first cut, I had to do some sanding on the sides where the batteries went so that they fit a little better. Not to mention tons of dremel work to get the bottom of the bay smooth. It had pegs etc from the old electronic's mounts.
Here is what it looks like with the batteries installed. Perfect fit. The four dots you see on the plywood are the locations for the motherboard risers.
At this point I did a ton of measuring and marking and cut out the slot for the motherboards rear panel. Let me tell you, this was a huge pain in the ass. I had to measure it and get it right to about 1/32 of an inch. To top it off I had no good way of cutting the stuff. You just can't get a good straight edge with the dremel, and my jig saw couldnt fit back there. I ended up taking my jig saw's foot off and doing most of it with that, but I cut my hole small and used a file to widen it as needed.
All the hard work paid off though. It fit pretty well in the end.
View from the back. Awesome.
Here it is with the board mounted and the motherboard risers mounted on the board. The moment of truth approaches, will it fit?
Thankfully it fit just right. I wasn't kidding about the dremel ninja skills.
Case modders, eat your heart out!
Here is a shot of all it fitting together inside the bay. The markings you see between the battery are where I screwed a wooden block under the plywood board to bridge the gap between the plywood and the bottom of the hull.
Next I mounted the RDFR in the front compartment. After I spent time making it look nice and pretty, I realized I needed to put it behind the motors or else the control wires wouldn't reach the SV203. Also, with that front part open, it will make a nice little spot for a camera or grabber arm or something.
Meanwhile Alyssa was being helpful by fixing an old mobile phone she found in my bits box.
I also added a power jack in the back to make recharging the batteries easy without having to remove the cover etc. I just need to find a 12V power adapter that can push enough juice to power the thing and charge the batteries at the same time.
Here is the final layout, I just need to clean up the wiring.
(click image for full size version)
Next thing I had to do was remove the old battery compartment that was attached to the upper hull. It normally would have rested right on top of where I was planning on mounting the motherboard. Since I wasn't going to use it for anything, I just lopped it off.
I did make a small mistake here. The upper hull gained considerable strength from the battery compartment. I cut too close to the top of the hull and removed all of that strength. I should have left about an inch or two below the top of the hull. The cuts are highlited in red to make it easier to see.
Next I measured and cut the rear compartment riser to fit the motherboard. There was a ledge at the very rear of the inside of the hull that I wanted the moatherboard's mount to rest on. I planned on using a piece of plywood to rest across these parts so I would have something for the motherboard to mount to. The ledge is highlighted with yellow and the cut is highlighted in red.
Here is the first piece of plywood that I cut for the board mount. It worked ok untill I realized I had made it too small from front to back to fit the motherboard. I had to toss it, but I realized that I would be much better off making a single plywood piece that covered the entire inside of the hull. I would cut out spaces for the batteries etc.
This time I measured things a little more carefully.
It fit quite well on the first cut, I had to do some sanding on the sides where the batteries went so that they fit a little better. Not to mention tons of dremel work to get the bottom of the bay smooth. It had pegs etc from the old electronic's mounts.
Here is what it looks like with the batteries installed. Perfect fit. The four dots you see on the plywood are the locations for the motherboard risers.
At this point I did a ton of measuring and marking and cut out the slot for the motherboards rear panel. Let me tell you, this was a huge pain in the ass. I had to measure it and get it right to about 1/32 of an inch. To top it off I had no good way of cutting the stuff. You just can't get a good straight edge with the dremel, and my jig saw couldnt fit back there. I ended up taking my jig saw's foot off and doing most of it with that, but I cut my hole small and used a file to widen it as needed.
All the hard work paid off though. It fit pretty well in the end.
View from the back. Awesome.
Here it is with the board mounted and the motherboard risers mounted on the board. The moment of truth approaches, will it fit?
Thankfully it fit just right. I wasn't kidding about the dremel ninja skills.
Case modders, eat your heart out!
Here is a shot of all it fitting together inside the bay. The markings you see between the battery are where I screwed a wooden block under the plywood board to bridge the gap between the plywood and the bottom of the hull.
Next I mounted the RDFR in the front compartment. After I spent time making it look nice and pretty, I realized I needed to put it behind the motors or else the control wires wouldn't reach the SV203. Also, with that front part open, it will make a nice little spot for a camera or grabber arm or something.
Meanwhile Alyssa was being helpful by fixing an old mobile phone she found in my bits box.
I also added a power jack in the back to make recharging the batteries easy without having to remove the cover etc. I just need to find a 12V power adapter that can push enough juice to power the thing and charge the batteries at the same time.
Here is the final layout, I just need to clean up the wiring.
(click image for full size version)
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