Another shot of the braided cables

Installed the braided cables

HTPC Build Progress: Sound dampening and internal USB hub

I have been working on my HTPC build on and off in my free time and have made some progress. I added sound dampening material to all sides of the case, the top of the Blu-Ray drive, and a little around the harddrive bay on the bottom of the case.

 

I have also made some progress on my internal usb project box.

I created the back plate using a metal punch and installed the wifi antenna pigtails and mounts for LEDS.

I also used a metal punch to make holes in the side of a plastic project box, and used a file to make the corners square. I sleeved the internat cables and am working on connecting the wifi antenna pigtails to the onboard antennas on the bluetooth, RF keyboard and xbox rf receiver dongles.

 

Installed Mesh Fan Filters

Nothing ground breaking here, installed two aluminum mesh fan filters to keep the dust out. Im almost complete on my internal usbdongle box, just waiting on the DIN connector to arrive from China.

 

 

Wesena e7: Case fan installation

Today I installed two Nexus Real Silent fans in my HTPC case. The nexus fans are great, they look nice, the white blades complement the all black case, and they even come with rubber screws/ for the fan in the rear I just slipped the rubber screws through the grill, case and then fan. The rubber screws have stops that keep any part of the fan from ever touching the case, hopefully reducing noise by eliminating vibration passing. For the fan under the HDD bay I had to improvise. The fan mount in the Wesena e7 case is not a typical mount, and does not allow for the use of rubber screws. I purchased 6 1/8″ ID rubber grommets to slide over the post and isolate the fan.

Fan on rear of case (I painted the grill black)

Fan under HDD bay

Wesena e7: Project box plans

I’m planning a project box to use inside of my HTPC build. I want to avoid having any USB dongles off the back, so I will be using an internal USB hub inside an aluminum box. On one side of the box I will have passthrough connectors for the power and usb connection for the hub. On another side I will have 3 RP-SMA connections and one 8pin DIN connection. These connections will be used to connect 3 WIFI antennas, 2 LEDS and one Vandal Resistant switch with LED illuminated ring. I am planning on installing the above antennas/leds/switch on a blank PCI plate. I may install a piece of mesh aluminum on the top panel of the project box to allow for ventilation.
I only have paint at work, so here is a basic sketchup of my plan. And yes, I understand this is completely unnecessary, but I am building this HTPC with form over function in mind. I currently use a wifi antenna with my RF keyboard, and it improves the reception immensely. Hopefully the same holds true for the xbox receiver and the bluetooth dongle.

Also I just ordered the internal IR receiver from Perfect Home Theater, looking forward to its arrival.

 

 

 

 

 

Wesena e7: HTPC case Review

Wesena e7: Painting the blu-ray drive

Painted my Blu-Ray Drive today. I used googone and a knife to scrape off the stickers, then cleaned the outside with some househould cleaner. I took the drive apart and masked off the back panel. I first applied two coats of rustolem clean metal primer, 15 min apart. Waited 15 min and applied 2 coats of krylon satin black 15 min apart.

Wesena e7: Waterslide Decals Photos

Wesena e7: Waterslide Decals Part 2

Paint is drying now, very happy with the results. I applied 2 light mist coats 15 min apart, followed by 2 thicker coats 15 min apart. I had to paint the rest of the front panel as the gloss changed the appearance of the metal. One word of warning if you plan on painting a large surface, apply the paint in light coats, I had a small area where the paint pooled and if you look close you can see a ripple on the front panel. It was much easier to apply the decals and paint on the small dvd cover as compared to my first attempt on the Silverstone case. The small size of the dvd cover made it very easy to align the decals, and easy to paint.

   
  

The steps I used to apply the decals:

1.)Cut each decal as close to the lettering as possible.

2.) Soak the decals one at a time in a bowl of water for about 5-10 seconds. Only place the second decal in the water after the first has been applied.

3.) Pull the decal gently out of the water, use your finger to push the edge of the decal off the paper, only about 1mm. Apply a coating of micro sol on the surface you wish to place the decal. Micro sol is pretty strong so you might want to test it on a part of the case that you wont see in case it eats away your paint.

4.)Use a small foam brush with some water on it to hold the free edge of the decal down against the surface you wish to apply the decal to and pull the paper out from under the decal. The micro sol starts to work very quickly so you will only have a second to position the decal.

5.)Once the decal is in place use a foam brush to gently dab micro sol on top of the decal. Only apply one coat now, it will start to wrinkle the decal and make it very soft. Let it dry (for me it dried in about 15min).

6.) re apply the micro sol every 15 min about 4 more times, at some point reapplying started to make no difference. You can gently push down on the decal with the foam brush to get the decal to bond better with the case, but push straight down do not make a brushing motion with any force. You can gently brush the microsol on the decal but only if you just barely touch the decal, and only on the 3rd or 4th application.

7.)Let the decal dry for 24 hours.

8.) Make sure the surface is clean of dust or finger prints, if it not wipe it off gently with a moist rag and let it dry.

9.) Apply two light mist coats of Testors Gloss Coat enamel paint, 15 min apart.

10.) After 15 min of drying apply a thicker coat of the enamel,wait 15 min and repeat. It is better to apply to little paint as you can always add more. If you look at my photos you can see some “orange peel” on the decals from applying too much paint.

11.) Let it dry 24 hours before handling, and even then you might want to wait even longer before really working with it.

Enjoy!