Ideas for a case mod... Think Satellite

[aspire]

Got bored in calc class heres what I sketched up...




So my idea is to take a shuttle pc, add 3d surface effects like antennas, small satellite dishes, boxes, "thrusters", led's and the such.

Paint the shell either deep blue/purple blurple?

Modify pci wireless card to be all internal and have the antenna be part of the satellite dish.

Cover all the 3d surface effects with gold leaf a-la a traditional satellite

Attach a solar panel on each of the two sides and have them power led lighting.

If possible hook compressed c02 cannisters into the "thrusters" and remote control them to open and shut.

 

[Brinson]

build a wokfi so the antenna is useful.

Google wokfi if you don't know what it is. It will let you tap into wireless networks miles away.

 

[aspire]

your essentially referring to a cantenna, correct?

 

[Trotter]

Go ahead and mod the whole exterior. Use mache or fiberglass or whatever to give the box a spherical shape, or like another actual satellite. With the extra room, you could install a blower on each side (one in, one out).

 

[aspire]

Hmmm...

I dont really have any experience working with fiberglass and Im not totally going for a round style satellite.

I got my inspiration from these rendering of gps satellites in orbit.

http://images.military.com/pics/SoldierTech_GPS2.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/GPS_Satellite_NASA_art-iif.jpg

While a sputnik style satellite would be amusing, That isn't the style I'm aiming for.

I'm not sure what I want to do in regards to the front panel. The computer is a shuttle that I put together for my father and while I have a spare shell to mod, I doubt he'd appreciate having a computer that looks like a satellite as much as me. as a result of this, I am somewhat limited in what mods I can do to the actual chassis and front panel. I was thinking something along the lines of those 3m adhesive tabs that come off clean. They hold a fair amount of weight and can be easily taken off.

If/when any one of the damned places I've applied to work at ever gets back to me I may be able to actually build an entire rig from scratch and mod to my hearts content. Until then the plan is still to make it as non permanent to the chassis as possible.

 

[hmammen]

i think it would be a cool idea...personally i wouldn't own it...but cool mod nonetheless.

 

[decibaL]

i thought i was the only one who doodled in calc class