My retro C64 computer cabinet

[PaulQ]

I finished my retro C64 computer cabinet, made from standard 3/4" pine shelving (cheap, easy to work with, looks good). Keeps everything neat and tidy, and makes space for my next retro rebuild project.



I'm wondering if I should stain it, or leave it natural?

[al_anger]

I'm wondering if I should stain it, or leave it natural?

Leave it natural. Put some clear spray on it.
Is there enough ventilation for the 1541's?

best,
al

Edit:
P.S. It looks good

[gklinger]

Aren't you concerned about heat and the 1541s? It has been my experience that operating 1541s in a confined space leads to unfortunate failures. If you could put a fan at the rear to draw air across the top of the drives you may spare yourself a little grief. I would probably use a clear coat so you can enjoy the beauty of the wood.

Edit: It looks like Al and I are on the same page.

[ral-clan]

I was going to mention the same thing before I saw the postings from the others. Those 1541s put out a lot of heat out of the top of their grilles. They need air motion to ventilate this (put a thermometer in that gap above the drives to test this).

The 1701 monitor also has a grill in the top for heat escape.

[PaulQ]

Although it's hard to see in the first picture I posted here, the 1541's both enjoy a full 3/4" (18mm) open air gap between them and the pine plank above them; as well, the monitor enjoys the same size and type of gap across the top and down the sides. Also, this system lives in a normally cool basement.





I'm thinking that ought to be more than sufficient for this type of equipment.

[Ian Colquhoun]

Just as a further warning - I have an Xbox that I have in a bay in my wall unit with approximately 2.5 inches clearance around the sides and about 1.5 on top. The Xbox has a fan of course. Right above it one time I had some Valentines chocolate in a drawer. One evening I had the Xbox on for an hour or so and didn't think anything of it. When I went to look for a bit of chocolate I found that it was completely melted.

1541's likely need more ventilation room than you might think since they lack fans completely.

[Jeff-20]

We're such geeks. I bet venilation was the first thing on everyone's minds when they opened this thread. "That poor thing will suffocate!"

I would use a circle bit and drill a few "bird holes" into the shelf on which the monitor rests. I don't think it would comprimise the shelves ability to support the weight of the monitor... I would add a mini fan or two to the back. They're cheap. I have some inside my arcade projects just to put my mind at ease.

It looks really cool by the way. I routinely turn my drives off because I feel the rubber feet don't raise it off the ground enough to compensate for the heat build-up. The ground where it sits gets pretty warm!

[d0c]

i agree withe rest ventilation is a must or you will soon be without disk drives... it would be better if you fitted two 1541-ii in there than them you have with build in power supply...

[PaulQ]

I'm thinking about cutting vent slats in the pine above the disk drives, then cutting a hole beneath the rear of each disk drive and inserting a cooling fan in each, since they seem to get real hot on the bottom. Looks like a project for next week!

[damnstraight]

I also think the cabinet looks great, but installing fans in the back(hidden) would do wonders for the reliability.

[PaulQ]

I would imagine that my 1541's would still run cooler in my cabinet than the ones in this set-up:

[damnstraight]

definately a hot setup

[gklinger]

The 1702 sitting on a couple of 1541s immediately made me think of Apple's 'Duodisk' which was, as the name implies, a dual disk drive designed to sit under the Apple II's monitor. It looks like this:



Upon further reflection I realized that the setup is probably closer to this:

.

Regardless, stacking 1541s or putting something on top of them is a good way to end up with toated 1541s. Maybe that guy hates 1541s and this is his way of torturing them?

[PaulQ]

I'm curious to know if you guys are speaking from personal experience, another person's experience, or your own working knowledge of 1541 disk drives?

[gklinger]

In my case, experience. Lots and lots of painful experiences.