ModMyPi Mk.2 USB Hub, 2.5'' HDD, Patch Bay, On/Off - Ideas

[cliveyandrews]

Mmmm, I want.

My Pi's been stalled with work commitments - I'm just picking back up - aiming to go down the XBMC route (I'm selling my Mac!) - this would be perfect. Please keep us posted...

[modmypi]

@Cheetah

Yup we'll make sure there's an international plug version available, or at least make sure that the charger's 110V - 240V and compatible with a UK to US/AUS/EU Adaptor.

Thanks for the input!

[thelini]

Thanks for the update..

I will be getting one for both my pis..

[startrek.steve]

Is there a mailing list we can go on to purchase when ready?

Steve

[Gary Littlemore]

@Gary Littlemore R.E. Patch cables
We're having them made bespoke by one of our suppliers in China. We'll probably put these cables on sale other than just with the cases, so you'll be able to get them direct from us. Right Angle LAN Whhhaaaaaat?! These were impossible to find.

Thanks, you sound very busy at the moment, how soon could your cables be on sale?

[feverish]

This looks like the thing I've been trying to assemble for mobile demonstrating, except mine has so many cords and wires it is a nightmare. I'm ready to commit now. Would it help if we pre-ordered a deposit?

[modmypi]

@startrek.steve
Yup, https://www.modmypi.com/shop/ Bottom of the page 'Keep in the Loop'

@Gary Littlemore
We'll need to have the cables installed in a prototype and firm up the lengths before we make the order, a month maybe?

@ feverish
We'll need to see what the tooling quotes come out as at the end of the day, if it looks like it'll need a significant amount of funding we'll probably take a up a few pre-orders, but we don't want to begin this process until we're happy with the form and function of the unit! I'm hoping that our toolers will be nice though

[00Craig00]

Any further updates on this?

Patiently waiting

[thelini]

Not pushing, but am very interested if there is any progress on this.. It's my perfect case.

[modmypi]

Update!

First prototyping is finished, there's some pic's below

All looking pretty good, main issue is getting the cable runs neat - something we couldn't do without putting it all together - hence the need for prototyping. VESA/HDD drive mount has been re-designed around a modular mounting bracket (to the case itself), so there's scope to add alternative brackets based on ideas and popularity. Sits nicely on a desk both with the bracket attached and not.

Main points of that need addressing:

All cable lengths need adjustment. Input seats were all spot on though, nice and sturdy!

Addition of clip points for cables, running them loose doesn't look great.

Addition of detail outlining cable runs. Could get confusing over what goes where!

Might need to raise the USB hub slightly for better clearance & run cables underneath.

HDMI cable looks rather large & unruly. Can't go for a solid adapter as their too short, but can't go for a very short cable run due to difficulty of manufacture and high failure rate. A possible solution could be swapping where the power button and HDMI inputs are, thus hitting two birds with one stone and neatening both runs up.

Possible scope to reduce footprint slightly on the RCA/Audio side of the Pi.

Other than that, we've done very intensive testing on the electronic side of things, and the plan is to ship these kits/cases with a ruddy decent 5V 2A Power Supply. Hub OC protection was tested too, and everything worked as it should!

Other than that, just general detailing & styling, but shouldn't look to shabby in a nice black finish (wife proof at least).

The next hurdle will be IM tooling!

Prototyping pics below. . . . .

[thelini]

Looking very good indeed..

Well done, can't wait

[Jb2cool]

Not a massive fan of the little HDD bracket underneath the larger enclosure up top. I'd rather a surround to the bracket to build it out to the same dimensions as the top unit so it was all the same dimension just twice as thick/tall if you have the HDD 'slice' installed.

Other than that it looks good. I think you are being too hard on yourself when it comes to the cable runs. They look fine to me.

How does the Pi get powered? Backwards through the USB port or via one of the internal USB ports on the hub? If backwards then i didn't think this works with the very early Pi's as they had the USB fuses in place which were later removed,

[modmypi]

@Jb2cool

I see where you're coming from R.E. mounting bracket but if we make it bigger. . . .

more plastic = more cost per item
bigger tool = more cost for tooling

Also, at its current size, we can incorporate the window & bracket in the same tool, any bigger and we have to have another tool (and they're expensive!). So it's basically a cost thing at the end of the day. Hope that makes sense?

We've had a look at the cable runs, hacked some up and re-arranged slightly by swapping the HDMI & switch exit ports. I'm happier now, and we've reduce the footprint slightly too on the RCA side, see below.



To reduce the amount of internal cabling we're back powering from the 'up' port on the hub via the USB ports on the Pi. I'm aware that this will only work on the Rev 2 Pi's and later. The very early Pi's had fuses F1 & F2 on the USB ports so trying to back-power on these Pi's shorts them (which was causing a lot of issue's in the beginning hence their subsequent removal).

The hub is fitted with OC protection, so no risk of 'blowing' the Pi as the hub's designed to short first if say the charger is faulty or a connected USB item tries to draw a huge current. Issues usually arise from users attempting to power via the micro USB and USB at the same time and damaging the polyfuse.

[00Craig00]

I for one am a fan of the external hard drive mount. It will provide excellent ease of access.

Plus if you are not a fan then you don't need to use it, You could always just connect your hard drive via a normal USB cable and place it to the side of the case / on top / anywhere you like

If you do use the hard drive mount I assume that the connection from the hard drive would lead out toward the back of the case. The reason I ask is that in the current pictures it looks like it will lead from the front? Which would make it look slightly odd as that would be the one and only visible wire

I also hope with the finished product the plastic window will be a smoke black colour as per the mock ups

[Jb2cool]

Thanks for the feedback and an understandable decision on both fronts (power and hdd mount). I'm still well up for buying one.

[dan3008]

Wow, I cant wait till these are on the market, they look perfect for my media and gaming center pi

[johnporter29]

I am most interested in one of these, just what I'm looking for.

Was just thinking about a Pi Case with a built in usb hub and did a quick search on Google and found this thread. Hope it's not too long before we can buy one.

[dan3008]

you guys got an ETA on it yet? lol

[recantha2]

I thought back-powering was generally considered "a bad idea" ?

[thradtke]

Nice case . The HDD bracket, otoh, somehow alienates the design.

[Lob0426]

I thought back-powering was generally considered "a bad idea" ?

Back-powering without understanding the risks is a bad idea.

When you back-power you are bypassing the 750ma polyfuse that is there for the protection of your RasPi. But if you make sure that your hub is protected by a fuse, or add an inline fuse, then you will be just fine.

By the way, powering through the GPIO has the same problem as back-powering. Both of these power methods are being used successfully. I would guess that more boards have released the "Magic Blue Smoke" from GPIO powering than by back-powering. easier to connect to the wrong pin or pins and fry something!


I like the design of this project. It fixes some of the main pains about a RasPi. If you need a powered hub with your RasPi then you have two PSU wires and a USB upstream cable, plus any other cables. If you power your RasPi from the hub (not back-powered) then you have one PSU and two USB (upstream and an A to micro B) cables. Even with short cables you end up with a wiring mess before you even connect, say Ethernet and a monitor. And those cables come out at every angle. With this design they all come out the side and the back. This should make a great media center case.

As for the HDD it might be better to make some extra room inside the case and just use a USB to SATA HDD adapter, rather than have a whole enclosure to deal with. Then you can attach it internally for power and data. This would keep the size down and have a better look. It will limit the size of HDD that can be used. If they need a larger 3.5" drive, then they will have to use an external drive and enclosure.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6812123312
Put another hatch cover on top of the case above the USB hub. Or make the VESA caddy smaller and enclose the USB HDD to SATA adapter in it.

[6677]

I would guess that more boards have released the "Magic Blue Smoke" from GPIO powering than by back-powering. easier to connect to the wrong pin or pins and fry something!

There is a simple workaround for this. Hack off the plug from a microUSB cable, solder that onto your supposedly 5v power supply. Plug it into pi.

[Lob0426]

There is a simple workaround for this. Hack off the plug from a microUSB cable, solder that onto your supposedly 5v power supply. Plug it into pi.

I am sure that has been done. Crimping on pin connectors is easier for some people rather than soldering.

There are various reasons that people power through the GPIO rather than the standard power connector. GPIO power is real common with robotics and when used in conjunction with other electronics or boards.

The most dangerous method I see is powering directly to the GPIO. Plug into the wrong pin, and you can harm a RasPi in the making of your project. This seems to happen relatively frequently to those that are connecting LED sets directly to the GPIO. Just miss by one pin either way. On the other hand there are probably more GPIO powered boards out there than back-powered boards.

Me; half my boards are powered normally and the other half are back-powered. Any of them can work very well. Only one of them has not been part of a back-powered system somewhere along the line. It is on my Project Clipboard RasPi.
1x stock Ver1.0, 2x modded ver. 1.0, 2x stock ver. 2.0 boards

[BBsan2k]

Any update on this?

[MysticWhiteDragon]

I would really love to see something like the Himedia BD900B.
http://www.himedia-tech.cn/en/product_show.php?id=27

Just with the ports only on the back and no buttons or LCD on the front (simple is elegance). I think that a lot of people would like that as a Raspberry Pi HTPC case. I know I would!