Ideas for a small RPi4+SSD shelf?

[elias4444]

I've been shopping around all morning without any luck. If I had a 3D printer I might have designed and printed something by now. I have a RPi4b in a Flirc case, with an external SSD drive attached via USB/SATA adapter. The Flirc case looks great, but the SSD drive is just flopped next to it. I'm big on organizing my desk, making it look nice, and would like to protect the SSD from too much dust.

I was hoping to find something like a small "in-out" acrylic tray to put the Flirc case on top with the SSD underneath, but everything was way too big. I also looked around at RPi cluster cases, but most of those are too small to sit a 2.5 SSD underneath.

What have others done for this?

[bjtheone]

The solutions I have seem either just over package the Pi and SSD into a larger box, create a stackup of SSD, PI, and HAT, or have a funky clip/leg arrangement that allows you to mount SSDs below the Pi. Something like:

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3941919

[TommyG007]

I think the main issue is that you already have a case for the Pi, if you're happy to change the case you could get something like this:



It's available in different colours too.
https://inux3d.com/product/raspberrypi- ... reloaded=1

[ejolson]

I've been shopping around all morning without any luck. If I had a 3D printer I might have designed and printed something by now. I have a RPi4b in a Flirc case, with an external SSD drive attached via USB/SATA adapter. The Flirc case looks great, but the SSD drive is just flopped next to it. I'm big on organizing my desk, making it look nice, and would like to protect the SSD from too much dust.

I was hoping to find something like a small "in-out" acrylic tray to put the Flirc case on top with the SSD underneath, but everything was way too big. I also looked around at RPi cluster cases, but most of those are too small to sit a 2.5 SSD underneath.

What have others done for this?

Putting the SSD under or on top of the Pi is likely to jam the WiFi. It's better for the SSD to be flopping on your desk as far away from the internal radio antenna on the Pi as possible. To make it look nice I would recommend wrapping the cable with a raspberry coloured ribbon.

[HawaiianPi]

...and would like to protect the SSD from too much dust.

A 2.5 inch SSD is already in a case of sorts. It's a small circuit board in a 2.5 inch drive adapter. There should be no exposed parts on a 2.5 inch SSD (other than the SATA connector itself, which would be covered by the adapter cable).

I have one of mine in a 2 layer (open sided) case with the SSD mounted on top.

I also have a tiny mSATA SSD enclosure that sits on top of a Flirc.

There aren't any ready made solutions that will work with a Flirc case that I am aware of, short of just stacking it on top of a USB 3.0 enclosure.

Flic_with_SSD.jpg (26.81 KiB) Viewed 603 times

The trick will be finding an enclosure that works with UAS and TRIM in Raspbian (the one the picture above does not). Look for an enclosure with the ASMedia ASM1153E chipset (it will work with UAS but might need a firmware update for TRIM).

[LTolledo]

3 suggestions from me:

RPi3B+ minideskop.jpg (171.9 KiB) Viewed 541 times

RPi3B 1TB HDD in Quattro Case.jpg (154.17 KiB) Viewed 541 times

RPi2B_NAS_v4.0.jpg (119.15 KiB) Viewed 541 times

[elias4444]

3 suggestions from me:
RPi3B+ minideskop.jpg
RPi3B 1TB HDD in Quattro Case.jpg
RPi2B_NAS_v4.0.jpg

Where did you find the parts to put those together?

[Puffergas]

I mound my Pi's to the monitor's VESA, using Plexiglas from the hardware store. Right now there are two of them feeding a KVM switch. A drive would be an easy addition.

[22over7]

Thanks for all the pictures of the ssd combo! Q: Have you measured its effect on wifi?

Usually I use ethernet for my pi4, but last minute I need to set it up about 8 feet from the router, and vnc seemed to be more sluggish. According to

https://www.martinrowan.co.uk/2019/08/w ... i-4-cases/

every metal case on the market has a noticeable, negative effect on wifi, so I am wary about this setup even though it would help keep my desk more organized. But I don't know how one would go above measuring wifi performance...

Another issue: I have a fan sitting on top of the cpu, pushing air in; would putting the ssd on top affect air flow? And if I put the ssd underneath the pcb, would it cook the ssd? Also, putting the ssd underneath would make it even closer to the antenna... ?

[ejolson]

Also, putting the ssd underneath would make it even closer to the antenna... ?

Depending on how well the cable and drive itself are shielded, the USB3 data transmissions can radiate enough RF interference at 2.4 GHz to slow or even jam a WiFi connection.

My observation is, since the transition to digital television, consumers tolerate devices that emit far more interference than they used to. For example, older video cables have noticeable RF chokes at both ends while the new apparently have none whatsoever.

Am I missing something here? If not, then the electromagnetic spectrum is getting polluted far faster than rivers and streams which flow by the farms. The paranoid solution is to not use WiFi at all. Even after this, one also has to remember the SSDs we are connecting to USB bridges bought from Amazon, Alibaba, Ebay and AliExpress were originally designed to be enclosed inside the metal case of a PC.

[LTolledo]

3 suggestions from me:
RPi3B+ minideskop.jpg
RPi3B 1TB HDD in Quattro Case.jpg
RPi2B_NAS_v4.0.jpg

Where did you find the parts to put those together?

for mini desktop:
the 5mm acrylic plate from recycle bin, drill holes and add standoffs

for Quattro case:
purchased from my fave net store

for RPi2BNAS:
purchased from fave store (stackable RPi case, Noctua Fan)
acrylic plate for the HDD from recycle bin.
filter paper from dollar store.


Important: have to summon DIY spirits to take over me while I do those projects

[HawaiianPi]

USB3 data transmissions can radiate enough RF interference at 2.4 GHz to slow or even jam a WiFi connection.

I use 5GHz WiFi, but I have tested 2.4GHz and it worked okay when I tried it.

On the other hand, my 2.4GHz Logitech Unifying wireless keyboard/mouse dongle was having issues when directly connected to the Pi4's USB 2.0 port. Placing the dongle on a shielded USB 2.0 extension cable fixed it.

I did try adding some ferrite beads to my USB 3.0 SATA adapter cable, and that helped, but it didn't completely resolve the issue. So the dongle is back on the short extension cable (6 inch works for me, YMMV).

... every metal case on the market has a noticeable, negative effect on wifi

Compared to my 4B2 in a dual layer open sided acrylic case, my 4B4 in a Flirc case does seem to have a bit weaker reception, but it hasn't been a problem for me (yet). Unlike many other metal cases, the Flirc has a plastic bottom that extends a little up the end with the wireless antenna. So it should interfere less than full metal cases.

I have YouTube streaming video to my Flirc cased 4B4 on 5GHz WiFi right now (Auto 1080p), with audio going to my Bluetooth speakers, and the system was booted from a 64GB Samsung USB 3.0 flash drive. So yea, the Flirc case has some affect, but it hasn't been a deal breaker.

[Imperf3kt]

would like to protect the SSD from too much dust.

I can guarantee you that the dust encountered from sitting on a desk will not harm an SSD no matter how much it piles up, unless it is full of conductive particles like metal dust.

[22over7]

On the other hand, my 2.4GHz Logitech Unifying wireless keyboard/mouse dongle was having issues when directly connected to the Pi4's USB 2.0 port. Placing the dongle on a shielded USB 2.0 extension cable fixed it.

I have plenty of short extension cables, none shielded. Would wrapping the cable in aluminum foil work? (this is not a joke)

As for my initial question: Is there a way to measure wifi signal strength **as seen by Pi4**, without additional instrument?

Thanks!