ABS-Boost (waterproof casing)

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IthinkIunderstand
 
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Joined: Sun Mar 24, 2013 10:56 am

ABS-Boost (waterproof casing)

Post by IthinkIunderstand »

Hi,

Just thought i would share my first MintyBoost kit. I do a lot of biking and hiking and wanted something a little more rugged than the standard metal case. So i dug out the plumbing fittings and made a nice little waterproof version. Of course, we always realize a better way to build something AFTER we've built the first one. If i were to do this again, i would have a cable directly soldered to the board and coming out of a waterproof grommet somewhere on the cylinder. I would leave enough of the cable inside so that changing the batteries would simply mean unscrewing the cap and sliding out the unit, batteries first, and switching out the double A's. That way you could just plug it in without opening it up.

This thing is made with 1 1/2 inch plumbing pieces which is common in any hardware store. The pictures are deceiving, but the length is roughly 135mm or 5 1/4 inches. If i had changed the size of the Lexan the batteries and board are sitting on i might have been able to add a set of spare batteries inside as a backup. This thing could be made to fit inside a 1 1/4inch pipe also, but it would be tight.

Another version of this would be to put it inside a plastic case for outdoor electrical. There would be room for a lipo battery and the charging circuit, including something solar. Look in the section where they keep all that gray plastic electrical conduit stuff.

If you have any questions, just ask.
Attachments
ABS_Boost_Parts.JPG
ABS_Boost_Parts.JPG (96.93 KiB) Viewed 1894 times
ABS_Boost_Partial_Assembly.JPG
ABS_Boost_Partial_Assembly.JPG (97.88 KiB) Viewed 1894 times
ABS_Boost_Metric_Dimension.jpg
ABS_Boost_Metric_Dimension.jpg (67.47 KiB) Viewed 1894 times

IthinkIunderstand
 
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Mar 24, 2013 10:56 am

Re: ABS-Boost (waterproof casing)

Post by IthinkIunderstand »

Looking inside the unit...
Attachments
ABS_Boost_Inside.JPG
ABS_Boost_Inside.JPG (99.4 KiB) Viewed 1892 times

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: ABS-Boost (waterproof casing)

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

Cool! Thanks for posting the photos. :D

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dolivaw
 
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Re: ABS-Boost (waterproof casing)

Post by dolivaw »

That's a tough looking case... How about using resin though? I'd think it would be pretty tough and it'd look damn s e x y too... At least to us geeks. =)

I love what Rupert Hirst did with his headphone amp:
http://runawaybrainz.blogspot.com/2012/ ... phone.html

IthinkIunderstand
 
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Mar 24, 2013 10:56 am

Re: ABS-Boost (waterproof casing)

Post by IthinkIunderstand »

I've actuallly seen that Resin project. It is a thing of beauty, but i needed something where i could get access to everything in case of repairs. I already have a different version floating in my head. It will be smaller and more powerful (using a Li/Poly battery) with perhaps a solar panel attachment. If i could find some white ABS, that would be even better. Perhaps i'll try painting this one, although i'm not sure how well paint will stick to this stuff. Reason being, if you had it out in the sun somewhere, this black plastic will heat up quickly.

Thanks for looking,

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