OpenMarine

For me, enclosures are the most frustrating part of building electronic projects. I've been searching for a commercially made case that will take my PI, and SSD. 

I just got this from Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073CGQD9C
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GRZRW7J

It's a nice metal case and matching board that provides power and a SATA interface for a standard hard disk or SSD. So far, I'm really impressed - it's very solid, provides a nice independently-powered hard disk interface, and gives access to all the ports, including the provision of an additional USB 5V power port. It has an integral power switch that will power the entire system down if pressed for 2 seconds. I'm thinking there might be a way to hack the power board to also provide a shutdown of the RPI as well. The power for the entire system is 5V on a barrel connector, which I much prefer over the micro-USB connector on the PI. Internally in the case, the PI is powered by pins 4 and 6 on the GPIO connector. The SATA interface is capable of USB 3.0 when disconnected from the PI and connected via an included separate USB cable. Useful when loading large amounts of data to the disk.

I tried putting my dAISy AIS hat on the PI, and it does fit in the case if the case fan is removed. I'm looking at ways I might re-mount the case fan somewhere else in the case. I also think I might be able to drill another hole in the case to bring out the antenna connector for AIS, making a nice, compact package.

What I have lost from my previous case is the ability to power the system with 12V, and since the case is metal, I can no longer mount my I2C accelerometer inside. Still, I think I prefer this case, as it's smaller, cooler, and perhaps a bit more rugged than my previous configuration.

Purchased an X820 for use with a SSD also. Also looked at the linked case. I'm not using any hats so that's not an issue for me.

The fact that there is no way to run a GPIO ribbon cable outside without modifying the case is what has turned me off.

It has been sitting here running in front of me for the past several days. I was thinking that they should make a few improvements to the case:
- make it taller so there isn't an issue with hats (although I think even the new Moitessier HAT might fit, with some case modifications)
- make the top cover plastic. It actually goes around the top and the back. That would allow onboard GPS units to work, as well as improve WiFi and Bluetooth performance
- make the shutdown so that it shuts the PI down, then the power.
- make a slot for GPIO access.

For me, GPIO is not a huge issue. I don't really want to run a ribbon out of the case anyway, at least for now. I'll probably bring out a couple of smaller shielded wires either through a side vent hole, or through a new hole in the back. That should be enough to attach I2C sensors, at least.

The case designed for the Moitessier HAT isn't as appealing to me because I want to be able to use an SSD, and I like the more robust power connections.

Agreed. It should work out just fine running the smaller wires thru a hole or even cutting it. I am still not totally against it, just going to try to draw up and 3D print a case for it first.

I really like the X820 for all the reasons you mentioned. Besides having a nice and neat set up for a SSD my favorite thing is the power socket. The only downside is it is a bit expensive, but hopefully it will work on the Pi4!

Great! Please post a picture when you get the new case made.

Just a note: If you have a look at the Geekwork Wiki, you'll notice in the comments that Geekworm admits that the auto-on feature doesn't work right now. They posted a fix, which involves installing a capacitor.

(2018-11-11, 02:40 PM)abarrow Wrote: [ -> ].../

I tried putting my dAISy AIS hat on the PI, and it does fit in the case if the case fan is removed...

Can you re-instal the fan outside of the enclosure ?

Probably. I had tried putting the fan another place inside the case, but it didn't work. I have avoided the problem completely now by buying a Quark-Elec AIS/GPS/SeaTalk converter. Nice little box, and it seems that the AIS is more sensitive than the dAISy hat.

What about wifi and bluetooth with a metal case ?

I've used metal cases before. Wifi and bluetooth do work, but the signal isn't as strong as it would be without the metal. Still, for me, I can still get a wifi signal in the cockpit.