2018-11-11, 02:40 PM
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.
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.