MiSTer FPGA Forum

Great, I think that's my ideal case, then ! Very last question : as for the fan : is it compulsory ? If yes, can we easily swap it with a silent one ? As it's an open case, I don't think it's absolutely essential to have a fan ?

Oh, and is there remaining room for the RTC addon ? (would like to autoboot the Amiga and not wait for the network to be up)

mahen wrote: ↑Wed Jun 10, 2020 8:37 am Great, I think that's my ideal case, then ! Very last question : as for the fan : is it compulsory ? If yes, can we easily swap it with a silent one ? As it's an open case, I don't think it's absolutely essential to have a fan ?

Oh, and is there remaining room for the RTC addon ? (would like to autoboot the Amiga and not wait for the network to be up)

the fan is very quiet if you want, you have a portenciometer to adjust de flow and noisy.

I think the fan is optional but recomended, and with potenciometer you can stop if you want.

I made my own top case for customisation only, i have access to laser cutting and engraving and...

The fan is not very loud and also there is an analogue dial withthat you can choose between off,slow or faster speed. I don't think a noctua fan will fit inside the case. It depends on the use (with cps1 core de10nano gets hot) and environment temp. 2 screws are holding the fan on top of a heatsink.

i think there is room for the rtc addon but i dont have/need it because i always have my mister connected online.

LauweLoempia wrote: ↑Tue Jun 09, 2020 11:54 pm

Brettster wrote: ↑Tue Jun 09, 2020 10:27 pm Very interested in the Antonio case, does it also have analog audio in and out and an on off switch?

Yes it does! However for the on off switch you of the case to work you have to cut one leg of the power socket of the DE-10 nano and wire that to the expansion board with the switch. Very easy and works like a charm...

Thank you, need to order one

Thanks for the replies ! Is there any drawback in using a jack-to-toslink cable instead of directly having 2 toslink ports bound together ? Anyway, waiting for the case to be available again...

As for the audio DAC, is it good, compared to the other IO Board or the DAC of a mainstream HDMI monitor ? Thanks

mahen wrote: ↑Wed Jun 10, 2020 3:07 pm Thanks for the replies ! Is there any drawback in using a jack-to-toslink cable instead of directly having 2 toslink ports bound together ? Anyway, waiting for the case to be available again...

As for the audio DAC, is it good, compared to the other IO Board or the DAC of a mainstream HDMI monitor ? Thanks

I dont think so, it is just a passive adapter.

You could try contacting Antonio Villena to learn about availability.

Ordered ! Thanks for the advice !

Current setup while I buy an aluminum case

CaptainWolf wrote: ↑Wed Jun 10, 2020 7:54 pm Current setup while I buy an aluminum case

lol'd. I thought it was an external PSU (a huge one). Kudos for that cardboard case:D

I’m still waiting to see where a couple of case projects are going, so in the meantime I had this cut from plywood.

Here's my current work-at-home quarantine MiSTer setup:


To paraphrase Sorg, as a strong follower of Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, I've connected the MiSTer to my coaxial-only 13" Zenith TV using a HDMI to Composite cable + Composite to RF Modulator setup. I've been able to have some of the cores work with Direct Video, but ultimately decided to fall back on MiSTer outputting at 640*480@60hz and have the setup take care of the rest.

Controllers go between a 8bitdo M30 BT and a NeoGeo PS3 USB pad.

Here's my MiSTer case:

SEGA New Astro City is interfaced to the MiSTer via a JAMMACon (http://retrotechr.blogspot.com/2015/11/jammacon.html) with Saturn hat and 2x RetroPad32 (http://www.brunofreitas.com/node/84). This gives me access to 9 buttons on 2 players for whatever config I like.

I also have a 2L16BM (Same layout as SEGA Saturn Dual Arcade Stick Pro - HSS-0130) repro control panel from Alberto1225 (https://www.arcade-projects.com/forums/ ... rge-order/) which gives me a lot of buttons to configure for various functions.

Yah, I like it.

mbalmer wrote: ↑Fri Jun 05, 2020 7:15 pm @terminator2k2:

I checked out the link for that aluminum case -- do they do the hole cutting on it, or did you do it?

The listing makes it seem like they do custom cutouts, and it isn't clear if the case is sold with no holes cut.

The case comes completely with nothing cut out, they do advertise custom cutting/printing but when asked they never replied to my questions , it was during the early stages of covid in china though....

This is my MiSTer, powered by Neptune Blue acrylic case from misterfpga.co.uk:

terminator2k2 wrote: ↑Mon May 25, 2020 9:11 am Post pics of your setup
ill start off

Well done!
Thanks for sharing the pictures and the other details.

Just built my 2nd MiSTer setup. I made a “case” out of the Noctua packaging with a pair scissors. Running the 12v fan @9v. Near silent acoustics. Not bad for free. The setup will live inside my Taito Vewlix a Arcade cab.

Reposting this by request, from the old forums:

YES, it is possible to RGB your MiSTer!


I decided to put my MiSTer into a steel and aluminum instrument case, made by a company called Hammond. It's a bit expensive and overkill, but my device is now VERY protected.

http://www.hammondmfg.com/pdf2/9C-1458.pdf
https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/ ... -ND/248067

I chose the 8"x8"x3" variation. I picked that size because I wanted a roomy case and it's fairly close to a "traditional" console in size. The NA NES for comparison is 10" wide by 8" long by 3.5" high.

The aluminum front and rear panels were milled using a manual (non-CNC) milling machine. My uncle is an accomplished metal worker and helped me with that. If anyone else wants the (rather complex) measurements needed to precisely cut out all of the holes for the front and especially the rear panels, let me know, as I think I can still get his notes.

Here is the back view, without the connectors. The DE10 and IO board are flush with the rear panel. The 3-hole aluminum piece was designed so that I can route new expansion cords in the future should I wish to do so. It separates into two halves and is held together internally with a strong rubber o-ring. Currently I have one power cord (shown) coming out that powers the marquee LEDs, which are driven by a 5v Arduino Nano (clone) which is inside the case.


Here is a back view with all of the cabling in place.
The network port is made by routing an extension cable internally to the DE10.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LX86YD4


The front panel has three external buttons that also function as indicator lamps (LEDs). They plug into the external connectors on the IO board. I liked that I could consolidate the button and LEDs into one compact unit, streamlining things a bit.

I purchased them from Adafruit:
https://www.adafruit.com/product/1439

The 4 usb ports on the front panel are made using 2 extension cables running inside and connecting to a 4-port unpowered hub (https://www.amazon.com/MakerSpot-Access ... B01JL837X8) which is connected to the MiSTer.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FS4UB4M


Internally things are a bit of a rat's nest. Cabling takes up space surprisingly fast. The DE10, which is cooled well via a 5v Noctua 40mm fan and good case venting, is covered up by the large acrylic marquee MiSTer logo that I designed. It is was made by spray painting the back side of a carefully measured rectangular piece of "plex" with black spray paint. After drying, a CNC laser was used to etch away the vector based logo. The laser was set to "frost" the logo so you can't sharply see the 8x6 LED matrix that lives underneath it. Even with the frosted effect, at first you could still clearly see each individual LED, so I built a little stage for the plex to sit on that moved the LEDs about 1/3" away from them. By defocusing the LEDs this way I was able to diffuse their light and achieve the smooth rainbow effect that I wanted. As for the LED strips themselves, they are WS2812B's:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LSF4QDM
I cut six 8 LED strips and pasted them down above and below each other to create a matrix. After wiring them, they can be driven with a cheap microcontroller. I used an Arduino Nano for this task:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00Q9YBO88
It was easy to find code online to drive the rainbow effect I wanted. I had to modify it a bit, but it's not hard to do cool things with these LEDs.
The marquee itself has a 1/4" lip which is pushed up tightly into a corner-rounded rectangular hole which was cut in the steel top "clamshell" of the instrument case.

Note: The LEDs are not powered by the DE10 itself. These LEDs can draw a lot of current, and although I certainly could power them that way, I did not want to overtax the DE10's circuitry, so I opted to take an old wall wort PSU I had and power them externally.


Please forgive this video that I made, but as a demonstration it works well enough I think. The audio is public domain and I had some fun playing around with effects--so feel free to mute. It was fun to make, but I know the footage ain't that great and I'm still a beginner.

Link to MiSTer Case Video---> https://youtu.be/hSAArUm49Aw

Supplemental notes for cutting out holes:

Ok, here are the notes. My uncle's milling machine, and thus his notes are set in inches, so metric folks will have to do some conversion.

The scans are from classic yellow pad paper, but I cleaned them up some:

These first 2 will probably be the most useful for those looking to do a flush to the panel style case:


These will be less useful, unless you get the same extension cabling that I purchased, which are linked in my first post.

NEC PC-FX MiSTer project:

My goal was to rehome the MiSTer inside a PC-FX shell without modifying the shell. I also wanted to load full EverDrive libraries onto it for every core that interested me, so that meant I needed a lot of storage and a micro SD wasn't going to cut it. Using a single power supply, a 1TB HDD and a USB hub, I was able to design and print a somewhat modular internal structure that would fit into the PC-FX shell and allow the MiSTer to be held securely and be 100% removable.

It's almost finished! Need to wire the Power & Disk LED and create a new mounting bracket for them. Debated doing something with the original Power switch but I just made it sprung and it's for decoration. The plunger is almost 1" and bumps into my internal enclosures, not worth the headache (for now).

MiSTer FPGA
-1TB WD Blue HDD
-USB Hub
--2X front USB
--1X EdiMax WiFi adapter
--1X HDD Adapter
-Noctua Fan
-Mean Well 12v 5v PSU
-Fused PSU Connector
-HDMI Extender
-USB Extenders

Spent ~20 hours designing from scratch to be a completely drop in solution to rehome the MiSTer. The NEC PC-FX shell has ZERO modifications done; I have the original internals that function fine if I ever want to swap them back in for some weird dating sims.

That’s beautiful. My goodness, the perfect case.

Finally, a use for a PC-FX (that isn't something to do with school girls and tentacles )

Thanks! Yes this system sadly cannot fulfill the basement dwelling weeaboo hentai dating sims right now.

Here's a shot of the nearly finished internals. I thought I had taken more photos but it seems I haven't.

PSU bracket had a few interactions and the HDD / de10 holder went through a few as well. It all slides together and used the original screw posts to attach to the PC-FX.

The noctua was too tall and needed to be moved to the side at an angle; might see about a blower type fan for the heatsink as it might not be getting enough air as-is.

Full render of the assembly in Inventor

These are very impressive fits! I was looking into picking up a neo Geo X dock and putting the de10 board in there, but from what I've seen it's hard enough to get the raspberry pi in there, so not sure if the de10 would fit.

Gymcrash wrote: ↑Sat Jun 20, 2020 8:05 am These are very impressive fits! I was looking into picking up a neo Geo X dock and putting the de10 board in there, but from what I've seen it's hard enough to get the raspberry pi in there, so not sure if the de10 would fit.

Without an IO board and the standoffs removed, maybe? I guess I need to look at those NGX docks again; I remember people putting the Pi3 into them with full sized USB cords and hubs etc.

goosewerks wrote: ↑Thu Jun 18, 2020 9:15 pm NEC PC-FX MiSTer project:

My goal was to rehome the MiSTer inside a PC-FX shell without modifying the shell. I also wanted to load full EverDrive libraries onto it for every core that interested me, so that meant I needed a lot of storage and a micro SD wasn't going to cut it. Using a single power supply, a 1TB HDD and a USB hub, I was able to design and print a somewhat modular internal structure that would fit into the PC-FX shell and allow the MiSTer to be held securely and be 100% removable.

It's almost finished! Need to wire the Power & Disk LED and create a new mounting bracket for them. Debated doing something with the original Power switch but I just made it sprung and it's for decoration. The plunger is almost 1" and bumps into my internal enclosures, not worth the headache (for now).

MiSTer FPGA
-1TB WD Blue HDD
-USB Hub
--2X front USB
--1X EdiMax WiFi adapter
--1X HDD Adapter
-Noctua Fan
-Mean Well 12v 5v PSU
-Fused PSU Connector
-HDMI Extender
-USB Extenders

Spent ~20 hours designing from scratch to be a completely drop in solution to rehome the MiSTer. The NEC PC-FX shell has ZERO modifications done; I have the original internals that function fine if I ever want to swap them back in for some weird dating sims.

IMPRESSIVE!

terminator2k2 wrote: ↑Mon May 25, 2020 4:09 pm cheers all for the comments...

usb : https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/type-a-u ... s/8621567/

So i did find a US supplier for those USB connectors
https://www.newark.com/cliff-electronic ... dp/75Y0457

I did order them as I am inspired to make my own case.
I try to remember to post photos when I am done.

Well I build a case, but I don't like the cheap aluminum it was made from so I going to redo it with another case.

Avoid this POS
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B886KYI/

This was my first 3D-printed attempt - no IO board, but a USB hub and 8Bitdo reciever inside, and most connections rerouted to the rear.

That was was my first attempt at designing anything using Fusion 360, so it's a bit crude, but it served it's purpose until I recently upgraded to a 128MB memory board, which is slightly taller and doesn't quite fit. So now I'm trying to design a completely new case rather than just tweaking+reprinting the old one...

thats a great first go.
i love the way you've built up a partition for the usb hub that holds the 8bitdo reciever in place. clever

My second attempt at case is done. Was inspired by the first post in this thread, and tried to make something in a similar style to terminator2k2's case, but 3D printed.

Quite happy with how the exterior came out. Maybe not the best colour choice, but I had the sparkly purple and grey filaments in, and they give a nicer finish than regular PLA. About 20hrs of print time in total on a Prusa i3 MK3s. Only a couple of minor rough spots where it 'blobbed' a bit.

Interior could still be improved though. I removed the case from the USB hub to mount it at the rear, which worked OK (only 3 of 4 ports are accessible though). Still got the 8bitdo dongle inside, also minus it's case, but that's a bit of a bodge, soldered connections inaccessible port ont the USB hub and hot-glued down.

Fan/vent positioning is poor though. And the microSD has become a pain to access. It'll do for now, until the next upgrade that doesn't fit...