chetatkinsdiet wrote:

I'd really like to get a little lunchbox to start filling up with API
or OSA modules. My only drawback is that the bare boxes are usually
around $500. I think I've seen one, maybe from Fletcher for $450.
Anyway, there really doesn't seem to be much to them. A hammond, or
similar box...card slots in the back...a simple patch panel on back
and a power supply. Seems like less than $100 in parts. I'm just
talking a small one, 4-6 slots. Anyone ever made their own? Or does
anyone have a nice little used one they'd like to sell for cheap?


I'm right in the middle of wiring up a card cage I had sitting around
to hold some API modules. These card cages probably sell for $100 or
more, but you can sometimes find them surplus or salvage for little or
no money. But after that, you have to cause the thing to hold API
modules, and you have to attach some connectors both for the cards and
for the I/O. That's a day of metal work IF you're skilled and
equipped. If not, it's a week of dicking around with hand tools or
spending a couple tall bills to get somebody else to do it for you.
Then there's the power supply. I suppose you could use a couple of
Power One supplies wired in opposition to give you a bipolar 18V
supply. But they're big and cumbersome so now you've got another
metalworking project. It all adds up. You could probably do it for
under $400 IF you have the materials, tools, and skills necessary to do
everything yourself.


ulysses